"Naruto, Naruto! Gaara's fingers—they're moving!" Sakura's voice trembled with excitement.
From the side, Neji nodded firmly. "I saw it too."
Naruto's eyes darted to Chiyo. "Granny Chiyo, can you still keep going?"
"Don't worry about me," she replied, her voice thin but resolute. In truth, her body was swaying, her breaths shallow. The only thing keeping her upright now was pure willpower.
Ten more seconds passed.
Gaara's eyelids fluttered, and then he slowly opened them. The first thing he saw was Naruto's face hovering above him.
"...Naruto?" Gaara's voice was weak, disbelief flickering in his gaze.
Without a word, Naruto leaned down and wrapped his arms around him. "Welcome back, Gaara."
A faint smile touched Gaara's lips. "Thank you, Naruto."
Naruto pulled back and shook his head. "The one you should thank most is Granny Chiyo. Without her... we wouldn't be standing here."
Sakura lowered her gaze. "Everyone... Granny Chiyo has passed away."
Silence fell over the group. The weight of her sacrifice pressed against each of them.
They carried Kakashi, unconscious from his battle, and Chiyo's still body back toward Sunagakure. Naruto walked in the rear, cradling Gaara with care. Deep inside, he felt the Akatsuki's plans shifting—perhaps now, they would start to take him more seriously. As for the ancient fox resting in his seal... There was no rush. That game could be played at his pace.
At the gates of Sunagakure, the villagers had gathered in a sea of anticipation. Temari, Kankurō, and Baki stood at the front, scanning the horizon. When the small figures approaching finally resolved into familiar faces, a wave of cheers erupted.
"Lord Kazekage!"
"Lord Kazekage!"
"Lord Kazekage!"
Gaara looked out over them, his expression unreadable, but his heart heavy and warm all at once. Their hope, their belief—it made everything worth it.
Temari, Kankurō, and Baki stepped forward to thank the Konoha shinobi with deep sincerity. Without them, Sunagakure's Kazekage would have been lost. Chiyo, too, returned a hero in their eyes.
Gaara turned to Naruto and offered his hand. "Naruto... thank you."
Naruto grinned, gripping it firmly. "And you—keep your guard up. The Akatsuki won't stop here."
"I know. Be careful yourself."
"I will. And I'll become Hokage before you know it—just watch me, Gaara."
Compared to the joyous clamor of Sunagakure, the mood in the Akatsuki's headquarters was far colder.
In the Rain Village's tower, Pain, Konan, and Zetsu stood before Deidara, who had returned alone.
Konan's gaze was sharp. "Deidara... are you telling me you were forced to retreat from the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?"
Deidara's tone was blunt. "Halfway through the fight, I knew I couldn't win. So I withdrew. No point dying for nothing."
Konan's brow furrowed. "Then capturing him in the future will be more difficult than we thought."
Pain's voice was calm but heavy with confidence. "It doesn't matter. In the end, the Nine-Tails will fall to me. No one can defy a god." The ripple pattern of the Rinnegan seemed to deepen as he spoke.
Zetsu added smoothly, "Retreating was the right call. Otherwise, you would have died there."
"Tch, don't make it sound like I'm weak," Deidara shot back. "I've still got a certain move saved up... and when I use it, even the leader here would have to watch out."
Pain ignored the jab, his focus narrowing.
Black Zetsu spoke again. "That boy has learned Sage Mode. He had two shadow clones with high chakra reserves nearby. I suspect he even sensed me during the battle... and chose to pretend otherwise."
That caught Pain's attention.
"Then why not confront you?" Deidara asked.
"Perhaps he wanted to see what we'd do," Black Zetsu mused. "Or perhaps... he's planning something."
The meeting dissolved soon after, leaving only Pain and Konan in the dim light of the tower. Konan's gaze softened as she looked at him, but her thoughts were clouded with concern for Nagato's fragile body.
Back in Konoha, Team Kakashi and Team Guy returned safely. Kakashi was rushed to the hospital, still unconscious.
Tsunade praised them for their work, then dismissed the others, leaving only Naruto and Sakura behind.