Temari was desperately trying to join Naruto and the others on their mission to rescue Gaara.
Shindai sneered, "Got absolutely no shame, huh? You think a few Konoha ninja can just bail your jinchuriki out?"
Kakashi, we're only here for backup. Forget the rescue task. Let their jinchuriki handle it. Without their jinchuriki and already broke, Sunagakure is done for anyway."
Baki's face turned pale, but he didn't back down.
As Kazekage, sending ninja to rescue Gaara would leave the village vulnerable. If Sunagakure were attacked again, he'd never forgive himself.
Between the jinchuriki and the village, Baki chose the village—and could only choose the village.
"I'm going!"
From atop a building, Chiyo appeared.
Standing above them all, Chiyo declared, "This Sand Village matter is mine to deal with."
Stunned, Temari and Baki stared at Chiyo. "Granny Chiyo?"
Chiyo smiled. "After all, I've been out of the game for years. What I do now is my choice. Don't look at me like I'm some helpless old hag!"
Chiyo leaped down from the rooftop. "It's been so long… I just want to see my dear grandson again."
Shindai mocked, "What a brilliant idea—sending an old hag who's got one foot in the grave into battle. Don't drop dead after taking just a few steps."
Calmly, Chiyo replied, "No need to worry about me. Even if I do die, it's got nothing to do with you."
Shindai snorted coldly, "Hmph. Better yet, croak halfway there. I'll toss your corpse straight into Sasori's face."
Kakashi interjected, "Enough. Time to move out."
Shindai's group headed toward the Land of Rivers.
...
Inside the Land of Rivers.
Zetsu, lurking in concealment, noticed Shindai's group drawing near.
Inside a cave, Zetsu's illusionary image reported, "They're strong enemies—Shindai, Kakashi, Sunagakure's Chiyo, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and three Konoha ninja."
Hidan grumbled angrily, "Damn it, wish I were there. That damn puppet bastard—I'd rip him limb from limb and offer every shred to Lord Jashin!"
The Deva Path spoke up, "Doesn't matter. The extraction of the One-Tail is almost complete. By the time they get here, it'll all be over. I've already marked the Three-Tails. We'll begin the sealing process in a week."
Shindai's group had already arrived outside the cave, hidden behind a massive boulder.
Hinata checked what was happening inside the cave using her Byakugan first.
When she saw what was inside, Hinata flinched back in fear.
Naruto anxiously asked, "Hinata, what's going on in there? Is Gaara inside?"
Hinata's voice trembled slightly as she spoke, "Gaara is lying on the ground, and... and there's something else—an enormous stone statue I can't even begin to describe. But this statue seemed alive… I saw its eyes close..."
Shindai furrowed his eyebrows. More than likely, it was the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Since Gaara lay collapsed on the ground, it could only mean one thing—Shukaku had already been extracted from him. As a Jinchuriki, Gaara had died the moment he lost his Tailed Beast.
Without hesitation, Naruto formed a Big Ball Rasengan, hoping to blast through the boulder and reach Gaara—but when it hit the rock, it didn't budge an inch.
After investigating, Kakashi discovered that the boulder had been sealed with a Five-Seal Barrier.
This barrier was anchored to five chakra seals placed in locations surrounding the hideout. Within the range of these seals, the space itself became a Ninjutsu barrier field.
Since object destruction was impossible within the space, the only way to break this barrier was to locate all five chakra seals and destroy them at once.
For Shindai, however, this was simple—he could just send puppets to do it all simultaneously.
Deep inside the cave, now that the Tailed Beast had been extracted, the other illusions and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had already vanished. Deidara and Sasori were now simply waiting for Shindai and his team to break through the seal.
Deidara grumbled impatiently, "If they're coming, then get a move on! What's taking so long?"
Sasori didn't reply, so Deidara glanced over and asked, "What's wrong, Aniki Sasori? Don't you hate waiting?"
Sasori responded with a sinister tone, "Mmm. Nothing I loathe more."
...
Shindai asked, "My puppets are ready. Are all of you ready too?"
"We're ready! Let's do it!"
"Three! Two! One!"
At the exact same moment, Shindai's five puppets pulled off the chakra seals. Sakura unleashed her monstrous strength, punching and shattering the giant boulder blocking the entrance to the cave.
As the massive stone crumbled away, Shindai and the others stormed into the cave.
Inside the cave, only Sasori and Deidara remained—along with Gaara's lifeless body, which Deidara was casually using as a seat.
Naruto stared blankly at Gaara's corpse, his expression slowly twisting into rage.
Deidara scanned the group with a smirk, "Hey now, which one of you is the Jinchuriki?"
Naruto's eyes turned completely red, his pupils shifting into crimson beast-like forms as he roared furiously, "You bastards! I'll tear you both apart!"
He lunged forward, but Kakashi held him back.
Looking directly at Naruto, Deidara said, "So it's you, huh? Guess you want this Jinchuriki's corpse back, don't you? Aniki Sasori, I'll be taking this one's body—the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki here will be my opponent. Since you're a Puppet Master, surely you've got someone you'd prefer to fight yourself."
Sasori's gaze settled on Shindai and Chiyo as he let out a quiet "Hmm."
"Then I'll be going first."
Deidara crafted an Explosive Clay bird, which swallowed Gaara's corpse whole before flying out of the cave.
Naruto immediately took pursuit, with Sasuke closely following him outside. Kakashi sighed in frustration, "Naruto again — impossible to stop. Shindai, why didn't you try stopping him too?"
Shindai stared at Sasori with great interest and said, "I never intended to stop anyone. Kakashi, you take care of Deidara. Hinata, you're coming too — after all, you know his weaknesses. This one… he's mine."
Kakashi gave a quick breath and said, "Alright then. Let's go, Hinata and Sakura!"
But Sakura replied, "Let me stay behind and help Shindai fight him."
Kakashi considered that Sasori was skilled in poison, and Sakura had made antidotes before. Moreover, since Deidara was far more mobile and Sakura lacked speed, it made more tactical sense for her to stay behind and assist Shindai and Chiyo in battle.
"Fine. Then come with me, Hinata!"
"Okay!"
Kakashi and Hinata left the cave to chase after Deidara.
Shindai looked at Sasori and grinned darkly. [Roaring with conviction] "You escaped last time. But this time, I'm ending this once and for all!"
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