Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master!

The wind and sand swept through the dense bone forest, sounding like a series of low, mournful sobs.

Faced with Chiyo's sudden question, Sasori was momentarily at a loss for words.

The Third Kazekage's puppet was still hovering beside him, with the iron sand that had not yet been fully recovered slowly flowing around it.

This face, once revered by all the Sand Village ninja, is now empty and stiff.

Such a scene makes any explanation seem weak, and denial would be an insult to Chiyo, a top puppeteer.

Scorpion could only stand there, silently facing the gaze that seemed to see right through him.

In the end, she couldn't be kept in the dark about this secret.

Deidara, who was standing to the side, also put away his usual expression of enjoying the show.

Just as the suffocating silence was about to break, the air behind the sand dunes subtly distorted for a moment.

The tiny ripples in the space were completely blocked by the undulating sand dunes. Once everything returned to normal, a particularly lively voice came over.

"Oh my god! Sasori-senpai, Deidara-senpai! Look, I found something behind me!"

Obito held a red-haired boy with his eyes closed, and the boy emerged from behind the sand dune.

He ran unsteadily, shouting excitedly all the way.

Scorpion's gaze immediately fell on the boy.

"Gaara?"

Several thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Why did Gaara end up in Tobi's hands?

Orochimaru just placed Kabuto and Kimimaro here. Could it be that his real target from the beginning was the Jinchūriki?

Deidara, equally surprised, asked, "How did this brat end up in your hands? Where's Orochimaru?"

"Wow!"

Obito, however, seemed not to have heard their question at all. After rushing forward, he looked around and took in the endless expanse of gray-white bone forest.

"Senior Scorpion, you've created such a grand spectacle over here!" he exclaimed in amazement, with a hint of regret for missing out on the excitement. "How much excitement did I miss? If I had known it would be this lively, I would have run faster!"

"Shut up, Ah Fei."

Deidara muttered a curse in a low voice and winked in Chiyo's direction.

Chiyo had long since stopped asking about the Third Kazekage.

The moment she saw Gaara, she rushed over quickly, leaning on her cane, her feet sinking into the yellow sand beneath her feet.

"Oh dear, elderly person, slow down, be careful not to fall!"

Obito seemed startled by her imposing manner, so he quickly squatted down, supported Gaara's shoulders and back, and laid him sideways on a relatively flat sandy ground.

Chiyo came to Gaara's side, first reaching out to feel the side of his neck, then pressing her palm against his chest and abdomen, quickly checking the flow of the outermost layer of chakra with a wisp of it.

His breathing was steady, and there were no obvious external injuries on his body.

Most importantly, the seal on the abdomen still appears intact on the surface, without any signs of cracking.

Gaara did not respond to either calling or gentle chakra stimulation.

Whether he was unconscious or under some kind of mind control technique was still uncertain. As for the deeper condition inside his body, a thorough examination would have to be conducted after they left the battlefield.

Having confirmed that Gaara was not in immediate danger, Chiyo let out a long sigh of relief.

Scorpion stood still, watching this scene indifferently.

Seeing that Chiyo, who had been questioning him about the Third Kazekage just a moment ago, now focused all her attention on Gaara,

A vague sense of unease arose in the depths of his consciousness for no apparent reason.

After checking on Gaara, Chiyo raised her head again and looked at the devastated battlefield around her.

Iron sand and bone spikes destroyed everything within a radius of several hundred meters.

Despite the fierce battle, Gaara, who had been kidnapped, returned here unharmed.

Chiyo's lips moved slightly, her gaze passing over Obito and Deidara before finally settling on her grandson.

"Sasori, you're here to stop the enemy from taking Gaara away, right?"

Her voice was a little hoarse, and it contained a longing that even she herself was unwilling to admit.

"You discovered someone was attacking Gaara before the village did, which is why you chased them here and fought them like this in the desert... Is that right?"

This doesn't sound like a question; it sounds more like Chiyo is trying to find an answer for Sasori that can still convince herself.

The sandstorm swept between the two of them, and the air fell silent again.

Scorpion lowered his head and remained silent.

The initial purpose of this battle was indeed not to protect Gaara.

He only discovered Kabuto and wanted to use the opportunity to find Orochimaru.

As for Kimimaro, he was nothing more than an ambush planted here by that vile snake.

From beginning to end, this was all a personal feud between him and Orochimaru.

Scorpion couldn't agree with Chiyo's words and didn't want to fabricate a clumsy lie at this time.

Silence became the only answer he could give.

Chiyo looked at him, and the glimmer of light that had just appeared in her eyes gradually faded.

She didn't press further, but simply shook her head bitterly and helped Gaara up, along with the gourd on his back.

Several chakra threads extended from her fingers, supporting the heavy gourd and sharing most of the boy's weight, allowing her to carry him steadily on her back.

