Sasori's Defeat and Chiyo's Sacrifice

After arriving at the Sand Village entrance with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Leaf Village special forces versus the Akatsuki, Temari guided us inside so we could treat the injured Kankuro.

"You bastard!!" The moment we stepped into the treatment room, Chiyo spotted Kakashi and charged at him with an attack. Naruto blocked it and shouted.

"What the hell?! Why are you attacking Kakashi-sensei?!"

"The White Fang of the Leaf Village... my son's murderer!"

"N-no! That's not—"

"Shut up!"

Chiyo tried to attack Kakashi again, but another elderly man stepped in front of her and spoke gently.

"Sister, look closer. He resembles him greatly, but he isn't the White Fang."

At his words, Chiyo played it off with a joke about her senility and let it slide. Once the situation calmed down, Sakura and Ino—who had learned medical ninjutsu—stepped forward to examine Kankuro.

"It looks like poison related to heavy metals. If we extract the toxin first and analyze it, I think we can create an antidote," Sakura said. Ino nodded, placed her hands on Kankuro's stomach, and began drawing out the poison with her chakra.

"I've removed all the poison. His life shouldn't be in danger anymore." Ino handed the extracted toxin to Sakura, who immediately started analyzing it to produce the antidote.

In the meantime, we talked with the now-conscious Kankuro to gather information. After listening to him, I asked Kakashi to summon his tracking ninja hounds and explained the plan to the others.

"Since they kidnapped Gaara, we can track them by following his scent. But it's possible the two enemies split up, so let's divide into two teams. One will follow Gaara's scent while the other tracks the scrap of Sasori's clothing that Kankuro had."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Once the operation was decided, Sakura and Ino returned with the completed antidote and had Kankuro drink it. They said he'd make a full recovery after some rest.

We were about to leave the village to track the Akatsuki using Kakashi's summoned hounds when Granny Chiyo announced she would join us.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"It's been a while. I should dote on my grandson a bit, shouldn't I?" She gave a dark chuckle at my concern. I knew Chiyo was essential for reviving Gaara, so I didn't stop her and allowed her to accompany us.

After tracking them for quite some time, we arrived before a massive boulder covered in what looked like talismans.

"Looks like they didn't split up after all," Kakashi said. Guy nodded, then shouted with fighting spirit as he threw a punch at the boulder.

"Haaah!"

Boom!!

Even with Guy's full power, the boulder didn't budge because of the barrier. Kakashi suggested they needed to remove the other four sealing tags that formed the barrier.

The team chosen to remove the tags was Guy, Neji, Rock Lee, and Sasuke. They split up to handle their tasks. Soon after, Guy's voice came through the radio.

The moment they tore off their tags and Kakashi removed the one on the boulder, Sakura smashed it with all her strength.

Kwaaang!!

"Kakashi, it looks like another trap is hidden here." Just like in the original story, removing the seals triggered a trap where they had to fight doppelgangers with identical abilities. It seemed they wouldn't be able to regroup with us anytime soon.

We entered the cave that had been blocked by the boulder. Inside, we found Gaara already collapsed on the ground, along with Sasori and Deidara. The moment Naruto saw them, he shouted.

"You bastards!! I won't let you get away with this! Gaara, wake up!"

Deidara sneered at Naruto's words. "So this guy's another jinchuriki? Hey! This one's already dead!"

"What?! Give Gaara back!!"

Deidara glanced at Sasori. "Sasori-san, can I take this one too? I'll use the corpse as bait to lure in the other jinchuriki."

"Do you have a death wish? The quota is one jinchuriki per person..."

"Just this once, Sasori-san! It's for my artistic inspiration!"

Ignoring the furious Sasori, Deidara had his clay bird swallow Gaara's body whole, then mounted the bird and took to the sky.

Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!

Whoosh!

Deidara dodged Itachi's jutsu and shouted when he saw him. "Huh?! Itachi? Even you're here?!"

"It's been a while."

"Thanks to you our organization nearly got wiped out, you know?!"

"Once we capture you two, it won't just end with the organization struggling."

"Hmph! I didn't expect you to show up too! But nothing's going to change!"

Deidara hurled clay birds at us as he shouted. The clay birds flew toward us before exploding simultaneously.

Kwaaang!!

After creating the explosion, Deidara fled on his clay bird. Kakashi and Itachi stopped Naruto from chasing after him and ran outside to pursue the enemy.

I calmed the fuming Naruto and turned my attention to the now-isolated Sasori. He was alone while we had seven people including myself, Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Chiyo. With more numbers than the original story, I figured we'd easily capture this Akatsuki member. I spoke to him casually.

"Hey, Sasori! You can't possibly block all of us by yourself. How about you just surrender?"

He looked at me silently before stabbing with his bladed tail.

Clang! His bladed tail couldn't pierce my iron wall. He looked at me with interest.

"So you're the one who caused trouble for our organization alongside Itachi?"

