Outside the Cave.
Deidara was still being pursued by Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto.
However, Deidara was flying on his clay giant bird in the air, while Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi could only chase desperately, always on the verge of losing him.
"Naruto, don't rush…"
Hatake Kakashi watched the relentless pursuit of Uzumaki Naruto ahead, feeling uneasy: "Be careful, don't lose your head due to the enemy's provocation…"
"I understand!"
Uzumaki Naruto nodded while keeping his pace: "I just lost track of the enemy for a moment, it's unavoidable…"
Clang!
A sharp blade suddenly flashed brilliantly!
A Root ninja with black wings flew rapidly towards Deidara, slashing the head off the clay giant bird with a swift motion!
"Damn it!"
Deidara immediately lost his balance!
The headless clay giant bird plummeted from the sky, and Deidara, who was riding it, tumbled to the ground. The three present quickly surrounded him!
"How did you get here so fast?"
Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but ask the Root ninja before him: "Weren't you stopping Uchiha Itachi? Did he escape?"
"That was just a puppet."
The Root ninja responded coldly, landing beside them with an indifferent demeanor: "A puppet created by some unknown means, significantly weaker than his actual strength. I've already eliminated it…"
"Who are you…"
Uzumaki Naruto looked surprised at the Root ninja retracting his wings, trying to see his true identity through the cat mask on the Root ninja's face.
"Naruto!"
Hatake Kakashi hurriedly interrupted Naruto's inquiry, speaking in a serious tone: "The identities of Root ninjas are confidential. Don't ask recklessly…"
"Let's deal with the enemy first!"
The Root ninja with the cat mask swiftly charged at Deidara, with Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi following closely!
The three ninjas quickly surrounded Deidara!
Deidara, having lost his aerial advantage, had no strength to resist against them. Resolutely, he raised his hand, ready to self-destruct on the spot!
"Witness my art!"
The next moment!
Deidara's body began to swell!
All the chakra within Deidara gathered at his heart, swelling and ready to explode!
If it explodes...
None of the three might escape!
"Watch out!"
The Root ninja reached out to grab Uzumaki Naruto, intending to teleport away with him: "I'll take Naruto, Kakashi, use the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave!"
"Don't worry, leave it to me…"
Hatake Kakashi quickly raised his hand!
Hatake Kakashi's Sharingan gradually transformed into a unique Mangekyo Sharingan, and a spatial force suddenly enveloped Deidara's body, absorbing him into another dimension!
The forest abruptly fell silent!
Deidara, who was about to self-destruct, vanished without a trace.
"Let's rescue the Kazekage first…"
Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto tore apart the corpse of Deidara's clay giant bird, but only found Gaara's body. The Kazekage had already had Shukaku extracted from him, showing no signs of life.
"!!!"
Uzumaki Naruto's face turned pale.
Gaara, who had once taken the Chunin Exams with them, had lost Shukaku inside him and now lay there as a rigid corpse...
The death of someone of the same age undoubtedly resonated deeply.
"Let's bring the Kazekage's body to Sakura…"
Hatake Kakashi placed his hand on Uzumaki Naruto's shoulder and continued solemnly: "I left a Flying Thunder God mark with Sakura…"
"I'll come with you!"
The Root ninja left a Flying Thunder God mark on Hatake Kakashi. As long as Hatake Kakashi teleported to the battlefield where Sakura was, he could follow Kakashi instantaneously.
Inside the Cave.
Sasori of the Red Sand was overwhelming Elder Chiyo and Haruno Sakura single-handedly, using only his Hiruko puppet to drive them into a corner!
Elder Chiyo, forced to counter Hiruko's attacks, had to bring out her most prized puppets—the Chikamatsu Collection!
"White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection!"
Elder Chiyo unleashed ten powerful puppets!
These ten puppets had bizarre animal heads and wore masks, crafted by the first puppet master, possessing the power to destroy an entire town!
"A White Secret Technique?"
Sasori of the Red Sand laughed, continuing indifferently: "I once believed the power of a puppet master was determined by the number of puppets they could control, but from today, the history of puppet masters in the ninja world will change…"
"Oh?"
Elder Chiyo showed a trace of doubt in her eyes.
Sasori of the Red Sand controlled Hiruko to throw out a scroll, and a puppet's figure appeared before Elder Chiyo, causing her face to turn pale!
"The Third Kazekage…"
"Yes."
Sasori of the Red Sand manipulated the reconfigured Third Kazekage puppet, speaking coldly: "If the history of puppeteers were to change, it would be largely due to his abilities. Using the power of Magnet Release merely to control iron is a waste..."
