Author's Note: Welcome back, all. My goal was to get this out before August was finished, and I was able to do it!

I noticed that there wasn't as much engagement for the last chapter as there usually is. Is it because there wasn't a lot to comment on compared to previous installments? It seemed well-received for those who did share their thoughts, though. So that's good.

Anyway, don't forget to leave a bunch of reviews for this one if you enjoyed it. They make my day. Thanks!

Chapter 30: Eternal Beauty

"You… never told him?"

The old woman's gaze fell slightly, but she remained resolute. The silence in the room suddenly felt deafening. "How could I have? Sasori was just a small boy. He didn't know the horrors of the world, and I couldn't bring myself to tell him that he had lost his parents." Naruto noted that when she spoke about the past, she gained a few more wrinkles around her eyes and above her brow.

The weight of loss apparently never stop bearing down.

"That's your reasoning? You didn't think he would need closure? You planned on lying to him his entire life?"

"No, I-"

"From what you told me, he was a perfectly normal kid before that happened." The blond had long since abandoned his chair and now lightly paced the room, his hand cupping his chin. "You tried to protect him from the death of his parents, but you might have ended up doing more harm than good. If you had helped him with his trauma instead of sweeping it under the rug, maybe he wouldn't have ended up this way."

Chiyo's eyes continued to linger on her grandson, a wistful smile graced her old features. "I look back on the past nearly every day of my life, and I couldn't agree more."

"Why didn't you?" It was an honest question.

Even more wrinkles. "I thought showing him how to play with puppets would be enough." There was a touch of helplessness in her voice. A foolish thought, she knew. "They were a distraction for me, and I thought the same could work for him." The retired kunoichi knew that what she had just said was incredibly naïve, but that was truly her thought process those twenty years ago. "I-I-"

"Let me guess, the Shinobi teaching's you grew up with… they didn't prepare you to deal with something like this, let alone help someone else through it." The pieces of this giant mess of a puzzle were finally starting to fall in their appropriate places. The image they created was an unwelcome, but expected, representation of the world they lived in.

The look in the defeated eyes of Sasori's grandmother said it all. If she were miraculously given a chance to go back and change things, she still wouldn't know what to do to help the boy. Compassion, rehabilitation, empathy… these things were unbecoming of a shinobi. Once again, the twenty-fifth principle wormed it's way back into his mind.

A Shinobi never shows their feelings, no matter what the circumstances. Feelings are a weakness that only cloud his judgment and weaken his sense of duty.

Perhaps, the mindset itself is the disease?

"It only made everything worse." That was painful for her to get out. It was apparent she had never said any of this aloud to anyone, not even her brother. "Sasori quickly became a Puppet Master prodigy, and the Village saw his immense talent. They used the skills I helped him develop as a way to cope and, instead, turned him into a killing machine to aid us in the Third War."

The blond stopped his pacing and eyed the woman carefully. "And… what did you think about that at the time?"

She expected that question, but it didn't stop her from burying her head into her hands. "He was only a boy, but his efforts helped save many lives. It was effective, and I knew he could help the Village survive. That is our duty."

"Yeah, that was what I expected you to say." Naruto let out a long sigh. "That isn't something exclusive to the Sand Village, though. It seems like every Ninja Village has that same mindset."

"That's because, no matter the damage it causes to an individual, Shinobi are the pillar of strength that hold everything up. Without those sacrifices, everything would come toppling down. It is an effective system, and it garners superior results." The elderly woman grew up in the infancy stages of the village system revolutionized by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, so her insight was as comprehensive as just about anyone alive today. "It is something that we simply accept as reality."

"Not too long ago…" Naruto started off. "I took a man's life because I thought people like him were the problem in the world. I saw him as a disease that crippled a nearby nation so he and his people could profit from it." His eyes narrowed as he attempted to look at the situation with a new perspective. "I wasn't naïve; I knew that humans put their own self-interests first. It makes sense, honestly. I have no problem with people wanting the best for themselves, it's just when they hurt innocent people to get it… I…" He ground his teeth together. "It's just, is that really the only way to do things? Or, is that simply what we accept because it has been that way for so long? I was blaming the people within our broken system, instead of the system itself…"

"Such a young man, and, yet, you are already trying to tackle such complex questions."

"Someone has to."

"Heh, I suppose you are right." The Granny mused with a weary grin. "With some reflection, I can say that my generation created a lot of the problems that yours will have to deal with in the coming years. Perhaps yours will be the one to correct them. Just don't come to me asking for help. Your generation must figure these things out on your own."

"With all due respect, I'm not sure if I would want your help in the first place."

"Hahaha!" The retired kunoichi bellowed with laughter, and even Naruto sported a slight grin at her expense. "I think that's fair. I don't even know if I'm qualified to give advice anymore." She wasn't about to let the boy forget about the deal that they had made. "Is there anything else that you would like to hear?"

