Kamatari only has enough time to wish me luck before he is racing back to the daimyo. It doesn't take me long to reach Chiyo, but what I see is far from promising. Gaara's appearance hasn't changed much since I left. The only difference is he's unconscious. His limbs have also been tied down by ropes made of Chiyo's chakra. I know that Shukaku is risky for anyone, including Chiyo, to mess with, but I was expecting at least a little bit of progress by now. Chiyo tries to explain the situation as calmly as possible, but I can tell by the look in her eyes that she is at least as worried as I am. "I tried to stabilize Gaara's seal, but his chakra system is too unstable for me to alter without risking killing him. Besides the contamination in his seal, there appears to be a large amount of chakra unrelated to Gaara, Shukaku, or even the recent contaminant decomposing some of Gaara's chakra pathways. Shukaku's other two hosts showed symptoms of this chakra at times as well, but I have never seen it appear in such large quantities."

"So you can't help him." I can barely force the words out without crying. I finally have to let the tears start falling freely as I whisper my greatest fear. "It's going to kill him isn't it?" I haven't heard of many people whose chakra systems collapse completely, but I do know that once the chakra system fails the internal organs aren't far behind.

Chiyo quietly lets me get some of my sorrow out of my system before continuing. "I only said I can't help Gaara. I never said nobody could save him. It will be risky though." That keeps me from crying too much more, but I have no clue what Chiyo could possibly mean. She is the only person in the entire village who is a seal expert and Gaara doesn't look like he could last long enough for anyone outside the village without his chakra system becoming permanently damaged. "I've never tried this myself and I would never ask anyone to do it if the situation wasn't so dire."

If Chiyo thinks this could save Gaara, why in the world is she stalling? "We don't have time to waste looking for other solutions from the looks of it." Just thinking about what could happen to Gaara if this fails has me terrified. He looks so delicate laying there that he almost looks like he's on his deathbed already. Whatever Chiyo sedated Gaara with seems to be keeping Shukaku from possessing Gaara, but I can't keep myself from noticing how Gaara's chest barely seems to be rising at this point.

Chiyo gives me a grim smile. "As much as I know you want to save Gaara, please let me finish. You know I wouldn't be waiting to save my great grandson if I didn't have to." Chiyo pauses to make sure I get the message before pulling out a map of Gaara's chakra system. Chiyo hasn't had enough time to make it too horribly detailed, but it is still easy to see exactly how severe the situation is. "As you can see, Shukaku's chakra has flooded much of Gaara's body. Oddly enough that is probably the only reason the two foreign chakras have remained relatively contained. Shukaku appears to be attempting to purge the two foreign chakras out of Gaara's system since he will die if Gaara does." Chiyo points to multiple sections of the map which she has drawn red lines over. "Shukaku has not been able to keep the corrosive red chakra out of Gaara completely which is why you have seen red marks all over Gaara's skin. I still don't know the origin of that chakra, but the recently inserted white chakra has been effectively contained within Gaara's seal. It has yet to cause any damage, but we still need to restore the seal to its original state in order to purge Gaara's body. To do that, we need to inject a large amount of the original stabilizing chakra into the seal. Since you were meant to be a human sacrifice which would keep Shukaku from emerging during Gaara's birth, that chakra happens to be yours."

I don't see why that sounds risky. It couldn't possibly be that hard to just put some of my chakra into the seal. I move towards Gaara and put my hands over his seal. "I'm ready when you are." To my surprise, Chiyo pulls me back away from Gaara.

"That method won't work here. You might end up accidentally strengthening either the white chakra or Shukaku that way. I'll have to use the most advanced sealing technique I know to even give you a chance at restoring the seal." Seeing my confusion, Chiyo sighs. "I keep forgetting that Sasori and I don't talk about this technique much. It is usually only used by the sealer at the time of the seal's creation or by a dying person since they have nothing to lose. You have actually done something similar before." I don't deal with seals myself. I've seen Sasori use them, but he never would let me even help him. "Have you ever wondered why Gaara's sand always seems to protect him or why he has only ever been injured by techniques which use a lot of sheer force?" I have a few theories about that since Shukaku doesn't seem like the protective type. "So much of your chakra entered the seal that your will to protect your son will always force the sand to defend him no matter what Shukaku wants. The technique I have in mind also involves you directly altering the seal, but it won't be so easy this time since the seal was at its weakest when you altered it last time."

