Before the massive flood hit, Kakashi's team had Sasori pinned down inside a cave.
Just as they were about to finish him off, the sudden surge of water scattered everyone.
Technically, they could have finished the job even in the water, but Sasori was… a tricky one. The guy had turned his own body into a puppet.
As long as his core remained intact, he could transfer into any other puppet and revive himself.
Because of this, Kakashi's team ended up catching a few empty puppet shells but couldn't locate the main body that contained Sasori's core.
"Never thought Sasori had gone this far off the deep end…"
Once they reached the shore, Chiyo sighed softly.
Then, everyone turned to look toward where Shinju stood…
They'd originally planned to scold him for something, but after seeing Shinju successfully retrieve Gaara's body, they decided to hold their tongues.
Meanwhile, Shinju had already used medical ninjutsu to heal Gaara's surface wounds.
Now, aiming for a five-star mission rating, Shinju began pondering how to bring Gaara back to life…
Whenever it came to resurrection techniques, there was always one fatal problem:
The balance of life.
In other words, to bring one life back, another had to be sacrificed.
It was like the Edo Tensei — even though you weren't reviving the actual body, you still needed a living sacrifice to make it work.
"Tsk…"
Shinju frowned, clearly troubled.
He wasn't at the point where he'd sacrifice himself just for a five-star review.
Nearby, Chiyo and the rest of Kakashi's team gathered around Shinju, gazing down at Gaara's pale, motionless face…
"Such a shame… The Kazekage was so young…" Kakashi muttered with regret.
Chiyo's expression flickered.
She was making a painful decision.
Long ago, Sunagakure had secretly developed a reincarnation technique that allowed one to use their own chakra as a medium to transfer their life force to someone else.
However, if the target was already dead, the caster's chakra would fully convert into the dead person's soul — until the caster's life was completely consumed.
Put simply: one life for one life.
"Seems like… a fair trade," Chiyo whispered.
She had lived long enough. Her life was already in its twilight.
But Gaara was different. He was young, talented, and carried the weight of responsibility.
A child like him would one day lead Sunagakure to new heights.
Her gaze shifted toward Shinju, who was lost deep in thought.
If only this kid would join Sunagakure too…
A few minutes later, Shinju suddenly slapped his palm against the ground, eyes lighting up.
"I've got it!"
At the exact same moment, Chiyo spoke:
"This old woman… has a way!"
Shinju turned to her in surprise.
"You thought of it too?"
Chiyo nodded.
She assumed Shinju had come up with the same forbidden technique she was considering — sacrificing his own life to save Gaara.
Her gaze softened with a deep, maternal warmth.
(●´৺`●)
This child… he's willing to give up his life for Sunagakure, for the peace between the two villages?!
And his talent was even greater than Gaara's — enough to one day dominate the entire shinobi world!
Such a good kid!!
With children like him around…
The future of the shinobi world… was bright!
But she couldn't let him actually go through with it!
She was just an old woman — her death meant little.
There was no need to waste a young, promising life!
"I'll do it," Chiyo said softly, stepping forward.
Shinju blinked at her, puzzled. "Wait… you figured something out too? (‧_‧?)"
Chiyo's face filled with pride.
"Yes… Many years ago, I led the research on Sunagakure's reincarnation technique. I originally intended to use it to bring Sasori's parents back, but the technique requires the caster's own life as the price. Because of that, it was classified as forbidden as soon as it was completed."
She let out a faint sigh at the end.
Shinju froze for a moment, finally realizing they weren't thinking about the same thing.
He quickly clarified, "I've thought of a way to revive Gaara… without sacrificing myself."
Chiyo: (´°Δ°`)
"Don't be silly, child… There's no such ninjutsu in this world."
Shinju went quiet for a moment. "Maybe… but I still want to try."
He formed a hand seal, creating a Wood Release clone.
Then, he explained, "A Wood Clone is nearly identical to the original. My plan is to use it as the offering."
Naruto frowned, spotting a flaw. "But… a clone doesn't have any life force!"
Shinju gave him an approving look.
"Smart kid.（ --0027▿ --0027 ）"
Then, out of nowhere, Shinju pulled out a little turtle.
"So here's my idea: I'll transfer this turtle's life force into my Wood Clone first, and then use a reincarnation technique to graft that energy into Gaara's body…"
"The key here is the Wood Clone. Because Wood Release itself embodies life, only a Wood Clone can serve as a viable medium."
"And another point — to prevent the Shinigami from noticing we're crossing species boundaries, the Wood Clone will act as a decoy…"
"Meanwhile, I'll use a sealing technique on myself during the process to hide from the Shinigami's detection."
"…????"
Everyone stared at him blankly.
Still… it sounded pretty impressive!
Kakashi finally summarized, "So basically, you're transferring the turtle's life force into Gaara?"
Chiyo frowned. "But… can this really work? If you deceive the Shinigami-sama, the consequences could be dire…"
Shinju smirked. "That's the point — we are tricking it. Won't know unless we try.(´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ"
No more hesitation.
Shinju quickly arranged Gaara, the Wood Clone, and the turtle into a straight line.
Then he sat behind them, drawing a strange, irregular circle on the ground and positioning himself in the center.
Two minutes later, after completing preparations, Shinju formed an incredibly complex series of hand seals.
Kakashi roughly counted over a hundred and thirty different seals!
Clearly, tricking the Shinigami wasn't going to be easy…
Finally, Shinju formed the final "Tiger" seal and shouted:
"Ninpō!!"
"One Life-for-One Life Technique!!"
Everyone: (ー_ー)!!
What kind of terrible naming sense is that?!
The next moment!!
Invisible chakra wrapped around Gaara, the Wood Clone, and the turtle!
Immediately, the turtle's life force began draining rapidly, its body growing weaker and weaker… until it stopped moving entirely.
The energy concentrated into the Wood Clone, then slowly started transferring into Gaara's body…
Suddenly, Shinju felt a chilling presence in front of him!
His eyes snapped open—
Standing there was a strange figure: draped in white robes, purple skin, horns protruding from its head.
Shinju: ⊙▽⊙
That… that was the Shinigami!!!
It actually came to inspect?!!
No one else could see it — they only felt the air suddenly grow ice cold.
Everyone silently began praying.
Please let Shinju pull this off…
In front of him, the purple-faced Shinigami bent over, inspecting the Wood Clone carefully.
Then, half a second later…
Its head suddenly snapped toward Shinju!!
The Shinigami's purple face was twisted, its fangs bared, twin horns jutting upward, and a short blade clenched between its teeth.
Its presence was overwhelming… terrifying beyond words.
Shinju: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
He was terrified, but he forced himself to stay completely still, holding his breath to avoid being discovered.
After a few agonizing seconds, the Shinigami faded away.
At the same time, the transfer of life force from the Wood Clone into Gaara reached its final stage!
Color slowly began returning to Gaara's face!!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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