He appeared to mull that question over for a few seconds. "No, I've heard exactly what I was looking for." The Genin said after a short pause, as his attention drifted over to the 'corpse' of the redhead. "I think I understand Sasori a little more than I did before."

"Does that mean you are going to keep your word to me?" Was her cautious question. After all, that was the only reason she told the whiskered boy about the life she and Sasori lived.

"Of course." Naruto interlocked his fingers behind his head. "I made a deal with you, and I don't plan on going back on my word."

The retired kunoichi shook her head. "For someone from the Leaf, I suppose you aren't so bad. Though I must ask, why are you so interested in my grandson? What happened between the two of you that you come to me with all of these questions?"

They locked eyes.

Naruto unclasped his hands from behind his head and crossed them in front of his chest. "When I gave him that fatal wound in his 'heart,' he tried to take me with him with a poisonous gas cloud. I couldn't react in time, and ended up breathing some of it in."

Chiyo's eyebrow raised. "If that's really true, then how could you possibly be alive? Sasori's knowledge of poison is only overshadowed by your Hokage, that old Queen of Slugs, Tsunade." There was still a bitter taste in the Sand Elder's mouth regarding the Senju. The Sannin was the only medic in the world who had ever gotten the better of her in the Great War.

Naruto went to speak, but a shooting pain erupted within him and began to pinball around in his brain. A grimace escaped his lips. He plopped back down onto the seat he had used in the beginnings of their conversation. He took the bottom of his palm and pressed it firmly against his temple to try and alleviate some of the discomfort. His vision was filled with a crimson-red hue. A black, four-sided pinwheel invaded his field of vision and spun in a hypnotic dance that captivated his consciousness. And, just as soon as it appeared…

It was gone.

The blond blinked until his vision reverted back to normal. He wasn't really sure what had just happened, but, whatever it was, it appeared to worry Granny Chiyo.

"Are you okay, dear?"

'Dear?' Naruto thought that was a bit odd, but he didn't say anything. "I'm fine, just a headache. I get them sometimes." His tone was dismissive. Naruto briefly searched his short-term memories, only to come up with nothing. "Sorry… what was your question again? I spaced out for a bit."

She didn't seem to fully accept that answer but decided not to make a big deal out of it. "Sasori's poison." She prodded gently.

"Oh, right." A flash of realization glimmered behind his bright eyes. How had he forgotten? "Even though he was still going to die, even though it did absolutely nothing to help him, your grandson gave me the antidote to his poison." The old woman's eyes widened significantly at that statement. "That's the main reason I needed to find you. Leading up to that point, he did nothing that would suggest to me that he would be capable of doing something like that. In fact, it was the exact opposite. I wanted to find out why."

Upon hearing that, the gray-haired woman once again walked up to the examination table. "Sasori…" Her sorrowful whisper hung in the air. It was only a single word, but it said so much. Her lip quivered, and she felt those tears that weren't Shinobi-like force their way out of the corners of her eyes. "Maybe… he did that so the organization that you spoke of would still be able to capture you?" It was almost like she was trying to convince herself that her grandchild wouldn't be capable of something like that.

The Genin shook his head. "I'm sure Sasori has given the Akatsuki the antidote to his poisons. Sasori was a smart guy, it wouldn't make sense to leave his comrades in the dark about something like that. Besides, he said that poison would take about three days to kill me. Plenty of time for his buddies to get their hands on me."

"No… no, it couldn't be." Her lack of blinking was mildly concerning, but it was unexpected. There were plenty of instances where the missing-nin had shown he was a monster. "That's the only thing that makes sense."

Naruto grinned thinly at the old woman's denial. "If that were the case, then why would he tell me to come and find you?" Her eyes opened even further, something Naruto didn't even think was possible. She didn't speak, so he took that as an invitation to keep talking. "How do you think I know who you are? I asked him if he wanted me to deliver a message for him. Like I said before, his final words were meant for you. Are you ready to hear them?"

Chiyo felt her throat go dry. She tried to scrounge up enough words to form a complete sentence to answer back with. "I-I-" She couldn't find any.

"He told me to tell you that he was sorry."

The Genin watched the woman's reaction closely. Her spirit was hardened by at least two wars, and she had already shed a few tears today. That proved just how much she cared about Sasori. And yet, those tears before only seemed to scratch the surface of her sorrow. Chiyo began to lightly shake, but she had her back to him so he couldn't see her face. Naruto could hear it, though.

The old woman sobbed lightly to herself over the body of her deceased grandchild.

'Sasori, what would you think of this?' The Jinchuriki mused to himself.

There was a knock at the door. "Naruto, are you in there?" It was Kakashi's voice on the other side of the wall. Chiyo hadn't reacted to the sound, so the teen thought it best to slip outside. He opened the door just enough to fit through, and then closed it quietly behind him.

