Naruto: Redone

by OrangeGokage

After the Kyūbi's attack on the village, the Third Hokage decided it would be best for Jiraiya to take his godson and leave the village. Six years later, they return but the village has not forgotten that fateful night and realize Naruto is the Kyūbi's container. When Naruto wakes up in the hospital, his caretaker is gone. How will this change and affect Naruto?

44. Chapter 44

-Chiyo and Sakura vs. Sasori-

An irritated Sasori was ready to let loose his frustrations on the two females before him, especially his grandmother. So many years of patience was about to payoff. He was about to get the ultimate payoff, and two new puppets.

The chilling stare was unnerving Sakura. She could not shake it. 'I can tell…just by looking at him. There is a huge difference in battle experience…'

Chiyo moved to the front of Sakura. "Sakura don't be afraid. I am here with you." From her large sleeves, Chiyo pulled out a series of kunai attached together by wire. "Stay behind me."

Waving her hands about, the kunai flew through the air. Sasori used his tail to block the kunai from hitting him directly, but his cloak was ripped to shreds. His main body was exposed, shocking Sakura greatly.

"What…on earth is he?"

"Don't worry, Sakura. That's not his real body. It's a puppet."

"A puppet?!"

"This puppet's name is Hiruko. It's one of Sasori's favorites. I know it well."

The mouth of the puppet opened underneath the cloth mask. Hiruko was larger puppet that held an arsenal of secrets inside it hull. It had the long, mechanical tail sprouting from a demon-like mask on the back. The left arm of the puppet was almost like a club with dulled spikes covering it. No doubt filled projectiles of sorts.

"It seems your mind wasn't the first thing to go in your old age, eh, Chiyo? How about you and that girl become apart of my collection. Don't worry, I'll treat it right, so you won't decay. And with you two, it will become exactly three hundred bodies!"

'He's killed three hundred people?!' Sakura could not believe it. How could someone be so heartless to kill so many people? "…Wait, if that's a puppet, then shouldn't he be controlling it from behind? Or from the shadows?"

"Normally, yes. But Hiruko is a special puppet, made for offense and defense. A puppet master is weak to close combat. Hiruko is the counter to that weakness. Sasori's real body is inside of Hiruko."

Sakura was having trouble finding a positive to this situation. "Then what can we do? You said you knew this puppet. Then you must know a weakness as well!"

Chiyo had to retract her words, as much as she hated to do so. "That's what I thought originally. But I may have misjudged. See that shell? That wasn't on the Hiruko I knew. And obviously the defenses have been strengthened. Hiruko never was able to deflect jutsu like it did. And the most terrifying thing about puppets is the unpredictable traps and mechanisms that hide in them. Sasori, no doubt, has changed them and tinkered with the ones I knew."

"…Then what should we do?"

"First, we have to get Sasori out of Hiruko. That being said, we have to destroy Hiruko completely. And I unfortunately don't have the ability to do that…but you do, Sakura." The girl was stunned to hear such words. "You have that superhuman strength passed down directly from Tsunade!" Sakura clenched her gloved fists. "Listen to me now…you have to get in close and smash Hiruko to pieces. But you also need to avoid being hit by the traps Hiruko has."

Sakura knew why she needed to be careful. "Because of the poison, right?"

Chiyo nodded. "Exactly. Even the slightest drop of his toxin can be fatal. To avoid the traps, you need to know the ins and outs of all the moving pieces and how the puppet master operates. You also need to be able to react without warning."

"…I'm not sure I have either of those things. I've never seen this type of opponent before. And I'm nowhere near Naruto…or Sasuke…when it comes to reaction time."

"You cannot compare yourself to others. They have different experiences. How do you think that boy got so strong? Sheer dumb luck?" Chiyo untied her hair bun and let her greying purple hair fall freely.

"Then what…?"

"What do I look like? A useless old bag of dust? This is why I'm here. Sasori's battle experience pales in comparison to mine…"

Sakura was in awe. The girl was quick put herself in check. She had counted Chiyo out before the fight even began.

"…Besides, the first move has already been made."

Chiyo leaned in close to whisper into Sakura's ear. Sakura nodded in understanding. "Alright…Let's do it!"

Sasori ripped away the cloth that was covering Hiruko's mouth. "So, are you finally ready to die? Remember, I don't like to be kept waiting!"

"Don't worry, we'll kill you quick!"

Sakura and Chiyo took off in a dead sprint towards Sasori, preparing themselves for anything. Hiruko's mouth opened wide. Clanking echoed from inside the puppet as tubes appeared from the depths of the mouth. Thousands of needles were suddenly fired from the tubes, each one laced with his deadly toxin.

Using their agility and flexibility, Chiyo and Sakura dodged and weaved through the onslaught of poison needles. Despite a few close calls, the two made it through each wave without a scratch on them. Just as the onslaught ceased, the large left arm of the puppet was launched and exploded with more needles in between the Chiyo and Sakura. A sneaky tactic, but one that did not succeed. Sakura and Chiyo were unscathed.

Sasori was thoroughly impressed. 'I expected Chiyo to survive. But the girl…'

The puppet master had no time to dwell on Sakura's impressive agility, both her and Chiyo were closing in on him. He needed to act fast if he wanted to save Hiruko from destruction. Using the long mechanical tail, Sasori aimed to stab Sakura in the neck.

The pinkette ran at full speed, not bothering to stop or dodge the incoming attack. The tip of the tail was mere inches away from Sakura's face when it halted.

Sasori roared with anger. 'That stupid bitch!'

"Now Sakura! Break in!"

"CHA!" With the chakra enhanced strength, she learned from her master, Sakura smashed her fist into Hiruko's shell and destroyed the puppet.

The pieces of Hiruko had barely settled before a figure hidden under a large cloth jumped to safety. The figure stood to his full height, keeping his face hidden from view. "That's my grandmother. I see now…that's how that girl was able to avoid all my traps. You saw through all my tricks but used chakra threads to from the puppet technique to control her movements. Even furthermore, you attached threads Hiruko's tail when you threw those kunai. And I didn't notice until you stopped the tail's movements. Not bad, Granny Chiyo."

