'The seal space has another roommate now,' Naruto mused, rubbing his stomach with a smile he didn't even realize was there. He then took to the sky, flying at full speed toward Sunagakure.
Half a day later, a frantic search erupted from the village's burial grounds. The Fourth Kazekage himself led a swarm of Suna shinobi through every street and alley, hunting for the grave robber who had desecrated their dead. They found nothing.
A day after that, Naruto arrived at the outskirts of Amegakure. He didn't enter the village, however, instead scanning the dense, rain-soaked forests nearby.
'Where are they?' he thought, growing impatient. 'They're supposed to be everywhere. How have I gone all day without spotting a single one?'
He expanded his ki-sensing range again, pushing it further and further until he finally detected a faint signature. Fifty kilometers away, a lone white figure was clinging to the trunk of a tree.
'Found one.'
In an instant, Naruto appeared behind the white, plant-like creature. Before White Zetsu could even begin to react, he knocked it unconscious with a sharp chop to the back of its head. With a few quick hand signs, he placed a sealing jutsu on its inert body, making it immobile.
Slinging the creature over his shoulder, he turned back toward Amegakure. He figured he should bring a gift, it wasn't good to show up empty-handed all the time.
"I'm back," he announced, passing through the village's sensory barrier with ease and heading straight for Nagato's chambers. The first person he saw inside was Konan.
'So, you've been living here with him,' Naruto thought. 'You two might as well just get married already.'
"Elder," Nagato greeted him, his voice filled with respect.
Konan's gaze remained wary. She shifted her position slightly, a subtle movement that kept her between Naruto and Nagato.
'A girl who looks after you like that... seriously, Nagato, just marry her. You could do a lot worse.'
Their attention then fell to the white creature in Naruto's hand.
"Zetsu?" they asked in unison.
The creature was indeed an Akatsuki member. Zetsu was composed of two halves, one black and one white. While the black entity was singular, there were over a hundred thousand of the white ones. This was just one of them.
Naruto held up the sealed White Zetsu, dangling it before them. "I spotted a few of these things lurking outside, so I grabbed one on my way. It should prove useful."
'On his way?' Nagato knew how exceptional Zetsu's hiding abilities were. Even he might miss one if he wasn't looking carefully. 'Yet, Uzumaki Elder had apparently found one with no trouble at all.'
'Just as I'd expect from him,' Nagato thought, his reverence for the man growing. 'But what does he plan to do with it?'
Naruto walked past Konan and came to a stop in front of Nagato. "Since you're so unwilling to absorb the Tailed Beasts chakra, Nagato, and you refuse to stop using those eyes of yours..." He let out a theatrical sigh. "Then I suppose my old bag of bones will have to make a little sacrifice."
"Elder... what are you planning to do? You can't!" Nagato said, his voice sharp with alarm, but Naruto's hand was already on his shoulder.
An incomparably pure and warm power flowed from Naruto's palm into his body. Every cell within him felt as if it had been submerged in a hot spring, a tingling comfort that spread through his limbs and made him want to gasp out in relief.
"Nagato, are you all right?" Konan asked, her voice laced with worry. She didn't move to stop it, though. She could already see a touch of color returning to Nagato's deathly pale face. His emaciated frame, which had been little more than skin stretched over bone, was beginning to fill out at an almost imperceptible rate.
The process was slow, but to Konan, who knew every detail of his suffering, the change was as clear as day.
"I'm... I'm fine," Nagato managed, gesturing for her not to worry. He looked at Naruto, his own concern plain on his face. "Elder... why are you doing this for me?"
"It's nothing," Naruto said, waving a hand dismissively. His voice was suddenly twice as hoarse as before. "I'm just glad this decrepit body of mine can still be of some use."
Tears pricked at the corners of Nagato's eyes. Outside of Konan and Yahiko, no one had ever shown him such kindness. Still, he didn't stop him.
'I will use this gift,' he vowed silently. 'I will use Grandpa's legacy to create the world that he and Yahiko dreamed of.'
'Now he's calling me his Grandpa,' Naruto thought suppressing a chuckle. 'So damn pragmatic.'
Konan, too, was moved by his apparent selflessness, but she also remained silent. For Nagato, any sacrifice was acceptable if it led to his ideal world. For Konan, any price was worth paying if it meant Nagato could recover.
'Elder...' she thought, her expression softening. 'I will be sure to bring flowers for you, on this day next year.'
'Hey, I'm not even dead yet!' Naruto rolled his eyes behind his mask.
Both Nagato and Konan had long outgrown any youthful idealism. After founding the Akatsuki, watching it fall apart, and seeing their comrades die before their eyes, they had become pragmatic. For Nagato, any sacrifice was worth it to achieve his ideals. For Konan, she would do anything to see Nagato healthy again.
"My body..." Nagato murmured, feeling strength return to his withered limbs. His chakra reserves were replenishing, and his hands, once frail, felt strong and capable again. He felt as if he were growing younger. He was only in his early thirties, but his illness had made him look a decade older.
Just then, Naruto's body swayed, and he pitched forward as if he were about to collapse.
"Grandpa, are you all right?" Nagato asked, quickly catching him. As he steadied him, his hand brushed against Naruto's arm. It was no longer firm and powerful. The skin was wrinkled and dry, like that of a man in his eighties. It felt as though he had aged decades in a matter of moments.
"It's fine," Naruto said, pulling his arm away and hiding it in his wide sleeve, as if he didn't want Nagato to see.
The sight sent a pang of guilt through Nagato, shaking his otherwise firm resolve.
'That actually used up almost a 10% of my chakra,' Naruto thought, a little stunned. 'Terrifying. Good thing it's already back.'
"Nagato... you've recovered! You've really recovered!" Konan whispered, her hand covering her mouth. Tears of joy she could no longer contain streamed down her face. For years, she had dreamed of this moment.
"No," Naruto corrected, his voice strained. He pointed to the black rods still embedded in Nagato's back. "It's only half-finished, to be precise. As long as those things remain in your body, and as long as you continue to use that power, you will eventually return to your previous state. Your body is already far too overdrawn."
"Elder, you must have a way to fix it, right?" Konan pressed, her usual composure gone. "You must have a way."
"Of course I do," Naruto said. "That's what I was working on these past few days." He had needed the extra time for more than just a simple chakra transfer.
Putting on a show of being exhausted, he rested for a moment before shakily getting to his feet under Nagato and Konan's guilty watch. This time, Konan stepped forward to help him, her earlier caution completely forgotten.
"This," Naruto said, his gaze falling on the sealed White Zetsu, "is the solution."
===============
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