"Did ya need something, Sensei?"

Kakashi had tried to peek past his student to see into the room but wasn't able to make out anything inside. He gave his student a look for the strange behavior. "We were looking for you, you kind of just wandered off without telling us where you were going. Are you alright? Is everything okay in there?"

"Sorry about that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I had to keep my promise to Sasori."

Kakashi noted that the boy's bashful action didn't match the look on his face. "Sasori?" That was definitely a name that he recognized. "The man from the Akatsuki that you fought? That was the person you needed to keep your promise to?" To be honest, the Copy Ninja was a bit surprised. Even though Naruto had a caring and forgiving heart, after what Sakura told him about Inari and Tsunami…

"I found his grandmother and handed his body over to her." The teen tried his best to dissuade his teacher's confusion. "I hated the guy, but we put everything on the line against one another. Even someone like him deserves a little respect in the end."

Kakashi nodded his understanding. He wasn't sure that he agreed with that statement but didn't come to find the blond to argue over their ideological differences. "Well, I came to find you to tell you that we'll be staying in the Sand Village for a while. Depending on how things go today, maybe even for the night. Baki set up some rooms for us if that does happen."

The Uzumaki cocked his head to the side, his features bunched together slightly. "What's happening today? Is it a party for Gaara's return?"

Kakashi's one visible eye blinked. "I-I thought he would have told you when you saw him."

They scrunched up even more. "Who, Baki? No, he didn't tell me anything. Why? What happened?"

"Kankuro… is dead. He died trying to protect Gaara from being taken."

"Oh… I see…" He stayed silent for a moment as Kakashi watched him closely. "Gaara had mentioned that is was possible, but… hearing it's true is something else entirely. How are Gaara and Temari doing? Are they okay?"

"Temari is pretty upset, and Gaara has been trying to console her." The Jonin's eye curved downward, which the blond assumed it meant he was frowning behind his mask. "Though, I don't think that's giving him any time to process what happened for himself. When you're done here, could you go talk to him and make sure he's doing alright? It would probably mean the most coming from a friend."

His student glanced back at the door and nodded. "Yeah, I'm almost done here. I shouldn't be too long. I'll go see him right after this."

Kakashi gave his Genin a sad smile and turned to leave. Unsurprisingly, he clicked open his pouch and took out a copy of 'Make Out Innocence' and shot a lazy wave over his shoulder. "The service will be outside this building in a little over an hour. I'll see you there."

"Right." Naruto watched the form of his Sensei retreat before bringing his attention back to the matter at hand. A sigh escaped his list. 'She's probably in there crying still… maybe if I just wait out here, I won't have to deal with any of that.' That thought made him feel awful, and yet it didn't change how he felt. After all, the son of the Fourth Hokage didn't even like to deal with his own emotions. There were two occasions where literal manifestations of himself had to slap some sense into him because he didn't want to do it. How was he expected to help someone else through their emotional baggage?

Simple; he couldn't.

'Oh well, guess I'll just have to give it a shot.' The teen reached for the doorknob to the Kazekage's private exam room and was about to turn it, and then his ears twitched.

A faint hum emanated from the room; it was so quiet that he had barely even noticed it. His hearing may not be at the same level as people like Kakashi or Kiba, but it was still better than most. Instead of barging in insensitively, Naruto did the classy and respectful thing. He pressed his ear up against the door for a little bit of eavesdropping.

Even though the sound grew louder, it didn't really tell the boy anything new. Though, that didn't last long. What alerted him that something may be wrong was what sounded like pained coughing and gasps of air.

'Chiyo?!' Naruto haphazardly swung the door that separated them open. Even then, he wasn't really sure of what he was seeing. "Hey, Granny… what the hell are you doing?"

The old woman in question was still hovered over her grandson, but something was different. Both of her hands were placed over the puppet's chest, and they emitted an intense blue glow. She looked over her shoulder and gave the boy a look he was pretty sure that he'd never forget.

A soft, almost serene smile.

The teen didn't have to ask; he could tell that whatever she was doing was putting her through immense pain. The facial twitches, sweat accumulation, and pained expressions made it very clear.

"Oh… this?" She asked through some effort. "Pay me no mind, I'm just an old woman trying to right one of the many wrongs I've made in my life." The blue light that emanated from her palms flickered slightly, then intensified even further. That elicited a groan of agony out of the old woman.

'For a veteran like her to show pain from this… and that doesn't look like Medical Ninjutsu, either.' There was also that look he saw in her eyes. "What is this Jutsu? What are you doing?"

"This… is a Reanimation Jutsu that I developed." Strain flickered just above her brow, and she bit the inside of her cheek in a feeble attempt to quell the torment that ravaged her body. "Funnily enough, I got the idea to create this Jutsu to help Sasori when he was a boy. Who would have thought I'd still get to fulfill its purpose? " The painful image of her sad child playing with puppets made in the image of their mother and father wormed its way into her mind, and, this time, her grimace was not from pain. "Perhaps this can make up for how useless I was to him."