Sasori was right. He was more than right. Everything he just stated was exactly how the passed few minutes went down. "Indeed. I suppressed the threads as much as I could so that you wouldn't detect them. You worked it out well…just like you always have."

Sasori reached for the cloth covering him, he tossed it aside to reveal his real body. "But of course…it was you who taught me to play with puppets." Sasori's mousy red hair shifted as he shook the cover free. "Well, do still think it'll be a quick death? Grandmother?"

Sakura was in shock. Complete and utter shock. Sasori looked…young. He looked no older than her! What on earth was going on? From everything she knew, Sasori was a menace during the Third Great Shinobi War, thus earning him the nickname 'Sasori of the Red Sand'. That would make him, at least, thirty years old. Yet, he looked fresh out of his teenage years.

Chiyo could not believe it. It was impossible. 'He's…he's the same! He hasn't aged a day! What is this?!'

Sakura looked over at the elder woman. "Is this…the real Sasori?"

A scroll dropped into Sasori's hand from inside his large sleeve. He held it out and let the paper open. "As a reward for defeating Hiruko, I'll show you another one of my favorites." The contents of the scroll were released in a cloud of smoke. And Chiyo could not believe what Sasori had just done. "He was a hard one to capture…but I guess that's why he's one of the best."

"That…no…it can't be…!"

Sakura was not sure what she was looking at. She was confused, it looked like a standard puppet to her. "What?! What is it?!"

"That's…the Third Kazekage!"

Sakura was shocked again. It was one thing after another. "The Third Kazekage…then he…"

"It's been over ten years since the Sandaime disappeared from Suna. Nobody knew what happened. He just suddenly vanished one night and never returned. There was no trace or a trail to follow. We never thought the Third was defeated in battle. He was the strongest Kazekage we've ever seen. No other Kazekage could compare. We never thought he could be beaten in battle…until now. Sasori, you were the one…"

Sasori smirked, a rare show of emotion. "Hmm…for a retired old hag with one foot in the grave…you're still quite good."

"Despite all that, I still got some fight left in me. I have too many regrets to die just yet." Chiyo moved into her stance. "My beloved grandson, you've fallen not only to being a mere criminal…but you've now betrayed your village and have gotten the Kazekage killed three times!"

Sakura looked back at the elderly woman. "Three times?"

"It was Orochimaru who killed the Fourth, and it was you that guided him. Kidnapping and extracting the Shukaku from Gaara…even now with the Third…"

"Hey hey…don't rope me in with that snake. It was my subordinate that guided him. Yes, I was originally partnered with Orochimaru when he was with our organization. I'll let you imagine all the great things we did together."

Sakura's anger spiked at the name of the Snake Sannin. The man who was responsible for giving Sasuke the Curse Mark, kidnapping him, and hospitalizing Naruto. Not to mention the two attacks on the village that caused so many innocent deaths, to include the Third Hokage. She had never felt this kind of anger before.

"You…know about Orochimaru…" Chiyo caught the fury in Sakura's voice.

Sasori's fingers moved, causing the Third Kazekage to move as well. "Let's begin then."

The Third Kazekage puppet flew through the air with great speed and force. Chiyo barely had enough time to react and, using the chakra threads, to yank Sakura away from the puppet. But the Kazekage summoned three large blades from it's arm and swiped at Sakura. It would have been a fatal strike if not for Hiruko's tail blocking the attack.

'She still had threads attached to Hiruko's tail.' Sasori was somewhat impressed by this. 'Never one to let things go.'

The tail snapped almost immediately, rendering it useless. Now that Sakura was a safe distance away, a plan could be formulated. But Sasori was not willing to give them that chance. The Kazekage's arms opened up and hundreds of more mechanical arms expanded from the seals and swallowed Sakura up. Chiyo waved her hands about and moved Sakura into a precarious position so she was not impaled. It was a good thing she was flexible.

Sasori knew Sakura was still alive. 'While Chiyo controls her movements, this fight won't end.' A small tube extended from one of the many arms.

Just as Chiyo pulled Sakura out from the gaggle of arms with the chakra threads, a smoke cloud of a purple toxin blew out of the small tube. Chiyo was quick to realize what it was.

"Sakura! Hold your breath! Don't take in a single breath!"

Sakura deduced what was coming her way. 'Poison?'

Chiyo pulled on the chakra threads to save Sakura, but there was something holding Sakura inside the poison cloud. Two kunai with rope attached were launched and wrapped around Sakura, preventing her to escape the cloud.

"Kunai attached to rope. Even if you avoided the kunai, the poison will finish you off."

Sakura struggled to keep her breath inside, she was careful to not let a small breath slip out of her nose. She racked her mind to figure a way out but was coming up with nothing.

'I promised Naruto…that we'd find Sasuke together…that he'd never be alone anymore…I can't let this end here! He just got back! I can't leave him!' Pulling a trick from Naruto's playbook, Sakura was able to reach into her back pouch and grabbed an explosive tag.

The ensuing explosion shook the cave, launching Sakura back into Chiyo. The cloud of poison was blown away and dissipated into the air. Chiyo cradled Sakura as she hacked up the black smoke from the explosion.

'This girl…she used the explosion to blow away the fumes to escape the trap. She didn't care about her own wellbeing. Reckless and utterly crazy.'

Sakura glared daggers at the puppet master. "You…!" She still was catching her breath. "I'll get you! Even if you tear my arms and legs off, I'll still find a way to get you! I swear it! Then I'll make you tell me everything you know about Orochimaru! Even if I have to beat you half to death, I'll make you tell me everything!"

Sasori showed no emotion on his surprisingly young face. He simply raised his hand, causing hundreds of kunai to be shot from the arm gaggle. The kunai would have killed them both if it had not been for Chiyo summoning two more puppets to the battlefield. Two puppets Sasori knew very well.