"What? The news has already spread that far?"

"Heh heh. Yeah, I admit it. With you here and Granny Chiyo as well... it would be impossible for me to fight everyone alone."

I laughed at Sasori's words. "Exactly, so just surrender! I won't kill you."

"Sure... if I were alone."

"Huh?"

"Get back!!"

Boom!!

At Hinata's shout, my companions behind me jumped away. A stranger slammed into the ground where we'd been standing. Moments later, four more enemies appeared behind him.

"Did they recruit new Akatsuki members?" I asked Sasori. He simply stared at us without answering.

Then one of the newcomers looked at me. "It's been a while, kid... You've grown a lot in two years."

"It's been a while? You know me?"

"Of course I know you... After all, you've ruined my plans multiple times, haven't you?"

Hearing his words, I pondered for a moment before a thought struck me. I muttered to myself.

"......Orochimaru?"

"What?! Orochimaru?"

Naruto and Sakura jumped in shock at my words and stared at him. The viewers seemed equally stunned by this unexpected development. Orochimaru smiled brightly at me and nodded.

"As expected, you're sharp. Because of you I lost Sasuke and many of my subordinates... I came here to repay you properly."

Beside the smiling Orochimaru stood two men and one woman, all looking thoroughly displeased.

"Jugo, Suigetsu, Karin?"

"Hoo~ How do you know so much? It makes me want to split your head open to see what's inside..." Orochimaru licked his lips while staring at me. I responded by raising my middle finger.

"Hmm? What kind of seal is that?"

I ignored Orochimaru's question. Not seeing Kabuto, I asked him about it.

"By the way, where's Kabuto?"

"Ah! That boy went to fetch Sasuke."

"Sasuke?!"

Naruto and Sakura glared at Orochimaru in shock upon hearing that Kabuto was targeting Sasuke. I had Sakura receive an antidote injection, then sent her to help Sasuke. Orochimaru didn't stop her, apparently unconcerned that someone like Sakura could interfere.

I turned to look at my other companions.

"Granny Chiyo, you'll have to fight Sasori with me... Naruto! Why don't you show Orochimaru how much stronger you've gotten?"

"Yeah! Leave it to me!"

I nodded at Naruto, assigned Jugo to Hinata, and Suigetsu to Ino and Tenten.

"They're all strong opponents, so don't push yourselves. Just hold out! I'll finish quickly and come help!"

At my signal, everyone scattered to face their assigned opponents. I quickly approached Karin as she ran toward Suigetsu and knocked her out with a chop to the back of her neck.

I set the unconscious Karin aside and ran toward where Chiyo and Sasori were fighting. Chiyo couldn't destroy Sasori's first puppet, Hiruko, so she was fighting defensively. But when she noticed me charging from behind, she used chakra threads she'd attached in advance to restrain Hiruko's tail.

Boom!! I jumped and smashed my fist into Hiruko's back shell, shattering it completely. Sasori escaped from inside the destroyed puppet the instant it broke. Chiyo was stunned when she saw his face.

"Why does he still look exactly like he did back then?" she muttered.

Sasori glanced at the destroyed Hiruko before turning to look at Chiyo.

"As expected... you attached chakra threads to Hiruko's tail. It really is you, Granny Chiyo."

As he spoke, he pulled out a scroll, unfurled it, and summoned a puppet.

"Th-that's!!" Chiyo gasped in horror at the puppet that resembled the Third Kazekage.

But I just frowned in disgust at the grotesque puppet.

Sasori hurled the Third Kazekage puppet at me while shouting.

"Die!"

Countless blades shot out from the puppet's arms as it flew toward me. But since the puppet wasn't particularly fast, I easily dodged and aimed for Sasori's real body.

Boom!!

"Oh~ You can block this?"

I had thrown a punch at Sasori's real body, but he used the ability of his human puppet to utilize ninjutsu from when he was alive. The Third Kazekage's iron sand blocked my attack. I hadn't expected him to stop it, so I reset my stance to attack again. But Sasori quickly formed hand seals and launched the iron sand high into the air.

The iron sand gathered in the sky, transformed into countless spikes, and rained down on me like a storm. One of Chiyo's summoned puppets blocked the attack aimed at me. I used that opening to charge at Sasori's real body once more. He tried to move the iron sand to defend himself again.

Shift.

The moment the sand moved to block his real body, I used the shift technique to instantly change direction, jumping upward and driving my fist into the Third Kazekage puppet.

Boom!!

Thud, thud, thud! My spinning upward punch smashed into the puppet's chest, causing it to explode and shatter. The iron sand collapsed and sank to the ground.

Watching this, Sasori removed his cloak bearing the Akatsuki symbol.

"It's been a long time since I used my own body... aside from when I first joined the Akatsuki."

Looking at his true form made me feel nauseous, but I held it in.

"Uh... sorry, but I was planning to take it easy on you? Looks like I need to finish this quickly."

