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In the dark dawn of Sunagakure, Chiyo stared at the faint light shimmering within the endless swirl of sand.
Back then… she could have stopped it. Yet she had watched, helpless, as the young man who aspired to become Kazekage was led into a den of death.
She didn't believe she had been wrong. That was the strange part. Yet, for days, an interrogation from the depths of her soul had tormented her.
An interrogation from the part of a shinobi's spirit that did not rot with the body.
A figure approached through the sandstorm. "You are Lady Chiyo of the Sand."
Chiyo turned, her eyes dead. "Who are you?"
"My name is Kabuto Yakushi. You could say I was an acquaintance of Sasori of the Red Sand."
Chiyo's voice was ice. "An acquaintance? My reclusive grandson was never one for friends. You're his enemy, aren't you? Come seeking revenge against this old woman."
Click! The concealed puppet arm beneath her sleeve activated its mechanisms, poison needles primed to fire.
The man's features grew clearer in the swirling grit: a young man with silver-grey hair and glasses that matched his scholarly appearance.
"You misunderstand. I was once Sasori's subordinate—under his control via a jutsu, of course. That technique was broken many years ago. I am here today to convey Sasori of the Red Sand's 'last words.'"
Last… words?
The deadness in Chiyo's eyes violently contracted, then dimmed completely.
All these years, believing she had seen through the world, waiting for death while fishing in silence… her only remaining hope had been to see her grandson one last time.
And now… the news she received was that he would never return.
"Sasori… is dead? Who killed him?"
"I can tell you Sasori's story. But first… could you perhaps put away your 'puppet arm'?"
A sharp glint flashed in Chiyo's eyes. This modified puppet arm was a secret unknown to outsiders.
So… he truly had come prepared.
"Fine."
She openly displayed the arm, then retracted the mechanisms.
"Speak."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "The story is somewhat long. Allow me to elaborate."
…
"The Akatsuki? Wasn't that an organization from Amegakure during the Second Great Shinobi War? Wiped out entirely by Hanzo of the Salamander?"
As the former rival of the demigod Hanzo, Chiyo couldn't help but interrupt upon hearing Sasori had joined the Akatsuki.
"Ah," Kabuto said, "but the Akatsuki of today bears no resemblance to its original intent. They are a terror active in the shadows of the shinobi world. Their ultimate goal is to hunt the Tailed Beasts!"
Chiyo was shaken. "Hunt… the Tailed Beasts! You don't mean—!"
Kabuto pushed his glasses up, his tone grave. "Correct. The Akatsuki is the very organization that abducted Gaara three days ago, attempting to seize the One-Tail, Shukaku, for themselves!"
This series of blows shattered Chiyo's composure. "You're saying the ones who took that boy… are the organization Sasori served!?"
"Yes," Kabuto confirmed. "Sasori didn't merely join the Akatsuki. He assassinated the former Third Kazekage and turned him, along with countless other shinobi who fell by his hand, into human puppets. He even transformed himself into one."
"He…"
Chiyo staggered back, leaning against a wall as if she had aged ten years in an instant.
The grandson she had waited decades for had secretly committed unforgivable atrocities behind her back.
She sank into deep self-blame. "It's my fault. It's my fault Sasori never had a proper childhood! If only I had stopped his parents from going to the battlefield! Damn that White Fang of Konoha! He ruined Sasori's childhood… and his future!"
Kabuto's expression was complex. "The past is set. But the future can still be changed."
Chiyo's gaze sharpened. "What are you trying to say, young man?"
"Even though Sasori walked the wrong path," Kabuto said, "deep down, he never forgot what was truly important. Before his death, he found his own form of eternity. His final request was entrusted to us: to please ensure the puppets of 'Father' and 'Mother' are passed down…"
Chiyo's eyes widened. "He… still remembered those first creations!?"
Kabuto's voice was solemn. "He never forgot. Until the very end, Sasori was a child longing for his parents' affection. He was even willing to beg his killer to convey his feelings to you—the one person he felt he had wronged."
Chiyo clenched her hands. Within her hidden sorrow, a fierce light gleamed in her old eyes.
"You have quite the nerve. You were the one who killed Sasori, weren't you?"
Kabuto remained calm. "I do not possess that level of skill. I can only tell you this: the one who killed Sasori is, on behalf of this cold village, on his way to retrieve their future Lord Kazekage."
Chiyo's expression froze. Then, she gave a light, dry chuckle. "Heh… So, you came all this way to tell this old woman everything. What is it you truly seek? Surely not to ask me to join you?"
Kabuto knew it was time.
"I know of your legend. You even developed a forbidden jutsu capable of bringing the dead back to life. The jutsu known as One's Own Life Resurrection. I beseech you… to teach it to me!"
As the words fell, Kabuto knelt.
This took Chiyo completely by surprise. Not because he knew of the jutsu's existence, but because he actually wanted to learn it. A jutsu whose price was one's own life.
"Young man," Chiyo said, her voice strained. "Do you know what you are asking? It's true I created that forbidden jutsu. But that technique… it demands the user's life as its cost!"
Kabuto's voice was iron. "I know. And I am fully resolved."
Kabuto Yakushi knew his worth. He was needed by Orochimaru and Sasuke.
Until their grand design was complete, he had to survive. He had sworn to become the pillar supporting them both. No matter the situation, he must live.
Therefore, his resolution was this: to continue serving the two he admired, even if it meant doing so in the unfeeling, reanimated body of an Edo Tensei.
That was why he was here, kneeling and pleading, willing to sacrifice himself to save Gaara—and by extension, to serve Sasuke.
Chiyo stared at the man before her, stunned. Not by the Sharingan in his right eye, but by the look in his eyes.
It was a look she herself had once possessed, long ago, before it was worn away by the years. The look of a devotee.
Willing to kneel, even offer one's life, for the sake of someone important, for one's beliefs and ninja way.
Chiyo searched her soul. When did I abandon my own ninja way? Was it really the White Fang who killed my son? No… How many children have died because of me? The one who killed my heart wasn't anyone else. It wasn't this shinobi world. It was me.
It seemed she could no longer wait silently for death.
Chiyo didn't ask who Kabuto wanted to save. Perhaps she already knew. Her voice grew low and firm. "Kabuto Yakushi… I've heard your name. A multiple spy from Konoha, operating across the nations, correct?"
"To have my humble name remembered by a senior of your stature is the highest honor," Kabuto replied, his head still bowed.
"Therefore, I do not fully believe your words," Chiyo countered. "Nor can I impart a forbidden jutsu to you. Not until I verify with my own eyes whether your comrades are truly there to rescue that child."
Kabuto looked up. "Then… you mean?"
Swish! Chiyo pulled off her pale purple headscarf. She shook out the hair at her temples, and her deeply wrinkled face broke into a bright, spirited smile—one she hadn't worn in years.
—"Take me there. If your words prove true, then I will consider your request!"
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