"It's polite to listen to a woman when she is speaking, Sasori. Have I taught you nothing about manners?"

Sasori recognized the two puppets instantly. "Ah…those two…"

"Yes…the very first puppets you ever created…your mother and father…"

Sakura looked back to see Chiyo holding two similar scrolls to what Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage with. Then she looked at the two puppets before her. A chilling connection was made. "Mother and father…then he…"

"No." Chiyo spoke up. "Sasori did not kill his own parents. But their deaths were the beginning of his downfall."

She moved her hands and the two puppets connected theirs, wire emerged from the fingertips. The Mother and Father flew into action, flying around the gaggle of arms and slicing them with the wires from their fingers. The Kazekage detached his arm and readied the three large blades to strike the two puppets. Blades came from all three puppets and the ensuing clashing of metal was something to be amazed by. Chiyo and Sasori, two master puppet wielders, waved and moved their arms rapidly to counter the other.

Sakura was in awe at the battle before her. "A-Amazing…!"

When the trio finally broke apart, their blades were dull and broken. The two masters used every movement in the book. True mastery.

"Well…this has certainly become awkward." Sasori held a hand seal. "Shall I get serious then?"

The Kazekage's mouth opened, and black sand began to slowly emerge from its depths. The Iron Sand has returned.

Chiyo saw this and knew this battle was about get a lot more difficult. "So, this puppet also uses the Third's technique. How annoying."

"It's been a while hasn't it, Chiyo? This jutsu was the reason Sunagakure considered the Third the strongest of them all. This means I'm really going to kill you."

"What is it? This technique looks like Gaara's sand."

"This is the original technique. The most feared weapon in Suna's history…the Iron Sand." Chiyo stated with slight fear. "The Third created this technique from observing one of the previous Shukaku hosts. This sand can be created into any weapon for any situation. The Third had the rare ability to change chakra into a magnetic force…Jiton." (Magnet Style)

Sakura was having trouble understanding. "But how can this inanimate puppet use chakra? I thought Sasori killed the Third Kazekage?"

"This isn't an ordinary puppet. This is a human puppet. This kind of puppet can only be created from a living body. Thus, the puppet retains the chakra nature and jutsus the person used. Human puppets are the pinnacle of puppetry, the ultimate advantage over all other puppets. And Sasori is the only one who knows how to create them."

"And that's why this is my favorite puppet. I added so many other abilities to him. You won't beat him." The black sand began to take shape into ball sized bullets. Sasori moved his hands and fired the hundreds of bullets directly at Chiyo and Sakura.

'Shit!' Chiyo cursed her slow reflexes. Using the Mother, Chiyo grabbed Sakura out of harms way and used the Father to shield herself and take the full attack.

Sasori knew that did not kill his grandmother. The smoke cleared and revealed just that. The Father puppet had it arms expanded out, using a chakra shield to protect Chiyo from the attack. "I see you've been changing them. Even added a chakra shield. An upgrade since I've last played with them."

So many memories came back into Chiyo's mind. All the years she trained Sasori, cared for Sasori, and even helping Sasori with the grief of loosing his parents. She thought she was helping by giving him a hobby in crafting puppets, like what she did in her time off. But Chiyo never could have imagined what would become of it.

Even now, the image of the Mother and Father puppets being made to wrap their arms around Sasori as a child still haunted her.

Chiyo motioned for the Father to deactivate the chakra shield. The puppet froze and refused to respond to her commands. Something she knew would happen. 'The Iron Sand is stopping it from moving…I have to be careful.'

"The Iron Sand is unlockable. But you just wanted to save the girl. Maybe you have lost it."

Try as she did, the Father puppet would not respond to Chiyo's commands. The puppet simply sat there and remained motionless.

"The sand has worked itself deep into the puppet's mechanisms. As long as you have the Third's magnetic sand active, the puppet will be useless. I am aware, Sasori."

"But now, with one puppet down, how will you save the girl when I aim for you both?!"

The sand returned and was molded into extremely sharp and elongated spikes, instead of the bullet. With a simply wave of his hands, Sasori launched the spikes at both Sakura and Chiyo. There was no way to make it. Only one could be saved with the Mother puppet.

"What now, old woman?!"

The sand collided with the Mother puppet's charka shield, saving Sakura in the process. But the sand spikes hit Chiyo head on. Sakura watched the spikes slam into the old woman but could not see anything else due to the ensuing dust cloud that was kicked up.

The smoke cleared and Chiyo had erected a chakra shield from her own arm. Something that shocked both Sasori and Sakura.

"You're arm…you've rigged your own body." Sasori simply shook his head. "It seems the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. We puppeteers think along the same line, don't we?"

Chiyo and Sasori stared each other down. The Iron Sand rendered her arm and the Mother puppet useless. "Yes…it seems that that way." A simple turn and click and Chiyo's lower arm fell off.

Chiyo's mind drifted back to the haunting memory of Sasori manipulating the Mother and Father puppets into hugging him. He looked so happy, so peacefully. The only thing her grandson wanted was to have his parents back in his life. But then his control broke and the puppets fell to the ground. It was a reminder to them both that their loved ones were dead and gone.

That's where Chiyo saw the change in Sasori.

"A puppeteer without a puppet is just a regular person." The Iron Sand emerged from the Third Kazekage once more. The large amount of sand took shape of large structures that would smash any opponent into the ground. "It's hopeless. Give in now and I'll make your conversion as painless as possible."

Chiyo let out a deep sigh. "Sakura, you must leave, now! Even for me, this situation is too dire. I'll hold him off as long as I can. You need to meet back up with the others. You'll have a better chance then."

Sakura had fear coursing through her veins. She could not figure out what to do next. Should she run and get help? Would she even make far enough before Sasori caught up to her? So many scenarios ran through her head in such a short amount of time. It felt like she was about to have a panic attack. She gripped her hand tightly, trying to figure out what to do. Run away and hope to survive or stay and fight?

