(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
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As Colt exited the [Sage Mode], Sasori's consciousness drifted into his own memories.
"You people are truly enviable. Itachi Uchiha too, these Mangekyō Sharingan users always surpass countless people's lifetime efforts with just a pair of eyes."
His words were full of bitterness and envy.
"Tell me where Orochimaru is," Colt demanded, his strikes were measured to give Sasori some breathing room. Enough to answer at least.
He recalled that Kabuto was likely Sasori's spy, and it was time to check on Sasuke's situation.
"Orochimaru? How do you even know about that?" Sasori was somewhat shocked.
"Never mind that…"
A smile crept across Sasori's face as he decided to not think about it. He was dying anyway.
"Eight days from now, at Tenchi Bridge, my spy will be there for a meeting. You can do what you want with that info"
With those words, the puppet's limbs went slack, and Sasori was no more.
Having obtained the information he sought, Colt wasted no time and dashed towards Naruto and the others.
Suddenly, his [Shadow Clone] dispersed, relaying new information to him.
Naruto had unleashed the Nine-Tails' power, exposing two tails and severing Deidara's other arm. In desperation, Deidara chose to self-destruct.
Colt knew that Deidara would likely escape nine times out of ten.
Before completing his ultimate art, he wouldn't choose to die so easily.
However, a doubt remained: why had Deidara still attempted to blow himself up, even though the battle on Colt's side had ended much faster than in the original timeline?
When Colt arrived, he found several people surrounding Gaara in a circle.
Temari hung her head, large tears falling to the ground as her body shook slightly.
Naruto knelt before Gaara, clutching the ground with both hands, ignoring his own wounds.
In an instant, Colt landed in front of Gaara, placing both hands on him and performing his healing technique with all his strength.
"Don't give up so easily. Gaara is still alive," Colt assured them.
His words brought a glimmer of hope to Temari.
"Colt… Please save him"
She whispered and he nodded with a smile.
"The reason a Jinchūriki dies when their tailed beast is extracted is due to massive loss of vitality. And that is not a problem for me…"
Colt's healing technique, having been upgraded twice, now contained an extraordinary level of vitality.
Hope rekindled in Temari's eyes at his explanation and even Naruto stared nervously at Colt.
The Nine-Tails in Naruto's stomach slowly opened its eyes.
"What a powerful vitality, just like the old Six Paths sage… Kamiyo Colt, who are you?"
At that moment, the Nine-Tails genuinely considered Colt's previous words and decided to try and get along with Naruto.
Colt continued using his healing technique.
In the outside world, Gaara's face visibly turned ruddy, replacing its previous pallor.
Ba-dum, Ba-dum!
Though weak, Gaara's heartbeat could be heard clearly in the silent environment.
"He's alive! Gara is still alive!" Naruto almost jumped for joy but restrained himself, fearing he might disturb Colt's treatment.
A few more minutes passed.
Gaara slowly opened his eyes, and Naruto's surprised face came into view.
"Gaara!"
"I am... Alive?"
"Don't talk. You're still weak. Wait a bit more," Colt instructed, not stopping the movements of his hands.
Gaara was like a dying old man, needing a certain amount of vitality to recover.
"Thank you, brother-in-law," Gaara said, looking at the green glowing palm of Colt and naturally understanding the situation.
Hearing "brother-in-law," Temari blushed slightly, while Colt smiled.
With Gaara rescued, Colt and the others successfully completed their mission.
Naruto supported Gaara to walk, while a [Shadow Clone] carried the exhausted Kakashi as they walked towards Sunagakure.
Watching his students grow one by one, Kakashi was no longer the lazy shinobi he once was.
Over the past two years, in addition to completing missions, he had been secretly training.
However, his chakra reserves issue with the Sharingan couldn't be changed.
Using [Kamui] twice in a row had put his body into a state of overload, and it would take a few days for it to return to normal.
"Colt, thank you," Temari said as she and Colt walked side by side, holding hands like a couple on an outing.
With Gaara rescued, a great weight had been lifted from her heart.
The One-Tail was gone, allowing her younger brother to sleep peacefully every night.
"If you really want to thank me, practice the Rasengan and big ball Rasengan at night with me," Colt whispered in her ear. Temari's face turned crimson as she understood what Colt was referencing, but she didn't refuse.
