Temari was very angry and, ignoring Kazuto's breakdown, mercilessly kicked him while he was down, questioning him, "Then why is it okay for Naruto, but not for the Uchiha clan? Just because the Uchiha clan is related to you, but Naruto isn't, so even if he's the Fourth Hokage's son, it's fine, right? What if this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were your own son? For the sake of the village, would you let your son become a demon fox, reviled by everyone and brainwashed all day long?"
"When your son dies, you and your other friends and family will all..."
Temari wanted to continue scolding, but Gaara held her back. Only then did she angrily restrain herself, crossing her arms and standing in the back.
Temari's words stopped, but they kept echoing in Kazuto's mind, deafening, leaving him dazed, horrified, and despairing.
When they were in the Imperial City, he had inadvertently mentioned Hiruzen to the civilians, wanting to know why they loathed him so much now.
But the answers were always...
"Why bring that up? How unlucky!"
"Hey buddy, can you not bring up such unlucky things?"
"I'm having a happy day, do you really have to bring me such bad luck?"
Now, he finally understood.
For the sake of the village?
Then what about those three thousand ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan?
Both being descendants of Hokage, why were Asuma and Naruto two extremes?
Saying it was for the village was actually a cover for the Sarutobi clan's corruption and abuse of power.
He thought back to his previous actions.
Given those arrogant clan members, they should have come to find these two newly appeared Imperial Guards to see who they were but they didn't.
Why?
It was because the clan members realized they were hostile toward Hiromi.
So, the clan members, knowing nothing, just stood by Hiromi's side and were hostile toward them.
You have to realize, they were Hiromi's parents, his closest people!
He had actually betrayed his own son like this...
Kazuto's eyes were wide with rage, blood-red intensity filling them as if it were about to drip out. His ocular power surged wildly, his expression filled with pain and remorse.
Hiromi...
Before, he didn't want to see him and now, he didn't dare to.
"Kazuto." Shizuka hugged him, her heart aching for him.
Kazuto stiffened, returning from his world of pain. A vague sense of relief washed over him.
He patted her hand, his voice low and repressed. "I'm sorry, I've made you suffer."
Shizuka said, "Let's go back and have a good talk with Hiromi, have a meal."
"Mm." Kazuto nodded.
In the back, Temari saw this scene and felt quite smug.
"See, it was just a matter of a few words, why make it so negative?"
Gaara glanced at her without speaking.
Kazuto's matter was indeed a matter of a few words. However, since Kazuto could become an enemy of Hiromi for the sake of one Hiruzen, couldn't he kill Hiromi for the sake of a second Hiruzen?
All attempts to retain are merely delaying the arrival of tragedy.
Perhaps with good luck, there won't be a second Hiruzen.
But people are selfish.
Especially people like him, who would rather let others die than get hurt themselves.
Like Rin, who took care of Hiromi for five years. When Hiromi told her to leave, she left, and he didn't miss her at all.
Is Hiromi cruel and heartless?
No, it's because Hiromi is afraid of being betrayed, afraid of being hurt, so he built a thick protective shield around his heart. Gaara is the same.
That is why Temari went through great pains to break through that shield and successfully enter Gaara's heart.
Shisui meticulously raised Hiromi and would meet him at the mountain behind the village every day to bring him home. Now, no matter what happens, he will unwaveringly stand behind Hiromi.
To Hiromi, Shisui is family.
To Gaara, Temari is family.
And Kazuto and Shizuka are family to Hiromi, just like Kankuro is family to Gaara. But it is only a blood relationship.
If they stand in his way, he will still kill them. But that does not prevent him from helping Temari resurrect them.
Among people like them, emotions are distinguished most clearly, and are also the most cold-blooded.
At this moment, Karin who was leading the way, felt a great sense of unease. She immediately closed her eyes and used the jutsu unique to the Uzumaki bloodline—Kagura Shingan.
Instantly, she sensed all the Chakra within a radius of several dozen kilometers.
Enemies... less than a kilometer away from her!
Karin opened her eyes, her expression filled with terror. "Enemy attack!"
At the same time, she immediately retreated to Kazuto's side, shrinking back.
"Two Kage-level! Two Jinchuriki!"
As for why she could identify Jinchuriki, it was because she had seen Naruto and learned that he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so she knew what Jinchuriki Chakra was like.