"Don't you dare run away! There's training to be down! We're far from over!"

Her master's voice ran through her mind. Tsunade drilled her into never backing down from a challenge. Three years of training and this was what it amounted to?

"Get up, Sakura. You're better than this. Keep fighting and don't stop."

Naruto's voice spoke to her. He had always been there to help her, to motivate her. How could she let this be the end when he just returned?

Sakura moved to stand next to Chiyo. "Please, use me as your puppet!"

'This is what I can do! I'll be the puppet now!'

Chiyo heard it in Sakura's voice and saw it in her body language. There was no changing her mind. "I only have one arm now. I can't support you like before."

"I know that! I may not have fancy weapons like a puppet, but I have my master's will drilled into me!" Chiyo attached the chakra threads to Sakura once more. "And I have my friend's believing in me! I won't let it end here!"

'Old Slug Queen, eh?' Chiyo chuckled at that. "The Iron Sand is a magnetic force. Steel and metal weapons are useless."

"Perfect!" Sakura slammed her fist into her hand with determination filling her body and destroying her fear. "My master also drilled into me her fighting style!"

Sakura charged in. Sasori launched the pointed structure at Sakura. Chiyo pulled Sakura out of harms warms way at the last moment. The construct was so strongly launched that it pierced through the rock in the cave and burst out the other side. Sakura saw the second structure coming at her and rolled out of the way.

"CHA!"

With a mighty roar, Sakura smashed her chakra enhanced fist into the Iron Sand structure and shot it back directly at Sasori. The Akatsuki member had jump out of the way, while making the Kazekage had moved as well.

'This girl…she definitely has learned her master's strength.'

Sakura was ready for more. "Bring it on! I'm not done yet!"

Chiyo was not sure how many times Sakura evaded and punched Sasori's Iron Sand away, but the cave was surely telling. Sakura dodged and countered every single one of Sasori's attacks. Even some were without Chiyo's help. In all her years of living, she had never seen someone evade attacks like this. It was amazing to watch.

'In this short of time, Sakura has already begun figuring out Sasori's patterns. She's reading his moves and predicting where to go! Tsunade…you have a good apprentice.'

Sakura did what she could to control her heavy breathing. 'His fingers are the key. That's the main weakness for any puppeteer. By reading his arm and hand movements, I can tell where to go next! If I get this right, then I'll be able to land a hit on him!'

Sasori was getting frustrated. This was getting him nowhere. This girl had the strength and tenacity of that Slug Sannin, Tsunade. The longer this game went on, the bigger disadvantage he would be at. He could tell Sakura was beginning to memorize his finger patterns for puppet movement. He needed to retake the lead.

'She's constantly watching me. This is taking too much time. I'll use a bit of chakra and end this now.'

Moving his hands, Sasori decided it was time to use the Third Kazekage's ultimate Iron Sand ability. The two large constructs came together as one and began to spread like a spider web. The Iron Sand covered through the entire cave, piercing through the rock and causing the cave roof to cave in around them. Unable to evade either rock or sand, Sakura and Chiyo did what they could to survive.

The collapsing cave could be heard for miles. Through the fallen rock and web-like Iron Sand, Chiyo had shielded herself within the rock. She pulled herself out to see that Sakura had withstood everything, but at a cost.

'Oh no!' The poor girl was covered in cuts and blood. That was not a good sign. "Sakura! Are you alright?!"

Breathing heavily, Sakura could not even muster up the strength to respond. Her body was filled with pain and blood seeped out of every cut she had just earned. She swayed back and forth, as if she was struggling to stay conscious.

Chiyo instantly realized what had happened. "No! Of course, you added poison to the Iron Sand!"

Sasori chuckled from his safe position. "I did say that wasn't all, didn't I?"

Sakura fell to her knees. The poison was beginning to take full effect. Another few seconds of trying to stay awake before she collapsed onto her face, succumbing to the toxin.

"The poison has already taken over. Her body is completely numb and paralyzed. If left alone, she'll survive three days. But…" The Kazekage flew towards Sakura was great speed. "…that's not what I plan to do."

Chiyo could not move. Even if she could, she would never make it in time. All she could do now is watch Sakura be struck down. "No!"

With a poison-soaked blade summoned, the Kazekage puppet was posed to slice Sakura into pieces and end this frustrating fight. Just as the puppet flew close enough, Sakura suddenly jumped up and smashed her fist into the puppet with a loud bang! Utterly demolishing it into pieces!

Neither Chiyo or Sasori could believe it. Both were certain that Sakura was done for. Cuts covered her body and the disabling poison filled her system. How could she overcome the effects and destroy the Third Kazekage?

Sakura jumped over to Chiyo and pulled Chiyo out of the rubble. She began to heal her injuries.

"Sakura…how did you…?"

Sakura pulled out a used injector needle. "An antidote. I was able to create three back in Suna. I gave one to Kankurō. I used the second. And I'll give the last one to you. I knew one of our opponents used poison, so I brought the other two in injection form just in case. But the antidote only works for three minutes. In that time, no matter how much poison we get in our bodies, the antidote will turn the poison into a harmless protein."

Chiyo was greatly impressed by Sakura's ability to figure out Sasori's deadly toxin and concoct an antidote for it. That was something even she was unable to do. "Then you let yourself get hit?"

"Sasori didn't know I had the antidote. I had to create an opening for him to let his guard down so that I could get in close. I couldn't use it until the last possible second. But now, I'll be immune to his poison for three minutes. We have to end this before the antidote wears off!"

Listening to Sakura passionately explain gave Chiyo the determination to see this through to the end. She was ready to fight again. "Yes…let's do this!"

Sasori watched intently at the scene before him. It was confusing him greatly on how that girl was moving after being poisoned. He could see that it was affecting her, but she was somehow overcoming the side effects. Sakura was reaching her limit. Her chakra was nearly drained, and she was exhausted from the fight. But how could she be moving?

