Boom~
Just as Karin was about to punch the rock, her movements froze, her eyes widened, she leaped back with all her might, the explosion that followed hurled fragments of rock everywhere, a white figure flew through them as it shot towards the sky.
-Hahaha! I have the Kazekage!- Deidara's voice rang out as he flew away on his large clay bird.
Gaara was clearly tied up by the bird's tail.
The group frowned, they were about to give chase, but a wave of iron sand rushed directly toward them.
Shocked, they quickly dodged. From the dark cave, a figure slowly emerged, Sasori, in his 'youthful' form, with the Third Kazekage puppet now floating beside him. He smiled at them, clearly preventing them from pursuing Deidara.
Sasuke didn't hesitate, speaking up. -Karin, The two of you go after Gaara, I'll deal with this guy.
Karin pursed her lips, annoyed at receiving orders from Sasuke, but still nodded and walked away.
Chiyo stared at Sasori's figure, still frozen in thought.
-How... how is this possible?- She couldn't believe it, Sasori looked exactly as she had last seen him.
-Hello, Grandma Chiyo.- Sasori smiled at Chiyo, however, his smile lacked any warmth.
Chiyo's fists clenched, clearly in pain. Looking at the figure of the Third Kazekage floating beside Sasori while the iron sand still swirled across the ground, she couldn't help but understand everything. -So... you even perfected that forbidden jutsu, and besides, the Third Kazekage, you actually killed him... Sasori, why?
Sasori simply scoffed, normally he wouldn't respond, but Chiyo was special. -Because he was in the way, and... because it was his fault.
Chiyo's heart tightened. -In the end, you still can't let it go, can you?
-Can you do it?- Sasori looked at Chiyo, his smile fading.
Chiyo didn't answer, she couldn't, but while she channeled all her hatred into the White Fang and Konoha, Sasori blamed everyone involved, especially Suna.
In his opinion, if it weren't for the Kazekage wanting to join the war, his parents wouldn't have died, the blame, above all, lay with him.
Neither of them spoke until Sasuke did. -Chiyo, you can go first and help Karin retrieve Gaara.
Chiyo didn't answer, her heart was in pieces. The old woman became a blur as she chased after Karin, her head down, but tears still left a wet trail wherever she went.
-Sasori... you know I was also in favor of the war back then, so... why didn't you kill me?- Chiyo asked. She was already far away, Sasori couldn't hear, but she didn't need an answer anyway, so she didn't ask.
At this point, the answer wouldn't change at all.
Sasori was a rogue ninja, an enemy who attacked not just one, but two Kazekages, killing one and kidnapping the other.
Chiyo only dared to ask herself because she knew the answer herself, perhaps, in her grandson's cold heart, there was only a last vestige of warmth that belonged to her.
Chiyo knew this, and since she didn't need to deal with it herself, she didn't want to stay and watch the death of the only family she had left.
Was leaving a sign of weakness? Chiyo thought so, even though Sasuke had asked her to go, she still considered it a sign of weakness, however...
That's her grandson.
So, tears were still streaming down her face as she ran away.
Sasori... don't worry, when this is over, you, me, and your parents can finally be together. At that moment, I hope we can put aside any position, at that moment, I hope to sit with you once more and stroke your hair.
My grandson...
//-//
Sasuke didn't move, nor did Sasori, his eyes lingered for a moment longer on where Chiyo was, but that was all. He then turned his gaze back to Uchiha Sasuke.
Well, Deidara really had 'bad luck', he really expected Sasuke to pursue him, now it seemed like he was the one who had to kill the Uchiha.
Sasuke frowned at that moment, because looking at Sasori with his Sharingan active, even though he wasn't a Hyuga, the Sharingan could still see chakra, he saw that Sasori's entire chakra network looked strange.
Normally, chakra was concentrated below the abdomen, like a reservoir, however, looking at Sasori's body, he saw that his chakra wasn't concentrated in the abdomen, but in the chest, where the heart should be.
Sasuke didn't think much about it, drawing his sword from its sheath, he looked at Sasori with indifferent eyes.
Jugo's request was clear, avoid killing if possible.
Well, they still had to act a little, so Sasuke didn't use genjutsu, instead, his sword was directly covered by a stream of lightning chakra.
The next moment, he lunged forward, Sasori's eyes opening slightly, leaping back as the Third Kazekage's puppet advanced, the puppet raising its hands, a wave of iron sand heading directly towards Sasuke.
Sasuke changed his movement, trying to escape, but the wave was too large. His Sharingan spun, directly opening the Mangekyo Sharingan, and with an explosion of chakra, a huge purple colossus appeared.
The colossus was only partially formed, leaving only the upper part with formed muscles, but without armor. The force of the wave threw Sasuke directly backward, but he controlled the Susanoo to swing its sword and deflect the force of the wave.
Sasori raised an eyebrow.
Well, this guy would make a great puppet... this power is really good.
Sasori's interest was completely piqued.