Sasuke watched Tōma walk toward Sakura, then slowly lifted his gaze to the sky.
The three tomoe in his Sharingan faded, retreating back into ordinary black pupils. His expression was calm, but his thoughts were anything but. Whether it was Tōma's words just now, or the road he would walk from here on, even Sasuke himself couldn't say.
"How is it?" Tōma asked as he arrived beside Sakura and Chiyo. "Do you need help?"
"We're at the final stage," Sakura replied, wiping sweat from her brow. "The rest depends on her body recovering on its own."
"I see."
Tōma nodded and said nothing more. He'd heard Tsunade complain about Chiyo more than once. He didn't dislike her exactly, but he wasn't inclined to be warm either.
Soon, the treatment ended and everyone regrouped.
Chiyo finally took a serious look at Tōma, the Konoha shinobi whose name carried real weight even in Sunagakure.
He looked relaxed, almost harmless.
And yet, for a brief moment, Chiyo's pupils shrank.
For an instant, she thought she saw that man.
The First Hokage.
The thought made no sense. That level of power shouldn't exist again. And certainly not in another Konoha ninja.
When she looked again, the feeling vanished.
A trick of the mind… Chiyo exhaled quietly. Alliances were only ink on paper anyway. When things truly mattered, paper burned easily.
Tōma noticed her scrutiny and glanced back at her. Once was fine. Twice was tolerable. A third time, and he wouldn't bother pretending to be polite.
Thankfully, Chiyo stopped.
"Everyone, hold hands," Tōma said calmly. "And don't resist."
Sakura's eyes lit up instantly. She darted over to Sasuke and grabbed his hand before anyone else could move.
Sasuke hesitated, then sighed and let it happen. He'd intended to barely touch her fingers, but Sakura had no intention of wasting this opportunity.
Inside, she was practically cheering.
This technique is amazing!
Tōma looked at the two of them and shook his head. He'd originally planned for Sakura to hold Chiyo's hand and Sasuke to link with Jūgo. He had two hands, after all.
But saying that now would be social suicide, so he kept quiet.
Once everyone was connected, Tōma reached out to touch Jūgo as well.
"Don't resist."
The moment the words left his mouth, all five vanished from the valley, leaving behind only shattered puppets and scattered remains.
The wind passed softly over Sasori's severed head, brushing through his red hair as if in mourning.
They reappeared beside a massive crater several kilometers wide.
"So this is the Flying Thunder God…" Sasuke thought. He tried to analyze the sensation, even activating his Sharingan.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing to copy.
"This is the Fourth Hokage's technique?" Chiyo whispered, eyes wide. "So it's true… Fujimoto Tōma really mastered it."
She stared at the crater, unease creeping in. There was no terrain like this anywhere near Sunagakure.
As for Sasuke, he tried to pull his hand away.
Failed.
Before he could say anything, black flames flickered as Karin rushed over and grabbed his other hand, locking eyes with Sakura.
Sasuke let out a long sigh.
This is such a hassle.
"Tōma! Sakura! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted when he saw them, relief flashing across his face before quickly fading. "But… something's wrong."
"What happened?" Tōma asked.
"Ino said Gaara's life force keeps draining. She can't stop it."
Chiyo stiffened and turned toward Gaara's body. Tōma frowned and stepped forward.
"He doesn't have many external injuries," Ino said quickly, "but his vitality keeps slipping away."
"I understand."
Tōma examined Gaara carefully. This was the state of a jinchūriki who had lost their tailed beast.
Soon, he sensed a faint remnant of Shukaku's chakra still inside Gaara.
So even that isn't enough…
Naruto had survived losing the Nine-Tails before, but the situations weren't comparable.
Naruto had lost half of Kurama and still retained half. The scale hadn't truly changed.
Shukaku wasn't Kurama. Its chakra reserves were nowhere near that vast. Most of it had already been extracted.
And unlike Naruto, Gaara didn't have an Uzumaki body.
Tōma made a decision.
He placed his hand on Gaara and forcibly drew out the remaining chakra, forming a tiny, miniature Shukaku.
"Who dares summon the great—" Shukaku barked, then froze.
"Answer me," Tōma said calmly. "Can you recover? If Gaara dies, this fragment of you disappears too, right?"
"Tch. Why should I tell you?" Shukaku scoffed.
"Because I could pin you down even at full strength," Tōma replied with a smile. Lightning crackled faintly around his fingers.
Shukaku went silent.
That lightning felt lethal. Even touching it now would erase him. And staring at Tōma's smile, Shukaku felt an all-too-familiar pressure.
It reminded him of that man.
"…No," Shukaku muttered. "I can't recover. What they took wasn't just chakra. It was my will. I'm basically a fragment. The real body is already gone."
"So that's how it is," Tōma sighed, rubbing his temples.
"This is where I step in," Chiyo said quietly.
Tōma looked at her.
She'd seen everything. The threat. The crater. The way even Shukaku backed down.
She felt no hesitation.
An old life for the Kazekage's future was a fair trade.
"Are you sure?" Tōma asked, already knowing the answer. "This isn't a normal injury."
"If his neck were broken, I'd have no way," Chiyo said calmly. "But this state… I do."
There was respect in her voice now. Not for age or position. For strength.
"Alright," Tōma stepped aside.
He expanded his perception to its limit. He wouldn't use the technique himself, but understanding it could be valuable.
Chiyo knelt beside Gaara, her aged face softening.
She thought of her grandson.
She had lived long enough. There was no reason to cling on.
"Sunagakure's future is yours now," she whispered. "Fifth Kazekage."
Her hands pressed down gently.
Forbidden Technique: One's Own Life Reincarnation.