The sand inside the gourd trembled gently with the movement, making a soft rustling sound.

Chiyo turned around and walked back towards Sunagakure in the direction she had come from.

After walking a few steps, she stopped, leaning on her cane, but did not turn around.

"I won't thank you for what happened today." The aged voice carried back on the sandstorm, "But the fact that I, Dana, returned safely means that at least... you haven't completely turned your back on the village."

After saying this, Chiyo continued forward, quickly crossing a nearby sand dune, her figure gradually disappearing into the depths of the sandstorm.

Only after she completely left did the suffocating oppression on the battlefield finally dissipate.

The chakra that had been taut within Sasori's regeneration core relaxed slightly.

He had already prepared for the worst.

Chiyo immediately turned hostile, and the Sand Village ninjas rushed to the scene. The two sides completely broke off relations, and he had no choice but to fight his way out with Deidara and Tobi.

At that point, Akatsuki's mission in Sunagakure would inevitably fail, and there would be no room for maneuver between him and the village.

Chiyo ultimately did nothing.

She chose to temporarily suppress the matter of the Third Kazekage and returned to Sunagakure alone with Gaara.

With a flick of his fingers, Scorpion drew the scattered iron filings across the battlefield to the Third Kazekage puppet, where they converged and then burrowed into the still-open mouth mechanism.

As the last wisp of iron sand disappeared, the puppet's jaw snapped shut.

He took out the scroll, and as a puff of white smoke rose, the Third Kazekage's puppet was put back in.

The three bird puppets that had been hovering high in the sky then descended, folding their wings one by one and sliding back into the scorpion's wide sleeves.

Deidara then jumped down from the clay bird, brushed the dust off his red robe, and his face returned to its usual carefree expression.

"Scorpion, what's next? Keep chasing Orochimaru, or go back to the village?" He glanced back in the direction Kimimaro had left, still somewhat unsatisfied. "But that white-haired brat was really something. Next time we run into him, you have to let me handle him. I'm going to show him what real art is, hmm!"

"go back."

"Huh?" Deidara raised an eyebrow. "Back to Sunagakure?"

Sasori turned his gaze away from the direction Chiyo had left, remained silent for a moment, and then turned and walked towards Sunagakure.

"Orochimaru came prepared this time and had already prepared an escape route for himself. Now we can't catch up with him."

"Since the old woman has chosen to remain silent, she probably won't reveal the matter of the Third Kazekage for the time being. As long as the news hasn't been made public, we still have room to maneuver in Sunagakure. Let's go back and see what the situation is like."

Just as the two were talking, an extremely untimely knocking sound came from not far away, accompanied by Obito's exaggerated shouts.

"Wow, that's incredible! That's absolutely amazing!"

Obito was squatting next to a giant bone spike, holding a kunai in his hand, tapping and knocking at the grayish-white bone fragments exposed outside the sand.

When the kunai made contact with the bone surface, it emitted a faint hissing sound.

Almost no trace was left on the grayish-white bone, but several rust spots quickly appeared on the edge of the kunai, and a small piece was missing from the tip.

"Deidara-senpai, come quick!" Obito held up the chipped kunai, his excitement like that of someone who had discovered a priceless treasure. "This bone is not only ridiculously hard, it can even bite kunai!"

Seeing Afei's uncultured and ignorant appearance, Deidara's forehead twitched. He strode over, grabbed the back of Afei's red robe by the collar, and dragged him backward like a chick.

"Stop dawdling, let's go!"

"Aaaaah! My neck, my neck is going to break!"

Obito was pulled so hard that he lost his balance and staggered back six or seven steps before he could barely stand.

He rubbed his neck, sighed dramatically, then puffed out his chest, put his hands on his hips, and struck a self-righteous pose.

"How could Deidara treat a hero like this? Tobi just did something incredibly important!"

"Honors?"

Deidara scoffed, "What else can you do besides yelling? You fell behind while we were chasing them, didn't you realize that?"

"That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous!" Obito gestured wildly. "Tobi went through all that trouble to retrieve the lost Jinchuriki! How can Deidara-senpai just deny such a huge contribution?"

"whispering sound."

Deidara didn't even bother to look at him: "It's just that you, you idiot, got lucky and happened to run into him."

Sasori, who had been silent until now, stopped and turned to look at Obito.

He suddenly realized that something was wrong.

"Tobi, Gaara was most likely in Orochimaru's hands just now. How exactly did you 'recover' the Jinchuriki from him?"

Deidara also realized what was happening and looked at Afei with some doubt.

If Orochimaru really did steal the Jinchuriki in secret, how could Tobi, a trainee who usually only shows off his skills and hardly ever displays any real abilities, possibly snatch the person back unharmed?

Despite the scrutiny of his two seniors, Obito showed no sign of weakness.