As they approached the village entrance, they encountered Kankuro, who was about to rush out in support, followed by a large number of Sand shinobis.
"Gaara!" Seeing that Gaara was safe and sound, Kankuro was ecstatic, and even the Sand shinobis behind him were excited.
"Everyone..." Gaara tried to stand upright but he was still weak, however, he was unable to believe that all these people had come to save him.
"Good deeds always pay off. Even though you were seriously injured that night, you still protected the village, and your people saw it," Colt said, standing beside him with a smile.
After today, Gaara's path as the Kazekage would be much smoother.
Behind the crowd, Chiyo and Ebizō watched in silence.
Chiyo In particular, had quite the sad expression, but after a while, a single drop fell, and a smile adorned her face.
'Sasori… It's better this way…'
"Let's go," Chiyo said as she started walking.
"Where?" Ebizō asked.
"To help Gaara get rid of those annoying snakes. He will be a qualified Kazekage." There was a hint of determination in Chiyo's voice.
Konoha was thriving because Tsunade had completely removed the excess branches and rotten roots.
Now Chiyo had to do the same.
It would be fine if the troublemakers agreed to retire with her. If not, she wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them.
"Sister, wait for me," Ebizō sighed, understanding Chiyo's thoughts and following her.
The group was welcomed into the village like heroes.
Colt and the others were finally able to conclude their day and rest.
On the way, Colt had already shared the information given by Sasori, and Naruto was very excited.
Finding Orochimaru meant finding Sasuke, right?
There were only eight days left, so Naruto wasn't too impatient.
Otherwise, given his temperament, he would have been clamoring to leave immediately.
Late that night, two dark shadows appeared in the cave where Colt and Sasori had fought.
It was none other than Obito and Zetsu.
Looking at the puppets strewn across the floor, Obito, wearing his spiral mask, searched around and finally found the ring on Sasori's hand.
"Oh, I didn't expect that Sasori of the Red Sand, who once destroyed a country single-handedly, would die like this."
"Kamiyo Colt truly is a big problem," Zetsu said in reply and then added.
"Obito, there's no one else here, so just act normally." He was annoyed at the brat for using his deep voice as if he was the real Madara.
As he spoke, he picked up the remaining puppets on the ground.
Obito finally regained his usual indifference.
"Why are you collecting this garbage? Do you want to try being a puppet master?"
Zetsu smiled mysteriously.
"Actually..."
(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
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"Are you saying Sasori isn't dead yet?" There was genuine surprise in Obito's voice; he had thought Sasori was finished.
He fought Colt after all.
"Yes, according to White Zetsu's information, Sasori had handed over something to Deidara as a trump card," Zetsu replied.
"Both of them are lucky to escape this time."
"Is that so." Obito pondered, "It's a good thing. That way, we can also have more strength when facing Konoha."
The Tailed Beasts capture plan had begun, and he had originally wanted to replace Sasori's position in the Akatsuki since he thought he was dead.
But now he would have to change his plans.
Zetsu's mind shifted slightly as he looked into the distance.
"Deidara is here. I'll leave this to you."
With that, he once again merged with the earth and disappeared.
It didn't take long for Deidara, now lacking both arms, to appear. He looked strangely at Obito.
"Hey, who are you and why are you wearing the Akatsuki's clothes?"
"Senpai! My name is Tobi! I'm an intern for the organization!" Obito reverted to his amusing Tobi persona, giving a funny salute.
"Oh," Deidara eyed him suspiciously, "Did you see my ring?"
"Here it is." Obito took out a severed arm - Deidara's.
In fact, this arm had been sucked into the [Kamui] space by Kakashi while Obito was eating his lunch there.
It nearly splattered him with blood.
However, Kakashi's usage of [Kamui] had still shocked him. For a non-Uchiha to do this...
As expected of his once closest friend, Kakashi.
"Not bad. I'm optimistic about you. Tobi, was it? Help me with this, and when I get back, I'll ask Kakuzu to sew it up for me."
Deidara was pleased, even finding Obito's appearance somewhat agreeable and likable.
"Senpai, Kakuzu-senpai has already gone to the Land of Lightning to capture the Two-Tails. Should I help you instead?"
Looking at the eager-to-please Tobi, Deidara hesitated for a moment but decided to let him try.
