Natsuki sensed the Flying Thunder God markers he'd placed on Tenten and Kakashi. They were definitely not in the village.

But he wasn't worried. Tenten was no ordinary kunoichi anymore. And with Kakashi, Sasuke, and Neji alongside her, there would be no problem.

So he chose to stay at home and wait in peace.

The Land of Rivers – Within the Forest

The group leapt down from the giant eagle's back, facing off against Deidara and Sasori.

Chiyo looked at the Hiruko puppet, knowing her grandson was inside. Her toothless mouth opened and closed for a long moment before she finally whispered, "Sasori… long time no see."

Sasori's voice was quiet, heavy with emotion. "Grandmother. You came."

The reunion between grandmother and grandson carried a strange atmosphere, tinged with sorrow.

Naruto's gaze locked on Gaara, bound within the tail of a clay bird, his life or death uncertain. Rage welled up inside him.

"Hey! What did you do to Gaara?! Give him back now!" he shouted.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and shook his head inwardly. So he still hasn't learned composure. I thought he'd grown up… but he's still just a little better than before.

At times like this, calm was more important than ever. Especially for Naruto—his eyes were already turning red. He was on the verge of losing control to the Nine-Tails.

Sasuke would not waste time yelling. He simply drew his blade and vanished in a flash of Lightning Body Flicker, moving at shocking speed.

Deidara flinched, instantly scattering countless clay spiders like falling snow.

"Chidori Current!"

Electricity crackled violently from Sasuke, frying all the tiny spiders in an instant.

And he was still fast, pressing straight for Deidara's head.

Deidara grit his teeth, leaping back as his clay bird rose into the sky. But Sasuke suddenly hurled a handful of shuriken, each imbued with lightning chakra. They struck the clay bird dead-on.

The bird shuddered, lost control, and plummeted.

Swoosh!

The clay tail binding Gaara was severed by Kakashi's strike.

From the start, Kakashi had followed Sasuke's lead. He knew Sasuke's strength well—this wasn't recklessness, but coordinated offense.

And sure enough, Sasuke forced Deidara back, grounding the bird. The opening was there—time to rescue Gaara.

"Nice work!" Tenten praised, even as her wires lashed out, snagging Gaara and yanking him free.

Naruto's face lit with joy. He rushed to catch Gaara in his arms. He'd barely shouted a demand, and in the blink of an eye Sasuke, Kakashi, and Tenten had saved him.

It all happened so fast it made his head spin.

"Gaara! Are you alright?!" Naruto shook him desperately.

"Let me see!"

Chiyo quickly examined him, and a faint smile appeared on her aged face. "The wounds aren't severe. A little treatment, and he'll wake soon enough."

She administered medicine, then placed her palms against him, weaving the Mystical Palm Technique.

Naruto exhaled in relief, eyes moist. "Thank you, Granny!"

Across from them, Sasori's voice darkened. "Deidara… you lost the Jinchūriki? All that effort wasted?"

"Don't pin this on me!" Deidara shot back, frustrated. "These Leaf ninja are insane! I was watching that twin-bun-haired girl, but who knew this Uchiha brat could use Lightning Release too? I was caught off guard! Why don't you move, Sasori? Stop just watching!"

Sasori said no more. He drove Hiruko forward, its scorpion tail lashing out at the group.

Tenten sneered. "Last time we smashed your puppets to pieces. You've already rebuilt ten more?"

She was already ready. Equipping her Dragon-Eye Extendable Sword, she sent three chakra blades clashing against the tail. Sparks flew as they matched evenly.

Might Guy and Lee, both close-range fighters, held back for now—they had to guard Gaara and Chiyo while she worked.

Neji, meanwhile, gathered chakra. With focused precision, he unleashed a barrage of Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms. Blasts of compressed air hammered Hiruko, forcing Sasori back and tearing parts of its cloak to shreds.

"Well done, Neji!" Guy and Lee flashed him thumbs-up.

"Still not enough," Neji muttered, unsatisfied.

Ever since absorbing Tiennin's ocular power, his Byakugan had begun to evolve. After several surges, two years of refinement had nearly stabilized it. If he released more chakra, his eyes would turn light blue—becoming Tenseigan, with terrifying power.

But he wouldn't reveal that yet. It wasn't the time.

Still, the evolution strengthened his body, making his Gentle Fist faster and sharper. Vacuum Palms came effortlessly.

Even so, Hiruko was no ordinary puppet. Destroying it from range wouldn't be easy. In close combat, he could smash it for sure—but not yet.

At that moment, Tenten suddenly unrolled a scroll and summoned several shuriken, hurling them with casual ease. They seemed harmless.

Sasori scoffed. "You think shuriken can harm my puppet? Naïve girl…"

But he should have known better than to speak too soon.

In that instant, Tenten surged chakra through her Dragon-Eye Sword. The three blades morphed into dragon heads, binding Hiruko's scorpion tail tightly.

At the same time, the shuriken struck Hiruko.

To Sasori's surprise, they weren't metal at all. They were sticky, gooey contraptions that clung stubbornly to Hiruko's body. Strange symbols pulsed faintly on their surfaces.

"You're caught! Witness my Money Release—Explosive Tag Technique!"

Tenten grinned. She summoned a storm of explosive tags, then teleported them directly onto the sticky shuriken with Flying Thunder God.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The chain of explosions engulfed Hiruko completely.

The sticky shuriken were Tenten's own invention. Unlike Natsuki, she couldn't simply teleport herself into close range for a decisive strike. But she could teleport explosives.

Throwing marked kunai was too easy to evade. So she designed these sticky shuriken, indistinguishable from the real thing until they latched onto the enemy. From there, Flying Thunder God ensured the detonation would hit.

And it worked perfectly.

When the smoke cleared, Hiruko was left in tatters.

Sasori himself had no choice but to emerge.

Chiyo, having finished treating Gaara, turned. She froze when she saw her grandson step out. His face, his form… still that of a boy.

Her voice trembled. "Impossible… why? Why haven't you aged a day?"

(End of Chapter)

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