Chapter 57

"Kakashi! My youthful rival! You're late!" Gai announced as soon as they landed.

"Apologies, we got caught up a bit by something troublesome," Kakashi said in a light tone.

"Sakura-san! And Naruto-kun! Your fox got us here quite fast!"

Naruto and Sakura turned to the excited voice, and a smile appeared on Naruto's face when he saw Lee. Aside from his height, nothing had changed.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned to his left. Neji had grown as well, standing only an inch or two shorter than him. He too, had a small smile on his face, and just from the look in his eyes Naruto could tell that he had matured. Naruto gave him a nod, "Let's catch up after this mission. We've got work to do."

And just like that, the atmosphere turned dead serious.

Kakashi walked up to the seal placed on the boulder, studying it for a moment. "This is a five-seal barrier, which means we have to remove four other seals to remove this one." He then turned to Neji. "Neji."

"Hai." Neji activated his byakugan, eyes searching for a signature identical to the seal in front of him.

"One on top of a rock about 500m north-west, one on-"

"No need."

Neji stopped abruptly as everyone present stared at Naruto, who was studying the seal intently. He turned to Neji, "No need to waste your chakra and stamina. I can take it down from here."

"But, wasn't this barrier specifically made to be impossible to remove without removing the other seals?" Kakashi asked in surprise. He didn't know much about seals, but what he did was useful enough for him.

"You're not a seal master and therefore don't think like one. That is where your problem lies, Kakashi."

Naruto took out his fountain pen, filled with sealing ink. Everyone just stared at the blonde in stupefaction, who jumped onto the boulder and started writing seals on the seal tag. The first question that popped in everyone's minds was why Naruto was using a pen, instead of the normal sealing brush. Only Tenten came forward.

"I didn't know you could also use a pen in sealing, Naruto."

Naruto didn't look away for a second, nor did his expression change. "Why not? Fill the sealing ink in a pen and I don't see why that can't be used. People think way too much inside the box for my taste."

Though it was not intended to be a mock, Tenten blushed sheepishly. She was no master, but she liked to think that she had an above average knowledge of fuinjutsu for her age. She had been trying to think of a way to take the barrier down some other way than splitting up, but couldn't think of any. And then Naruto comes and announces in less than a minute that he could take this down.

She had no idea just how big of a gap was between her and Naruto.

"Uh, what are you doing Naruto?" Tenten asked, trying to make sense of the characters Naruto was writing around the tag.

Naruto smirked a little. "Interested in sealing, are you? I'm simply rerouting the flow of chakra. The other four tags are set up around this one, with this one being in the center. I'm stopping the flow of chakra in the other four tags, so instead of flowing, it will continue to build up to a point where it explodes. With the others out of the way, this one will be rendered obsolete."

Naruto stopped writing and put his pen back. "Best stand back. I have no idea what the reaction will be," he warned. Everyone rapidly shuffled away, not wanting to be caught in the blast.

Naruto was only a bit disappointed when instead of an explosion, the tag simply fizzled out with a bit of heat. But in four other places, the explosion was so huge that it formed mushroom clouds high up in the sky.

"Looks like some clever bastard set those up," Naruto commented idly.

"Yosh! Your skill in fuinjutsu is so great that it exploded with youth!" Lee declared, with fire in his eyes.

"Sure Lee," Naruto said, because he had no idea how to reply to that. He turned to Sakura, "Smash it. We're moving in."

Without wasting time, Sakura moved forward and smashed her gloved fist into the boulder, causing it to crumble into pieces. As soon as the dust cleared, the two teams jumped into the cave and spread out, keeping a sharp eye on the two figures inside.

Naruto froze for just a second, before clenching his fists in order to control at least some of his anger.

"Gaara…." he whispered through gritted teeth. His sight was set on the figure that dared to sit on his friend's corpse, looking completely nonchalant.

They were too late.

That one whisper stopped them all. Kakashi turned to Naruto, and while his expression was inscrutable, that whisper spoke clearly the truth that no one wanted to hear.

