Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

As Chiyo performed her jutsu, Natsuro slowly closed his eyes, fully immersing himself in his senses, it wasn't something he hadn't done in a long time.

Then, Natsuro saw it: what emerged from Chiyo's body was more than just chakra. There was also an indescribable force...

Is this the power of life itself?

A faint smile appeared on Natsuro's lips as realization dawned on him. Unlike the Akimichi clan's techniques, which relied on using their bodies without truly understanding the underlying principles, Chiyo's forbidden jutsu directly connected chakra to life force, revealing its fundamental essence to Natsuro without concealment.

Natsuro was confident now: having seen the essence of this force, his study of Yang Release would no longer feel like grasping in the dark.

He opened his eyes to see Chiyo lying peacefully as though asleep, with Naruto kneeling beside her.

From the distance came the sound of movement, a significant force was approaching, likely the Sunagakure reinforcements.

With the Suna forces arrived Team Guy, who had successfully cleared the obstacles in their path. Among them was Temari, who quickly rushed over upon seeing Gaara.

"Gaara!" Temari and the still-recovering Kankurō cried out in alarm as they spotted Gaara lying on the ground.

"He's fine now. Chiyo used a remarkable jutsu to save him," Natsuro explained.

"Granny Chiyo is incredible. She managed to do something even Natsuro couldn't do!" Naruto said with a smile.

In Naruto's mind, there was nothing Natsuro couldn't do, but today, he had seen otherwise. This moment showed Naruto that even Natsuro wasn't omnipotent.

"I see... So Granny Chiyo used that jutsu..." Kankurō and Temari's faces turned somber.

Kankurō looked at Chiyo's serene expression, remembering how she couldn't sit still after learning about Sasori. Even though Captain Baki had tried to stop her, she had insisted on coming to the battlefield to settle things with her grandson once and for all.

Now, seeing her peaceful passing, Kankurō understood that her final wish had been fulfilled.

"Why are you all so sad? Gaara's been saved, hasn't he?" Naruto asked, confused by Temari and Kankurō's sorrowful expressions.

"Naruto, stop talking," Sasuke suddenly interjected.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"Naruto, everything comes at a price," Natsuro said calmly. "Chiyo is gone. She gave her life to save Gaara."

"Granny Chiyo isn't just resting because she's tired?" Naruto froze, his voice cracking as he looked at the grieving Sunagakure shinobi. Slowly, he realized Natsuro was telling the truth.

Naruto's mood sank.

Gaara, meanwhile, felt as though he was drifting through an empty void that was cold, lifeless, and devoid of anything.

In that endless silence, he began to understand: So this... is death? So lonely, so cold...

Was his death truly so insignificant? Would no one care or notice?

As Gaara surrendered himself to the void, a sudden warmth spread through him, breaking the cold. Confused, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

Who is it? Who's calling me?

Struggling against the darkness, Gaara slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a head of golden hair and a familiar face, tinged with sadness.

"Uzumaki... Naruto?"

"Yeah, it's me. And everyone's here," Naruto replied softly, before telling Gaara what Chiyo had done—how she had sacrificed her life to save him.

Gaara froze, stunned. For a moment, he thought he heard a faint voice in his mind, telling him:

"The future of Sunagakure is in your hands. Build good relations with Konoha."

Wasn't Chiyo the greatest obstacle to cooperation between Sunagakure and Konoha?

Gaara couldn't comprehend it, but at that moment, he didn't want to think too much about it. Rising to his feet, he looked at Temari, Kankurō, and the other Suna shinobi gathering in the distance.

At that moment, Gaara realized something profound, he was no longer alone. Behind him stood the entire Sunagakure.

.....

"Since you're back on your feet, take this," Natsuro said as he held Shukaku by the scruff of its neck and looked at Gaara.

Gaara stared silently at the miniature Shukaku, which struggled in Natsuro's grip but couldn't escape no matter how hard it tried.

Is this really the same Shukaku that tormented me for over a decade? Why did it now look so pitiful and embarrassing?

Even though Gaara knew Shukaku's strength was a fraction of what it had been, seeing it treated like this still felt... off.

Natsuro casually tossed Shukaku toward Gaara. "You won't need a sealing ceremony. Its remaining power is so weak you should be able to suppress it easily."

Gaara caught Shukaku, but its constant struggling left him flustered. Shukaku might look like a toy in Natsuro's hands, but its strength was still considerable.

Eventually, Gaara followed Natsuro's example, gathering chakra into his hand and gripping Shukaku firmly by the neck.

"Hey! Let go of me, brat! I don't want to stay with you! Only that guy over there is worthy of me!" Shukaku snarled while struggling, glaring venomously at Natsuro.

