As Takumi's thoughts wandered,
Everyone else's attention was focused on Chiyo and Gaara.
They had sensed something from Chiyo's words.
The sentimental Sakura was now in tears, desperately covering her mouth to make no sound.
Afraid of disturbing the focused Chiyo.
Naruto's expression was gloomy.
This was the first time he had seen someone familiar die before him.
This time, he not only witnessed Gaara's death,
Now, he would also witness Chiyo sacrificing herself to save Gaara.
And the ones responsible for all this were the members of the Akatsuki.
He turned to look at Sasori, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.
But he just clenched his fist tightly and didn't do anything out of line.
Although he was sometimes very impulsive,
When he needed to be steady, he would also be steady.
Although he was reckless, he wasn't really stupid.
He was mostly just lacking discipline.
"Is Sasuke's injury taken care of?"
Kakashi crouched down to look at Sasuke's condition. "Why isn't he awake yet?"
"Oh, I didn't let him wake up."
Takumi said casually. "I felt it would be more troublesome if he woke up now."
"Besides, given the previous situation, if he had to face Sasori now, he'd probably feel very embarrassed, right?"
His words made Kakashi suddenly understand.
He secretly admired Takumi's thoughtfulness.
At the same time, his gaze fell on Sasori.
"Itachi's little brother, as our intel indicated, is too arrogant and ignorant."
Sasori calmly gave his evaluation of Sasuke. "After gaining power, he became lost, recklessly charging forward without understanding the enemy's strength."
"If you hadn't neutralized my poison, his life would probably have ended here."
His gaze towards Sasuke was full of mockery.
As if mocking Sasuke for having power but lacking the mindset and mentality to control it.
"He's still young after all."
Kakashi sighed. He also knew this reason was a bit far-fetched.
They were all Shinobi. At the same age, he had always witnessed Takumi's performance.
And every move of his proud student, Sasuke, could be said to be very disappointing.
He saw his former self in Sasuke.
He originally thought he could use his past experience to change Sasuke's mindset.
But he still overlooked the differences between himself and Sasuke.
Both he and Sasuke were geniuses.
There was no doubt about that.
Like Sasuke, he had lived alone since childhood.
Their personalities were also very similar.
Not liking to get close to people, craving strength more, and disdainful of so-called bonds.
But their circumstances were vastly different.
As a youth, Kakashi's coldness towards comrades stemmed from his father Sakumo's experience.
He fell into confusion, not knowing how to make choices.
While Sasuke had always had a goal.
A goal set for him by Itachi himself.
But Sasuke grew up in peacetime, with no one around to teach him.
Years ago, on the night of the clan's massacre, he witnessed Itachi killing his parents in Itachi's Genjutsu.
These memories were deeply branded in Sasuke's memory.
This also forced Sasuke to become increasingly hungry for power.
Because he knew that to defeat Itachi, he needed to be very strong.
So, after suddenly obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and gaining Susano'o, Sasuke completely indulged in the allure of powerful strength, unable to extricate himself.
The two had different growth paths, thoughts, and personalities.
Kakashi wanting to change Sasuke's thoughts based on his own experience was simply wishful thinking.
Like Takumi, he knew that the thoughts in Sasuke's mind were basically impossible to change.
At least, outsiders like him couldn't do it.
Kakashi naturally couldn't do it either.
The only person who could change Sasuke's thinking was Itachi.
But because of past events, even if Itachi wanted to change Sasuke's thinking, it wouldn't be easy.
At least, until he subdued Sasuke and made him calm down enough to listen, Itachi couldn't change Sasuke's thinking either.
Although Kakashi said Sasuke was still young, as if waiting a few years for him to grow up would bring significant changes,
It was really just Kakashi's wishful thinking.
For Sasuke, Kakashi was just a stepping stone to learn stronger power.
…
As they talked,
Chiyo's complexion visibly weakened.
Everyone else also fell silent.
They all knew what this meant.
Sakura couldn't bear to watch anymore and turned to bury her head in Takumi's arms.
Naruto's expression was complex, his gaze shifting between Chiyo and Sasori, his expression constantly changing.
Kakashi, though accustomed to life and death, was also moved watching Chiyo dedicate herself for another.
Baki was even more filled with tears.
Losing Chiyo was undoubtedly a huge loss for Sunagakure.
As advisors, Chiyo was far better than those two incompetent advisors in Konoha.
But Gaara was even more important for Sunagakure's future.
And this was Chiyo's own will.
He was just an Elite Jonin of Sunagakure; he couldn't stop Chiyo's will.
All he could do was witness this.
…
During this time,
Guy and his team finally arrived.
"Is it over already?"
Guy took a quick look at the situation and saw devastation. One person was tied up, his body battered.
Although he found Sasori's appearance very strange, Guy could tell from the fact that his companions weren't injured that they had won.
Then, he saw Sasuke lying unconscious on the ground and Chiyo treating Gaara.
Neji saw there were injured and immediately checked the situation.
"Sasuke is just sleeping; his condition is very stable."
He quickly passed over Sasuke, but when he saw Gaara's condition, he immediately frowned.
In his field of vision, there was no Chakra flowing in Gaara's body.
While Chiyo's Chakra carried life energy transferring into Gaara's body.
He didn't know what Chiyo was doing, so he didn't speak rashly.
"And him?"
Guy pointed at Gaara, who lay lifeless on the ground. "Is he..."
Neji nodded silently, but he kept observing with his Byakugan.
Guy immediately fell silent.
He watched Chiyo's actions, wanting to speak but stopping.
He wanted to remind Chiyo that the person was already dead, to stop wasting effort.
But seeing that Kakashi and the others said nothing, he felt the old woman wouldn't listen anyway.
He could only sigh futilely.
Lee and Tenten didn't understand, but they could also sense the atmosphere wasn't good.
So they remained silent.