Deidara was thinking about what to do; his clay was running low, and these two looked ready to charge him at any second.
A spatial swirl suddenly warped the air behind him, and Tobi materialized with a cheerful wave.
"Time to go, Deidara-senpai!" Tobi chirped, his voice high-pitched and playful.
Deidara did not turn around, keeping his eyes locked on Gai and Lee. "What about Sasori?"
"Oh, him?" Tobi replied, tilting his masked head as he spoke in a bright, sunny tone. "Well, he's dead! Went kaboom, then he was stabbed in the heart!"
Tobi reenacted the heart stabbing like he was in a low-budget movie.
"And you didn't help him?!"
Deidara asked with a brief glare.
Tobi waved his hands with a frightened voice, "You must be kidding, right? What could little ole' me have done? I'm just an intern, remember, not the fighting sort like my nine senpai. Oh wait, eight senpai now!" Tobi gasped, two hands on the side of his face as he just came to a sudden realization: "Deidara, do you think I'm about to be promoted? Yay! All hail Sasori-Senpai!"
Deidara's eye twitched at the sheer disrespect, but before he could scream at his new partner, Tobi activated his technique. The spatial swirl expanded, wrapping around both of them. In a blink, the air flattened, leaving only empty mountain rock behind.
"Gai-sensei, that was very weird."
Lee, the one who was usually considered a 'weird' person himself, spoke up with a very confused expression.
Gai nodded to his student, clapping him on the back as he thought of the technique the…. 'intern' used to escape.
"Right you are, Lee. Right you are."
'Space/Time Ninjutsu, like the Flying Raijin.'
Gai thought with a sense that the one in the orange mask wasn't as big a fool as he acted; he didn't have the evidence to support that, but Gai felt it in his gut.
"Well, Lee, let's regroup with the others."
Gai ordered before calling out to Tenten, the group of three leaving to rejoin the rest.
---
The three of them stepped back through the opening, immediately noticing the heavy, suffocating silence hanging over the group.
Gai and Lee dropped their battle stances when they saw Sakura standing unscathed among the piles of wooden splinters, while Karin and Naruto knelt on the ground by Gaara's unmoving body.
Tenten jogged up first, looking around. "Looks like things were just as chaotic inside. Is it over?"
"Sasori is dead," Neji said, stepping forward as his Byakugan faded. "But we have a bigger problem. The Kazekage isn't waking up."
Naruto stared down at his friend with a sad expression, Karin putting a hand on his back in silent support. "His chakra is entirely gone."
Chiyo walked over slowly, looking from Naruto's face down to the pale, lifeless features of the young Kazekage. She stayed silent for a long moment, a quiet determination settling into her expression as she realized what she had to do next.
Chiyo knelt beside Gaara, her old joints popping in the quiet room. She gently placed both of her hands flat against the young Kazekage's chest, her breathing shallow as she looked up at Naruto.
"Boy, come here," Chiyo said, her voice softer than usual. "I need your strength."
Naruto wiped his face and moved closer, dropping to his knees opposite her. He looked down at her hands, then back up at her face, confused by the sudden request. "What are we doing? Can you save him?"
"Just place your hands over mine," Chiyo replied, ignoring the question as she closed her eyes. "When I tell you, focus on sending your chakra directly into me. Do not stop until I tell you to."
Naruto didn't hesitate. He thrust his hands forward, pressing them firmly over the elder kunoichi's wrinkled knuckles. He didn't know what kind of medical jutsu she was planning, but the raw desperation in her face was enough to make him trust her completely. "I'm ready. Just tell me when."
Beside them, Sakura and Karin watched in silence, their medical and sensory instincts picking up the massive shift in the air as Chiyo began to gather the core of her life energy.
He didn't just feel her using his energy as a booster. Through the direct connection, his sharp senses picked up a terrifying truth: Chiyo wasn't performing a standard medical jutsu. The chakra she was generating was pulling directly from her own life force, burning away her vitality to spark a soul back into Gaara's empty vessel. Her physical condition was already starting to drop under the strain.
Naruto gritted his teeth, his grip tightening over her hands as he realized the exact price she was paying. He didn't pull away, knowing what Gaara meant to the Sand, but he looked directly into her eyes with grim understanding. "You're trading your life for his."
