'Were they… all fighting just to protect me?'
'No, no, no. They were only doing it for the power inside me.'
Back when Naruto returned from the One Piece World, Gaara's uncontrollable rampages had already ended.
Even though Shukaku was still difficult to get along with, under normal circumstances he no longer interfered with Gaara so frequently.
Regaining control over his body, coupled with intel from Konoha, was what made Chiyo's proposal unanimously approved.
They decided to bring the Jinchuriki back into the village.
But the Shukaku Temple couldn't simply be abandoned.
They still had some forces stationed there, specifically against that so-called Akatsuki.
Unfortunately, all those arrangements had already been leaked out by Sasori's spy.
Still, to draw away the bulk of Sunagakure's forces, the Art Duo chose to split into two teams.
Right now, their plan was working quite well.
On Deidara's side, even while facing the majority of the Sunagakure's Ninjas, he could rely on his flying advantage to drag things out.
Although he couldn't do anything to so many Sunagakure's Ninjas, in turn, the Sunagakure's Ninjas were also helpless against him.
And they couldn't just pull back either.
The moment the Sunagakure's Ninjas tried to withdraw toward the village, Deidara would drop lower and unleash another wave of explosive harassment.
That forced them to constantly readjust their formation.
Not that there weren't long-range specialists who managed to hit Deidara.
But unfortunately, such attacks were nothing but a drizzle to him… unless they landed directly, they posed no real threat.
On the contrary, Deidara's counterattacks with clay bombs harassed them endlessly, forcing them to scatter apart.
Once that happened, the long-range squads that could threaten him were immediately left floundering.
A certain person once said something that perfectly fit the current scene: I have the high ground.
It's appropriate in every sense.
As for Gaara, there is no seal on his body, meaning he could strike at any time.
But he hesitated.
In the past, he followed orders only because of his hateful father… the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Even though that father had always wanted him dead.
Since childhood, Gaara had been indoctrinated with ideas like: 'You exist as nothing more than a weapon of murder.' 'Only by killing for the sake of the village can you prove your worth.'
Gaara, who appears to be violent but actually desperately desires family affection, accepted this way of thinking.
It wasn't so much about wanting the village's recognition, as it was about craving his father's approval.
Presence, acknowledgment… for someone who grew up starved of love, they meant everything to Gaara.
Even if he never admitted it out loud.
But now his father was dead, was it still necessary for him to fight for this village?
Gaara didn't know.
Having never gone through the original [Talk-no-Jutsu] turning point, he still placed no hopes in the Ninjas around him… not even in his brother or sister.
They indeed fought so hard… but it was for the 'power of the Jinchuriki', not for 'Gaara' the person.
In fact, back when Gaara was sealed, they had tried to visit him at the Shukaku Temple, but were stopped by the village's elders.
If there was anyone in the world who truly cared for Gaara from the heart, it was those two.
Even though they still carried fear of Gaara's power, Temari and Kankuro refused to abandon their little brother.
Sadly, thoughts between people were always limited by the walls of words and language.
And so countless lies and misunderstandings arose.
For example, now.
Bang!
Kankuro was flung away by a red-robed puppet, smashing through a wall before crashing down beside Gaara.
Fortunately, Kuroari had cushioned him, preventing fatal injuries.
But even so, he was grimacing in pain.
Kankuro tried to open his mouth to tell Gaara to run first, but the pain prevented him from speaking.
Immediately afterwards, the red-robed puppet charged into the room.
Through that puppet, Sasori also saw his mission target.
"Excellent."
Sasori's body form smiled and began to move towards that floor.
Chiyo saw this too, pouring out the last of her strength, her arms moving so fast they left afterimages.
The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets once again arrived, stalling Sasori's advance.
Meanwhile, Kankuro controlled his three puppets to surround the red-robed puppet, dragging it away.
Through the broken wall, Gaara could see the wounded Ninjas groaning on the ground, as well as those still fighting on.
"Well… Looks like I'm not too late."
At that moment, a sinister voice suddenly echoed inside the room.
Gaara controlled the sand and attacked almost instinctively.
But that figure twisted lightly, dodging easily, and a Chakra-infused palm pressed against Gaara's abdomen.
Five Elements Seal!
In an instant, Gaara felt the Shukaku inside him receive some kind of stimulation, trying to break free and surge outward.
The sand around him began to float uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, the Chakra within Gaara seemed to be interfered with, making it impossible for him to launch a counterattack on the intruder.
Then the man lowered his head and opened his mouth wide, as if planning to bite Gaara's neck.
At that moment, the sand in the gourd on Gaara's back moved on its own without anyone's control, forcefully blocking the fang that was about to strike him.
Not only that, the sand formed spikes and forced the unexpected visitor back.
Only then did moonlight pour through the hole in the room and fall on the man's face.
It was the Missing-nin from Konoha, the traitor of Akatsuki… the scientific monster, Orochimaru.
"Khu khu khu… Interesting."
Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, seemingly not very bothered that his attempt to plant a seal had failed.
'Those sands…'
'They seemed to contain some kind of power even I couldn't clearly understand.'
Gaara had seen Orochimaru once before during that earlier Chunin Exams Incident, but back then Orochimaru had only shown his face briefly and fled, so Gaara didn't immediately remember him… only that the man looked familiar.
But more importantly now, the original Sealing Technique on his body had been disturbed, so the One-Tail's Chakra began to irregularly affect him in return, making it difficult for Gaara even to perform Ninjutsu.
What was happening inside the room was unknown to those outside. When Chiyo and Sasori noticed someone coming out from the floor where the Jinchuriki was kept, they saw Orochimaru wrapping Gaara layer by layer with a scroll.
"Orochimaru!"
"Orochimaru-"
Both recognized Orochimaru and were furious that, while they and the others were fighting fiercely, this guy had snatched the opportunity.
Instantly, the white-robed puppet and the red-robed puppets ceased fighting and surged toward Orochimaru's direction.
Summoning Technique!
Manda's huge body appeared out of thin air, and before it could fully assess the situation it was struck by blades and ninjutsu, writhing in pain.
But that only awakened Manda's ferocity.
It reared its head high and then attacked the annoying little pests below.
A sweep of its snake tail casually struck, puppets and Sunagakure's Ninjas alike were blown away.
"Long time no see, Sasori."
Orochimaru and Sasori were once a pair.
However, the two of them didn't have much in common, and after Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki, the two became even less connected.
"Then I'll be taking the Jinchuriki."
With a light laugh, Orochimaru, like a phantom thief under the moon, dashed straight toward the outskirts of the Sunagakure.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.
Sasori was unwilling to give up, so he gave up the other Sunagakure's Ninjas to chase after Orochimaru.
Meanwhile, Chiyo grit her teeth, looking at the battlefield strewn with chaos and then at the direction the two had left.
"Kankuro, you take care of cleaning up the battlefield."
She said to Kankuro, then turned to several other Jonin.
"You guys come with me… We'll pursue and retrieve Gaara."