Focus Naruto. We'll deal with this later. Kurama spoke quietly in his mind, but even his voice was laced with rage.

Naruto took a deep breath and relaxed himself. No need to give the enemy something to taunt.

"Which one of you is the jinchuriki, I wonder?" The blonde guy spoke loftily, a smirk on his face that confirmed him as the target of Naruto's wrath. He had some resemblance to himself, with his blonde hair in a ponytail and blue eyes, the left one being covered with a bang of of his hair. The other one was hunched over, as if having a back problem and a hardened look on his face with a scrap of cloth tied around his jaw.

His smirk dimmed a bit as his eyes came to rest on Naruto's face, and a glance at his headband told Naruto why. He was from Iwa, and Iwa hated blonde people with blue eyes.

"You're the mad bomber of Iwa and Sasori of the red sands, aren't you?" It wasn't a statement.

There was no reaction from the hunched guy, but the blonde was clearly pleased that Naruto knew who he was. Still, his question went unanswered. Instead, the blonde asked a question of his own. He raised a finger towards Naruto.

"Is it you?"

"No."

Deidara faltered a little at the blunt answer, but looked a little angry. "Don't lie to me! Itachi told us it was you!"

"So why the heck are you asking again?" Naruto asked, looking as if truly perplexed by Deidara's actions.

Deidara grit his teeth. This jinchuriki was embarrassing him in front of everyone. "I'll take the jinchuriki, un," he announced, angry eyes trained on Naruto.

Sasori simply looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "You know the rules, one person to one beast."

Sakura felt anger bubbling up inside her. How dare they refer to Naruto as a beast?!

Flickering her eyes, she observed that others had also tensed up, readying up for action.

"Quite confident of your victory, aren't you?" Naruto asked in a challenging tone.

Deidara perked up on seeing the fire in Naruto's eyes. He smirked, keeping his eyes on Naruto while speaking to his partner. "He'll inspire my art."

"What you do isn't art, Deidara. Art is something that should last eternally," Sasori admonished Deidara.

"Huh? What sort of crap is that?! True art is fleeting, in an explosion," Deidara argued back.

Deidara stood up, a strange white bird seemingly made of clay moving forward and picking Gaara's body up. It swallowed Gaara, and then Deidara leaped on top of it as the bird took flight.

Naruto's mouth thinned into a line as he made a split second decision. "Kakashi, I'm going after him. Follow quickly."

Before Kakashi could say anything, Naruto had sprinted out of the cave. The silver haired jonin sighed in aggravation and made a split second decision. With Neji specialty, Sakura and Chiyo baa-sama would have an easier time with Sasori. "Gai! Lee! Come with me! Neji and Tenten, assist Sakura and Chiyo baa-sama!"

With that, he too exited the cave, with Gai and Lee close behind.

As the three followed Naruto, Gai jumped so that he was right beside Kakashi. "Kakashi, we are out of radio contact now. I don't know how strong Naruto has gotten, but he is up against an S-rank criminal. We sho-"

"Naruto will be fine."

That simple sentence was said with such confidence that Gai gawked at his friend. In a second, he was back to serious. "How do you know?"

"I won't go into details right now, but you need to trust me."

They increased the speed until they were side by side with Naruto. "We need to get Gaara's body out of the way before we fight this guy, Kakashi."

"I know," Kakashi replied. "Naruto, can you fight a long distance opponent? Our test wasn't clear on that aspect for me."

A smirk was his answer. "Not a problem for me. I can take him."

Lee got fired up right beside him. "Yosh! Then we'll assist you with every ounce of our strength, Naruto-kun!"

"Thanks Lee, but I've got this. Don't assist unless absolutely necessary," Naruto told him.

Turning to Kakashi, he said, "I just need you to distract him. Can you do that?"

Kakashi made a hand seal to gather his chakra. Naruto watched as the pattern morphed completely. The tomoe spun, connecting at the center to from a strangely connected pinwheel. "Leave it to me."

"A new sharingan?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, a new one with completely new abilities. You ready?"

