Naruto let out a dry laugh, then involuntarily glanced back at Gaara's body. His expression darkened.
"Because..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
Might Guy gently patted him on the shoulder and sighed.
"Naruto, the dead cannot be brought back to life."
"Try to look on the bright side."
"At least you got your revenge."
Naruto shook his head.
"I only killed one member of the Akatsuki. There were several people who actually killed him."
Might Guy nodded.
"Of course, those people need to be dealt with too, but there's no need to rush."
Naruto could only nod.
Just then—
"Naruto-kun!"
A familiar and gentle voice suddenly rang out.
Without a doubt, it was Hinata.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Hinata's arrival meant that the battle on her side was over, and judging by her appearance, she was unharmed.
That was wonderful.
"Hina..."
Naruto was still forcing himself to smile as he turned toward Hinata and prepared to wave.
But—
"Boom!"
Hinata immediately rushed forward and threw herself into Naruto's arms.
Naruto was stunned.
"H-Hinata..."
Rock Lee and Neji exchanged glances before quietly letting go of Naruto, allowing Hinata to embrace him tightly.
Hinata, however, showed no intention of letting go.
Two streams of tears rolled down her fair cheeks.
"Naruto-kun... This, this is wonderful. You're really okay..."
Naruto had never been embraced so intimately by a girl before, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.
His body was already weak and exhausted, so he could only remain standing with Hinata supporting him.
After hesitating for a moment, he raised his hand and gently patted her back.
"It's alright, Hinata. I'm fine."
Hinata's delicate body trembled slightly in his arms. Realizing what she had done in front of everyone, her face gradually turned bright red.
"Ah..."
She let out a small cry and instinctively tried to pull away.
But then she realized Naruto was gently holding her as well.
For a moment, she felt both incredibly embarrassed and strangely happy.
She wanted to escape from his arms, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to leave.
Might Guy and the other men were completely at a loss for what to do. They could only pretend to be interested in the surrounding scenery.
Only Tenten openly watched the two of them, secretly giggling behind her hand.
Naruto eventually realized how awkward the situation had become and quickly released Hinata's waist.
"Haha... Haha..."
Hinata also hurriedly let go of him.
However, the moment she released him, Naruto's exhausted body collapsed toward the ground.
Hinata quickly caught him again.
This time, however, their interaction was purely that of friends.
"Are you really alright, Naruto-kun?"
Hinata's face was still bright red.
Naruto rubbed his nose as though nothing had happened.
"Of course!"
"What about your side? What happened to Grandma Chiyo?"
"And what about Sasori of the Red Sand?"
Hinata immediately lowered her head, a complicated expression appearing in her eyes.
"He's dead."
Everyone was inevitably excited by the news.
Although Hinata had worked together with Grandma Chiyo, defeating an Akatsuki member was still an incredible achievement.
However, judging from Hinata's expression, she didn't seem happy at all.
"Why do you look so troubled?" Naruto asked.
"B-Because..."
Before Hinata could finish, Grandma Chiyo's aged voice interrupted her.
"Because Sasori committed suicide."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"He committed suicide?!"
Grandma Chiyo slowly approached them. She was clearly badly injured and extremely weak.
Hinata immediately said, "Lee, Neji..."
The two nodded and helped Naruto stand.
Naruto felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
Meanwhile, Hinata hurried over to support Grandma Chiyo.
"I'm sorry. I was just so happy to see Naruto-kun that I got carried away..."
Despite her frail condition, Grandma Chiyo smiled warmly.
"I understand. I understand everything."
"I've lived this long. What haven't I seen? Hahaha..."
Hinata's face became even redder.
Might Guy looked at Grandma Chiyo.
"Grandma Chiyo, you said Sasori committed suicide. What exactly happened?"
Grandma Chiyo remained silent for a long time.
"Although Hinata and I did everything we could, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the two of us defeated him."
"However, throughout the battle, I always felt that he had already given up on living."
"It was almost as if he deliberately wanted to die by my hands..."
She turned toward Hinata.
"You felt it too, didn't you?"
Hinata silently nodded.
Grandma Chiyo sighed.
"Come with me. I'll show you."
The group followed her back to the previous battlefield.
The area was covered with countless fragments of puppets, broken mechanisms, and scattered pieces of equipment.
Amid the wreckage, between the puppets known as Father and Mother, lay the body of Sasori of the Red Sand.
It looked as though he had been killed.
But at the same time, it almost looked as though he had been embraced.
The moment Naruto saw the scene, he suddenly understood what Grandma Chiyo had meant.
Perhaps this was the scene Sasori had longed for the most.
To fall into the arms of his father and mother and finally sleep peacefully.
Everyone fell silent among the scattered remains of the puppets.
For a moment, the entire battlefield was completely still.
A sudden breeze swept across the area, blowing Sasori's red hair gently in the wind.
It looked like flames.
Perhaps, after all these years, Sasori no longer had to wait.
---
Everyone remained silent for a long time.
It wasn't until another group finally arrived that the silence was broken.
Kitsuchi of Iwagakure had arrived together with Asuma Sarutobi and Team 10.
Although they didn't understand what had happened, they could immediately sense the heavy and gloomy atmosphere.
Asuma looked at Gaara's corpse lying in Might Guy's arms and couldn't help sighing deeply.
"Was it already too late?"
Naruto lowered his head in disappointment.
At that moment, Grandma Chiyo glanced at Gaara.
"So that's how it was..."
"But we still couldn't make it here in time."
"Nevertheless, I still want to thank all of you."
"Especially you, Naruto."
Naruto shook his head.
"No. I didn't accomplish anything."
Grandma Chiyo smiled faintly.
"If someone like you is considered to have accomplished nothing..."
"Wouldn't that make us old people terribly ashamed?"
Naruto was rendered speechless.
Grandma Chiyo supported her frail body and slowly walked forward.
"Let me see Gaara."
Might Guy nodded and carefully lowered Gaara's body onto the ground.
Hinata explained,
"Grandma Chiyo was poisoned and severely injured. Although I did my best to detoxify her and treat her wounds..."
She lowered her head.
Grandma Chiyo smiled indifferently.
"Hinata, the truly deadly poison isn't the one Sasori prepared."
"It's old age."
"That's the one poison that cannot be cured."
"I know. I've already reached the end of my life."
Hinata immediately shook her head.
"Grandma Chiyo, please... Please don't say that."
Grandma Chiyo waved her hand.
"You don't need to comfort me."
"I've already fulfilled my final wish."
"I saw my grandson. I understood his feelings. And I was able to meet young people like you and Naruto."
"I have no regrets about dying."
"But there is still one more thing I can do in the final moments of my life."
With that, Grandma Chiyo reached out both hands.
A unique stream of Chakra began flowing from her body and into Gaara's corpse.
Hinata's eyes widened.
"Grandma Chiyo, what are you doing?!"
Naruto and the others were equally stunned.
Gaara was already dead.
No ordinary Medical Ninjutsu could bring someone back from the dead.
________________________________________
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