It clicked in Sasori's mind. 'No! That's impossible! There's no way she could have created an antidote. When could she have?' His mind drifted back to that battle in the desert against that other puppeteer. 'No…there's no chance. There can't be a single mistake when creating an antidote. I would even need a detailed recipe to counteract the effects. Was it grandmother? No…'

Sasori watched Sakura pull herself together and heal her own wounds with medical ninjutsu. 'She's a medic ninja too? Was it the girl? No way…'

Chiyo tucked the third antidote away in her pocket. "Let's do this, Sakura."

"Right!"

Sasori's facial expression were neutral and unimpressed. He began to take off his Akatsuki cloak. "You…I'll acknowledge that you're a brat to be reckoned with. You destroyed the Third Kazekage. My strongest puppet. At this point, it'll be pointless to use another human puppet." The cloak was completely removed. "Since I went through the trouble of joining the Akatsuki…I've never been pushed this far…"

Sakura was completely shocked at what she was seeing. "What…what is going on?!"

Chiyo looked on sadly. Things were starting to make sense. "Since he's left, he hasn't aged…I guess I see why now."

"It's been a long time since I've last used myself…"

Sakura was able to piece together everything. "He made himself into a human puppet…I can't believe this."

Sasori's puppet body consisted of a pair of spinning claws on his lower back, including a holder for four scrolls, a stinger in the empty and open stomach cavity, a compartment in his right chest, and some type of device in the center of his chest. In this exposed state, Sasori's eyes were wide open in an extremely maniacal way.

Using the top scroll on his back, Sasori extended his palms outward. A small tube emerged from both of Sasori's palms and flames erupted from them. Suddenly, powerful streams of fire were shot at Sakura and Chiyo. The pair ran for cover behind large boulders.

The flames were intense and extremely hot. So hot, in fact, the surface of the boulder began to glow from the constant heat, any longer and the rock would melt. Sakura had to shield herself from the intense heat.

"What's wrong?" Sasori asked maniacally. The flames stopped and the top scroll burst into pieces.

Both Chiyo and Sakura were cautious about their next move. And going off her internal clock, the antidote running through Sakura only had about a minute left before it would stop working. They needed a plan and to do it now!

"Come out from your hiding spots!"

Using the coiled up thick cable in his stomach cavity, Sasori was able to pierce through the rock and deeply cut Sakura on her side. The sharp end of the coil stabbed into the rock like an anchor. Sakura was distracted, the perfect opportunity for Sasori to come in for the kill.

The blades were spinning wildly as Sasori flew at Chiyo, ready to kill his grandmother once and for all.

"DIE!"

Sasori was only mere inches from killing Chiyo when he was suddenly stopped midair. He was so caught up in the euphoria of finally being able to kill the person that turned him into what he was that he failed to realize that the cable had been completely uncoiled by Sakura. She had grabbed onto it and pulled it until she could not pull any more.

"Sakura?!"

"You…?!"

"GET OVER HERE! CHA!"

With one strong, furious pull, Sakura yanked Sasori over to her. She cocked her fist back and smacked the human puppet directly in the center of his chest. She mustered up all the strength she had and put it into her fist. Sasori's body burst into pieces, clanking against the rock as it fell.

Sakura fell to her knees, allowing her exhaustion to overtake her. They did it. They won. And just in time. The antidote had worn off.

Chiyo was in awe. In pure amazement. "Sakura…you…"

Sakura mustered the best smile she could. "We…we did it, Lady Chiyo!"

But their happiness was short lived. The clanking returned. Somehow, someway, Sasori's body was slowly coming back together. Sasori was not dead. Far from it, actually. His head crazily spun into place; his eyes filled with insanity.

Sakura could not believe it. How was this possible? She hit him with everything she had. How could he have survived that? Even more, how could he pull himself together like that? Sakura was at her limit. She was not sure how much longer she could fight.

Quickly overcoming her shock, Chiyo was ready to end this fight once and for all. Using a single chakra thread, Chiyo pulled her detached arm to her and set it back in place on her elbow. She moved it around slightly to make sure that she had full mobility.

"I forbade myself from ever using this technique again." Chiyo reached into her back pouch and pulled out a scroll with purple edges. "Honestly, I never thought I'd use this again…but it seems you've left me with no choice." She dramatically unrolled the scroll and funneled her chakra into it. "It's time we end this, grandson."

Slowly, ten white puppets appeared from the gate crest they were sealed in to. Each with different characteristics, the ten puppets in white robes moved simultaneously due to Chiyo's hand movements. This was the ultimate test of a puppet master. And Sasori knew that.

"Ah. Impressive granny. They say that the strength of puppeteer is measured by the amount of puppets they can control at once. These puppets…the Shirohigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shū."(White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets) "I've heard rumors about these puppets…it's been said that these puppets once sieged an entire castle under your control."

Sakura was in complete amazement. "Controlling all these puppets at once…amazing!" The numbers were on their side now. There was chance at victory!

Using a chakra thread, Sasori pulled the second scroll from his holder. The compartment on his chest opened up and hundreds of chakra threads spread like wildfire. The scroll opened and puppets dressed in red flew out in droves, filling the sky. The threads from Sasori's chest attached to them all.

"That is a considerable amount of puppets…but with these, I took down an entire country."

Sakura's growing confidence was quickly diminished by what she was seeing. There had to be, at least, a hundred puppets! Their advantage was robbed from them.

Chiyo was shocked. She never could have imagined Sasori advancing his skills this much. 'He's…surpassed me in every way…' If were not for the overwhelming fear and dread, Chiyo might have felt some pride in that thought.

Sasori let out a dejected sigh and hid his face in his hand. "How am I going to explain this to the others? I can't believe it's taken me to pull out my final trick to beat a little girl and an old bitch…so disappointing." Sasori raised his head to reveal his sadistic, furious eyes. "I'll show you the power of Akahigi: Hyakki no Sōen!" (Secret Red Move: Performance of a Hundred Puppets)

Sakura retreated to Chiyo's position behind her ten puppets. She prepared herself for combat, the fight of her life was about to commence. She made eye contact at Chiyo.

