Silence.
It stretched on long enough that Chiyo's grip tightened around her cane, and Kankuro's palms grew slick with sweat.
Even Sakura forgot to breathe.
Then Sasori finally spoke.
His voice was hoarse and low, and the killing intent from before was gone.
"I belong to the Akatsuki."
He paused, and something complicated seeped into his tone.
"If I go back to the village… the leader won't let me go."
"And he won't let the village go, either."
Teizawa's eyebrows lifted slightly.
He didn't answer right away. He just looked at Sasori.
And in his gaze, a flicker of something passed through.
Satisfaction, maybe.
He's finally thinking about consequences.
That meant he was wavering.
"Worried about your leader, huh…"
Teizawa finally spoke, a trace of mockery in his voice.
"That's not your problem."
A flash of shock crossed Sasori's eyes.
"You know?"
Teizawa's mouth curved upward, the smile carrying a quiet, hidden edge.
"I know a lot more than you do."
He didn't explain.
He only extended a hand, palm up, toward Sasori.
"So come back."
"Are you going to drag your cheap junk 'art' into death and get laughed at by the entire shinobi world?"
"Or are you going to live, come back, and see what real… eternity looks like?"
Sasori fell silent again.
Wind threaded through the ruins, lifting scraps of paper into the air.
Chiyo watched with tight, trembling focus, cloudy eyes shining with hope.
She opened her mouth.
She wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing.
If her grandson could come back…
She would do anything.
Kankuro was just as tense.
He stared at Sasori, that legend every puppeteer dreamed of.
And a strange feeling rose in him.
Maybe… he really would come back.
Sakura still had no idea what was going on.
But she could sense it, faintly.
She was witnessing something important.
Time passed.
Long enough that everyone started to think Sasori would keep silent forever…
Then he spoke.
His voice was hoarse and low, carrying the exhaustion of compromise.
"I… I'll go back to the village with you."
At last, a satisfied curve appeared at Teizawa's mouth.
Chiyo nearly lost her cane.
Kankuro sucked in a sharp breath.
Sakura's eyes went wide.
Teizawa looked at Sasori and gave a small nod.
"Smart choice."
Then he turned, facing away from everyone, and started walking.
"Let's go."
"There's a lot of work waiting for you."
Sasori stayed where he was, watching that back.
And in his eyes, something began to shift, quietly, without anyone noticing the moment it happened.
Ding…
The System's prompt sounded in Teizawa's mind.
[Congratulations, Host. Choice completed: Saved Sasori, and incidentally stopped Danzo.]
[Reward granted: Aka Higi: Hyakki no Sōen (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets).]
Teizawa's smile deepened slightly.
Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
Plus Sasori himself.
This was a massive win.
And then, on a sudden impulse…
If he turned the hundred puppets controlled by that technique into steel instead of wood…
Wouldn't he be able to field an entire steel legion?
Just thinking about it made him look forward to it.
Teizawa shook his head and pulled his thoughts back.
Now wasn't the time.
There were still two problems left to deal with.
He shifted his gaze toward another direction.
That was where Kakashi and Might Guy were fighting Kakuzu…
Teizawa didn't linger.
He told Kankuro and the others to clean up the battlefield, then moved quickly back to the west side of the Yuyu District.
But…
By the time he arrived, the fight was already nearing its end.
No. It was fairer to say…
It was already over.
Across the ruins, black tendril remains lay scattered everywhere.
The pieces that had once been Kakuzu's [unclear] hung limp on the ground like shredded rags, still twitching faintly.
And Kakuzu himself…
Teizawa's eyes settled on the body that had completely lost its life.
This was a man who'd lived more than ninety years, who'd survived all the way from the Warring States era.
He'd even "assassinated the First Hokage"…
Or maybe he'd just thrown a kunai from eight miles away.
Either way, Kakuzu was now sprawled in a heap of rubble in an utterly miserable posture.
His body was torn apart.
His chest had three massive holes punched through it.
Those were where his remaining hearts had been.
Now the hearts were all gone, all destroyed.
Only empty wounds remained, leaking dark red blood.
His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles.
They looked like they'd been ripped apart by raw, brutal force.
The most lethal blow was the Raikiri (Lightning Blade) wound that ran straight through his chest.
That strike had precisely destroyed his final heart.
Ending his long life for good.
Teizawa withdrew his gaze.
Then he looked toward the two figures at the center of the battlefield.
Kakashi was on one knee, breathing hard.
His forehead protector had slipped crooked. Sweat had soaked his silver hair, leaving it pasted messily to his forehead.
His exposed right eye was half-lidded with exhaustion.
He looked like he'd just been hauled out of water, drenched from head to toe.
Like his whole body had been emptied out.
Teizawa gave him a quiet assessment in his head.
And beside him…
Guy stood with hands on his hips, chest out, chin up.
Under those thick brows, his eyes gleamed brilliantly.
His green jumpsuit was dusty, smeared with blood and grit.
But compared to Kakashi, his condition was the complete opposite.
"Ahahahaha!"
Guy threw his head back and laughed, the sound booming so loudly that even the loose stones around them seemed to tremble.
"Youth! This is youth! That guy finally fell to the fists of the Blue Beast!"
He turned to Kakashi, gave him a thumbs-up, and flashed a radiant grin.
"Kakashi! We won! This is the victory of burning blood!"
Kakashi looked up at him. His mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't say a word.
This idiot still has the energy to shout?
Kakashi's Raikiri had burned through so much chakra he could barely stand.
And Guy…
Kakashi glanced at how intact Guy looked and felt a deep, helpless exhaustion rise in his chest.
Monster.
Teizawa watched the scene, a faint smile appearing.
He walked forward, boots crunching on broken stone.
"Gentlemen," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to both of them.
"Thank you."
Kakashi lifted his head to look at him.
In those tired eyes, something complicated flickered.
Wariness. Appraisal. And something harder to name.
Guy was much more straightforward.
"Ahahahaha!"
He turned to Teizawa and beamed again.
"Kazekage-sama! No need for thanks! This is youth!"
"When allies are in trouble, we draw our blades! That's what hot-blooded men do!"
Teizawa's mouth twitched slightly.
Youth…
Was that the only word in this man's brain?
But Teizawa kept a proper smile on his face.
"Guy-san's strength really does live up to the name."
"Oh, no, no!"
Guy scratched his head, looking almost shy for once.
"It was mostly because Kakashi worked so well with me!"
"If he hadn't pulled the guy's attention, I wouldn't have landed that kick on his vital point so easily!"
Kakashi said nothing.
I wasn't "pulling attention." I almost got killed.
But he didn't even have the energy to complain.
He could only force himself upright and shake out his wet hair.
Teizawa's eyes rested on him, and a teasing curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Kakashi-san, you're…"
He looked him over from top to bottom, his tone carrying just the right amount of concern.
"Feeling a little… weak in the waist?"
Kakashi froze.
He looked up at Teizawa.
The exhaustion was still there in his eyes.
But now there was also something close to pure disbelief.
"Kazekage-sama is joking," Kakashi said. His voice was hoarse, but he still kept that lazy drawl.
"I just burned through a lot of chakra."
"Oh…"
Teizawa dragged the sound out, his smile deepening.
"Just chakra?"
He paused, and his eyes flicked briefly to Kakashi's waist.
"I thought maybe Kakashi-san read too many dirty little books and wore himself out early."
Kakashi fell silent.
(End of Chapter)
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