"I was born ready."

Kakashi then turned to Deidara, concentrating all his effort on using his sharingan. "Kamui!"

Naruto watched in wonder as the space around Deidara, including himself and his bird, distort as if someone was squeezing a cloth to take out all the water. The entire area twisted and morphed, inverting on itself.

Holy shit.

Too much power for humans. At least Kakashi-brat only has one.

Naruto snorted. It was highly amusing for Kakashi to be referred as a brat.

Kakashi panted from the exertion as he tried to keep his jutsu steady. Above, Deidara panicked as he tried to disengage from whatever hold Kakashi had on him. With one great effort and a disgusting wrench that resulted in the loss of his arm, Deidara was free.

Kakashi covered his eye with his hand and grunted. That took out of him more than he expected. He'd never been able to fully control Kamui, but hoped that Naruto took advantage of the opening he provided. He would likely collapse after a second attempt.

But Naruto was already gone. Gai and Lee watched as Naruto ambushed Deidara from above, his hand encased in wind, extending to form a blade of almost half his body length. Deidara took the wind blade in Naruto's hand as an attempted attack on his person, so he jumped right off the bird.

But Naruto simply swung his hand in a downward arc, cleanly slicing off the bird's head which contained Gaara.

"Kakashi!" Naruto called out sharply. But instead of Kakashi, it was Lee who grabbed the head of the bird, seeing Kakashi was suffering the after-effects of using his eye. "I got it Naruto-kun!"

"Thanks Lee!"

He then turned away. He wanted his full focus to be on one of Gaara's killers. Deidara deserved nothing less. That, and he didn't want to see Gaara's dead body. He would have to eventually, but he was putting it off for now.

"Heh, so you and me, huh jinchuriki?"

Naruto just gazed at him impassively. "You are this confident even after losing one arm?"

"HA! I don't need both of my arms to take out the likes of you," Deidara boasted. But on the inside, he was slightly apprehensive. This jonin had caught him off guard quite easily, and he might be able to once more.

Naruto was the one who made the first move, making a flash step. Deidara jumped to the side the instant he saw Naruto move, to avoid a serious axe kick that would have sent him to the ground by tearing through the branches. Deidara was fast enough to throw some C1 fleas, but not fast enough to see that Naruto had only sent a clone at him.

Naruto catches him mid-air with a punch that spun him violently, sending him painfully to the ground. He tumbled before crashing back first in a tree. Naruto was about to follow up when he saw Deidara grin. Right as Deidara started to swell, Naruto flash stepped away, not taking any chances. Kakashi and Gai were shocked, but able to react in time, taking Gaara with them.

The resulting explosion had a range of nearly two kilometers, and the real Deidara whistled from the branch of a tree several miles outside the blast zone. He gave a snort, "As if that brat could take me out."

He prepared to leave the area, to go back to Sasori and see if he was finished, assist him if he wasn't. But just as he turned, his instincts suddenly screamed at him to move out of the way. But his body was a bit slow to obey that command, for a foot connected right with his chest. All the air left his lungs in a huff, and he plummeted to the ground.

Naruto watched with a frown as the Deidara he kicked dissolved into mud. He craned his neck upwards, like his senses dictated him, and saw Deidara high up, and a clay bird flying towards him, though not as large as the one he was riding on before.

He formed a hand seal and shouted. "Katsu!"

The bird exploded and engulfed the entire tree in fire. Deidara smirked, right before being literally grappled and thrown off the branch. With one hand, he couldn't shake off the grip on his person. A voice tinged with dark amusement reached his ears. "You're not getting off that easy."

With that, Naruto exploded. There was only smoke in the clearing, before Deidara walked out from a bush. He had substituted with a broken branch, but was late by second. His clothes were singed, and there were a few burns on him. But he had a smile on his face. "He uses explosions….."

He could appreciate an enemy who respected his art. He then moved around the clearing, placing his next trap. He finished just in time to see Naruto walking out from behind a tree.

