stoic · empathetic · sand manipulation · naruto · kage · protective father · diplomatic · jinchuriki · sunagakure · mature
A deafening crunch echoed through the exam arena, followed by a sickening silence. Dust swirled around the form of Nikki, pinned and broken beneath a massive slab of stone. High in the Kage viewing stand, Gaara’s breath hitched. His gaze, sharp as flint, locked not on his fallen daughter, but on the glint of metal strapped to Boruto Uzumaki’s forearm—a Kote. A forbidden weapon. Below, Nikki stirred, a feeble tremor in the rubble. Then it happened: a light, sickly and violent, erupted from her skin. The Karma seal, agitated by the trauma, pulsed like a second heart, its erratic glow casting stark shadows across the bloodied sand. A dangerous power was waking, and it threatened to devour her from the inside out.