Chiyo offered a faint, tired smile, not breaking her focus. "Just keep the chakra steady, Naruto."
Naruto did not speak another word. He closed his eyes and increased the output of his chakra, ensuring the flow was perfectly stable so her body did not have to work any harder than necessary to convert it.
Sakura knelt beside them, her medical training telling her everything she needed to know. She placed her hands gently on Chiyo's shoulders, careful not to disrupt the jutsu. She channeled a steady stream of her own chakra into Chiyo's body, stabilizing her organs and keeping her alive long enough to finish the transfer.
A sudden, sharp breath rattled through Gaara's chest.
The cold color of his skin began to fade, replaced by a faint warmth as his heart gave a heavy thud beneath Chiyo's hands.
Chiyo slumped forward, her head resting against Gaara's chest as her hands slipped away. Her eyes drifted open one last time, looking up at Naruto.
"The future of the sand and the leaf is in good hands," Chiyo whispered, her voice fading before her eyes closed for the final time.
Gaara's eyelids fluttered open, his green eyes slowly focusing on the open sky above before drifting down to the faces surrounding him. He stared at Naruto, then looked down at Chiyo's limp form resting against his chest.
"Naruto..." Gaara croaked, his voice raw and dry. "What... happened?"
Naruto didn't answer immediately. He slowly pulled his hands back from Chiyo's cold knuckles, his face shadowed as he kept his head lowered. He took a quiet breath, mastering his expression before looking up to meet Gaara's gaze.
"She brought you back," Naruto said softly, nodding down at the elder kunoichi. "She traded her life force to bring you back. She believed in you, Gaara. And she believed in the future we're going to build."
Gaara lay still, processing the weight of the sacrifice. He reached up, his trembling hand resting on Chiyo's shoulder. A profound, heavy silence settled over the entire group as the reality of her death fully set in.
Sakura gently lifted her hands from Chiyo's shoulders, her active forehead seal finally fading back to normal. She checked the woman's pulse one last time, simply shaking her head to confirm what they all already knew. Karin stepped back, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, while Neji stood guard near the opening, his head lowered in a silent display of respect for the Sand elder.
Naruto reached down, offering his hand to Gaara and pulling him up onto his feet. Gaara stumbled slightly, his muscles still weak from the extraction, but Naruto caught him, slinging his friend's arm over his shoulder to support his weight.
Sakura stepped forward, gently lifting Chiyo's frail body into her arms.
"Everyone, grab on," Naruto said, his voice calm and steady.
Karin, Neji, Sakura, Tenten, Gai, and Lee quickly closed the distance, each placing a hand on Naruto's shoulders and arms. With Gaara secured at his side, Naruto focused his mind on the signature of the marked kunai he had left behind just outside the entrance of the Hidden Sand.
In a single, silent flash, the entire group vanished from the ruined mountain.
They materialized instantly on the desert sands just outside the main canyon entrance of the village. The sudden shift in wind kicked up a small flurry of dust around them.
Ahead of them, a sea of Sand shinobi and citizens surrounded the natural passage into the village. Baki, Temari, and Kankuro stood at the front of the crowd, their faces tight with anxiety as they awaited any news of their leader and brother. The entire village seemed to hold its breath.
As the dust cleared, the silence broke all at once.
Temari and Kankuro ran forward first, their faces tearing up as they saw their brother standing. Before they could even reach him, the surrounding sea of Sand ninja and citizens surged past the canyon opening, swarming the rescue team.
Dozens of hands reached out to help support Gaara, lifting his arms off Naruto's shoulders as a massive wall of cheers and happy shouts echoed through the canyon. Tears streamed down the faces of hardened shinobi and young villagers alike. They crowded around the young Kazekage, calling his name and welcoming him home with wide smiles, completely overwhelming him with their relief.
Gaara looked around at the crying, cheering faces of the people he had sworn to protect, a faint, genuine look of wonder washing over his features as he realized just how much his village truly loved him.
A few steps back, the Leaf ninja quietly watched the celebration. Sakura held Chiyo securely in her arms, her head lowered in respect, waiting for the initial wave of joy to clear so the village could properly honor the elder who had made it all possible.
