"Granny!"
Temari looked at Chiyo with tears streaming down, instinctively echoing, "It's because Kankuro isn't smart enough!"
"It's alright."
Granny Chiyo's face broke into a gentle smile. Comforting Temari with her eyes, she softly said, "In the twilight of my life, being able to raise and care for you three siblings is our bond. Don't be saddened by my passing."
Granny Chiyo slowly completed her last hand seal, gently reached out to cover Gaara's chest, and whispered, "Gaara is of great importance. Right now, there is no one more suitable as Kazekage than him in the village..."
There is no one in The Hidden Sand Village who can replace Gaara.
Because The Hidden Sand Village is too weak now, the entire village has only Gaara who can be considered at the Kage level, truly leaving no successor.
Granny Chiyo sacrificed her life to replace Gaara's life, an inevitability. She needed to leave The Hidden Sand Village with a future.
If not, The Hidden Sand Village might not withstand until the next Kazekage and could likely be replaced by another Ninja Village in claiming the name of the Five Great Countries!
Especially with the genius of The Hidden Rain Village right next door!
"Before I go, I have two last words; please pass them on to Gaara for me."
Granny Chiyo slowly turned to Temari and softly entrusted her last words: "The alliance between The Hidden Sand Village, Konoha, and The Hidden Rain Village must not be abandoned; for those ninjas with dissent, tell Gaara not to be lenient; you must make The Hidden Sand Village strong again, the peace of the future Ninja World depends on you young people..."
Granny Chiyo raised her head, looking at the grieving faces of the Konoha Ninja; her vitality began rapidly declining, and her chakra quickly diminished...
One's Own Life Reincarnation, activate!
Uehara Naraku extended a hand to her, infusing Chiyo with a massive amount of chakra and life energy through Star Infusion.
However, this couldn't change her impending death.
Once One's Own Life Reincarnation starts, it continuously draws her chakra and life; no matter how much chakra and life energy Uehara Naraku infused her with, it was futile.
The only thing it could do was delay her death.
Granny Chiyo felt the energy infused by Uehara Naraku, a mix of disbelief in her eyes. Trembling, she glanced at Uehara Naraku, "I didn't expect Uehara-sama's Medical Ninjutsu to be so powerful, not inferior to Tsunade-sama, almost bringing someone back to life. Just don't waste your precious power on an old woman about to die..."
"I just wanted to give you a bit more time to say your goodbyes."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, self-deprecatingly spread his hands, and said, "No matter what, I am a friend of The Hidden Sand. Even though I didn't play much part in this Kazekage retrieval battle, ultimately, it was Chiyo-sama who saved the Kazekage..."
"No, if it weren't for you, perhaps we wouldn't even be able to reclaim Gaara's body. Truly indebted to you and Konoha this time."
Granny Chiyo directly looked at Uehara Naraku's sorrowful and wistful face, then turned to observe the many Konoha ninjas present, suddenly smiling, "Seeing you young people before leaving, I feel the future of the Ninja World holds new hope..."
"..."
Uehara Naraku quietly listened to Granny Chiyo's praise.
He wondered if this old lady would not rest peacefully in the afterlife upon learning his future wouldn't bring hope but rather despair to the Ninja World!
No, or perhaps she wouldn't rest peacefully, to begin with.
With Yakushi Kabuto's nature, he practically digs up every grave he sees; he probably wouldn't let go of Granny Chiyo, a ninja skilled in puppetry and poison.
Uehara Naraku gazed at Granny Chiyo and sighed softly, eagerly anticipating their next meeting, unsure if Granny Chiyo would regret not seeing through him...
Unaware of Uehara Naraku's thoughts, Granny Chiyo continued to earnestly admonish Temari, "... The future of The Hidden Sand depends on you... The future of the Ninja World also rests on you young people..."
After finishing, Granny Chiyo's body gradually fell silent.
Temari blankly watched Granny Chiyo leave with a smile, momentarily unresponsive, before bursting into tears, "Granny!"
"..."
The hearts of the many Konoha ninja also felt heavy.
Unexpectedly, they rescued a Kazekage but lost a ninja who had devoted her life to The Hidden Sand Village.
Just as everyone was grieving, Gaara on the ground showed signs of life, slowly opening his eyes, instinctively touching his belly, "What's going on? Wasn't I already..."
"It's thanks to Chiyo-sama."
Uehara Naraku looked down at Gaara, seeing the Kazekage revived, frowned, and responded, "It was Chiyo-sama using her life to save you from the Netherworld."
"Uehara Naraku!"
Gaara's expression suddenly changed, "What are you here for?"
As Uehara Naraku speculated whether his identity had been exposed and considered silencing everyone present or watching their shock upon learning his identity...
It shouldn't be...
While extracting and sealing the One-tailed beast, Gaara was unconscious the entire time.
As Uehara Naraku was lost in these thoughts, Temari hastily grabbed her brother's arm, softly saying, "Gaara, this time Uehara Naraku-sama saved you from Akatsuki. Don't let past hatred and fear blind you!"
Gaara: "..."
Gaara's mind was momentarily in a whirl.
At that moment, he didn't know what expression to show Uehara Naraku, considering how this guy had bullied him from childhood up to the Chunin Examination.
Uzumaki Naruto seemed to understand Gaara's feelings well, stepping forward to pat his shoulder, "Even though Uehara's character is really bad and always bullied us when we were weak, he's actually not inherently bad!"
Uzumaki Naruto, with his arm around Gaara's shoulder, continued to console him, "I guess this guy was probably scared that we'd be too powerful when we grew up, so he only bullied us when we were kids... Gaara, don't mind those childhood things; after all, we're all grown-ups now!"
Gaara: "..."
Uehara Naraku: "..."
Konoha Ninjas: "..."
Though Uehara also felt there was some truth to what Uzumaki Naruto said, he couldn't shake an underlying feeling that something felt quite off about it.
Anyway, Temari quickly explained the ins and outs of the situation to Gaara, and the young Kazekage let go of past grudges, willingly extending his hand toward Uehara.
Uehara Naraku, with no hesitation, smiled while narrowing his eyes, shaking Gaara's hand. This handshake symbolized the resurgence of peaceful hope between The Hidden Sand Village and The Hidden Rain Village!
Utterly ridiculous.
Just as everyone thought this mission ended perfectly.
Uzumaki Naruto suddenly clenched his fist, speaking gravely, "It's a pity we were at such a disadvantage this time and couldn't capture any Akatsuki members to gain information on Sasuke!"
As expected, Konoha ninjas came to assist not only to save Gaara but also to seize the chance to obtain information on Sasuke.
That guy Sasuke indeed became a member of Akatsuki!
Frankly, Uchiha Sasuke is extremely strong now, possibly due to unintentional guidance and teachings from Uchiha Itachi, leading Uehara Naraku to believe Sasuke might be even more powerful now than historically at this point!
"I actually have some information on Uchiha Sasuke..."
Uehara Naraku recalled the persistent Sasuke striving to assassinate Uchiha Itachi and, in a low voice, said, "Maybe you don't know, but Uchiha Sasuke is not the proud young boy I once knew; it is said he single-handedly conquered a country half a year ago..."
"What?"
Every face was filled with disbelief.
By logic, conquering a country is something only S-Class traitors could accomplish, right? Since when can their little partner achieve such feats?
Sasuke has really grown...
No, he's become too evil!
Uehara Naraku's face held a trace of dread as he softly said, "If you encounter Sasuke, be careful, because after I met him last, I felt I was no longer a match for him. The Sharingan truly deserves to be the number one bloodline limit in the Ninja World..."