"Alright, open my ninja kit and take out the scroll on the left. But don't touch the one on the right."
"That one belongs to Sasori-dana!"
Sasori started to give him directions but after a while…
"Ah! You idiot! You sewed it upside down! Also, that's the left hand! Sew it on the left hand!"
Deidara's screams echoed inside the cave.
The next day, free from pressure, Kakashi and Naruto both slept until noon.
Under Temari's reluctant gaze, Colt brought the two to the village entrance.
Gaara, accompanied by a group of ninjas including Baki and other Sand shinobi executives, came to see them off.
Colt keenly noticed that some people were missing this time.
"Brother-in-law, thank you very much for everything," Gaara said, extending his hand, which Colt grasped firmly.
"I'll visit Sunagakure often in the future. Your sister would be waiting after all," Colt replied.
Temari's face flushed at his words, while Baki smiled knowingly.
Gara also didn't mind, because he could see how happy Temari was.
With Colt's relationship, the bond between the two villages would remain strong, and they could also gain more help to guard against the Rock shinobis.
After that, Gaara turned to Naruto.
When he had awakened, Naruto's surprised look couldn't have been faked.
Seeing Naruto looking a bit shy, Gaara used his sand to lift Naruto's hand.
The two then did a handshake.
"I will work hard to become a qualified Kazekage. So, Naruto, you should work hard to become the Hokage."
"I will,"
Bidding farewell to Sunagakure, the three embarked on their journey back to Konoha.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're so heavy!" Naruto, who was carrying Kakashi on his back, couldn't help complaining. Although Kakashi had regained some energy, he still couldn't manage if they hurried.
"Can't be helped. This new jutsu is too taxing," Kakashi sighed.
It was not like he wanted this situation either.
Recalling Deidara's arm that was twisted by space, Naruto nodded, "It's really powerful."
Looking at the two, Colt had an idea.
"Kakashi-sensei, if there was a way to increase your chakra, would you like to try it?"
Kakashi, lying on Naruto's back, perked up with interest.
"Tell me more about it."
He had more than enough attack power now, but his chakra reserves were lacking for the Sharingan and Kamui. If such a method existed, he had to try it.
"Do you remember Danzo's arm?"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
He had been there at the time, and the arm full of Sharingans had left a deep impression on him.
"You're talking about Hashirama-sama's cells?"
Naruto looked confused, not knowing what the two were talking about, but he listened curiously.
"Yes, Hashirama cells not only have a suppressive effect on the Sharingan but can also greatly increase a person's chakra capacity," Colt explained.
"The reason Danzo could retain his fighting power at such an advanced age is largely due to the Hashirama cells."
Colt's tone was somewhat emotional.
In the ninja world, it was difficult to reach the top without the blood of the Senju or Uchiha.
In addition to the plug-and-play function of the Sharingan, uses for the Hashirama cells have also been developed.
Madara Uchiha had taken this the furthest, using Hashirama cells which led to Hashirama's face appearing on his chest.
He had also used them, along with White Zetsu, to replace half of Obito's body without the slightest rejection.
Then there was Orochimaru, who had made the Sharingan implants possible for Danzo.
In general, Hashirama cells could be described as infinitely useful.
If Kakashi could get even a small amount of Hashirama cells, not only would the burden of the Sharingan be reduced, but his chakra capacity would also improve significantly.
In fact, Colt's current [Sage Body] had been developed to its ultimate form, and he had also mastered the [Wood Style].
He believed his own cells would likely have the same effect.
But he would never carelessly offer them for the others to use.
After hearing Colt's words, Kakashi was obviously intrigued but still hesitant.
"Would Tsunade-sama agree? After all, this is the First Hokage's..."
Colt waved his hand.
"Those samples were grabbed from Danzo not stolen by us, and Tsunade-sama herself is having people research them."
"If you're worried about your body, I'll examine you first to see if you are compatible."
Kakashi nodded.
"Then I'll trouble you."
He had grown tired of this state of being exhausted after a short while of using his Sharingan, having to carefully calculate even releasing a single [Raikiri] with it open.
Kakashi had learned all the Chidori-style techniques from Colt long ago.
The reason he didn't use them much was simply due to his limited chakra reserves.
With that matter settled, the three continued on their way.
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