Temari's words caused the entire office to fall silent. Whether it was Naruto, Kakashi, Shikaku, or Minato, when they looked at Temari, there was now something different in their eyes.
Shikamaru, who had just climbed back to his feet, looked at Temari with even greater admiration.
Hoshiyomi smiled and spoke decisively:
"Perfect answer. Among the new generation of kunoichi, you may not be the strongest, but you are absolutely the one I admire most. I will personally take part in the mission to rescue Gaara."
Naruto immediately chimed in as well:
"I'm going too! Don't worry—leave rescuing Gaara to us!"
Hearing this, tears welled up in Temari's eyes once again, and she hurriedly expressed her gratitude to Hoshiyomi.
Since Naruto had volunteered without hesitation, Minato naturally had no reason to refuse. After a brief discussion, the rescue team was quickly finalized.
It was almost no different from the original story: the mission to rescue Gaara would be carried out jointly by Team Seven and Team Three. The only difference was the addition of Hoshiyomi, the proverbial butterfly effect.
Because Gaara's rescue could not be delayed even a moment, the rescue squad did not waste time. After accepting the mission, they departed immediately with Temari, heading straight for Sunagakure.
...
Inside Sunagakure Hospital, a group of medical-nin were gathered around Kankurō, their brows tightly furrowed.
Standing to the side, Baki asked anxiously, "Still no good?"
A medical-nin who seemed to be the lead replied, "Lady Chiyo is trying to formulate an antidote. If even Lady Chiyo can't do anything, then we really might…"
Before he could finish, the ward door was pushed open again. Chiyo walked out, shaking her head.
"There's no way. Compared to making poisons, detoxification was never my forte. I've done all I can."
Hearing this, Baki couldn't help but slump in disappointment.
"Lady Chiyo… is there really no other way?"
Chiyo snorted coldly.
"In this world, the only one who might be able to cure this poison is that slug woman from Konoha. If you can find her, there might still be some hope."
As soon as Chiyo finished speaking, a voice with a hint of amusement drifted in from down the hallway:
"Oh? Hearing you admit you're inferior to Tsunade—that's a rare thing indeed."
Chiyo's body stiffened instinctively. Even after all these years, she immediately remembered the owner of that voice—the one she had once schemed against with every trick she had, yet could never overcome.
Chiyo and Ebizō stared toward the end of the corridor. A moment later, they saw Temari leading Hoshiyomi and the others toward them.
Seeing Hoshiyomi's infuriating smile, Chiyo's expression darkened:
"Gekko Hoshiyomi… what is this brat doing in Sunagakure now? Come to laugh at us?"
Seeing the tension flare up the moment they met, Temari hurriedly stepped forward:
"Granny Chiyo, please don't misunderstand. Lord Hoshiyomi is here to help rescue Gaara. This time, Konoha has sent not only combat personnel, but also medical-nin."
Before Temari could say more, Sakura stepped forward. After giving Chiyo and the others a respectful bow, she naturally moved to Kankurō's bedside and began examining his condition.
Chiyo snorted coldly.
"What use would it be to send over ordinary medical-nin?"
The moment her words fell, a glow of medical ninjutsu lit up in Sakura's hands.
"Fortunately, the wound was treated in time. Although the poison hasn't been neutralized yet, it also hasn't continued to spread."
As she spoke, the glow in Sakura's hands shifted slightly. She switched from the Mystical Palm Technique to the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. With her movements, a small mass of purplish-brown poison flowed out through the wound.
Sakura carefully controlled the green chakra around her hands, completely enveloping the poison and gently placing it into the water basin beside her. After finishing, she let out a long breath and said:
"The wound has basically been cleaned up. Next, just give me some time to analyze the poison's composition and prepare the corresponding antidote."
Chiyo stared at Sakura for a long time before finally sighing:
"This technique is exactly the same as that slug woman's. To think Konoha would send such a talent to Sunagakure…"
Hoshiyomi didn't bother being polite to the old woman and spoke directly:
"She's my wife's final disciple. If you still want us to save Gaara, then you'd better behave and keep your mouth shut."
Chiyo's face darkened. She glared at Hoshiyomi for a long while, but in the end, she still closed her mouth.
...
After saving Kankurō, Hoshiyomi and the others did not stay long in Sunagakure. Hoshiyomi told Naruto and the others to make brief preparations, while he himself stepped onto the Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade and flew into the sky.
Once airborne, Hoshiyomi immediately entered Perfect Sage Mode. Within his perception, more than half of Sunagakure fell under his awareness. High-speed aerial mobility combined with the absurdly powerful sensory range of Sage Mode, plus Hoshiyomi's rough memory of where Gaara had been sealed—
With all three factors combined, it didn't take Hoshiyomi long to determine the route. Although he could have simply caused a huge commotion and directly rescued Gaara, he decided it wasn't necessary. Instead, he returned along the same path and informed Naruto and the others of Gaara's location.
With the route confirmed, everything else became much easier. The Konoha group immediately began preparing to depart.
Temari originally wanted to join the rescue as well, but Baki and Ebizō kept her behind to protect the village. In the end, the Sunagakure side sent Chiyo—who volunteered herself—to join Konoha's rescue team.
...
Along the way, Hoshiyomi said nothing further. Under the pretense of reconnaissance, he flew into the sky and activated Transparent Release. Hoshiyomi knew very well that White Zetsu would definitely be scouting along the route, and he had no intention of alerting the enemy.
Although he had indeed said he would contribute to this rescue, what he really wanted was to see how Naruto and Sasuke would perform.
Just as Hoshiyomi had predicted, the moment Kakashi and the others left Sunagakure and entered the forests of the Land of Rivers, a White Zetsu suddenly emerged from the ground. Watching Team Three and Team Seven depart, it muttered to itself:
"Things are starting to get interesting…"
After receiving the report, Black Zetsu immediately used projection to speak to the Akatsuki members in the cave who were jointly extracting the One-Tail's chakra:
"Konoha's reinforcements have arrived. It looks like they've already discovered our location. The team leaders are Kakashi and Might Guy—one is the son of Konoha's White Fang, and the other is known as Konoha's Blue Beast."
After a moment of silence, Nagato gave his orders:
"Kisame and Ameyuri, you two are the closest. Use the Shapeshifting Technique to hold them off."
Kisame and Ameyuri exchanged glances, licked their lips, and said:
"Leave it to us."
...
In the forest, the members of Team Seven and Team Three were moving forward at high speed. During their advance, Neji activated his Byakugan as usual to scout the surroundings.
This time, however, his expression suddenly turned grave, and he shouted:
"Watch your backs—an enemy is approaching!"
The moment Neji finished speaking, a wild voice rang out:
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
...
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