He put his hands behind his head and said smugly, "I suddenly jumped out from behind a sand dune, pointed at Orochimaru's nose and shouted, 'Don't run! Put him down!'"

Obito deliberately kept everyone in suspense, looking around before whispering, "And guess what? He dropped the Jinchuriki, turned around, and ran away without even looking back! It must be that Lord Tobi's aura today was too terrifying, completely intimidating him!"

Scorpion stared at him silently, his lips twitching.

Orochimaru was so frightened by this idiot that he abandoned the Jinchuriki and ran away.

Even the thought of it once made him feel like he was insulting his intelligence.

"Idiot." Deidara rolled his eyes without any politeness.

"Orochimaru probably realized that the Sunagakure pursuers were getting closer and closer, and it was inconvenient to travel while carrying an unconscious Jinchuriki, so he simply abandoned him halfway and then came to pick up that white-haired kid and Kabuto. You idiot just happened to be following behind and picked him up."

This analysis made Scorpion nod and say, "To protect himself, he is willing to abandon his prey at any time, which is indeed the consistent style of that stinky snake."

Compared to Tobi's utterly absurd nonsense, Deidara's speculation is undoubtedly more in line with reality.

However, when Scorpion looked at that orange swirling mask again, he still had many doubts in his mind.

Is it really that much of a coincidence?

Not only did Tobi happen to bring Gaara back from Orochimaru, but he also arrived just in time to break the deadlock between Tobi and Chiyo, thus ending the seemingly unmanageable situation.

Sasori couldn't believe that this guy who was always jumping around could snatch the Jinchuriki from Orochimaru's hands.

But it's also possible that, as Deidara said, Afei just inexplicably stumbled upon good luck.

Scorpion nodded calmly and said, "You did a good job this time."

Upon hearing this, Obito said smugly, "Deidara-senpai, did you hear that? Sasori-senpai said Tobi did a great job!"

"Alright, let's go."

Deidara shook his head, too lazy to waste any more words with him, and turned to stride forward: "If you utter another word, I'll leave you here alone to feed the stray dogs, hmm!"

"Wait for me, Deidara-senpai!"

Obito skipped and hopped after him, asking, "Does Sunagakure have any delicious local specialties? Tobi has done such a great service, shouldn't you two seniors treat us?"

Scorpion lagged behind the group, his gaze lingering for a moment on the bouncy, skipping figure.

……

On the other side, amidst the swirling sand and dust of the desert, several dark figures were advancing rapidly.

Maki, who was leading the group, had a livid face and had pushed his speed to the limit.

The abduction of a Jinchuriki from within the village is an unprecedented and devastating event in the history of Sunagakure, a disaster that could shake the entire village.

Whoever the enemy is, they must take Gaara back before the enemy leaves the Land of Wind.

Just as the group crossed a sand dune, a small silhouette suddenly appeared in the gray sandstorm ahead.

"stop!"

Maki raised his right hand, and several members of the secret service behind him immediately spread out to the sides, each gripping their weapons and forming a defensive formation.

The figure quickly became visible in the sandstorm.

Chiyo emerged, covered in dust, and on her back lay a red-haired boy with his eyes closed.

"Chiyo-sama?"

When Maki saw Gaara clearly, he was visibly stunned for a moment, then quickly went to meet him.

He first glanced at Gaara, who showed no reaction, then looked at Chiyo.

"You rescued them? Where are the enemy? Should we go there to provide support immediately?"

"No."

Chiyo interrupted him, glancing behind her.

The gaze passed over the rolling sand dunes and landed on the still faintly visible gray-white bone forest in the distance.

Chiyo quickly looked away and said to Maki, "It was Sasori and the others who first discovered the enemy's trail, and it was they who saved Gaara. The enemy has already escaped. Tell everyone to withdraw and stop chasing."

"Is it Scorpion and his group?"

Maki paused, then subconsciously looked into the depths of the desert again: "Lady Chiyo, do we really not need support? Those guys who dared to steal a Jinchuriki from the village are no ordinary people. What if Sasori is still fighting them..."

"Don't you understand what I'm saying, Machi?"

Chiyo emphasized her words, not giving him a chance to continue asking questions.

"The enemy has escaped, and Gaara has lost consciousness. His situation is unclear. The most important thing now is to ensure the safety of the Jinchuriki."

"Lost consciousness?"

Machi's expression immediately turned serious.

For an ordinary ninja, a brief period of unconsciousness might not be considered serious.

If it were the One-Tailed Jinchuriki, this state itself would mean danger.

The seal on Gaara was flawed from the beginning; once his consciousness fell into a deep sleep, the suppression of Shukaku would weaken accordingly.

The tailed beasts could break free of their restraints at any time and take over the bodies of their jinchūriki.

Thinking of the consequences, Maki broke out in a cold sweat. Despite the hot wind blowing around him, a chill ran down his back.