It was from regret.

'Reanimation?!' Naruto walked to the old woman's side. To his shock, the stab wound in the Puppet Master's artificial heart was being stitched back together. "You're bringing him back to life." It was a statement, not a question. "He's been dead for so long, how is this…" The Genin's eyes darkened slightly at the prospect of something like this being possible. "A Jutsu as powerful as this… what does it cost?"

No answer.

"Granny Chiyo!"

Still nothing. Words weren't needed, her lack of them was the only answer he needed.

"You're a fool." The Jinchuriki attempted to bite his tongue, but the words just rushed from his mouth. "You'd really trade your own life for his? Why?"

"You said it yourself, Sasori showed that he is capable of change. You saw it with your own eyes." Her eyes narrowed, and another tear dribbled out from one of them. "If that's true, then I would gladly give my own life so that he could have his back. I'm just an old bag of bones, my life isn't really worth all that much these days."

"You're just talking nonsense!" He gripped the woman's shoulder but tried to not jostle her too much. "The things I told you about him just mean that there was still a little piece of himself in there. To think he could change back to the way you remember him as after all that's happened over the years… we both know that isn't possible. Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise."

"No." In just one word, she conveyed her true feelings; a will of unbending steel, and the eternal, unconditional love of a grandmother. "This is my choice. I've made so many terrible ones in my long, worthless life… but, this. For one of the first times that I can remember, this truly feels like the right thing to do. I know it."

Naruto furrowed his brow. What could he say to convince her out of this obvious mistake? "Even if everything you say is true, what if you're wrong? If Sasori wakes up and attacks, I may just have to kill him again."

"Not to worry… he won't be a threat to you. This Jutsu is special." The Elder's breaths started to become more labored. "I am not simply bringing him back to from the dead; I am breathing the life into his puppet body."

"What do you mean?"

"I developed this forbidden technique alongside the Sand's Puppet Brigade Division. With it, you could even bring inanimate objects, like puppets, into the world of the living."

"But, doesn't that mean he won't really be Sasori, just a new consciousness in his body?"

"Normally, that would be the case." Chiyo smiled through the unbelievable strain her body was undergoing. "However, Sasori's puppet body has a human element that he used to manipulate chakra. His consciousness is contained within it, not the puppet body itself. I am extracting the essence of Sasori that is still within his artificial heart, and, with my own chakra, I will breathe it into this puppet."

"And what does that mean?"

"Sasori's consciousness… should be tied to his modified body. He'll be able to survive without his human element, but… will still need it if he wants to manipulate chakra." Her breaths had grown even more ragged. "That is because his real body no longer has a chakra network."

'An immortal body?'

What a disaster this had turned out to be… The blond teen let out a hoarse breath and levied a stern stare onto the weakened veteran.

"You could have everything work out perfectly, but there's still one huge problem." Chiyo couldn't respond, between her strained breaths and efforts to maintain the Jutsu, all of her attention was divided up. "It's not like you're reviving Gaara, your Kazekage, or even someone like Kankuro. Sasori is still an internationally wanted criminal. When the Sand finds out what he did to the Third and Fifth Kazekage, and that he's alive… he'll spend the rest of eternity rotting away in a cell. You still have time to stop this before you pay the ultimate price! It isn't worth it!"

"You… cared enough to… bring him to me like this." The glow from the woman's hands slowly faded until it stopped altogether. "I… trust you to… take care of my… grandson…Naruto. My only regret… is that I couldn't see him alive… one last time."

With her Reanimation Technique now completed, the Honored Sibling toppled over to her side. Instead of reaching out to catch the old woman, Naruto watched her with conflicted eyes as she collapsed onto the ground.

Naruto grimaced, and forced himself to look away from the sad scene in front of him. A pit formed in his stomach, one that he quickly identified as a feeling of intense guilt. "I'm sorry that I was so rude to you earlier… I was just so angry about what happened to my friends. It was wrong of me to take that out on you. I just… wish I would have said it to you earlier… before you-" The teen's ears twitched.

She wasn't breathing.

An eerie silence filled the room, one that gave him the urge to leave and never come back. Sasori hadn't started to move yet, but Naruto could feel a faint glimmer of energy emanating for his body.

Great, just great.

"Why… would you entrust me with something like that? You just met me…"

'What… is going on?'

One second everything was dark, and, just like that, it looked like he was nearing the end of a dark tunnel? There was a faint light that peaked out of the sides of his peripheral vision. His eyes squinted to adjust to the new visual stimuli.

'Where the hell am I? What is this?'

"Finally awake, ya damn bastard?"