I glanced around to check on my companions. Everyone was holding their own except Hinata, Ino, and Tenten who looked like they were in a bit of danger. I decided to end this fast so I could help them, and released the Eight Gates.

Kwaaaang!!!

I charged at him with incredible speed. The shockwaves from my footsteps alone shattered the ground behind me. Sasori urgently stretched out his hand and fired flames at me. I used the Rasengan to instead absorb the flames.

Whoosh!

Kwa-kwa-kwaang!! Crunch!

When I destroyed his body with the Rasengan, the biological tissue used to channel chakra spilled out from the puppet. Ignoring it, I used a skill on the broken puppet and the scroll attached to its back.

My entire body became engulfed in flames. I gathered all that fire into my palm. Then I charged forward, swinging my arm to spray the flames at the puppet.

"Please die!"

Whoosh!!

The flames consumed the puppet completely. With no more puppets left to control, Sasori's exposed biological tissue was defenseless. I sealed it inside a Lock & Lock container and locked it tight.

I put the container with Sasori inside my bag and looked at Chiyo. She had a complicated expression seeing Sasori defeated so easily, but when I asked her to handle Jugo, she nodded. She brought out her secret technique—ten puppets—and sent them flying at Jugo.

In the meantime, I ran toward Suigetsu who was swinging his sword at Tenten.

Clang!!

Kwa-kwa-kwaang!!

I used a kunai to parry Suigetsu's sword, causing him to stagger and leave an opening. I immediately followed up with a spinning kick that sent him flying. He crashed into the wall and lost consciousness.

I looked at Orochimaru. The moment our eyes met, he and Jugo fled. A short while later, Kakashi and Itachi returned carrying Gaara's body.

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about Deidara?"

"Itachi burned him to death."

Apparently Deidara had tried to lure Naruto away while escaping on his bird, but when he saw Kakashi and Itachi chasing him instead, he decided to run. Itachi used Amaterasu on him, causing him to fall from the bird and burn to death.

"Then I'll clean up here, so you two should hurry and help Sasuke!"

I wasn't sure if Orochimaru had officially joined the Akatsuki, but since he had appeared here and was targeting Sasuke, the two of them quickly ran off to assist.

Afterward, I told Hinata, Ino, and Tenten they did well. But they blamed themselves for being too weak to be of any real help. I comforted them before walking over to Naruto, who was beside Gaara.

He was crying as he looked at Gaara's corpse. Turning to Chiyo, he shouted in anger.

"If you guys from the Sand Village hadn't sealed a monster inside Gaara, this never would have happened! What the hell is a jinchuriki anyway!"

Naruto's rage came from seeing someone in the same situation as himself. Chiyo silently approached Gaara, placed her hand on him, and activated her technique.

Naruto shouted at her, asking what she was doing. But I—who knew the original story—along with the medical ninja Ino and the Byakugan user Hinata, all understood what Chiyo was doing.

"Granny Chiyo is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying to revive Gaara..."

At my answer, the surprised Naruto turned to look at Gaara.

"Is that even possible...?"

Those of us who knew the truth had grim expressions, but Naruto was too focused on Gaara to notice. When Chiyo began struggling from lack of chakra, Naruto placed his hand over hers and shared his own chakra.

"I'm glad that someone like you appeared in this ninja world created by foolish old people... Naruto, this is this old woman's wish. You're the only one who can understand Gaara's pain, and Gaara understands your pain as well. Will you help Gaara?"

Naruto nodded at her words. Soon after, Gaara was revived. However, Chiyo—who had used her own life force to bring him back—collapsed and drew her final breath.

I looked at Granny Chiyo with a bitter expression while my companions shed tears in sorrow. Naruto thought she had simply fainted from exhaustion. I told him that Granny Chiyo had sacrificed herself to revive Gaara and passed away.

Upon hearing this, Naruto became depressed but clenched his fist as if making a vow. Soon after, Guy's team—who had broken through the trap—returned, along with Kakashi, Itachi, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"What about Kabuto?"

"When the unfamiliar guy went berserk, he used him as a decoy and escaped with Orochimaru."

From the story, it seemed Orochimaru and Kabuto had used the berserk Jugo as bait to escape. We took the captured Karin, the still-unconscious Gaara, and Granny Chiyo's body back toward the Sand Village. On the way, we met Temari and the Sand Village ninja.

I told everyone about Chiyo's sacrifice. The villagers all grieved and shed tears. When Gaara finally opened his eyes a while later, the Sand Village people rejoiced and thanked us profusely.

Gaara looked at the celebrating villagers, then at us who had come to rescue him. He bowed his head and quietly spoke while looking at Chiyo, who had sacrificed herself to save him.

"Everyone, please observe a moment of silence for Granny Chiyo..."

After the moment of silence, we arrived at the Sand Village. Guy and Kakashi sent a messenger bird to Tsunade with their mission report. We decided to rest in the Sand Village for three days before returning to the Leaf Village.