The test subjects nearby still possessed the will to survive. They fled in panic, but because their hands were shackled, they could only huddle together, retreating constantly while trembling.
Kazuto and Shizuka wore Imperial Guard masks and stood at the very front.
Temari and Gaara stood to one side.
As for Karin, whose only means of attack was the Adamantine Sealing Chains, she huddled in the back, praying not to get caught in the crossfire. She was different from these people, she was afraid of dying.
Kazuto glared ahead. With his keen Chakra detection, he quickly discovered the six people lying in ambush.
"Come out, Jiraiya, Chiyo."
The next second, the leaves in the canopy rustled. Immediately after, six people appeared before them.
"Who are you?" Jiraiya asked solemnly, his hands clasped together with sage markings appearing on his face.
He could sense that the Uchiha Imperial Guard before him was very strong, it was likely he possessed a Mangekyo.
But he wasn't Fugaku.
Could it be that the Uchiha clan had gained another Mangekyo user?
Kazuto did not reply, instead sweeping his gaze over the six people in front of him.
Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki from Iwagakure.
Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Chiyo, the Kazekage Advisor of Sunagakure, and a Genin child.
Samui, a Jonin from Kumogakure, and a Genin child... no, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
In Kazuto's eyes, a blood-stained, pristine white flower appeared. He saw right through Omoi, meeting the gaze of the Eight-Tails deep within his heart.
Gyuki's heart trembled, feeling an immense sense of crisis.
"Omo..."
Before it could finish its words, it was forcibly crushed by Kazuto.
"Gyuki-sama? Gyuki-sama?" The already pessimistic white-haired youth, Omoi, became even more pessimistic after encountering such an event.
"We're dead, we're dead, Gyuki-sama was crushed by him! Samui-sama, run! Let's run!" He grabbed Samui's arm.
But the next second, he shook his head, his face turning even paler.
"No... it's no use, he will definitely be able to catch up to us."
"What do we do, what do we do..."
Omoi's face turned even paler.
Although his muttering was very quiet, everyone present was no simple person, and they heard it easily.
Roshi, Jiraiya, and Chiyo glanced at Omoi, thinking to themselves, 'Gyuki... so he is the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.'
Immediately after, Roshi and Jiraiya swept their eyes over Kankuro. They had originally thought Kankuro might be the One-Tail Jinchuriki, but now it seemed he was not. And Chiyo was even less likely to be a Jinchuriki. After all, if a Jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beast also dies.
Then what were they here for?
It could only be...
They cast their gaze upon Gaara and Temari opposite them.
'Could Gaara be the Jinchuriki? Has Sunagakure's Jinchuriki defected?' They speculated in their hearts.
Chiyo noticed their gazes, snorted coldly, and stared at Gaara and Temari, asking, "What? You don't recognize me anymore?"
Temari shuddered and opened her mouth, wanting to shout, but remembering something, she choked, unable to call out.
For a moment, retreating wasn't right, and advancing wasn't right either, she could only stand there awkwardly.
In the end, it was Gaara who stepped out, blocking in front of her, which allowed her to avoid the awkwardness.
Gaara met their gaze coldly.
Chiyo's expression turned cold as she said to Roshi and Jiraiya, "These two defectors from Sunagakure—let Sunagakure handle them, how about that?"
Jiraiya looked at Roshi and Samui, and seeing that neither of them spoke, he smiled and said, "That is only natural."
Chiyo and Kankuro walked to one side alone and looked at Gaara and Temari with icy gazes, signaling them to follow.
Gaara's expression was grim, but he felt no fear as he walked up. Temari pursed her lips, her eyes determined as she followed.
The four of them entered the forest and disappeared, no one stopped them.
Soon, sounds of sand surging and wood creaking came from that direction. It seemed the battle was extremely intense.
As for the remaining two Uchiha Imperial Guards and the red-haired girl, Roshi said to Samui, "You take that little girl."
Samui nodded, took Omoi by the hand, and stared at Karin, signaling her to follow.
Karin widened her eyes, pointing at herself in disbelief. "Me?"
Samui stopped, her face as cold as if she were expressionless, staring at her as if to say: "Since you chose to hide, let's see if they can protect you."
Karin swallowed a mouthful of saliva, looking hopefully at Kazuto and Shizuka, wishing they could protect her.