The moment their ninja ways resonated!

The newcomer was Kabuto. He had tracked the Blade Reversal mark on Sasuke, and Granny Chiyo had come with him.

Baki was visibly anxious. "Lady Chiyo, what brings you here...?!"

Chiyo said, "This young man named Kabuto came looking for me. To confirm whether what he said was true, I accompanied him here to see for myself."

Sasuke glanced at her. So this is Granny Chiyo, the elder from Sunagakure who once fought Sasori alongside Sakura...

Chiyo surveyed everyone present. Her gaze paused briefly on Orochimaru. "There are a few familiar faces here. You were one of those Hanzō bestowed the title of Sannin upon. Were you the one who directed Kabuto to me?"

Orochimaru bowed slightly. "This was Kabuto's own decision. I did not instruct him to do so."

She turned to Sasuke. "And you must be the one who killed my grandson, Red Sand Scorpion?"

Sasuke nodded. "I am."

Chiyo looked away. "I know the whole story now. Sasori's sins were grave, and he deserved to die. I came here to bring this tragedy to an end..."

She walked straight to Gaara's body, her gaze somber. "I was the one who arranged for him to be chosen as a Jinchūriki. That he ultimately met this end was hardly unexpected. It's just..."

She recalled the scene several days earlier, when Shukaku had gone berserk... Gaara had pitted his own will against Shukaku and saved the village.

"I truly never imagined that this child, who had never known what love was growing up, would sacrifice himself to protect the village in the end!"

Kabuto Yakushi stepped forward. "Now that you've confirmed it, will you teach me that technique?"

Chiyo glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Kabuto, you've been keeping something from me, haven't you?"

Kabuto Yakushi froze. He adjusted his glasses and steadied himself. "W-what do you mean...?"

Chiyo did not press him. She simply said gravely, "Throughout my life, I've seen loyalty and treachery, goodness and evil. I believe I have an eye for understanding people and the world. If someone's nature changes drastically in a short time, something unknown to others must have happened. Since you wish to conceal it, I won't pry. I'm already nearing the end of my life anyway. Perhaps the only thing I can do is leave this Shinobi World a young sprout of hope!"

As her words fell, Granny Chiyo raised her hands and formed hand seals. Azure life energy enveloped her aged hands!

Kabuto Yakushi was shocked. "You... you intend to..."

Granny Chiyo murmured, "This isn't for you, nor is it for anyone else. I owe him this life. I could have stopped the Akatsuki, but I stood by and let him be taken away before my eyes. So I must be the one to finish this. This is cause and effect!"

Under everyone's conflicted gazes, Granny Chiyo held her hands over Gaara's chest, pouring an unbroken stream of pure life energy into him!

—Forbidden technique: Life Reincarnation!

Kankuro asked, "What is Granny Chiyo going to do?"

Baki's expression was solemn. "Granny Chiyo has long been researching how to give puppets life, and she succeeded. This technique can even bring the dead back to life. Of course, the price is her own life..."

"Granny, you..."

Granny Chiyo said, "Kankuro, don't look so sad. I originally intended to use this technique when Sasori returned, to give life to his first creations, Father and Mother. But now, it seems I've found a more worthwhile use for it. So promise me that you'll carry on the legacy of Father and Mother. Give them a meaning that transcends life itself: the power called 'heart,' which matters more to every puppeteer than chakra or skill!"

Kankuro choked back tears. "What... what have I done to deserve that honor?!"

As life energy flowed into him, Gaara's stopped heart began to beat again, while the light of life in Granny Chiyo's eyes steadily dimmed.

"Kabuto... forgive me, but I can no longer teach you this technique. Whatever happens, you're still young, with much to offer. Don't give up your life lightly."

Kabuto Yakushi's heart was heavy, and he was deeply shaken. He had originally resolved to do this himself, but now... Granny Chiyo had done it in his place, at the cost of her life.

For the first time since his heart had fallen into darkness, he profoundly felt what it meant to shoulder a ninja's responsibilities from someone other than the director, Orochimaru, or Sasuke!

He bowed deeply. "Thank you... Lady Chiyo. I will remember you and your words!"

"Sasori found his true heart again before he died. As his grandmother, heh, at least I've done something meaningful at the very end, too. Though... it may not make up for my inaction in my later years."

Having found redemption, Chiyo closed her eyes forever as the others watched.

This time, there would be no Impure World Reincarnation. For someone who had died with their wishes fulfilled, the greatest respect was to leave them undisturbed!

As for Gaara, perhaps when he woke and returned to Sunagakure, he would not be greeted with flowers and applause as he had in the previous life. The road ahead of him was still full of thorns.

But this was the choice he had made himself, and he would not stop here.

After arranging Granny Chiyo's remains with dignity, laying out the unconscious Suigetsu and Jugo, and securely binding the captured White Zetsu Clone with vines, everyone gathered around Kabuto. Through the vortex of Blade Reversal, they arrived outside Sunagakure.

Whoosh! Sasuke swept his white cloak outward. "Everything we came to do is finished. It's time we said goodbye."

Kankuro stood up. "Hey... forgive me for the things I said along the way. And thank you!"

Sasuke stopped. "You don't need to thank me. Besides, I didn't really do anything..."

Temari held Gaara in her arms. "No, we have to thank you! If it weren't for you, we might never have seen Gaara again!"

Click!

Sasuke slowly slid the Kusanagi Sword into its sheath, then said thoughtfully, "If you really want to thank me, help Gaara become a ninja worthy of the name of Kage..."

Watching Sasuke's white-clad back, Kankuro sighed. "He seems to have changed quite a bit. But the one thing that hasn't changed is probably how much he loves showing off..."

A girlish blush spread across Temari's face. "If he weren't a rogue ninja, being the woman in his arms might not be so bad..."

Baki was even more moved. "We owe them such an enormous debt. I suppose I'll turn a blind eye to them taking the Dragon Vein..."

On Blue Moon Island, a space-time vortex swirled.

After many days away, they had finally returned. Four people had set out; they came back with two more people and one extra creature.

Sasuke said, "I fed Suigetsu and Jugo some fragments of the future. They won't wake up anytime soon. But it looks like you brought back some 'trouble.'"

Orochimaru said, "I have another use for this White Zetsu."

Sasuke said, "Kabuto... next time you do something like this, let us know beforehand. We're a team. We move forward and retreat together."

Kabuto said, "Understood."

Sasuke said, "Karin, the side effects in your eyes haven't gone away yet, have they? Go get some rest."

Karin asked, "What about you, Sasuke...?"

A guarded look surfaced in Sasuke's eyes. "It's time to start preparing for the Third Match. Whoever my opponent is this time, the day I meet Itachi doesn't seem far off..."