"Grandma—"
Rasa faced the most difficult decision of his life.
Karura was his wife, his lover, with whom he shared his life. Rasa could not lose Karura.
However, if Shukaku was not sealed, the sealing would fail, and his third child would die.
Moreover, there was no time left. Three Jinchuriki had already been lost. Shukaku had to be sealed within a Jinchuriki this time.
Should he choose Karura, or the child who would successfully seal Shukaku?
Rasa closed his eyes in agony.
A choice!
"Kazekage-sama, please, save my sister!"
Yashamaru crawled towards the sealing altar, his mouth covered in blood, leaving a bloody imprint with every crawl of his hands.
Yashamaru's eyes saw only his sister's life.
Because Karura was his closest kin.
At this moment, he didn't care about the Village's overall situation; he was just a younger brother who wanted to save his sister.
No one paid attention to Yashamaru; everyone was waiting for Rasa's decision.
Chiyo shouted, "Rasa, make a decision quickly!"
Rasa knelt directly in front of Karura, tears streaming down his face, blurring his entire expression: "I'm sorry, Karura!"
"I am the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure!"
Rasa was both the Kazekage and Karura's husband; ultimately, he chose the greater good.
Yashamaru showed despair, lowering his head helplessly and burying his face in the yellow sand.
Why was he so weak?
Karura's face showed no disappointment, for Rasa's choice was her choice.
Protecting her child was a mother's instinct.
She merely looked at Chiyo: "Grandma, save my child. I will use all the chakra of my remaining life to accompany him."
Chiyo also shed tears unknowingly; this tragedy seemed to be her own making.
She suggested Rasa seal Shukaku within the fetus in Karura's womb, she personally performed the Ninjutsu to seal Shukaku, and it was she who made Rasa decide who to save...
Chiyo did all the bad things! Was she a bad person?
No, Chiyo's intention was merely to let the Village control Shukaku and strengthen Sunagakure's combat power.
The problem was that Chiyo's Sealing Jutsu was too crude.
But this was already the top-tier Sealing Jutsu in the Land of Wind! Where could they find a more advanced Sealing Jutsu?
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Chiyo could only apologize to Karura with guilt, but the chakra for sealing the Tailed Beast continued to be supplied.
She felt remorseful, but she would not change.
Sunagakure, this sorrowful Village, could only move forward in pain and resilience.
A figure silently entered the Shukaku altar, passing by where Yashamaru had buried his head in the yellow sand.
Yashamaru lifted his head, grabbing the figure's calf as if he had found a life-saving straw.
"Sasori, please, save my sister. I'll do anything you ask later."
The person Yashamaru called Sasori kicked Yashamaru away, then slowly walked towards Karura and Chiyo.
"Sasori?!"
Chiyo, Ebizo, and Rasa looked in confusion at the suddenly appearing Sasori, or rather, Ryou disguised as Sasori.
Ebizo vigilantly looked at Ryou: "Sasori, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Village?"
Something was wrong. This Sasori was off. Who told him they were sealing Shukaku today? Who told him they were sealing Shukaku here?
Seven or eight Anbu stepped forward to block Ryou.
But Ryou merely walked past silently, and the Anbu members seemed not to have noticed him, one by one, they fell.
Chiyo, Ebizo, and Rasa all saw the weapon Ryou used against these Anbu.
It wasn't a weapon, but eyes.
They were a pair of scarlet eyes, with three distinct black tomoe arranged in an equilateral triangle, the rounded ends facing inward.
The sharp tails slanted upwards, still like a brand, moving like a spinning blade.
"The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan?!"
Chiyo, Ebizo, and Rasa were all frozen in place as if by an invisible hand, their eyes swirling with incredulous panic.
Chiyo and Ebizo reacted: "You are not Sasori!"
Ryou immediately returned to his original appearance: a short-sleeved, stand-collar zippered shirt on top, and black wide-leg pants below. Black wristbands were on each wrist.
On his back was a red and white fan crest, the Uchiha Clan's emblem.
His face was handsome, his demeanor arrogant.
Ryou smiled at the three of them: "Old hag, you're too slow to react."
The memories in Chiyo's and Ebizo's minds, which had been altered by Ryou, immediately corrected themselves. They remembered that night.
They understood, everything became clear.
Chiyo hated Ryou: "Uchiha Ryou, you scoundrel, you actually disguised yourself as Sasori to deceive me and Ebizo?"
"Where is Sasori now?"
Ryou chuckled with a hint of malice: "He's probably on a rampage in the Village!"
Chiyo and Ebizo both paused in their breathing.
Rasa, anxious, wanted to return to the Village to stop Sasori, but seeing Ryou's dangerous demeanor, he dared not act rashly.
"Uchiha Ryou, is your target Shukaku?"
Ryou nodded: "That's right, it's the One-Tail Shukaku! Madara sent me to Sunagakure to capture the One-Tail Shukaku."
Chiyo questioned: "Why are you targeting our Sunagakure's Shukaku?"
Ryou said as a matter of course: "Of course, because your Sunagakure is weak enough. Your Sunagakure ranks last among the Five Great Shinobi Villages; you always pick the softest persimmon to squeeze."
Damn it, that's such an unassailable reason!
Chiyo gritted her teeth.
Ebizo then asked: "Pakura... you killed her, didn't you?"
Why would Ebizo ask that?
Last night, Ryou slept at Pakura's house, and Pakura had promised to help Karura with the sealing this morning.
She didn't come this morning. Given Ryou's ruthlessness, she must have been killed!
After all, Pakura's Scorch Release was an extremely dangerous Kekkei Genkai.
"…"
Ryou was silent for a moment, then replied: "That's right, I left her armor scattered on the floor and 'spewing' everywhere."
Spewing everywhere, in Chiyo's and their minds, of course meant blood. What else could it be?
Chiyo cursed: "Uchiha Ryou, you despicable villain!"
"Old hag, hand over Shukaku to me!"
Ryou charged forward.
At this point, they couldn't continue the sealing.
Shukaku was half-sealed, and continuing the sealing would still consume Chiyo's chakra.
One of them would also have to guard Chiyo while she sealed.
If Rasa guarded her while she sealed, then only Ebizo and the Sunagakure Anbu would be left to deal with Ryou.
With Ebizo's strength as a Sunagakure high-ranking official, one punch would make Ryou kneel and beg Ebizo not to die.
The Sunagakure Anbu were also like AI-controlled characters, clearly unable to stop an S-rank rogue Shinobi like Ryou.
So the sealing had to be stopped.
Chiyo withdrew the Sealing Jutsu, used chakra to draw Shukaku back into the Bunpuku Chagama, and retreated more than ten steps while holding the tea kettle containing the sealed Shukaku.
"Uchiha Ryou, I won't let you succeed."