Naruto walked out from behind a tree, his sight trained solely on Deidara. His senses told him that this was the original one.

Looks like he has a penchant for frequently using kawarimi and suicide clones, Naruto analyzed as he stood right in front of Deidara. Tactics that a long-distance fighter would use. Even with one hand, he is still able to mold enough clay for a destructive suicide clone of that magnitude. And now he's turned the clearing into a mine field.

The smallest of smirks appeared on his face. But there's no escape now. I have you marked for death, asshole.

"Say, what's that weird contraption on your left eye?" Naruto called out.

Deidara gave a smug smirk. "I trained my left eye to counter genjutsu, specifically the ones that come from Uchiha. Even if that bastard puts a genjutsu on me, this eye will see the truth!"

I doubt Itachi even needs to go that far to take you down, Naruto mentally snorted. Out loud, he said. "So Itachi fucks with your head too?"

Deidara laughed. This guy was really something else. "Yeah, but that's not the point." He pointed a finger at Naruto with a grin that conveyed how happy he was. "You also use explosion as an art, jinchuriki!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that Bunshin Daibakuha is an art. I use it more or less to catch enemies off guard. My Bakuyaku rasengan though…that's what I would call an art."

Deidara almost laughed in delight. An enemy who agreed with him that explosion was an art. He almost felt bad because he would have to retreat for now and come back for him later. He was about to tell him to show it when he paused, seeing Naruto shake his head.

"-rth it."

"What was that?"

"I said you're not worth it."

Oh, that crossed a line. This asshole of a Konoha nin thought that he, Deidara, the mad bomber of Iwa, was not worthy of seeing his art?!

"You have some nerve," Deidara whispered in simmering anger. Then he burst.

"Don't think too high of yourself, you bastard! At first I thought you were an artist like myself, but now I see it! You're just an imposter who insults artists like myself because you couldn't become one! With my art, I'll-"

"I don't give a flying fuck about your art, Deidara."

That further incensed Deidara. "What the fuck did you say?!"

Naruto just stood there with his arms crossed. He wasn't very good at taunting his opponents, but this one seemed to be working. "You and your art are of no importance to me. But what is important to me…" he slowly pointed a finger at the other blonde, "is the price on your head."

Deidara was literally shaking in rage by now. "You'll pay for that, jinchuriki," he spoke in a whisper.

"You'd be dead before you have a chance," Naruto returned easily.

"Why you…!" Deidara moved to form the handseal to activate the mines, when his eyes went wide. He slowly looked down, to see the tip of a kunai sticking out of the right side of his chest. The blood that began to flow from the stab drenched his clothes, and then he heard it behind him.

"I told you, didn't I? You'd be dead before you have a chance."

The kunai was retracted sharply, and Deidara's world exploded in pain. He fell to his knees, hand pressed to his wound in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. But he knew he'd been had. The kunai had pierced through his lung, and likely cut an artery, and now the blood was leaking into his lungs. He was falling, and angled himself so he would fall on his back.

"How…?"

Naruto just lifted the kunai by the ring, allowing Deidara to see the formula written on the handle of the strikingly familiar kunai. He went into shock as the dots connected as to what happened.

"Impossible! You can't…."

Naruto leaned forward, just inches from Deidara's face. "When you reach the afterlife, say hello to my dad for me."

To think that he was killed by the dammed Yellow flash's brat. Oh, the humiliation! Deidara was a child when his family was taken away in the third great war, by the Yellow Flash. He had been so angry at Namikaze, that he'd resolved to keep hating the man until he died. He'd even promised himself that he would never die by the hands of anyone who was even remotely like the Namikaze. And now, he was taken down by a Namikaze, just like his family was. It was as if the fates were laughing at him.

His last thought before he died was that he didn't even get to use his greatest art.

Naruto watched dispassionately as Deidara stopped moving. "That was for Gaara, you son of a bitch," he whispered.

