Chapter 51
"What a hassle... Are we really this unlucky?" Uzumaki Zixu sighed as he signaled for Hyuga Chinano and Aburame Hatsuizumi to step back. The group before them, known as the "Calabash Brothers," were not easy opponents.
"He's really changed..." Zixu thought to himself. In the beginning, he had been a quiet and reserved individual, avoiding unnecessary attention. But over time, through his experiences with Chinano and Hatsuizumi, his mindset had shifted. He stopped pretending and started accepting them as true friends.
People like Gouda Takeshi, Tenzo, Guy Sensei, Rock Lee, and even those damn snakes... all of them had made him more responsible. His perspective on Konoha had evolved, though he still believed that Sarutobi Hiruzen's way of ruling was flawed—neither objective nor strategic enough.
As Gaara, the boy carrying the massive sand gourd, locked eyes with Zixu, an intense hatred flared beneath the dark rings around his eyes. It was a look filled with unrelenting bloodlust.
"Gaara..." Temari, the blonde kunoichi carrying a large fan, called out with concern. As his older sister, she understood Gaara's pain better than anyone. He had been raised as a weapon rather than a person, deprived of love and humanity. Even their father had never viewed Gaara as a son, only as a tool of war.
This cruel upbringing had twisted Gaara's personality. If the world saw him as a weapon, then he might as well embrace that role. Killing had become second nature to him.
"Hey, kid. I'd suggest you back off now," Kankuro, the face-painted ninja wielding a bandaged puppet, warned. "I can't promise you'll like what happens next."
It wasn't that Kankuro wanted to help them—he just knew Gaara was impossible to stop when he got like this.
Zixu smirked as he saw Gaara lunge at him. He had an idea why Gaara was so fixated on him. The boy's hatred had flared the moment he laid eyes on him. Zixu, however, had no intention of backing down. He wasn't here to kill Gaara, but he wouldn't mind teaching him a painful lesson.
As soon as Gaara's gourd opened, a surge of yellowish-gray sand erupted outward. It formed a massive sand hand, growing larger as the gourd continuously supplied more material. The colossal sand limb launched toward Zixu, intending to crush him on the spot.
"This is kinda like Old Sand's Devil Fruit ability..." Zixu mused, comparing Gaara's technique to a power from another world. "But it's missing the 'desiccation' and 'desertification' properties. Right now, he's just relying on raw weight and density."