I always knew that a mother's love was supposed to be one of the strongest things in the universe, but I had no idea that it could influence something as powerful as Shukaku. I'll have to ask either Chiyo or Sasori about that if I have time after this is over. Chiyo pulls a chair over by where Gaara is and tells me to sit in it as she gets her supplies ready. As Chiyo traces intricate designs around Gaara's seal using her chakra infused sealing ink, she explains her plan. "This jutsu will allow you to enter directly into Gaara's chakra system. You technically won't be conscious, but you will be able to interact with Shukaku and the seal directly. The mechanics of the jutsu are too complicated for me to explain right now, but it won't keep you from getting hurt if Shukaku tries to keep you away from the seal. Since the seal is on the chakra prison containing Shukaku, you will have to face him directly." After putting the finishing touches on her work, Chiyo makes sure I'm still certain about going through with this. She should know me well enough not to ask that by now, but I answer her anyway. "You just need to pour your chakra into the seal once you find it. In case I don't get to speak to you again, I just want you to know that no matter how crazy you can be at times, I'll always remember you as one of the most dedicated mothers I've ever met."

I have to smirk a bit at Chiyo's humor, but I have no time to answer her before she initiates the jutsu. Everything around me fades to black. I can't even feel my body for a few brief moments. When I regain my senses, I'm startled to find myself standing in a long corridor lined with torches. My body is instantly blasted by a wave of heat as the temperature of the area finally registers. In the distance, I can hear the enraged screams of what must be Shukaku. I can't quite make out what he's saying, but doesn't sound right. I've never heard of him described as sober sounding before, but he doesn't sound the least bit drunk now. As if that wasn't strange enough, I can still hear noises even when Shukaku stops yelling for a moment. It is only in a moment of yelling free peace that I can hear a faint yet steady beating noise coming from the floor. I can also feel similar vibrations coming from the floor. As strange as this is, it actually makes sense. Gaara's seal is directly over his heart after all.

I follow the sounds of Shukaku's yells down the corridor until I can finally see Shukaku's cage. The bars keeping the prison standing have rusted to the point where I can't believe the bars are still standing. Then again, Shukaku looks too distracted to take advantage of the situation. He is much smaller than the last time I saw him, but that's probably because a lot of his chakra is elsewhere at the moment. Now Shukaku is about the size of a bear, but that doesn't make him any less intimidating. He is crouched low to the ground on all four of him limbs and is lashing his tail angrily at a mass of white chakra that keeps evading a long whip of golden chakra. Shukaku growls angrily as the golden whip snaps the space where the white chakra was hovering moments ago. Hoping to get this over and done with before Shukaku notices me, I slowly slip from the corridor towards the center of the cage bars where the seal is located. I make it about half way there before Shukaku flicks his ears forward and charges. As he rams the cage, his clawed hand snaps enough of the bars to break through and smacks into me so hard that it takes only a few seconds for my head to slam down into the stone floor.

My vision blurs, but I manage to stay conscious. By the time I can see clearly again, by head is practically exploding from the force of the blow. I slowly ease myself up into a sitting position only to find long tendrils of sand binding my legs firmly to the ground to keep me from standing up. With a grunt, Shukaku forces the battling chakras towards the back of the seal. Satisfied for the moment, he turns to face me. "You're not hurt too badly are you?" The calmness of Shukaku's voice catches me off guard. His voice sounds similar to what I heard during the invasion for the most part, but it sounds much more sober and serious. Too shocked to speak, I shake my head. Shukaku sighs with relief before chuckling lightly. "You haven't changed at all have you? Most people tend to avoid me, but you just can't stay away."