He then moved forward and made to sever the head for collecting the bounty, when he remembered. He had to first give it to the village, who would then send the body for checking and collecting the bounty. Taking out a sealing scroll and his pen, he created a seal to carry the dead body in a minute. Sealing Deidara up, he stood up, releasing a large sigh.

"Very impressive, I have to say," Kakashi complimented as he joined Naruto along with Gai and Lee.

"Maybe for you, but that was somewhat disappointing," Naruto said apathetically.

"Well I guess, when you beat a Sannin, very little tends to impress you," Kakashi reposted.

"That was a great battle, Naruto!" Gai flashed him a grin with a thumbs up. But Lee took it to the next level.

"YOOOOOSH! I had thought that by training myself hard in the past three years, I would be able to beat you. But by seeing you in in this glorious battle, I can see that I have much further to go. I WILL MATCH YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH, NARUTO-KUN!"

"Well-spoken Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

There came the disturbing sunset. Naruto was sure even Deidara's eye wouldn't have been able to break this one. In fact, he would have been traumatized forever.

His smile disappeared as he grew somber. Now that the battle was over, it was time to count the casualties. And the first name that came to his mind was-

"We need to get to the others. I had Lee take the body to them," Kakashi quietly said, seeing Naruto's eyes swimming with grief.

"The let's go," Naruto agreed quietly.

XXXXXXX

They found everyone in a long stretch of grassland. Neji's face was blank, and Tenten's was showing sadness. Naruto met Sakura's eye, and he closed his eyes for a moment to center himself when she looked away from him- she had obviously failed to bring Gaara back. Being the pragmatist, he had expected as such and never raised his hopes.

Which was why he wondered whether it was a good thing to feel almost little to no remorse for the death of his brother-in-law.

This might be the only time you get to mourn. Don't waste it.

As always, Kurama's advice was correct.

Naruto walked ahead of Kakashi and the group, right beside Gaara. His bodily motions were slow as he sat down, Indian style, and took Gaara's hand in his own. It was stone cold, as one would expect of a dead body, but it only drove the point home that Gaara was gone. Forever.

A single tear slipped out of his eye, his pained expression not changing in the slightest. Suddenly, a terrible thought struck him.

Oh god…..what will I tell Temari?

He had promised his wife that he would bring her brother back, by any means necessary. He hated himself for breaking that promise, and he hated his own mind for bringing it up, that technically, he had never specified whether Gaara would be dead or alive. He already had a strong suspicion that Gaara won't return alive from this mission, and he didn't have the courage to tell it to Temari, for she would have fallen into depression if she knew that it was the most realistic scenario. The one that had 9/10 chances of happening.

And now she will. His traitorous mind whispered.

God, was it possible to hate yourself for being right about these kinds of things?

Chiyo stared at the silently mourning blonde. His breathing was surprisingly normal for one who had tears flowing from his eyes, which were blankly staring at Gaara's face.

Seeing what her grandson had become and then seeing him die was difficult, but not as much she had expected. What was harder to believe was that he had taken another Kazekage from Suna for selfish purposes.

Gaara had been a good Kazekage, despite his difficult upbringing. Not powerful as his predecessors just yet, but he had potential. He had won the admiration of Suna in spite of everything he had suffered due to being Suna's jinchuriki.

She had expected that one day, things would reach a breaking point and Gaara would just snap, giving his father the reason to kill him. Instead, Konoha's own jinchuriki defeated him, fixed his seal and made Gaara see reason that killing everyone in his path did not prove his existence.

Now that she had met him, Chiyo could see why Temari loved and admired him so much, and why Gaara held him in a regard that he held no one else in. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto had a will and strength in him that was rarely ever seen in the world.

She took a few steps forward, kneeling by Naruto. She nudged him, gruffly whispering, "Step aside boy."

She may not have been able to give Sasori at least one of his parents back, but she would try her hardest to do something right for once, and give Suna its Kazekage back.

The voice broke him out of his trance, and his anger bubbled to the surface when he realized just how much suffering Gaara had to take because of this woman. His facial muscles creased into a glare, which was made even more expressive by his red eyes and flowing tears.

