Sasuke and Naruto watched as Shukaku was pulled out from inside Gaara's body and tied up into a bundle.
Senku took out a teacup, and the bundled-up Shukaku was swiftly sealed into it.
Watching Gaara be killed right before their eyes, Naruto's eyes turned red.
Sasuke felt an unprecedented humiliation.
The tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, and beside the single tomoe, another one quietly appeared.
Senku glanced at Sasuke and Naruto, then moved his body, instantly appearing right before them.
Bang! Bang!
Each of their necks was struck with a hand chop.
This time the two were completely knocked out cold.
Senku, played by one of Rengoku's clones, thought for a moment, then shifted his awareness back to his real body to check the battle situation.
Didn't know before, but once he looked, he was shocked.
Kakuzu had already lost three hearts, and that Sarutobi clansman was also coughing blood as he was beaten back.
Senku quickly fired Akatsuki's signal flare high into the sky.
Here, Kakuzu, drenched in cold sweat, and Sarutobi Ishishu were both retreating toward this side.
Senku grabbed Gaara's body and hurled it hard toward Rengoku's real body.
Forming a seal and pushing with his hand, a huge sealing wall crashed toward Rengoku's real body.
Taking advantage of the moment when Rengoku caught Gaara,
Kakuzu, Sarutobi Ishishu, and Senku immediately bolted.
Rengoku caught Gaara, while Kuromu, who had pretended to fall off the cliff, had already reverted to Itachi's form and came to his side.
"Senior, what do we do next?"
Itachi hid in the shadows, his greatest concern of course being Sasuke.
He discovered that Sasuke, at the age of 10, had already awakened the double-tomoe Sharingan, which made him quite happy.
After all, in the future shinobi world, there would be too many enemies. Only if Sasuke was stronger could he protect himself well.
Rengoku checked Gaara's body first, "You handle this side, let Sasuke and Naruto understand how dangerous the shinobi world is."
"I'll go save Gaara first."
"I understand, senior," Itachi responded, knowing what Rengoku meant.
Rengoku then lifted Gaara with one hand, and sped toward the clan grounds.
———
After running for some time through the forest, Senku and the other two saw no one chasing, so they stopped.
"Master Senku, is it completed?", Sarutobi Ishishu, who had gone last to support Kakuzu, still didn't know the situation here.
Senku took out the teacup from his robes, "Of course."
Then he handed the teacup to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu's face had been dark. After all, three of his hearts had been blown apart.
But then he thought: this thing in his hand was worth three billion.
In an instant, Kakuzu's back didn't ache, his legs didn't hurt, and even the hollow feeling of broken hearts was instantly healed.
Sarutobi Ishishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least some of the Uchiha's strength had been weakened.
"Just now, I thought Gaara seemed to have no breath?", Sarutobi Ishishu asked with some doubt.
"Don't worry, that child is only in false death. It won't take long for him to recover."
"This way, it prevents the enemy from pursuing."
Sarutobi Ishishu hadn't had the chance to look closely, so he hadn't been sure whether Gaara was really dead.
Since Senku said so, he believed it. After all, such a matter couldn't be faked.
"Why didn't you say earlier that among those children, one of them had a demon beast sealed in his body?", Senku's expression turned stern.
"And it was such a powerful demon beast."
Sarutobi Ishishu froze for a moment, but suppressed the wild joy in his heart, then said, "The demon beast inside him, in our place, is called the Nine-Tails."
"A few years ago, it rampaged and took quite a number of lives."
Senku's face showed anger. He slammed his nine-ringed staff heavily.
"How can such a small child be used as a prison?"
Sarutobi Ishishu said awkwardly, "We also wanted to switch him with an adult as the prison, but we don't have the ability."
Senku replied as if it were natural, "If so, then why not—"
"Ahem! Ahem!", Just as Sarutobi Ishishu's eyes lit up, wanting to hear Senku's crucial next words, Kakuzu's two coughs cut them off.
For one as sensitive to money as Kakuzu, how could he not see profit in this?
"Although our Akatsuki's Senku master can help with such matters, we still have to charge a fee."
Kakuzu directly snatched the words, speaking bluntly, money.
Senku's face froze, opening his mouth in surprise. Finally, under Kakuzu's winking, he chose silence.
Sarutobi Ishishu secretly felt regret. If Senku was this straightforward, he could have gotten it for free.
But with a shrewd Kakuzu beside him, it looked like they'd have to bleed money.
After this encounter, Sarutobi Ishishu also confirmed that although Akatsuki had worked with the Uchiha before, Akatsuki was nothing more than a mercenary group chasing money.
No need to worry that their stance was the same as the Uchiha's.
So he said, "Then we'll discuss this matter another time."
Ishishu planned to report to the Third Hokage after returning.
If they could secure the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, that would be a huge gain.
"Hehehehehe…", At the mention of money, Kakuzu laughed so hard his eyes nearly disappeared.
"I'll be awaiting your visit at Amegakure anytime."
"Master Senku, let's go."
Senku bowed toward Sarutobi Ishishu, then left with Kakuzu.
Sarutobi Ishishu coughed, spitting some blood from his mouth.
Though his injuries weren't light, his eyes were still full of anticipation.
He oriented himself, then headed toward Konoha.
———
Rengoku carried Gaara's corpse, racing toward the Uchiha clan grounds.
At full speed, scenery in all directions flashed by quickly, the wind whipping his clothes so they snapped loudly.
In just a few hours, Rengoku already saw the gates of the Uchiha compound.
"Clan leader."
"Clan leader!"
Patrolling clansmen had seen Rengoku return, greeting him one after another.
But Rengoku had no time to answer, carrying Gaara straight inside, rushing toward Orochimaru's lab.
Karin also saw Rengoku carrying Gaara back, and in such a hurry.
"Eh? What happened?"
Karin asked curiously. She had never seen her master this urgent before.
She knew he must be going to Lord Orochimaru's lab, so she followed along.
When Rengoku arrived at the lab, Orochimaru was already waiting.
He immediately laid Gaara on the bed and began examining him.
"How did he die?", Orochimaru instantly saw that Gaara had already passed away.
"An accident?", Rengoku had told Orochimaru that Gaara wouldn't die.
Rengoku shook his head, "No accident. Extracting a tailed beast naturally means death."
"I didn't tell you before, but I know a secret technique that can infuse life force into someone."
"Now that we have the Water of Life, we can save him."
"I'll infuse the power of life into Gaara's body, then drink the Water of Life to restore myself."
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