"The antidote has worn off, Sakura. Stay back."

Sakura simply smiled at the woman's words, surprising her. "You know…I've inherited more than just my master's teachings. My character too!"

Chiyo nodded. "Yes…you are the spitting image of that Slug Queen. But this will be the final act. Be ready."

"Of course!"

"Here they come!"

Chiyo waved her hands and two puppets, one with long black hair and one with a red face, pressed their hands together and became connected by a series of wires. Meanwhile, the puppet with the red face lifted its head up and four spinning chakra blades sprouted out. The black-haired puppet swung the red-faced puppet around like a yo-yo and sliced through multiple puppets.

The bald puppet with four large holes in its skull ran forward towards a group of Sasori's puppets. This puppet's hidden weapon were long, thick extending cables that pierced multiple enemy puppets at once. It retracted the cables and fought the puppets with taijutsu but was quickly overwhelmed and destroyed.

Three of the puppets came together, with kanji on their foreheads reading 'Buddha', 'Dharma', 'Sangha', to form a triangle formation. Sanbō Kyūkai (Three Treasure Suction Crush) was the name of this technique.A terrifying tornado broke out and sucked the targets into their center and were crushed under the tremendous force and were shot out the back. But the sheer about of puppets that were being sucked in were overloading the three and left them vulnerable, leading to their defeat.

Not to be out done by puppets, Sakura fought gallantly against the puppet horde. She epically dodged and weaved through multiple attacks without receiving a single scratch. Her movements were perfect, and her counters hit the mark every time. Her performance destroyed multiple puppets.

Despite their best efforts, Sakura and Chiyo were still greatly outnumbered. And four out of the ten puppets had been destroyed. Their forces were dwindling, just like their chances of winning.

'There are too many!' Chiyo was amazed by Sasori's control over so many puppets. She saw a puppet aiming straight for Sakura. She used the puppet with two swords to take the blow and fight off the enemy puppet to save Sakura. 'There's only one antidote left. If one of his get hit then it's more than likely game over…'

If things could get worse, then they probably would. A single puppet slipped Chiyo's sight and was able land a good cut on her arm. She could already fill the poison setting in. The remaining puppets faltered and gave an opening.

"Lady Chiyo!" Sakura cried out.

"Don't worry about me, Sakura! Take down Sasori with this!" The woman waved her hand and the puppet with one eye opened its mouth and threw a small orb at Sakura.

The pinkette caught the orb and realized what this was. In her hand was a powerful sealing technique, Shishi Heikō(Lion Wall). This would win them the battle if she was able to hit Sasori with this. Their last chance at victory.

Sakura jumped through attacks, vaulting over puppets, and dodged her way to an opening. She saw her chance and she took it.

"TAKE THIS!"

It was almost instant. Sasori had no chance to dodge. The orb opened up and a creature resembling a lion took Sasori into its mouth, crashing into the rock wall. The seal formula appeared on the wall and all chakra inside Sasori's body was blocked away, rendering him a hollow husk.

All the puppets fell the ground and the cave became a graveyard of puppets. Only two remained standing. Sakura turned back around, trying to catch her breath.

"We…we did it!"

Chiyo somehow remained standing. "You can't move, Sasori. That sealing jutsu suppresses all chakra. It's over…" The woman finally fell back.

"Lady Chiyo! Take the antidote, now!"

Sakura began to run towards the elderly woman. That is when she saw a red cloaked figure with a few swords sticking out of its back rising up behind Chiyo, ready to strike with a poison-soaked blade. Sasori was not sealed or dead. He was about to kill his grandmother!

"Lady Chiyo!"

There was no time to react. Chiyo turned to see Sasori towering over her. His eyes were empty but conveyed such hatred for her. After years of waiting, Sasori was about to finally have his revenge. He lunged the sword forward…only for Sakura to jump in at the last second!

The poison blade pierced Sakura's body and blood splattered on Chiyo's cheek.

"Sakura!" Chiyo turned to move but the poison in her body had numbed her entirely. She was barely able to stay upright.

"Lady Chiyo…" Despite having a poison-soaked object in her body, Sakura was able to hold her ground and stay standing. "Hurry and take the antidote…" Speaking filled her body with pain.

"What a girl." Sasori was truly impressed with the Konoha chūnin. "Worrying about someone else while having an injury like this? How touching…"

Sasori pushed the sword in deeper, causing the girl intense pain. Sakura gripped the sword to stop the advance. Then Sasori noticed a faint green glow emitting from the wound. 'She's…she's healing the wound while the sword is still in her body. The bleeding has already been stopped…a skillful one.'

But the impressive healing was short lived. "It seems the poison is effecting you. I can tell you won't last much longer."

Sakura was already losing control over her chakra and could barely continue healing herself. She could feel her body going numb from the toxin. She would not last much longer. She was going to pass out at any second. Was this the end?

Chiyo mustered up all the strength she had. She held the antidote in her hand, ready to use it. She slammed the injector needle into Sakura's thigh. The liquid was quickly injected into her body and began fighting off the poison. That was the woman's last act before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Lady Chiyo…" Sakura could not believe the woman just did that.

Sasori chuckled. "Stupid old woman…" Turning his bicep to unlock the hidden blade in his arm, Sasori back away from his two opponents. Sakura fell to a knee, doing everything she could to stay conscious. "Time to die!"

Chiyo opened her eyes and flexed her fingers, chakra threads attaching to two nearby puppets. The Mother and Father puppets jumped from under the rubble and stabbed their son through either side of him, piercing through his only vital organ in the center of his chest. Sasori could not move.

Blood dripped from Sasori's mouth. "Playing dead, I see."

"You were careless, Sasori." Chiyo looked up at her grandson. "No matter how you modified your body to become a puppet, a part of your body still needed to control chakra. That part in your chest…that's your weak point. No matter how much you were a puppet, you were still a human."

Sakura finally lost her fight to stay conscious and fell to the ground. Chiyo crawled her way over to the girl. She needed to extract the sword from her body in order to save her. Gripping the handle of the blade with one hand and using medical ninjutsu with the other, Chiyo delicately pulled the sword from Sakura's body. She tossed the sword aside. "Just hold on, Sakura. It'll be alright."

"It's pointless. You know, just as much as I do, that her wound can't be healed so easily. I aimed for that vital spot specifically. Even without the poison, she will die. She's lost too much blood."

The glow on Chiyo's hands continued as she hovered over Sakura. But this glow was different. "This isn't medical ninjutsu, I've already stopped medical treatment. What I'm doing now is something else entirely." Chiyo looked up at her grandson. "I'm giving her my own life energy. A life transfer jutsu."

Sasori was shocked. Had she gone senile?

"I originally developed it for you. I spent many years working on this jutsu for you. With this jutsu, you can even breath life into a puppet. But it costs the user's life. But now, it's a dream that can never be realized."

Sasori's mind flashed his parents and realized what the woman was willing to do for him when he was a child. She wanted to give him a parent back from the dead. "…Pathetic…"

After a few moments, Sakura regained consciousness and Chiyo stopped the technique. Sakura was able to use her remaining strength and push herself off the ground. She seemed to be lost for a moment, as if she had no idea where she was, before everything came crashing back to her mind.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes…thank you."

"Hm…odd. Doesn't the user die from using this life transfer jutsu? She was dead and you still live."

"Sakura's wound was fatal, but she didn't die. The jutsu wasn't completed."

"Well…that's rather unfortunate."

Sakura immediately stood and slammed her fist into Sasori's cheek. She put enough rage filled strength into her punch that she cracked Sasori's puppet cheek.

"It's useless. This body feels no pain. If you continue, your fist will hurt before I do. Women always like to do useless things." Sasori's head spun back. "Even though we are related, I won't feel a thing when she dies. My heart…is just like this body. Of all those hundreds I've killed, she is no different. Just another number to my count."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK A HUMAN LIFE IS?!" Sakura shouted in full fury. She could not remember a time she was so angry.

"Hey now…is that how a shinobi should talk? Especially in times of war?"

"Enough Sakura…" Chiyo's voice was just above a whisper. "It is my fault he is like this. I am the one who raised him."

"Do you want to be like me? An immortal body. A puppet can be rebuilt over and over again. I can make as many people out of puppets as I want…no need for 'real' people. And I've never killed for the sake of killing. Or numbers. Collections are about quality. Art is about beauty and the quality of the collection you have."

Sakura just could not understand. "Just…what the hell are you?!"

"If I were to answer honestly…I'd say I'm a person who couldn't become a puppet. My body is a puppet, but my 'core' is human. I am neither puppet or human…but something in between." Sasori could feel his 'core' giving out and his 'life' leaving him. It would not be much longer. "I won't be able to move for much longer…so, I think I'll do something pointless too. Call it a reward…for defeating me."

Sakura was curious as to what this 'reward' would be. She hoped for the best but excepted the worst.

"You wanted to know about Orochimaru, right?"

Sakura almost screamed to demand what Sasori knew. She had to refrain herself from grabbing ahold of the Akatsuki member by his artificial throat.

"Go to Tenchi Bridge, outside of Kusagakure, in three months on the last day of that month."

"W-What do you…?!"

"One of Orochimaru's subordinates is an informant of mine. I am…" Sasori was beginning to fade. "…supposed to meet him there…"

The final 'breath' left Sasori's puppet mouth. His 'core' stopped pulsating. Along with his Mother and Father, Sasori feel to the ground. As he hit the ground, a Sunagakure headband with a scratch running over the symbol feel out a hidden place on Sasori's person.

Sasori of the Red Sand was dead.

Sakura let out a deep sigh of relief. "…It's over…it's finally over…we won."

A bittersweet moment. The victory over such a formidable opponent was a good feeling. The battle was hard fought and was decided at the last moment. But it was that last moment that was bitter. It should have been her. She should have been the one to be killed.

'He let his guard down at the last moment. He left himself open…'

A small shiver ran down Chiyo's spine. A thought…a dark thought entered her mind. A broken man saw a way out of a life that he learned to hate.

"Lady Chiyo…" Sakura nudged the elder woman, pulling Chiyo out of her thoughts. "We should get you back to Sunagakure. You have poison still in you. I'll be able to create another antidote."

"No." Chiyo's answer was immediate and absolute. "There is…still something I must do…"

-Naruto, Kakashi, and Kaito vs. Itachi-

Itachi stood there, holding his ground against three fully fledged shinobi. The three shinobi chased him down the ravine for, at least, a few miles until the Uchiha suddenly stopped and turned to face them. He laid Gaara's body on the large log he stood on. He had reached a suitable distance away that, in a best-case scenario, no one else but these three would be his opponents. He had no doubt in his mind that Sasori would be defeated by those two. That man has wanted to die for years.

"Finally had enough running, eh?" Kaito tried project confidence, despite his fear of facing such a man with his reputation. "I mean, I would too when facing against the likes of us."

"Kaito, do not be underestimate your opponent." Kakashi stated wisely. "Especially against someone like Itachi. It's okay be afraid. Just don't let the fear consume you. It'll only make things worse."

Kaito nodded, he was careful not to look directly in the Uchiha's eyes. "So, what can we do here?"

"The Sharingan is tricky. It's an ocular jutsu that can read and predict your opponent's movements. It can also cast genjutsu with a single glance and can copy any jutsu they see. So, for starters, watch his feet. Judge his movements from his feet placement and predict where he strikes. And since there's three of us, we have the advantage. One can be the diversion while the other two can attack from the rear."

"That way, if one of us are caught in his genjutsu it can be broken by another. Good thinking, Kakashi sensei." Naruto added.

"That's a good plan for normal genjutsu. But Itachi is different. He has stronger version of the Sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan." Kaito was practically sweating bullets. "If you get caught in that genjutsu, it's game over. There is no escape from that."

