Chương 73: Chapter 73: Promise
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"Konoha's White Fang is your father, right?"
Sasori's voice carried a tone of deep resentment.
Kakashi nodded silently and drew the short sword from behind his back.
Without Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi found himself lacking in chakra, so the only thing he could rely on now was the sword technique passed down from his father.
"Yes, that's right," Kakashi confirmed.
Sasori sat down on Hiruko, resting his chin on his hand as he spoke to Kakashi. "During the Second Great Ninja War, your father killed my parents."
"The Sunagakure ninja squad was wiped out because of him. But I don't blame him for that."
"Sunagakure and Konoha were at war, after all. The losses we suffered were a consequence of our choices."
He paused, his voice softening as memories flooded back. "I had an unfortunate childhood. Loneliness was my only companion."
Sasori's eyes darkened. "Later, someone told me that people are born lonely, and that we must learn to embrace and grow in our solitude."
He chuckled bitterly. "So, I killed him and turned him into one of my puppets."
Sasori's gaze shifted back to Kakashi, his expression unreadable. "During my travels, I heard about your childhood as well."
"Your father committed suicide after saving his comrades but failing his mission."
"How laughable. I've always wanted to meet him, to see if my puppets could stand a chance against his swordsmanship."
Sasori's voice grew colder. "But he's dead. So, the only one left for me to fight is you."
With a chilling finality, he added, "Kakashi, work hard to strengthen yourself, because I will kill you one day."
With that, Sasori retreated back into Hiruko. He left with Hidan, who grumbled, "Man, I thought we were gonna fight."
"Shut up," Sasori snapped, his voice rough with frustration.
Despite his harsh words, Sasori felt conflicted about Kakashi. On one hand, he wanted to kill the son of his enemy.
But upon learning of Kakashi's similarly tragic past, he hesitated.
Sasori sought to redeem the reputation of the puppet masters, especially after his father, once the strongest in Sunagakure, fell to Konoha's White Fang.
Now, Sasori wondered if that same swordsmanship could defeat him. He was older, wiser, and more calculating than Kakashi.
Yet, he knew Kakashi had chosen a different path as the "Copy Ninja," and with the loss of his Sharingan, Kakashi was forced to rely on his father's sword techniques once again.
Sasori, too, was determined to face him at his strongest.
...
Meanwhile, Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine.
"What now? Another enemy out of nowhere..." he muttered, sighing deeply as he continued his walk back to Konoha.
After everyone left, a team of Sunagakure ninjas arrived in a hurry. Sunagakure had few fighters left.
Kankuro, who prided himself on being the strongest puppet master, turned to Gaara. "Gaara, they're all gone!"
Temari slapped him lightly. "How many times have I told you to be more alert when you're out in the field!"
Kankuro grinned. "Kazekage-sama! I'm telling you, they're all gone!"
Gaara nodded solemnly, his gaze fixed on the enormous "meteor" still hanging ominously in the sky.
His heart pounded. He knew he had no way of stopping such an attack. If he ever became an enemy of the one who did this, there would be no escape for him.
Even as the perfect Jinchūriki, Gaara doubted he could stand against Pain's power.
Fear gnawed at him, fearing that the Chibaku Tensei above might come crashing down at any moment.
Gaara raised his hands.
"Claws of Sand Falls!!!"
With a powerful command, Gaara summoned an immense amount of yellow sand, which morphed into two gigantic sand claws.
These claws surged upward, supporting the Chibaku Tensei from below.
As Gaara controlled the yellow sand, its true form was revealed. Beneath the sand, blue-green stones glistened within the gray rocks.
This was the Gelel Stone—a treasure Haido had been searching for a long time.
Gaara could sense the massive chakra stored within it. He jumped down into the pit and gently touched the blue stones embedded in the rock.
"This must be... the Gelel Stone, right?"
Within him, Shukaku stirred, sensing the chakra in the Gelel Stone. "Why does this chakra feel so... familiar?"
Gaara had no idea that, in the future, Sunagakure would become the wealthiest village in the shinobi world because of this Gelel Stone vein.
As the world advanced into a new era, Gelel Stone would be hailed as the best mobile energy source.
Sunagakure would earn the title, "I am the richest in the ninja world."
But all of that was still far in the future.
At the moment, Gaara was unaware of the Gelel Stone's future significance. He tried to absorb its power but found himself unable to.
Shukaku warned him, "Don't bother. The chakra in this stone is unique. Humans can't absorb its power."
After all, as Haido had once mentioned, only the descendants of the royal family from the Kingdom of Phantoms could fuse with the Gelel Stone. Gaara, obviously, was not one of them, so he could not utilize its power.
Still, such a vast source of chakra couldn't be left unguarded.
Gaara took a deep breath and gave a firm order to Kankuro. "From now on, assign an ANBU team of three to guard this mine day and night."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!" Kankuro responded immediately.
...
**At the same time, elsewhere in Konoha...**
Naruto was still deeply saddened by the loss of his best friend.
Shikamaru, ever the strategist, tried to comfort him. "Naruto, don't dwell on it too much. We all have different paths in life. You and he were never truly walking the same road."
Naruto nodded slowly. "He said his goal was a utopia..."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto with a serious expression. "Then don't forget—Konoha is one of the Five Great Nations."
"Almost every war in history has been started by these nations. To create an ideal world, the Five Great Nations would have to be destroyed."
He paused before asking, "As a ninja of Konoha, where will you stand?"
Without hesitation, Naruto replied, "Of course, I'll stand with Konoha!"
Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "Exactly. As a Konoha ninja, your words and thoughts should always be for Konoha."
Even though Shikamaru's words made sense, Naruto still couldn't shake the sadness of losing a friend. After all, Naruto never had many friends to begin with.
As they walked back to the village, Naruto noticed a group of women picking mushrooms in the forest. They were ordinary villagers from Konoha.
Naruto smiled and cheerfully greeted them, "Hello~!"
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