Kankuro could still tell the difference between a corpse and a living person.
Even without Gaara's faint breathing, the fact that the lividity had faded from his skin, restoring its color from deathly pale to rosy, was enough to tell.
Temari stared in disbelief. "Elder Chiyo, what... what did you do?"
Chiyo replied calmly, "It was nothing more than a Forbidden Jutsu that traded one life for another."
"Traded one life for another!?" Temari paused, her expression turning conflicted. "You mean you used your own life to bring Gaara back?"
Chiyo waved a hand. "This old woman doesn't have much time left. Go call Pakura and Baki in. I have something to tell them!"
"Yes!"
Temari and Kankuro bowed and obeyed.
Before long,
Pakura and Baki hurried into Chiyo's room. When they saw that Gaara had regained his breath, they were both taken aback.
After learning that Chiyo had used Reanimation Jutsu to save Gaara, Pakura frowned. "Elder, why choose this moment?"
Baki chimed in, too. "The Fourth Kazekage just died. The village needs you to take charge more than ever. How could you sacrifice yourself now?"
Chiyo shook her head. "Sunagakure doesn't need an old woman like me. It needs a future like Gaara!"
With things as they were, Pakura and Baki could only sigh helplessly.
Chiyo continued, "Before I die, I propose, in my capacity as an Elder, that Pakura succeed as the village's Fifth Kazekage! I propose that Baki take over as Elder!"
Pakura was startled. "What!?"
Chiyo ordered them in an unquestionable tone, "Don't think this is some cushy job. The next battle may well be the final one. Whether the Five Great Shinobi Villages survive will depend on you!"
"I understand!"
Pakura nodded.
Konoha Hospital.
After Sunagakure brought Gaara to Konoha Hospital, news that he