Sasori's eyes fluttered open, and a wince escaped him at the sudden surge of light that hit his corneas. He was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

'That's…'

It had been twenty years, but he recognized these walls anywhere.

'How… is this possible?'

"I can't believe I get myself into these situations." The redhead turned just in time to catch Naruto rubbing his hand through his hair in annoyance. The blond boy was sat down on the other side of the room. "I had to miss Kankuro's ceremony for this. You're lucky I can use Shadow Clones, or I would have left your ass here until I came back."

"You… what's going on?" The Puppet Master's battle instincts kicked in as he subtly scanned the medium-sized room. "How am I here? I should have…" His body twitched ever so slightly.

The Genin flared his chakra. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you." Naruto had noticed what the man was doing and decided it best to nip it in the bud. "I'd like to keep my promise to Granny, but I'll kill you a second time if you give me a single reason to." His look was stern. "And I mean any reason."

"The Witch has something to do with this?" Sasori grunted out harshly. "Not possible, I saw the wound that you gave me. Not even her medical prowess could have saved me when I was that far gone." Was this all just a nightmare? He truly was not sure. It all felt real, but that could just be the cruel work of the afterlife playing tricks on him.

"Heh." Naruto's laugh was devoid of any sense of humor. "You know, I would have thought the same thing a little while ago, but…" He held up something that caught the man's attention. "Things keep on surprising me."

That was his core!

The missing-nin shot up to a seated position, wide-eyed. "That's…" His shaky gaze slowly drifted down to his chest to confirm the impossible. To his disbelief, his core of flesh was gone. "H-How?"

"I didn't know you could look so rattled." Despite the teasing words, Naruto maintained a deep frown. "As for the how… well, I'm not sure you'll like the answer to that." Sasori gave him a stern look that demanded answers, but the blond simply pointed down on the floor in front of the Puppeteer.

The S-Rank threat had a flicker of emotion pass through his usually dead eyes as his gaze lowered further. His grandmother laid unmoving on the ground; arms crossed peacefully over her chest. Her eyes were closed shut, and there was a peaceful, almost content smile on her face.

"A forbidden Jutsu that she apparently developed to try and make you happy as a kid." Naruto carefully observed his former opponents body language as he continued to speak. There wasn't a visible reaction, not that the blond expected there to be much of anything. "I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that, but its purpose was to be able to breathe life into puppets. She did that to bring you back to life at the cost of her own. The only thing this heart is good for now is giving you the ability to wield chakra. Without it, you're harmless."

Sasori sneered. "What a fool." Eyes locked on the cold corpse of his grandmother. "Why would she do something so idiotic? Who would sacrifice their own life to save someone else's? It just doesn't make any sense."

"I'm pretty sure that's what love can do to a person. Emotions like that, they make us do stupid things that we wouldn't think of doing otherwise." The Genin wasn't sure, but it felt like the Puppet Master was holding something else back. His cold eyes and steely demeanor made it difficult to tell, but he could feel it. "As for why, well, we spoke about you at length; then, I relayed the message you left for her. After that, she made this decision even though I tried my best to convince her otherwise. She was having none of it, though. It was a choice your grandma felt she had to make."

The Scorpion of the Red Sand decided that the ceiling was where he would levy his gaze. The blond's face had begun to annoy him and thought it better to just ignore the nuisance.

Unfortunately for him, the person he deemed a pest was no going to let that happen.

"Eternal beauty." Naruto recalled aloud. The redhead's body twitched slightly. "I remember you mentioning that term when you described your art in our fight. You made puppets out of people, so the human form would never wilt away like your parents did." He was no psychologist, but even someone like him could piece the obvious together. The blond pointed at the Akatsuki member, more specifically, his augmented body. "Is that why you turned yourself into that monstrosity; to become your own ideal piece of art? Everlasting and immortal?"

As each word that he was forced to listen to went by, the man's face contorted ever so slightly. "Is there a reason behind your blabbering, or do you just like to hear yourself talk?" The Puppet Master shot back with more edge than he had expected.

"I thought it would be obvious." The Jinchuriki levied a heavy stare at his captive. "Because of what Granny Chiyo did to you, you now have the eternal beauty that you have always wanted. As long as you maintain that puppet body, you will never fade away. You won't die of old age, and you don't have the need for any human elements to sustain life."

"Just what the hell is your point? What do you want from me?!"

"Are you happy now?" Sasori's eyes flickered open slightly. "You have obtained the thing you wanted most, right? You had to pay a steep price to achieve it. Tell me, how does that make you feel?" He smiled. "I'm interested."

"I feel nothing… nothing at all."

"If you're lying, then that's pretty sad." The blond dug into his weapons pouch while he spoke. "Then again, if you're telling the truth, that is probably even more tragic." He shook his head and tossed the items he withdrew in the direction of the redhead. "Tell me if that changes with this."