I don't see what's so funny about this. "What in the world is going on here? I don't know for sure whether Shukaku's behavior or the battle going on in the background is stranger. Maybe my head is hurt even worse than what it feels like.

"I thought you just another lunatic trying to kill us for a minute there. This last one has been causing enough trouble as it is." Shukaku snarls for a moment, exposing his many jagged teeth before continuing. "I don't know where that man got this chakra, but I haven't seen much like it in ages, aside from whatever is in that Kira girl anyway. I can't blame her for lying about it though. Humans aren't the only intelligent creatures that know how to use chakra, but this species in particular is far from normal. They were driven out ages ago, but since most of you humans don't even know where I came from, I doubt you would know what I'm talking about." I hate to admit it, but Shukaku is right about that. He's rambling so much that I doubt I'll learn much of importance at this rate. "The point is, this chakra is dangerous. I've managed to keep Gaara pretty safe, but Kira is all the evidence I need for the moment. All of the chakra pathways by her back are so warped that I'm not surprised she can only use the jutsu that the creature that messed with her could use and even those are dangerous. Those jutsu just aren't meant for humans."

Shukaku pauses to let this sink in, but I have no time to wait for him to quit preaching. No wonder the legends say he was a priest at one time; it could be years before I get Shukaku to shut up at this rate. "What about that red chakra? Chiyo says some red chakra has been destroying Gaara's chakra system."

Shukaku winces. "Shit, I thought that kid could handle that chakra for me. I should have known that bastard's chakra would cause problems." Now this sounds more like the Shukaku I was expecting. He seems to know something, but something tells me I'm going to hear more cursing than information. Shukaku forces himself to take a couple of minutes to try and calm down, but it's clearly not working. "Long story short, I'm not usually like this anymore. You expected me to be a screeching lunatic right?" I nod. "Well, I wasn't always like that. Long story short, the biggest, most condescending asshole that ever existed did something to me a few weeks before I was sealed into my first host. His chakra literally feeds off of the hatred and anger of others and has a way of amplifying negative emotions. At least, it does that to me. His host seemed okay in that respect even though he seems like a loudmouthed idiot. Anyway, that chakra has affected me badly. It has gotten better since someone you know helped remove a chunk of that chakra when I was in my second host, but I still only feel like what I used to be once in a great while. In fact, you really should thank that man. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to avoid killing you." It sure felt like Shukaku was trying to kill me when Gaara was born though. "I thought Gaara would be able to avoid that chakra's side effects. They can't burn all of my chakra pathways since I'm literally made of chakra, so I guess I expected too much of that kid, but I'm guessing Chiyo sent you here to fix this mess. I know I'll be more than a little crazy after this, but at least I won't have to worry about Gaara suffering so much." With that, Shukaku walks to the back of his cage where I can barely see him and curls up on the ground, watching me.

After the sand restraints slide off of me, I make my way over to the seal. "I don't know if I can believe you, but if what you said is true, thanks for letting be with Gaara for so long." It's hard to tell from here, but I think I see Shukaku smiling a little bit. Placing my hand on the seal, I let my chakra flow into it. As my chakra enters the seal, I can see the white chakra disappearing as the bars of Shukaku's prison mend themselves. I experience the same loss of my senses I did earlier, but not before seeing a wave of red chakra flooding through Shukaku's eyes and mouth as he screams in agony.

After what feels like hours, I awaken to Chiyo gently shaking my shoulder as she calls my name. I have a splitting headache and I can barely think straight, but I feel well enough to hear what Chiyo tells me. "It worked. Gaara probably won't feel too well for quite a while as his body readjusts to the seal, but his chakra pathways are already mending themselves." Once this registers, I look down to see Gaara still unconscious on the bed. The only sign that Shukaku had forced his chakra through him at all is the large amount of sand covering Gaara like a blanket. I can barely manage to thank Chiyo before I feel myself falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion.