章 3: Yashamaru

Today is the day I celebrate my first birthday.

For a whole year now, I have been alternating between getting fed and answering nature's call... Being a baby truly isn't very interesting.

One thing that I've found really hard to deal with… Is my lack of sleep.

As soon as I start to enter deep slumber, Shukaku's sinister eyes appear in my head and scare the living hell out of me.

I have no choice but to admit that those shuriken-like pupils make my scalp tingle every time I see them. I usually wake up with cold sweat all over my body.

It's annoying, but at least I get to sleep a little. Very light sleep though.

On the flip side, daily meditation has become a lifesaver for me. By concentrating, I get to relax my mind... Mimicking sleep.

Although it's not as good, it's better than nothing. Without meditation, I'd probably be a walking corpse.

Thankfully, I have a lot of free time that I can use to reflect and meditate. In fact, last week I was able to finally use my chakra for the first time. I even got one-hundred EXP for doing so.

All I can do right now is circulate it around my body, but the amount I can manipulate is frustratingly minuscule...

Not only that but it seems to take a large toll on my energy reserves. I almost passed out a couple of times while doing so.

Again... Being a baby sucks.

Weirdly enough, I don't get tired when my sand shield appears. It's probably drawing directly from Shukaku's chakra, appearing for the first time when Yashamaru dropped a toy on me by accident.

The instant that the toy got close, a bunch of sand materialized and caught it mid-air. Thus keeping me unharmed.

Yashamaru's eyes became round like golfballs and he went to report it to my father. Rasa then came over in a rush.

When he saw the sand shield acting on its own to protect me, his lips curled up. It was the first time that I saw him smile.

Not to mention, this was the only time he came to visit me ever since I was born. Yashamaru has been my only family up until now...

Even Kankuro and Temari came to visit me a couple of times. Well, not that it matters.

Towards the latter part of this year, I started to walk. Well, only baby steps. Pun intended.

It feels weird to be able to stand up again, but then even so, I should get more and more used to it as I grow up...

Talking about growth, here's my current status.

[ //Status//

--Basic--

Name: Gaara

Age: 1

--Store--

Level: 1

EXP: 100/1000

Points: 10

--Attributes--

Strength: 0.9

Agility: 0.3

Vitality: 1

Chakra: 21

Control: 2

--Affinities--

Wind

Earth

--Kekkei Genkai--

Magnet Release

--Ninjutsu--

Shield of Sand(Passive) ]

My stats have all increased by a lot, apart from agility and chakra... Those increased just a little.

My agility not growing by much makes sense since I'm very limited with my movement. As for chakra, it increased because of my daily meditation, but if I don't train my body it will stagnate.

Phew… And that is all I have to say. End of report.

A bunch of other interesting things happened this year, but I didn't feel the need to include any of them.

Well, it's time for my daily dose of practice and meditation.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, visualizing my body's internal structure. This has become one of my fortes after a year of meditation.

Filling my lungs with air, I felt the blood coursing through my veins and into my organs.

Through my will, small flows of energy seeped out of every single cell in my body... Steadily making their way towards my stomach.

Relaxing my mind, I also drew energy from my brain. Guiding it to my core. The two energies, one from the cells and one from the brain... Finally blended together.

Furthermore, as my mind became one with my body, a small blue flame lit up inside my abdomen. Unimpeded, the flame then proceeded to reveal what was previously hidden.

Through the union of physical and spiritual energy, my chakra pathway system was unearthed. Not wasting any momentum, I circulated my chakra and had it loop around.

Although it was hard, taking every ounce of my willpower just to hold and circulate the chakra, I could feel my proficiency rising slowly.

I got drunk with this feeling and thus ignored any discomfort. Getting stronger felt great.

I'm not sure about how other children are compared to me, but a toddler that can mold and control his chakra? I must be some kind of genius. Yes, a genius. Haha.

After a while, I felt my consciousness fading... And being reminded of those star-like eyes, I stopped practicing. I don't want to go berserk by mistake... I really don't.

Shukaku probably has no idea of my knowledge... Man, I sure would like to see his reaction if I started talking about the sage of six paths to him.

Although that would be funny, I shouldn't do so.

I really want to see him… Is he the same as in the manga? I mean, he was my favorite in terms of design…

I just feel like Masashi didn't do him justice. Shukaku is way more powerful than people think. He probably can't be compared to the nine tails, but the same goes for everyone.

Right now, there's not much that I can do, so I'll just take a short nap. I'm sure that annoying tanuki will wake me up before I start dreaming in peace.

———————————————————————————

Meanwhile, in the Kazekage's office.

A small breeze entered through the window, carrying sand from the previous night's storm along with it.

Rasa was sitting on his chair, looking at a bunch of paperwork. He slouched forwards, placing a hand on his forehead.

Suddenly...He felt a disturbance in the air, and a ninja materialized out of thin air. If Gaara had been here, he would have recognized this as the body flicker technique.

The ninja was on one knee, with their head looking down. Their face was covered, so one could not guess their identity.

"Kazekage-sama. I bring important news from the Daimyo."

This Ninja was none other than Yashamaru, the Kazekage's right hand.

Yashamaru was frowning internally. Although his voice sounded respectful, a small trace of anger could be felt if one paid attention.

Of course, Rasa didn't miss the slight undertone. But decided to let it slide. He opened his mouth... And a powerful voice resounded across the room.

"Rise. What was his response to my request?"

"The Daimyo read the message that you personally wrote... But still decided to maintain things as they are. They won't be providing the Sand with as many missions for the time being... I suggest we-"

Before Yashamaru could finish his sentence, Rasa's arm collided with the table in front of him... Turning it into dust, and causing all of the documents to fly around the room.

He then took a series of deep breaths and only then, regained his composure. This time his voice made the room's temperature drop quickly.

"We shall double the amount of gold dust sold to other nations..."

Yashamaru's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something. Before he could though, Rasa's terrifying voice interrupted him once again.

"I shall not repeat myself. We're in a crisis... And I have to stall for time before it is too late. Now go!"

With one last look at his sister's murderer, Yashamaru gnashed his teeth so hard that they bled and left silently. As he closed the door, Rasa sighed.

"Is this what I get for using my own family? I have to let Ebizo-san know about the situation… Maybe he has some ideas. With the recent attack on Konoha by the Kyuubi, there might be new opportunities..."

With that, Rasa got up and walked away slowly.