Sasori snatched them out of the air without even looking, but he did manage to shoot his captor a sharp glare. "What are these?"

"What does it look like? A pair of scrolls." A similar look of contempt drew a thin smirk from the blond. "Hell if I know." He said with a small shrug. "I noticed them next to you after your grandmother brought you back to life. They definitely weren't there before, so I assume she left them for you."

Sasori held one of the scrolls out in front of his face and unfurled it with one hand, which blocked Naruto's view of his face. The man was silent for a few seconds and then repeated the action with the second piece of parchment. Still, he did not say a single word.

"Well?" The blond asked. "What is it?"

The Puppeteer rolled the pair of scrolls back up, tied the string around them, and placed them delicately into his pocket. Whatever the mysterious sealed contents were, it left the thinnest of grins on the redhead's face. That grin, however, didn't seem to match the man's eyes. It was so slight that Naruto could have just imagined the whole thing.

"If you truly wanted to know, you should have opened them while I was still dead."

Naruto blinked. Was that… the sociopath's attempt at humor? Huh, who would have thought? Now he was really interested to know what it was the old lady left for him. The Genin let out a light chuckle. "Heh, I guess you're right."

"So, what happens now?" The Puppet Man asked while he brought his gaze back up to the ceiling.

"Huh?" The blond gave him a look that Sasori couldn't see. "What do ya mean?"

"I've done… bad things to both you and this Village. I can't infuse my chakra without my core, I'm pretty much at your mercy in the heart of a place that wants me dead. If your plan were to kill me, you would have probably already tried to do so. So I ask; what is next?"

"Well, you're a member of the Akatsuki, it's not like we can just let you roam free." The teen brought a hand to his chin. "As for what comes next, well, I have a plan. Only time will tell to see if it actually works out. You'll just have to sit tight and wait for things to fall into place."

"It isn't like I have much of a choice." The Puppet shot back stoically.

"True. At least you understand that much." Naruto's facial features twitched slightly; the familiar sensation of his clone's memories being relayed to him tugged at the corners of his mind. "Speaking of which, it looks like I have a couple of things to attend to." The blond quickly made his way to the door, took one final glance back at his former opponent, and began to speak again. "Company will be here in a couple seconds. Don't try anything stupid while I'm gone. I'm not responsible for the actions of the Sand's Black Ops. Just because I haven't killed you yet does not mean that they won't. See ya later."

And with that, Sasori was left to wrestle with his own thoughts.

Baki's face was strained behind his best mask of stoicism. He bit the inside of his cheek with a bit too much force. "Naruto Uzumaki, couldn't something like this wait until later. Until our Kazekage is-"

"No, it can't." The Nine-Tails host said simply. "We're not sure when Gaara will be ready to meet with us. A few days? A week or two? I don't have that kind of time to wait around, so I'd appreciate it if you all, the council, would make a decision today."

Naruto had his own seat at a massive round table in the center of a large, open room. Behind him were four giant stone statues of the previous Kazekage. From what Baki had explained, his attendance was not a regular occurrence. When a request is made, routine procedure dictates that the committee comes to a determination without the presence of the requestee. It was only because of the boy's efforts in the retrieval of Gaara that he was given the floor.

He wasn't sure who Yūra was, but his seat sure was comfortable.

'Sasori wasn't lying to me.' The blond thought upon seeing the giant stone sculptures. 'That puppet is definitely the Third Kazekage. No doubt about it.'

"Let me get this straight." The one who introduced himself as Gōza began. "You claim that Sasori of the Red Sand is the man behind the disappearance of the Third Kazekage and the attempted capture of Lord Fifth, and you expect us to just hand him over to the Leaf?!" The man sounded genuinely surprised at such a ridiculous request. "Don't misunderstand, we are grateful for what you have done for this Village, but these terms are ludicrous. It would make a mockery of the Land of Wind to let one of our greatest enemies get away unpunished."

"I agree." Another older man spoke up, Naruto wasn't that good with remembering names he didn't care about, but he was almost certain the geezer's name was Jōseki. "Sasori is an S-Rank missing-nin, who has committed numerous atrocities to the people of our Village. Now, you tell us that he is linked to the assault of two of our leaders and the murder of one? He will be tried as a criminal by us, no exceptions."

There were a series of nods and murmurs of agreeance between the Sand's higher-ups, while Baki just looked on with an accumulation of sweat forming at his brow.

The teen frowned. "Yes, but Sasori is a member of the Akatsuki. Their goal is to capture all of the Tailed Beasts, not just the One-Tail. The information he has as a potential informant is much more valuable than any satisfaction you would gain by bringing him to justice."

"Then, we will simply interrogate him ourselves." Ryūsa, another council member, chimed in. "Do you Leaf Ninja not trust us with even that much? Is this request coming directly from Lady Fifth Hokage?"

