Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 393 The Beginning Melody

“Sister, look closely, that person doesn’t look like White Fang at all. Besides, wasn’t White Fang dead a long time ago? You’re still crying your eyes out because you couldn’t avenge him yourself.” The bald old man stepped in to defuse the situation, standing between the old woman and the Konoha ninja. It was unclear whether he was stopping his sister or protecting her.

"Hahaha..." The old woman let out a hearty laugh, indicating that her old eyesight was failing and she had mistaken the person for someone else.

"Alright, please go outside and wait." With the misunderstanding cleared up, Sakura immediately started to shoo everyone away. The operating table was her battlefield, and saving Kankuro's life was of utmost urgency.

Those not involved obediently retreated outside the door. Kakashi seized every opportunity to inquire about information, while Naruto, unusually, formed hand seals to enhance his senses. His senses expanded continuously, but without success, so Naruto immediately dispatched three shadow clones to find Gaara as quickly as possible.

"Are you a perceptive type?" The old woman was quite kind when she wasn't causing trouble; perhaps it was because she was old that her anger had long been worn away by time.

“Hmm. Logically speaking, Gaara’s chakra should be easy to find. Sometimes when he goes on missions near Konoha, I can sense it.” Naruto explained the situation briefly.

He actually knew where Gaara was; "Hui" had been tracking Akatsuki's movements in real time. This time, after being ambushed by Sunagakure, they almost immediately mounted the backs of birds, accelerating their journey at an incredible speed, and managed to enter a cave on the morning the intelligence arrived in Konoha. After the barrier was activated, not only did Gaara's chakra disappear, but the link to the Flying Thunder God Mark was also severed.

It's obvious that it was a barrier created to protect against "Naruto".

“My shadow clones will search in the direction they left. Don’t be nervous. Even if they use a barrier to block perception, I can find them by looking for unusual barriers.”

"Huh?" Chiyo wondered if she had misheard. Was it really that easy to find a barrier against sensory ninjas?

Just then, a commotion erupted in the medical room. Kankuro's agonizing screams drew everyone's attention. Sakura was practically sprawled on the operating table, a clump of pale green liquid clinging to her hand. The liquid was drawing purple smoke from Kankuro's wound, a process that must have been excruciating, causing the unconscious Kankuro to scream in agony.

"This technique... seems to have some resemblance to the Slug Woman."

Chiyo refused to say Tsunade's name properly, after all, she had lost the entire battle to Tsunade in terms of "poison".

"Slug? You mean Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

...Grandma? That woman actually allowed this child to call her that? Looking closer...why does this kid look so familiar? Blonde hair, blue eyes, Flying Thunder God...isn't that the yellow flash symbol?! Could this boy be...?

"Because Sakura is Tsunade's apprentice."

Is that so? The team Konoha sent is really... quite sincere.

The barrier also somewhat hindered the Byakugan; Hizashi could barely make out the outlines of a few people and a giant object, one of whom had purple eyes.

"My Wood Release creation was already inside; the barrier didn't hinder my investigation. I don't know how Akatsuki projected everyone onto the ten fingers of what appears to be the Gedo Mazo; they're performing a ritual to extract Shukaku's chakra."

How is Gaara doing?

The extraction speed isn't very fast; at the rate of chakra loss, it would probably take three days and three nights to finish.

"Three days and three nights... I understand, thank you, Uncle Hashirama. I'll need you to keep a close eye on things inside."

"It's alright, no trouble at all. Don't be too anxious. Gaara's condition is relatively stable. If he's treated within a day, he'll definitely recover without any aftereffects."

〖Um.〗

Naruto quietly opened his eyes at the emergency room entrance. The resuscitation effort had been underway for two hours, and the deployment in the Land of Rivers was complete. In the event of a life-threatening emergency for Gaara, "Hikaru" would immediately intervene and rescue him.

As the last pot of medicine turned a deep purple, Sakura finally breathed a sigh of relief and announced that the surgery was a success. To her surprise, the antidote for this special compound toxin had already been prepared, which saved her some effort.

"Cough cough..." Kankuro, who had been unconscious for a long time, finally opened his eyes with difficulty, his heart still filled with resentment at not being able to rescue Gaara. His first thought was still Gaara, but after seeing the ceiling of the Sunagakure Hospital, he knew that he had failed, and Gaara had been kidnapped.

"I got a piece of the other person's clothes before I lost consciousness..." Kankuro's whole body was trembling with pain, but he still managed to sit up.

"Understood, I will send ninja dogs to pursue them. Naruto, please take them with you."

"Yes, double insurance is very necessary."

Naruto took on the responsibility of finding the missing person without hesitation. This time, he even went with his main body, leaving only a clone in Sunagakure.

"Once Naruto confirms the location, we can set off immediately. I wonder if Sunagakure is planning to send someone to accompany us. Please finalize the details as soon as possible."

Kakashi left those words and took his team to rest. Actually, it was Sakura who needed rest; she had used up too much energy from the surgery and definitely needed to recuperate.

Chiyo confirmed the identities of the two attackers with Kankuro again, confirming that Sasori of the Red Sand was indeed one of them. She had been separated from her exceptionally talented grandson for far too long. Sasori had always been extremely introverted, and she truly didn't understand the child's inner world. She genuinely couldn't comprehend what kind of world his excessive pursuit of puppetry had brought him.

All she remembered was that after she first taught him the most basic principles of Scorpion Puppetry, he created two puppets that even adult puppeteers might not be able to make.

"Father" and "Mother".

The two puppets clearly resembled the son and daughter-in-law in the photo album. Under Sasori's control, they gradually raised their arms, about to embrace the little Sasori. However, Sasori was too young and lacked sufficient chakra, and the threads controlling them broke at the last moment.

The "father" and "mother" fell to the ground with a thud, their faces even shattered.

If she had stepped forward then and helped Scorpion complete that hug, along with her own efforts, would everything have been different?

"Sister, do you want to use that?"

Chiyo's brother's voice pulled her back to reality. She opened the sealed room and felt sentimental in front of the lock. This was really not something a ninja should do.

"This is also a kind of fate, and it's perfect for fighting him with this."

This might be the last time she sees her grandson; it's time for all of this to end.

"I've lived long enough."