Chiyo's brother, Ebizo, walked out from the crowd, his steps slow but steady. The cheering of the villagers faded slightly into a respectful murmur as he approached Sakura. He looked down at his sister's peaceful face in her arms, his eyes heavy with a deep, quiet sadness.
"She did it, didn't she?" Ebizo asked softly, looking up at Sakura and the surrounding Leaf ninja.
Sakura nodded, her grip on the old woman remaining gentle. "She traded her life force to save Gaara. She chose this."
Ebizo closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting out a slow breath. When he opened them, he looked at Naruto, Gai, and the rest of the team. "My sister was stubborn. But she loved this village, and it seems she found something in you, Leaf ninja, that made her believe in the future again. Thank you for bringing her home."
Gai stepped forward, placing a hand over his heart in a respectful bow. "She fought with the true spirit of a ninja, Elder Ebizo. It was an honor."
Before the conversation could continue, Gaara raised his hand high, drawing the attention of every single person in the canyon. The cheers and crying stopped completely, replaced by an absolute silence as the villagers turned to their leader.
Gaara looked across the sea of faces, his voice steady but carrying over the entire crowd. "I am home because of a sacrifice. Lady Chiyo gave her life so that I could stand before you today. She did not just save your Kazekage; she invested her final breath into the future of our village and the bonds we share with our allies."
He paused, looking down at Chiyo in Sakura's arms before meeting the eyes of his people. "Let us never forget her name, or the price she paid to ensure our future."
The crowd stood in absolute silence as Gaara's words carried to each of them. For a few seconds, nobody moved, the weight of the news sinking heavily into the hearts of the villagers. Then, a collective wave of quiet gasps and hushed whispers rippled through the front lines as people looked toward Sakura, their eyes filling with fresh tears of grief for the legendary elder.
Gaara let his hand fall, his gaze sweeping across the sorrowful faces of his people out on the open desert.
"Do not lower your heads in mourning," Gaara commanded, his voice growing firmer, carrying to each of them out on the vast expanse of sand. "Lady Chiyo did not give her life for us to weep in the dirt. She gave it so the Hidden Sand could move forward with a smile."
The murmurs quieted down instantly as the villagers looked back up at their leader.
"We will not hold a traditional funeral of sorrow," Gaara announced, looking down at Ebizo and then back to the crowd. "Instead, we will celebrate life. We will honor her memory by celebrating the future she protected, the allies who stood by us, and the unbreakable bonds that saved this village today."
A powerful murmur of agreement passed through the ninja and citizens. Ebizo let out a soft, emotional breath, a faint smile touching his lips as he nodded in deep approval of the Kazekage's decision. Temari and Kankuro stepped up to Gaara's side, their expressions shifting from grief to pride as the crowd began to nod, ready to honor Chiyo exactly the way she would have wanted.
"To Lady Chiyo!"
A brave citizen shouted, followed by everyone, even the Leaf ninja.
The collective shout rolled across the open desert, a thunderous roar that completely shattered the lingering grief. Thousands of voices joined together, transforming the somber atmosphere into a powerful wave of gratitude that echoed far into the sky.
Ebizo closed his eyes, a single tear cutting through the dust on his aged cheek. He looked at Gaara standing strong, surrounded by a generation of young shinobi who refused to let sorrow dictate their path. Looking past them toward the horizon, he smiled softly.
'I want to see what you decided to sacrifice yourself for, so bear with it a little while longer, sis. I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.'
- Chapter End -
Quick note about Anonny_Anonymous's (He's the one who keeps complaining for anyone confused) comments:
I've already blocked the account and removed the repeated remarks calling parts of the story "forced." For clarity, Shukaku's extraction was not forced; two of Nawaki's wood clones replaced Kakazu and Hidan. Those clones are considerably stronger, which is why the process moved faster. That detail is in the chapter where Nawaki is introduced.
I'm not going to keep responding to the same complaints about the sealing jutsu, the Flying Raijin description, or similar points. They're repetitive. Readers are free to continue or stop at any time.
To everyone else who's actually reading and leaving useful feedback, thank you. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.