Gaara slowly opened his bloodshot eyes. They were still dull, but at least he had clawed his way back from death's door.
At the sight, Naruto dropped to his knees, wiped away his tears and snot, and kept calling Gaara's name.
Sen Senju had no time to watch their touching reunion. He turned his gaze toward the heap of metal scraps dismantled in the corner.
That fellow named Sasori still had his core body tucked behind the wreckage, ready to pull something amid the chaos.
"Hey, puppet boy. Haven't you had enough?"
Sen Senju walked over, his soles crunching against the wood splinters with every step.
His Life Infusion had saved Gaara, but the anger simmering inside him had yet to fade completely.
Sasori clearly hadn't expected this brat to see straight through his carefully concealed Eternal Core Body.
For the first time, his paper-white face showed the kind of terror one might feel upon seeing a ghost.
"You... how did you know I was here too?"
"The puppet shell was completely destroyed. How did you..."
"Save it. With my vine sensing, your little schemes might as well be written on paper."
Sen Senju cut him off and raised his right hand. A faint glow of vivid green chakra shone from his palm.
Sasori's eyes narrowed. He instinctively tried to retreat, but the cold rock wall was already at his back.
His intricately crafted puppet body suddenly seemed so fragile to him, like a pile of rotten wood that could crumble at any moment.
He gritted his teeth and reached behind himself with his one remaining hand, trying to pull out a trump card.
But Sen was far faster.
Before Sasori's wooden hand could reach the scroll at his waist, Sen's vines lunged at him like beasts that hadn't eaten