"Such a troubling person…what in the world is he?!" Kaito could not believe a person like this existed.

"That's Kakashi for you. It only takes you experiencing something once to understand it." Itachi was always one to give credit where credit was due.

"Such a strong technique, it must have some type of drawback. And from my own knowledge of the Sharingan, I'd say that it takes a considerable amount of chakra. And creates a great risk for your eyes…which brings me to the question." Kakashi's Sharingan stared straight into Itachi's. "How far has your eyesight deteriorated?"

Itachi was legitimately surprised that Kakashi had asked that question. How could he know? There was only one way to know. "Kakashi…it's impossible that you…" But then again, this was Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan.

"I wasn't prepared before. I was too overconfident in my own ability. It won't be like last time!"

Naruto cracked his knuckles. He had been itching for a rematch with Itachi...if last time could be considered a fight. "No, it won't be! I'm a lot stronger now, and my stupid heart won't interfere this time!"

The history between these three shinobi greatly interested Kaito. The mystery between Itachi and Kakashi was enticing, there was an obvious sense of familiarity. They knew each other outside of the battlefield. And that comment about his heart from Naruto, an underlying health condition. He wanted to know it all, every single detail.

Kaito always did like to hear about the drama. A gossip queen if you will.

"Our priority should be securing Lord Kazekage first!" Kaito shouted, drawing the two back into the mission.

"If that's all you want…" Itachi knelt down and grasped Gaara's collar. "…here." He tossed the Kazekage's lifeless body over to the shinobi with ease. "The Akatsuki have no use for him anymore. I merely used the body as bait to draw you out, Naruto."

"Lord Gaara!" Kaito jumped and intercepted the body.

Kakashi followed suit but flew right at Itachi. The two exchanged fists and kicks in a heated taijutsu battle. It seemed that Kakashi's method for watching Itachi's feet worked. It also helped that Kakashi used his own Sharingan to predict Itachi's movements.

Suddenly, a second Itachi jumped from out of nowhere.

'Damn! A shadow clone!'

"Rasengan!"

The blue spiraling sphere slammed into Itachi's chest. It would have been a definite kill shot, but Itachi exploded upon impact. An exploding shadow clone. Naruto was sent flying back. He was able to recover and came face-to-face with another Itachi.

"Shadow clone again?!"

"Not exactly." The Uchiha stated. A strong kick pushed Naruto back further. Then a red aura appeared around Itachi. It quickly took a skeletal form that manifested into a humanoid figure from the waist up. "I need to speak with you, Naruto."

'What the hell is that thing?!' Naruto was in awe at Itachi's Susanoo, he had never seen anything like it. "Fat chance! The only thing I want from you is your death!"

"Please…it's about Sasuke."

Suddenly, Naruto's entire world was thrown sideways. Out of anything that it could have been, Sasuke was the last thing Naruto expected Itachi to say. And by the emotion in Itachi's voice, he sounded concerned. "Sasuke…?" Naruto contemplated things for a moment. "Kaito, take Gaara back to Sakura and Granny Chiyo. See what they can do to help him."

Kaito held the lifeless body of Gaara like a blood relative. He was full of sorrow. Kaito truly did not believe that his leader was dead until he held the body. There was no life. There was no heartbeat. His Kazekage, his friend, was dead. What was the point to bring Gaara to a medical ninja when he was dead?

Kakashi saw the jōnin's hesitation. "Go now, Kaito!"

Deciding to just follow through with the order, Kaito hiked Gaara's body over his shoulder and headed back towards the Akatsuki hideout. Kakashi finished off the Itachi clone with a kick and moved next to his student.

"You want to talk yet you still have this…technique active? If you want to talk then level the playing field."

Itachi looked at the two shinobi before deactivating his Susanoo. And, an added bonus, his Sharingan left his eyes. A show of trust and willingness. "There."

"Talk about Sasuke." Naruto's voice was threatening. "Now."

This was it. "Not long after your supposed death, Naruto, and Sasuke's capture, myself and Kisame were tasked out by our leader to hunt down Orochimaru, take him down, and prevent him from harnessing the power of the Sharingan. Being a former member of the Akatsuki, we could no longer allow him to run free with information on us. It was my mission to kill him, it was not my intention."

Highly intrigued by this, both Naruto and Kakashi were listening intently. "So, Orochimaru does have Sasuke then…" Kakashi whispered.

"What was your intention?" The blonde chūnin asked.

"To free Sasuke. Orochimaru could not, by any means, gain the Sharingan. He tried once before to steal my eyes when he was apart of the Akatsuki."

"Orochimaru was in the Akatsuki?" Kakashi questioned.

"A long time ago, yes. He defected and the Akatsuki have been trying to kill him ever since. He knows many of the secrets and our leader feared he would sell them to the highest bidder. We believed that Orochimaru would harness Sasuke's Sharingan and then come after the Akatsuki."

"Hold on." Naruto interjected. "You said you wanted to free Sasuke? Free him from what? He hates you and you hate him. You murdered his family and the entire clan!"

Sadness in Itachi's eyes were deafening. They did not know. How could they know? It was a total blacklisted mission. There were no records. No reports. Only three of them that knew everything. And one of them was already dead. "…You're right, I did. But allowing Orochimaru to control him was not a part of the plan…"

"Plan?" Naruto questioned.

"What plan?" Kakashi asked.

"…Naruto…" Itachi was practically pleading. "…next time you see Sasuke…don't free him…leave him with Orochimaru…there is a new plan…"

Naruto was perplexed. What on earth was that supposed to mean? "…What…?"

"My reaction exactly…Itachi."

A fourth voice appeared suddenly. It was dark, deep, and menacing. An absolute evil filled every word that came from his mouth. The man hidden behind the orange mask. He appears out nowhere and leaves without a trace. The myth. The living nightmare. The mere mention of his name would throw entire nations into chaos. And this was Itachi's worst scenario come to life.

"…Madara…"