Gaara remained silent. He knew exactly who Shukaku was referring to, it was Natsuro.

Natsuro, however, shook his head in amusement. "Even if you were at full power, I wouldn't be interested. Let alone now. If it were Kurama or Gyūki, maybe I'd consider it... But you? No chance."

At that, Shukaku stopped struggling. Its entire demeanor shifted as it began to gather chakra in its mouth, preparing a jutsu.

Clearly, Natsuro's words had enraged it to the breaking point. Forget everything else, it just wanted to teach this cocky bastard a lesson.

Seeing Shukaku's actions, Natsuro's eyes narrowed dangerously. Despite its current appearance, Shukaku wasn't his pet and still posed a threat.

Before things could escalate, Gaara interrupted Shukaku's jutsu. After some thought, he condensed his chakra into a new gourd and strapped it onto his back.

With visible reluctance, Gaara shoved the struggling Shukaku into the gourd. If this went on, Gaara feared Shukaku's remaining chakra might dissipate entirely.

Once Gaara had secured the miniature Shukaku, Natsuro spoke again. "Well then, this concludes our mission. You Sand Shinobi probably have a lot to deal with now, so we won't stay and interfere."

"Wait, Natsuro," Gaara called out.

"Hm? What is it?" Natsuro asked, a little puzzled.

"Regarding the Fifth Hokage's earlier proposal, I now have the authority to fully represent Sunagakure and agree to it," Gaara said firmly.

"But... you've already..." Natsuro trailed off. His meaning was clear: Sunagakure had already lost Shukaku. The remaining "pet-like" version wasn't even worth Akatsuki's attention.

For Sunagakure, the threat of Akatsuki was essentially gone, so why willingly join the conflict?

"Sunagakure is Konoha's ally. Moreover, I don't plan to just let the events that transpired slide," Gaara said coldly, a determined light flashing in his eyes.

Temari and Kankurō both nodded in agreement, supporting Gaara's decision.

"Alright then. I'll relay that to the Hokage," Natsuro nodded. Whatever Gaara's reasons were, this was ultimately good news for Konoha.

After a moment's thought, Natsuro added, "Oh, and Gaara, if you're thinking about revenge, I'm afraid it's pointless. See that massive crater over there? That's from when the enemy blew themselves up."

Gaara turned toward the crater, his eyes widening slightly in shock. Such overwhelming destructive force...

"Self-destruction?" Gaara asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, the guy was out of options, so he blew himself up," Natsuro confirmed.

"Then… were you all okay?" Gaara couldn't help but ask. Such a blast would have obliterated anyone caught in it.

"Of course we're fine! Kakashi-sensei said Natsuro took out that guy, who was flying around on a bird, dropping clay bombs, with a single strike and forced him to self-destruct!" Naruto said with a grin.

He had been stunned when he first heard about it and had spent a long time regretting that he'd been unconscious at the time. Now, at least, he could share the story with someone else.

Gaara fell silent. If anyone else had told him this, he might not have believed it. But since it was Naruto...

Gaara turned his gaze toward Natsuro. The enemy who had caused so much trouble for him and his village had been taken down with a single strike?

At that moment, Gaara began to understand why Granny Chiyo had left him with those final words. She had seen something far beyond the realm of common understanding, it was Natsuro's overwhelming strength.

Temari and Kankurō also fell silent at this moment. They had been drawn here by the unbelievably powerful explosion. They had assumed a fierce battle had taken place, but… a single move?

Natsuro merely smiled at Gaara, tacitly confirming Naruto's words. He had anticipated that Naruto would "cooperate," and sure enough, he had.

This served to establish a certain deterrent effect.

To Natsuro, showing strength was far more reliable than a treaty written on paper.

Afterward, Gaara and the Sand Shinobi expressed their gratitude to the Konoha team for their timely support.

Once the Sand's thanks were received, the Konoha team finally began their journey back home.

However, two people were noticeably absent—Natsuro and Ino.

Natsuro had already used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Ino back to Konoha. As for the others? There were plenty of them, and the distance to Konoha was still considerable. He had no intention of being free transportation.

The remaining members could only sigh at this and didn't complain further.

Sasuke, meanwhile, let out a quiet sigh. Looking at Sakura and Karin, who were walking beside him and occasionally clashing with each other, he began to wonder, should he have asked Natsuro to take him back as well?

Naruto noticed Sasuke's situation and felt a bit downcast himself, though he didn't let it show.

Instead, he loudly grumbled, trying to hide his feelings.

"That guy Natsuro is so biased toward his girlfriend! What happened to bros before anything else?!"

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Currently on Chapter 260 - The Third Hokage's Letter