"No, I haven't consulted with her yet. I just wanted to get a jump on things with some preliminary discussion. There won't be an official agreement until we hear back from her." Naruto corrected with a shake of the head. "The Leaf has more knowledge on the Akatsuki than any major village thanks to the information gathering of Master Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin. Therefore, leaving him with you would be doing a disservice to the entire Ninja World."

Gōza's brow knitted together. "Yes, but-"

"No 'buts.'" The blond cut the Elder off with little regard for their opinion of him. "Must I remind you that Gaara, your Kazekage, still has around one-half of the One-Tail's chakra still inside him? Do you think the Akatsuki will be satisfied with that, or is it more likely they will be looking to come back and take the rest? Last time, they just waltzed in and took him right from under your noses. If given a second chance, I doubt you'd do any better." That seemed to get the council's attention. They all reacted similarly, in fear for the safety of their people and leader. "The more information the Leaf Village has, the sooner we can stop the threat of the Akatsuki. This is the best course of action to keep everyone safe."

The Sand councilors looked at one another with uncertainty in their eyes. The boy's words had apparently struck a chord within them, but they were still unsure of how to act. Well, all but one of them.

"This is all fine and well, but you can't sit there and act like this does not benefit the Leaf, as well." Baki had apparently heard enough of this deliberation and decided to throw his hat into the ring. "Your Village is home to the Nine-Tailed Fox, an immense asset to your military might. You could want this information to better protect your Jinchuriki, not us. We are grateful for what you have done, and we understand that you are our allies, but you must look at this from our perspective."

"Are you saying you need something in return?"

Baki placed his interlocked hands in front of the lower portion of his face. He looked conflicted with this whole situation, but a stiff nod was his response.

"Okay." Naruto said with a nod back. "That's perfectly reasonable, given the circumstances. There are two things that we can give to the Sand in return for the exchange of Sasori of the Red Sand."

"And… what would those be?" Ryūsa asked cautiously.

The Uzumaki took in a deep breath while thinking back to what Chiyo had requested of him. 'The things I do for a bastard that I don't even like. Granny... why do I have to watch over that miserable guy?!'

"The first is the puppet body of the Third Kazekage that I retrieved in my fight with Sasori."

Loud, annoying chatter erupted between members of the committee at the mention of their late Wind Shadow. One angry voice, in particular, rose above the others and was aimed at the teen. "You would use the corpse of our beloved leader as a bargaining chip to get what you want?!" Jōseki nearly spat out.

"Would you not?" Naruto retorted back honestly. "Ally or not, I'm doing what I think is best for the good of the world. You are all included in this world, by the way. For us to have the best chance to stop that organization, we need Sasori. Therefore, I will do whatever it takes."

After a few moments of angry whispering and harsh glares, the noise in the room seemed to settle down. Baki levied a heavy gaze on their guest, hands still interlocked just below his nose. "What of the second concession?" Was the question on everyone else's mind.

Naruto let out a soft sigh. That went about as well as he could have hoped. Bargaining with the Iron Sand user could have compromised the entire meeting, but the gains outweighed the benefits. It was too tantalizing of a piece for them to disregard. "As I said before, Gaara still has a portion of the One-Tail within him. No doubt, the Akatsuki will, once again, set their sights on him to complete his extraction. As a show of good faith for the exchange and our alliance, I would like to have a capable Shinobi sent over on an S-Rank mission to watch over the Kazekage until the threat has ceased. He will act as a deterrent to another Akatsuki attack."

Jōseki scoffed in dismission. "You have already said that you have not yet been in contact with Lady Tsunade. How could we possibly hand over the prisoner without confirmation from her?"

"I've already sent her a message using one of my toads. We should hopefully be hearing back from her shortly. I wouldn't think to close the deal without her confirmation."

"Even so." Ryūsa cut in sharply. "How could a single Shinobi be expected to deter the Akatsuki from invading our Village again? Should we not expect to be given an entire squad at the very least? "

Naruto smirked. "Oh, trust me, we won't be sending over some random Jonin to protect Gaara. Don't worry, he will be in good hands."

"So, you already have someone in mind?" To which Naruto immediately nodded. "Who is it?"

"…Might Guy."

"Those guys were such stuffy bastards..." Naruto groaned out. He raked his fingers through his blond hair for a few seconds, letting out a satisfied sigh in the process. "I can't believe I made it through that conference without losing my mind. I have no idea how Gaara deals with it all of the time."

"You're just full of surprises." Sakura said as she pulled down hard on her gloves. "Sasori's intelligence will lead us one step closer to stopping the Akatsuki, so I'm sure it was worth acting dignified for a few minutes." Of course, the unspoken caveat was that it would only be true if they were able to get the Puppet Master to talk. Pessimism would do them no good right now, so the team opted to not bring up that very real possibility.