"Wasn't making him suffer in life enough for you, that you want him to suffer in death as well?" He hissed.

He was pleased to see her flinch at his remark, but she only steeled herself and repeated her order. "Move aside."

"Naruto." Sakura softly spoke, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto took a deep breath and stood up, giving Chiyo some room. He saw her place her hands on Gaara's chest, and after a pause, Chiyo's chakra became visible in a ripple of power.

"What is she doing that you haven't done, Sakura?" Naruto questioned, eyeing Chiyo curiously.

"She's bringing Gaara back to life." Sakura firmly stated, yet Naruto detected a hint of sorrow in her voice. He turned his eyes back to Chiyo, this time with a calculative look. He had no idea such a technique existed, but there was no doubt in his mind that it carried an equally great risk.

Bringing someone back to life? What could be the risk equal to that?

Try throwing your own life away for an answer.

Naruto immediately understood. So Chiyo was basically trading one life for another. He almost felt bad for snapping at her earlier now.

Then he noticed, that the glow around her hands had dimmed considerably. She was running out of chakra. He walked around Gaara and sat down, placing his hands on hers. She looked at him with surprise, but he only looked at her with a determined look.

"Take mine. I've got enough," he instructed.

She nodded wordlessly, and drew on his power. The glow returned, this time brighter and stronger as Naruto's chakra, highly potent and brimming with life force, flowed from him into the jutsu. Chiyo knew that the Uzumaki had special chakra, but knowing it and feeling it were two completely separate things. With Naruto's help, it almost seemed easy to bring Gaara back to life.

It was a mild surprise though, to also feel the Kyuubi's chakra within. Now she could see why Gaara respected him so much.

"Listen to this old woman, child." Chiyo's was voice called out to Naruto, who merely shifted his eyes back to her from Gaara.

Chiyo did not look up, but continued speaking. "In this world, the world made by many old people, it does my heart good to see someone like you in it. In my time, mistake after mistake became a never ending cycle that had no escape for me. But now, in my very last moments, I feel glad to be doing something right. For Suna…..and Konoha…I hope the future will change into something that I lived in. Make a better world than ours, Naruto. I know you can do it."

"And you, Sakura…next time, you focus on protecting your precious people instead of risking your life for an old woman like me. Never let your spirit break, and you will become someone even greater than your master."

Sakura's eyes were welling up with tears, but she still gave a smile to Chiyo's back.

Chiyo's posture began to slump as the glow slowly faded. Eventually, after a full minute, the glow disappeared and she slumped completely, but was caught by Sakura in time.

Naruto however, was much more preoccupied with watching any signs of life on his friend's body.

His hand twitched first. Naruto's gaze snapped to it and focused on it like a hawk. Something rose in his chest when the twitch slowly became constant, and ultimately became a fist. Next was Gaara's chest. Naruto's eyes went wide when the vest covered chest rose up in a deep breath, and went back down.

His ears picked up the sound of various footsteps, and in a quick glance he saw a horde of Suna nin circling them, with Temari and Kankuro walking towards him apprehensively. He returns his gaze back to Gaara, who slowly opened his eyes.

"What…..where….?"

The sound brought a wave of relief into Naruto, who almost fell back on his butt. He cupped the back of Gaara's head and raised it up, resting it on his thigh. "Gaara?"

"Naruto," Gaara muttered, before turning his head around and seeing the Suna shinobi. "What the…?"

Naruto whole heartedly chuckled, tears dropping from his eyes. He let Gaara sit on his own, and then gazed into his eyes. The eyes that he shared with his sister. "Don't die on me next time. Because if you do," Naruto's voice slightly broke here, "I would never be able to look your sister in the eye."

Gaara's eyes went wide at the heartfelt revelation.

Naruto just gave him a tight smile before standing up and offering a hand. Gaara was still trying to make sense of just what was going on, but gratefully took the hand. Naruto pulled Gaara up easily, and then the Suna shinobi started cheering loudly.