"..."
Chiyo furrowed her brow and spoke in a low voice: "Many people initially believed that the Third Kazekage went missing..."
"I killed him."
Sasori admitted his crime calmly, his emotions hidden beneath Hiruko: "As the Kazekage's bodyguard, no one had a better opportunity to assassinate him than I did..."
"Why?"
"For the sake of a perfect masterpiece."
Sasori continued to manipulate the Third Kazekage puppet: "Originally, I intended only to preserve his Magnet Release. However, as I acquired more advanced puppet knowledge, I realized that the power of Magnet Release represented a revolution for puppeteers!"
"Revolution?"
Chiyo's face wrinkled further.
The elderly woman found it hard to comprehend...
Could the power of Magnet Release be used for something else?
While Chiyo was in shock, the Third Kazekage puppet suddenly raised an arm, which was no longer a blade, but a pitch-black barrel!
Bang!
Black bullets were fired at Chiyo!
Chiyo had not yet recognized the unusual technique and continued to control the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu to fend off the black bullets. Strangely, each bullet that struck a puppet caused it to lose control and collapse rapidly!
"What is this...?"
A look of shock crossed Chiyo's face.
As the strongest puppeteer of the Sand Village and Sasori's mentor in puppetry, Chiyo had never seen such bizarre projectiles!
"This is the nemesis I developed specifically against puppeteers."
Sasori's Hiruko floated in the air as he spoke coldly: "A single bullet carrying magnetic force can disable the chakra-transmitting components inside a puppet..."
"..."
Sweat began to form on Chiyo's forehead.
The elderly woman had planned to deal with her renegade grandson herself, but she did not expect her strongest puppeteer skills to be completely countered by Sasori's abilities...
"Well, goodbye."
Sasori's Hiruko puppet and the Third Kazekage puppet simultaneously raised their barrels, the projectiles aimed at Sakura and Chiyo!
Boom!
Two shells were shot straight at their targets!
Chiyo and Sakura had no means to counter Sasori's attack and could only wait helplessly for their fates to unfold!
Three figures suddenly appeared from the Flying Thunder God mark on the ground, revealing Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto, who was carrying Gaara's body!
Along with Kakashi, a masked ANBU operative appeared in the cave!
Clang clang clang...
The sound of metal clashing was piercing!
The masked ANBU ninja swiftly appeared beside Sakura, slicing the projectile in half, and the pieces fell to either side!
Kakashi acted quickly, using his Mangekyō Sharingan to absorb the projectile aimed at Chiyo into the Kamui dimension!
Kakashi hoped that the Kamui dimension, possibly linked to Uchiha Obito, could contain Deidara's self-destruction remnants or the exploding projectile...
Naturally, there was no time to worry about that now.
"Troublesome…"
Sasori glanced at the scene and noticed the masked ANBU operative, snorting coldly: "I'll let you go this time, but next time, you won't be so lucky..."
With that, Sasori swiftly retracted the Third Kazekage puppet.
As Sasori attempted to leave, he saw Chiyo using the "Father" and "Mother" puppets, and with a flick of his chakra strings, he seized them as well!
When Sasori completed this, pipes appeared on Hiruko, suddenly releasing blue chakra that propelled him out of the cave at high speed!
"Don't think you can escape!"
Naruto yelled, a burst of red chakra surging from him as he charged toward Sasori!
However...
Hiruko's body scattered numerous tiny flashing bombs, which exploded instantly, forcing everyone to close their eyes involuntarily!
"Naruto, don't chase!"
Kakashi quickly stopped Naruto, speaking seriously: "At least we completed our mission..."
Afterward, Kakashi looked apologetically at Chiyo, saying softly: "I'm sorry, but when we arrived, the Kazekage was already..."
"..."
Chiyo remained silent.
The elderly woman seemed to be in a daze, recalling how Sasori had completely overpowered her in the battle, and realizing that her grandson had forged a new path, shattering the traditional ways of puppeteering.
"This era..."
"Is no longer ours..."
Chiyo shook her head and sighed, her gaze falling on Gaara's corpse: "Old people like me, in their twilight years, must inevitably step down..."
"Granny..."
Sakura approached with concern.
The battle against Sasori of the Red Sand was indeed a devastating loss for them, but Haruno Sakura did not believe it was Elder Chiyo's fault.
Sasori's power was overwhelming. He seemed not to have shown his terrifying abilities yet, but still defeated them effortlessly.
"It's alright."