"I'm just glad Granny Tsunade is reasonable and agreed to the terms!" One of his hands continued to comb his hair, while the other went a few inches lower to straighten out his headband. It looked straight, but it didn't feel straight. It had to feel right, or something was terribly wrong. "It woulda been so embarrassing if I talked a big game just for Granny to shut me down!"

The trio was waiting at the entrance of the Village for a certain someone to see them off. The previous day had been long and tedious, but fortuitous. After several hours of deliberation, this time without Naruto being present, the Sand's council had decided to accept the blond's terms of exchange. That, of course, was contingent on Tsunade's approval, which came a bit later.

"She realizes how important it is for us to get more information from the Akatsuki." The Copy Ninja chimed in. "Losing Gai for the foreseeable future is a substantial loss, but it's also to protect an allied village and a friend."

Sakura's lips curved up creepily. "Are you just saying that because you won't be able to see your best friend in the whole wide world for a while?"

"E-Erm, no." Kakashi stuttered out. "What are you talking about?" Despite his reserved nature, both of his students could tell he was pouting behind his mask.

"I think you're right, Sakura. Sensei is just too cool to admit it." Naruto matched the pink-haired girl's uneasy grin. "Actually, I'd wager Gai-sensei is his only friend."

The Sharingan use sighed audibly, bristling from the teasing of his young students. This only intensified the funny looks and chuckles they shot his way, which furthered the usually aloof Jonin's levels of embarrassment.

"Asuma is my friend." Was the man's indignant response.

The girl of the group rolled her eyes at the scarecrow and looked back at her blond teammate. "Hey, I know we got off track, but where is Sasori, anyway?" The pinkette asked her teammate. "Aren't we taking him with us?"

"Oh, yeah." Naruto unconsciously tapped one of his vest pockets. "Since he's technically a puppet, I can seal his ass away without killing him. I'm glad, too. I'd rather not have to listen to him the whole way back home."

'It'll also help just in case there are some… prying eyes trying to spy on us.' The teen mentally added.

"There were a few times back in the good old days where I wish we could have done that to you." Sakura teased with a laugh. "Isn't that right, Sensei?"

…

"Kakashi-sensei?"

The teens noticed that their teacher was looking back on the path that went to the Village.

Muffled footsteps from the sand approached the group, followed by a deep voice. "We are sorry for the long wait." It was Gaara, followed closely by Temari. "Things have been… difficult, to say the least."

Naruto had to hold back the urge to wince.

Gaara was in rough shape. He looked particularly tired and weary from someone who never got a lot of sleep, to begin with. The rings around his eyes looked larger and more pronounced. A sullen expression he wore was proof enough that Kankuro's death weighed down on him heavily.

However, that was not what had unnerved the blond. It was Temari.

She looked… terrible, for lack of a better word. The Genin hadn't interacted with the oldest Sand Sibling much, but the blond kunoichi always wore a sharp smile and had an air of brash friendliness. But now? The Jonin's eyes were darkened, downcast, and half-closed, her face was pale, and that ordinarily perfect posture was slumped and subdued. The girl's hair was down, not bothering to put it up in the signature four pigtails that she always wore. Temari didn't even greet the members of Team 7, instead opting to stare at the ground at their feet as she robotically clung to the side of her younger brother.

"It's no trouble at all." Naruto said immediately. "We haven't been waiting that long." It was a lie, but a necessary one.

"We hope that you do well on your journey and hope that you succeed." Gaara reached out slowly to form one half of a handshake. "I wish I could have been there to assist you with the council. They can be a tad… troublesome, as Shikamaru would like to say."

"Nah, they were fine. Most of them have sticks up their asses, but Master Jiraiya taught me a little about how to deal with people like them." The Nine-Tails Host took one glance at the outstretched hand and shook his head. Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to try something else." Naruto, too, outstretched, but differently than his red-headed friend.

"Bump fists with me. There is someone that I would like to meet…"

Author's Note: Naruto is acting bold with the council. If the meeting went south… well, let's just say he would have stirred up a lot of trouble. You could argue that he's starting to be a little reckless.

Oh, and let's not forget that climax of Naruto's conversation with Chiyo. How many of you expected that to happen? I hope I surprised a great deal of you.

Leave a review with your thoughts, or just PM me if you prefer.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next time with Chapter 31: Aftermath: Reset and Reload

Yamajiji – Naruto is so confused; he's just trying to find the right answers.

Kankuro is a pretty minor character, but that doesn't mean more important characters are safe.

ThelittleKing – Thanks for the review!

And yeah, what is Itachi planning? What does he gain from all of this? As for Kankuro, I always thought he should have died in canon during that first arc. I guess I'm just changing it to my preferred outcome. Who else is going to get the ax, I wonder?

vyoom – Naruto associates Inari and Tsunami's death with Chiyo. He's still bitter, and he's projecting because of it.