After Itachi and Kisame departed, a few remaining members of Root and ANBU crawled out from the sand. They intended to search for Rasa and the Jinchūriki's bodies, but before they could act, a cloud of sand and dust appeared in the distance, signaling an approaching group.
"Who are they?" a member of Root asked his companion.
"Support troops from Sunagakure," a Hyūga branch member replied, using his Byakugan to scout. "There are quite a few of them—at least over a thousand."
"We have to retreat!"
Half an hour later, the Sunagakure support troops arrived, led by an elderly woman and an equally aged man.
"It's hard to imagine what kind of jutsu that was just now," one of the Sand ninja captains marveled, recalling the scene he had observed from a distance. "The sandstorm it stirred up affected us even from afar, and despite the time that's passed, the heat here is still unbearable, worse than a summer desert at noon."
"Is this really a jutsu that a ninja can perform?" he wondered aloud, fear evident in his voice.
Chiyo sighed, "No, it's just that you young ones lack experience."
"Back in the day, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and his rival Madara Uchiha were far more terrifying than this enemy."
Ebizō, the old man, took over, his tone filled with concern, "Even so, those two have been dead for decades. Now, such a powerful ninja appears again, seemingly on Konoha's side. This is quite troubling."
Hearing the siblings' conversation, Baki, who was covering half his face with a cloth, couldn't hold back. "Chiyo-sama, Ebizō-sama, isn't it more important to rescue the Kazekage right now?"
Ebizō nodded, "You're right, sister."
Chiyo paused, then showed a slightly mischievous expression, "Ah, of course, I knew that! I was just testing you."
"You forgot, didn't you?" Ebizō teased.
"Silence!"
The group quickly began their search. Initially, they thought finding Rasa's body in the vast desert would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, or perhaps Rasa had already been reduced to ashes in the explosion.
"I found him!"
"I found the Kazekage!" a Sand ninja shouted. He had barely dug into the sand when he discovered the Kazekage, an incredibly lucky find!
"Is the Kazekage still alive?" The group rushed over, anxious and hopeful. If the Fourth Kazekage were dead and Shukaku lost, how would Sunagakure survive? How could they fend off the impending attack from Konoha?
"He's alive, but I'm afraid..." the medical ninja hesitated, amazed that anyone could survive such an explosion.
Chiyo knelt down, placing her hands on Rasa's body to sense his condition. "There seems to be an extraordinary life force within Rasa, keeping him alive."
"However, this life force is very weak. Once it's exhausted, he will die."
"What should we do?" Baki asked anxiously.
Chiyo sighed again, "Don't worry, I came here personally for this moment."
"Sister, you don't mean..." Ebizō's voice trembled with disbelief and sorrow.
Chiyo, the subject of their concern, remained calm. She looked up at the sky, seeing nothing, much like her own life.
"No matter what, Sunagakure cannot be without its Kazekage."
"But I will never see my rebellious grandson again."
Blue chakra welled up in Chiyo's hands, which she placed on Rasa's chest. As she continued to pour chakra into him, Rasa's complexion grew rosier, and his life signs became more apparent, pulling him back from the brink of death.
"Chiyo-sama is..." Baki asked in shock, witnessing this miraculous event.
"This is my sister's forbidden jutsu, One's Own Life Reincarnation," Ebizō explained after a moment of silence.
"It allows her to transfer her life force to another at the cost of her own life, even bringing someone back from the dead."
"Saving a dying Rasa is certainly within its capabilities."
"Sister, what will I, your aging brother, do after you're gone?"
Hearing Ebizō's explanation, the Sand ninja were all shocked, their faces filled with sorrow. The world of ninjas is indeed cruel.
"Everyone, stay strong!"
"The world of ninjas is like this! Everyone must be ready to sacrifice at any moment to protect their home and family!" Baki shouted.
"Is there really no peace in the ninja world?" a Sand ninja asked, tears in his eyes.
"Peace..." Ebizō sighed. "That might only exist in beautiful dreams."
"After all, even those two couldn't achieve peace."
"Wait! The Kazekage-sama's finger moved!" a Sand ninja shouted excitedly.
Everyone turned their attention back to Rasa and Chiyo. They saw Rasa's right index finger twitch slightly, followed by his eyelids, as if they weighed a thousand pounds. Though he couldn't open them, everyone knew that the Kazekage's revival was only a matter of time.
"Hang in there, Kazekage-sama!"
"Hang in there, Chiyo-sama!"
Finally, under the collective anticipation, Rasa slowly opened his eyes. "This is..."
Chiyo sat down heavily, panting. "Rasa, since you're alive, get up quickly."
"Sunagakure still needs you as its Kazekage."
Rasa's muddled mind gradually cleared, and the last images before he lost consciousness flashed through his mind. Combining these with the current scene, he quickly understood what had happened.
"Chiyo-sama, I can't thank you enough for saving my life!"
"You still have some conscience. Can you sense Gaara's location?"
"I still have a bit of chakra left. If we hurry, I might be able to save him too," Chiyo said, her breathing labored.
"Of course, Gaara is right here." Due to a seal placed on Gaara, Rasa could immediately sense his location.
What was originally intended to kill Gaara at any moment now ironically saved his life.
Rasa raised his hands, parting the sand to reveal the young Gaara.
"You two are quite lucky."
"First, we found you so easily. Otherwise, if you were buried under the sand for days, your body would have decayed beyond even One's Own Life Reincarnation's ability to save."
"Then there's the life force you both share, which kept you hanging on. Otherwise, I could only save one of you."
"Now you can reunite as father and son."
"In my final moments, I managed to accomplish something fulfilling."
"It also shows that the heavens haven't abandoned us, Sunagakure still has some fortune left."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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