"Return to the village immediately and notify the medical team and the sealing team!"

He turned to his men and ordered, "The rest of you, stay put and keep watch. Don't let anything near here until reinforcements arrive!"

Several secret agents responded in unison and immediately split into two teams.

One team turned back to Sunagakure to request reinforcements, while the other team dispersed to the surrounding areas, closely protecting Chiyo and Gaara in the center.

Chiyo laid Gaara on his side on the sand, and only after seeing that the others were no longer venturing deeper into the battlefield did her tense nerves relax a little.

She was in a hurry to take Gaara away from that battlefield, not only because she was worried about his condition, but also because she didn't want Maki and the other Anbu to see the Third Kazekage's puppet.

Although Kimimaro's bone forest was formidable, it was ultimately able to push against the enemy's bloodline limit.

There was simply no way to explain the Third Kazekage's face, which was recognized by everyone in Sunagakure.

Once Maki and the secret service witnessed it firsthand, the matter could no longer be suppressed.

Sasori turned the corpse of the Third Kazekage into a human puppet.

If this news were to spread in Sunagakure, the last fragile connection between him and the village would be completely severed.

By then, let alone getting Sasori back to Sunagakure, the best outcome would be if the two sides didn't immediately clash.

Chiyo closed her eyes, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing on her heart.

She did not forgive Sasori for what he had done, and she could not possibly pretend that the death of the Third Kazekage had never happened.

But at this moment, she ultimately chose to keep the truth to herself for the time being.

Ultimately, this was nothing more than the last remaining, shameful secret of this old woman who had one foot in the grave.

Thinking about it carefully, since Sasori returned to the village, apart from his consistently cold attitude, he has not done anything to harm Sunagakure to this day.

Moreover, Gaara's safe return this time was also inseparable from his companions.

At least for now, this is a fantastic thing.

About fifteen minutes later, the medical team and the sealing team of ninjas arrived one after the other.

They first spread several sealing cloths around Gaara to make sure that moving him would not immediately stimulate Shukaku, and then carefully removed the gourd from his back before lifting him onto a stretcher and returning to Sunagakure under the close escort of two ANBU squads.

Upon returning to the village, Gaara was immediately taken to a pre-arranged sealing chamber.

Several medical ninjas took turns examining the seal, and the sealing team checked the sealing technique several times from beginning to end. The final result was the same as Chiyo's initial assessment.

There were no external injuries, no poisoning, and the seal was not broken.

Gaara, however, has yet to wake up.

To guard against Shukaku's potential rampage, the Sand Ninja stood guard outside the sealing chamber, their eyes never leaving Gaara.

As time passed, the glaring sun outside the window gradually sank into the sea of ​​sand, and the golden-red afterglow was slowly swallowed by the night.

Gaara kept his eyes closed, and his usually furrowed brows had unconsciously relaxed.

He did not wake up, nor did he show any signs of the tailed beast going berserk.

"Chiyo-sama."

Maki stared at Gaara in the center of the sealing cloth, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper: "Isn't something wrong? In the past, even if Gaara just closed his eyes and dozed off for a moment, Shukaku inside him would immediately become agitated. Now so much time has passed, how can it not react at all?"

Chiyo also felt something was wrong.

Given Shukaku's temperament, he would never let go of any opportunity to possess a Jinchuriki's body.

Gaara has been unconscious for so long, yet it remains so quiet as if it doesn't exist at all, which is even more incomprehensible than its rampage.

"I'll take a look myself."

Chiyo stepped forward with a stern face and placed one hand on the seal on Gaara's abdomen.

This time, instead of just checking the surface of the technique, she released a wisp of chakra and probed deeper into the seal through the gaps in the seal.

A moment later, Chiyo suddenly froze.

Using that wisp of chakra, she could clearly sense the One-Tailed Shukaku deep within the seal.

This usually ferocious and violent tailed beast seemed to be suppressed by some stronger force at this moment, obediently curling up in the deepest part of the seal, not daring to move at all.

"How is this possible..."

Chiyo muttered to herself unconsciously, and then checked Gaara's body from head to toe again.

There were no injuries, no unusual surgical procedures, and the vital signs were very stable.

The previous assessment of being in a coma was inaccurate. Gaara's consciousness was not damaged, and his current state was closer to a deep sleep that Chiyo had never seen in him before.

"Lady Chiyo, what exactly happened?"

Maki, watching anxiously from the sidelines, asked, "Has the enemy left some kind of backup plan? Should we forcefully awaken Gaara now?"

Chiyo slowly turned around, her expression indescribably strange.

She remained silent for a moment before shaking her head.

"No need to force it to wake up."

She looked down at Gaara's unusually relaxed face, her expression still showing a hint of disbelief, and said incredulously, "He's not unconscious, he's just sleeping."

"Lady Chiyo, you mean..." Maki froze on the spot.