Outside the west gate of Konoha's outer city—
After the village expanded, the east, south, west, and north were all connected to national highways.
The west gate was generally used as a transit hub for various goods.
The flow of people here was also extremely large.
There were two people with rather special identities working here as well.
They were Kankuro and Temari.
After being captured by Minato five years ago, their status had always been that of hostages of Konoha.
When they first arrived, they had only just graduated from the ninja academy and were merely at the level of freshly promoted genin.
Naturally, they didn't dare to attempt escape or anything like that.
Gaara might seem cold and unfeeling, but he still acknowledged this older sister and brother of his.
After all, when they were young, they were the ones who played with him.
As time passed, the supervision over them was lifted, and they became quite free.
Although they were not ninjas of Konoha, Gaara could still use his own name to take on some missions for them.
In recent years, the ninja world had leaned toward peaceful development, so the most common missions were actually long-distance transportation.
The missions Gaara took for Temari and Kankuro were basically all of this kind.
Today, Temari and Kankuro had just finished a mission and returned.
The journey wasn't particularly dangerous, but the distance was very long. Once they left the Land of Fire, there were no more national highways. The long journey left them thoroughly exhausted.
It was only after returning to the Land of Fire and getting back onto the highway that they managed to rest in the vehicle for a while.
It's worth mentioning that for transportation within the Land of Fire, mechanical vehicles were basically already in use.
These vehicles were generally hybrid-powered. They could run on electricity or be driven by chakra.
They had only started being sold externally from Konoha in the past two years.
Although the vehicles were somewhat expensive, if you couldn't afford one, you could rent it.
But it was still better than walking on foot or using beasts to transport goods.
These kinds of vehicles weren't actually rare, since they had existed in the ninja world for a long time, but the power systems were different.
However, not every place had roads, so the adoption rate of vehicles wasn't high.
It was only because the Land of Fire had built a well-connected highway network that Konoha's vehicles could sell.
After finishing the handover on Temari's side, she brought Kankuro and headed home.
Along the way, people came and went. Various merchant caravans moved in and out, and both sides of the street were lined with neatly arranged stalls.
All kinds of shouting and hawking filled the air.
Looking at the bustling Konoha, Temari thought back to the Sand Village of the past and felt like they were worlds apart.
They had passed through the Land of Wind during missions before, but they no longer wanted to go back.
"I wonder if Gaara has come back," Temari said absentmindedly.
Kankuro lay his hands behind his head, speaking with certainty, "He's definitely still in the Land of Wind. Probably took another mission targeting the Sand Village."
Temari sighed helplessly, "It seems Father never even tried to come save us."
Kankuro snorted, "No way. That guy probably never even thought about it."
"Temari, I actually think life like this isn't bad."
"You should stop hoping to go back to the Sand Village."
Temari shook her head, "It's not that I want to go back. I'm just worried about Gaara."
Kankuro naturally understood what she meant. The current Gaara harbored immense hatred toward the people of the Sand Village.
The one he most wanted to kill was Rasa.
Although Gaara and Rasa hadn't had the chance to confront each other yet, at this rate, a battle between them was inevitable.
"We can't stop that. Who told that guy to treat Gaara like that?"
Kankuro no longer called Rasa "father." He usually referred to him as "that guy."
As he grew older, he came to understand and acknowledge Gaara more and more, and whatever little familial bond he had with Rasa gradually faded away.
Although Temari still sometimes called Rasa "father," her sense of identification leaned more toward Gaara.
"Let's go back and see if Gaara has returned."
The two chatted idly as they walked toward the Uchiha clan grounds.
The Uchiha were already familiar with these special prisoners, so no guards stopped them.
When they arrived at Gaara's place, before they even knocked, they heard a faint voice coming from inside, "That damned Rasa, to treat you like that! My poor child…"
Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, confusion written all over their faces. It sounded like a woman's voice.
'"My poor child"? Whose child?'
Kankuro didn't think much of it and called out directly, "Gaara, are you there?"
Whoosh!
With the sound of sand moving, the door suddenly opened.
"Come in quickly. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Gaara's tone was a bit strange. There was even a hint of emotion and happiness in it.
After Temari and Kankuro entered, they saw Gaara's hand being held by a woman.
This woman looked at them with a face full of motherly affection.
Seeing them come in, Gaara said, "Mom, they probably don't remember you anymore."
Hearing Gaara's way of addressing her, Temari and Kankuro were instantly stunned.
But when they clearly saw the woman's face, it hit them like a thunderbolt.
It was Karura. Their mother who had already died.
Gaara was right about one thing. Temari and Kankuro indeed had no memory of their mother.
After all, when Karura died, they were only two or three years old.
But they had seen photos of Karura.
And being blood relatives, when Karura looked at them, they instantly felt a connection running through their veins.
Karura was still holding Gaara's hand, so she waved at the two of them, "Children, come here and let me take a look."
Temari's steps were stiff as she moved forward two steps, then quickly walked up to Karura.
She hesitantly reached out toward Karura, until her hand touched Karura's skin.
"Mom, is it really you?"
"Silly child, it's me," Karura's warm voice seemed to awaken Temari's memories from infancy.
"Mom!"
Temari suddenly hugged Karura tightly. It was her mother's embrace.
'She is my mother!'
Temari took a deep breath, her head spinning.
Then she seemed to come back to her senses somewhat and suddenly looked at Gaara.
"Gaara, what's going on?"
Gaara didn't mind Temari's tone at all and simply replied, "Mom has been revived. It's that simple."
At this moment, Kankuro also understood that this was truly their mother, so he hurried over and came to Karura's side.
"You… are Mom?", Kankuro asked hesitantly.
When Karura died, Kankuro hadn't even learned to speak yet, so the word felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.
Karura looked Kankuro up and down, her face filled with a joyful smile, "Kankuro, I am your mother."
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