Elder Chiyo shook her head, slowly walked to Gaara's corpse, and whispered, "The future ultimately belongs to you young people..."
"Gaara..."
Uzumaki Naruto stood beside Gaara's body, lowering his head. "He's already dead... because the monster inside him is gone... If it weren't for the monster sealed inside him..."
"I know."
Elder Chiyo nodded calmly, squatted down, and started talking about the past. "Back then, to give Sand Village the power to protect itself, I suggested to the Fourth Kazekage to seal the One-Tailed Shukaku inside the Fifth Kazekage. I also presided over that sealing ceremony, which led to many tragedies in the Fifth Kazekage's life..."
The elderly woman made a silent decision to use a forbidden technique she developed, sacrificing her own life to revive the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara!
Perhaps because Sasori's power had left Elder Chiyo in despair, she saw her grandson taking a path far beyond her reach. She no longer believed that her aging puppet master self could confront her powerful grandson...
However, Elder Chiyo couldn't correct her mistake of nurturing the terrifying rogue ninja Sasori. The only thing she could do was to atone for another mistake she made.
"It was my actions that caused him to suffer a life of tragedy..."
Elder Chiyo looked down at Gaara's body, placed her palm on it, and a glow appeared on Gaara's body. "Let me atone for my sins..."
In the next moment!
Elder Chiyo's chakra flowed into Gaara's body!
But this chakra transfer also meant the complete depletion of Elder Chiyo's chakra. This was the forbidden technique she had once researched, Reanimation Jutsu (One's Own Life Reincarnation), using her own chakra as a medium to transfer her life to the recipient!
As Elder Chiyo's chakra was exhausted, she reached the end of her life. On the ground, Gaara began to breathe slowly...
"..."
Everyone present lowered their heads, for they were no longer children and understood Elder Chiyo's sacrifice.
"Granny..."
Haruno Sakura nervously grasped Elder Chiyo's hand.
"I have already reached the end of my life."
Elder Chiyo slowly shook her head, a hint of regretful smile on her face. "Just remember... In the future... be wary of Sasori..."
"Yes..."
Haruno Sakura quickly nodded, indicating her understanding.
In this battle, Haruno Sakura realized the power of Sasori of the Red Sand.
"No..."
Elder Chiyo indicated she didn't understand, her voice growing weaker. "The Sasori you faced... was just a modified puppet... His real body, he might have transformed it to be even stronger..."
Because Elder Chiyo had also partially transformed her own body into a puppet.
She knew her grandson wouldn't overlook the human puppet technique. Sasori of the Red Sand had surely transformed his own body into a human puppet!
"Rest assured."
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, awakened, holding Elder Chiyo's other hand. "I will capture that guy, Sasori of the Red Sand..."
"I'm sorry... to trouble you..."
Elder Chiyo saw Gaara and a relieved smile appeared on her face. "I'll leave it... to you young people..."
The elder of Sand Village passed away.
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, had long known about Elder Chiyo's involvement in implanting the One-Tailed Shukaku in him and had already forgiven her after becoming Kazekage.
Now...
Gaara was a bit worried about the Shukaku issue.
Although Gaara and Shukaku had a bad relationship, always fighting each other, this time, he had limited Shukaku's reckless behavior to protect Sand Village, which indeed caused trouble for Shukaku.
"I want to visit Lady Tsunade and Lord Kagura."
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, lowered his head and continued speaking. "The ninja world must be vigilant about the threat of the Akatsuki..."
"..."
Hatake Kakashi and the Root ninja beside him both nodded.
Because whether it was Kakashi's teammate Uchiha Obito, or Sasuke's target, Itachi, they were all members of the Akatsuki.
Meanwhile,
Uchiha Obito had already escaped the pursuit of the Four Kage.
But before Uchiha Obito could catch his breath, he sensed another person in his Kamui space and found Deidara trying to self-destruct.
Obito stopped Deidara's self-destruction and immediately released him from the Kamui space to prevent him from discovering its secrets, ignoring the furious fool.
"Let's discuss with Pain first..."
After releasing Deidara, Obito's body slipped back into the Kamui space through a spatial vortex, planning to return quickly to the Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain to discuss the next steps.
However...
Just as Obito entered the Kamui space.
A cannonball suddenly appeared in the Kamui space!
Obito frowned, puzzled as the cannonball exploded, instantly blasting his body away!
At that moment of being blown away...
Obito realized how the cannonball got there!
Because his Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan had two eyes, one with him and one in Hatake Kakashi's socket!
"Kakashi, that fool... does he think this space is a garbage dump?"
~~~
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