Kankuro stepped forward, grinning in joy. "As your older brother, looks like I've no choice but to keep my little brother out of trouble from now on."

Temari just stepped forward and pulled Gaara into a hug, because she was sure she would just burst into tears if she started speaking. She pulled back and smirked at Kankuro. "You had better. And he's still the Kazekage, so show some respect!"

Naruto put an around Gaara's shoulders, pulling him into his side. He smiled at Temari, "I told you we would get him back."

Temari gave a tight smile, eyes still wet from tears. "I know."

"Kazekage-sama, next time we'll definitely get you out of whatever mess you're in!" Two squealing girls converged on Gaara, and would have hugged him to death again if their attempt to shove off Naruto had been successful.

As it was, Naruto merely looked at the girl with disdain and annoyance. The girl suddenly became nervous and blushed heavily when she realized how strong Naruto was if his biceps were any indication. She had put in quite some force in that push.

While Naruto was annoyed and merely stared her into nervousness, Temari was much more active in her approach. She tapped Matsuri's arm and almost hissed like a cat. "Hands. Off."

Naruto found her possessiveness quite cute.

After that, a more solemn mood took hold over the atmosphere. Sakura held Chiyo close as her brother stood over them, looking silently at his dearly departed sister. The mood of the entire group of ninjas turned grave as one by one they all looked towards the fallen elder.

Naruto spoke quietly to Kankuro. "So that jutsu . . . only Chiyo knew it, because it required a sacrifice? A life sacrifice?"

Kankuro nodded solemnly. "The sacrifice of one's own life force. Long ago there was a study looking into giving puppet life which Chiyo baa-sama lead. However upon finding out the risk was perhaps even greater than the reward, it was sealed and labeled a kinjutsu— a forbidden technique— before experimentation could be done."

So Kurama had hit the bullseye.

The elder man spoke. "I keep expecting her to wake up and say, "I'm just playing dead" but . . . it's hard to believe it's the end. She has such a peaceful expression on her face now."

Naruto's attention was brought back to Gaara as the other started to stand. Without a word, Naruto got up and braced Gaara's arm with a hand. Slowly, they walked over to Chiyo where Gaara commanded a prayer for Chiyo. Silence swept over the land. The moment of silence was brief, yet impactful. Naruto looked up, in the direction from which Suna shinobi came.

Life has to go on, and the Kazekage must return to his village.

The journey was mostly silent, with Chiyo being given full honor and respect that she deserved. Naruto supported Gaara throughout the entire journey, and that just made Temari love him even more. When the gates of Suna came into view, the welcoming party was so…..loud and full of life, so boisterous that it left Gaara speechless.

"Someday, I want the people of my village to welcome me like that," Naruto said with a smile. Then he quickly added, "Without dying, that is."

It took two days to arrange Chiyo's funeral, which Naruto spent talking and catching up with Gaara, explaining to him that he was completely out of contact with everyone except his Hokage.

After the funeral, the Konoha teams, along with Temari, prepared to return. Gaara had a soft smile as he stared up to Naruto. Naruto was a good head taller than him now. "Looks like I'm in your debt once more."

Naruto shook his head with a smile. "Family doesn't owe each other, Gaara."

Gaara's lips twitched upwards, before he turned to Temari. "Now that Naruto's back, your visits will decrease but….do visit from time to time."

Temari softly smiled before nodding. "I will."

Gaara turned back to Naruto, extending a hand. Naruto eyed the hand, before grabbing it and pulling Gaara into a surprising hug.

"Naruto!" Neji hissed. "Show some respect! He's the Kazekage!"

Naruto batted away his comment. "He's my brother-in-law, so shut it."

Slowly, Gaara's hands came up to wrap around his back, in a firm grip. The hug lasted for ten seconds, before they slowly pulled away.

Naruto took a few steps back. "I'll keep in touch, Gaara."

"That would be nice."

They wave each other one last goodbye before finally turning around and walking back to Konoha. Naruto's chest tingled, and it was the good kind of tingle.

He felt he'd accomplished something of importance, and it felt good.