Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"Fly, fly up?"

The Fourth Kazekage couldn't help but exclaim.

Flying by standing on the golden sand of Magnet Style—this was something only a true master of Magnet Style could achieve!

He himself could also fly this way by standing on gold sand.But—!

Gold sand is extremely dense!

Controlling a cloud of gold sand and keeping it floating in the air required maintaining a massive amount of Chakra constantly.

After mastering Magnet Style, he had chosen to use gold sand—not iron sand like the Third Kazekage, nor ordinary sand.

Why?

Because the high density of gold sand allowed more powerful manipulation.

But at the same time, it consumed even more Chakra.

Gold sand was more than twice as dense as iron sand and about seven to eight times denser than ordinary sand!

So...

Even he didn't have the habit of flying using Magnet Style.

But—!

What confused the Fourth Kazekage even more—

Why was Hyuga Naraku able to use Magnet Style?

And to such a refined extent!

To master Magnet Style to this level—in Sunagakure, that would be enough to be named Kazekage!

"Did you use the Chakra you extracted from me just now?"

The Fourth Kazekage's expression turned gloomy.

He thought maybe Naraku had used his stolen Magnet Style Chakra to imitate the jutsu.

That he could understand.

"No... that's not right!"

He quickly denied the thought.

The Kazekage's expression was ugly as sin.

Hyuga Naraku, still floating in midair, reached out and stirred the yellow sand on the ground!

Obviously—

He was controlling it directly through Magnet Style!

"How is this possible!"

The Fourth Kazekage was roaring internally.

Magnet Style was one of Sunagakure's most important Kekkei Genkai.

In terms of importance, it was on par with Puppet Technique!

The Magnet Style in Kumogakure couldn't compare to Sunagakure's at all!

And yet now—

Sand Shinobi's Magnet Style had been mastered... by an outsider!

[Magnet Style Kekkei Genkai: Mastered. +400 Wind Chakra. +400 Lightning Chakra.]

A notification popped up in Naraku's system panel.

Still calmly manipulating the gold sand, Hyuga Naraku formed various constructs:

A golden cone, cube, dome, curtain...

"Practical, yes. But the upper limit is low," Naraku commented lightly.

Magnet Style could be used for flight, attack, and defense.

Attacks could be either single-target or AoE.

Truly, it was an all-purpose Kekkei Genkai.

But that was all.

Its power ceiling wasn't high.

Most who relied solely on Magnet Style would top out at mid-to-low Kage level.

Naraku checked his system panel:

Fire Style Chakra: 4400/10000

Lightning Style Chakra: 5400/10000

Wind Style Chakra: 5400/10000

Water Style Chakra: 7600/10000

Earth Style Chakra: 7200/10000

Space Ninjutsu: 3200/10000

Remaining Chakra Points: 7000

Earlier—

Defeating the White Zetsu-controlled reincarnated First Hokage had netted him 10,000 Chakra points.

Later, defeating Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Kaguya clan head, and several elite Yoruichi ninjas—plus Tobi (Uchiha Obito)—had given him another 3,000.

Using 6,000 points to master Magnet Style, Wind and Lightning Chakra went from 500 and 3500 to 5400 each.

Now, he had 7000 Chakra points left.

But...

He looked around.

The Sand Shinobi ninjas entangled in the Sea of Trees were still hard at work—farming points for him.

Naraku slowly walked toward Gaara.

Gaara, only five years old, had deep dark circles under his eyes and oddly, no eyebrows.

Seeing Naraku approach, Gaara panicked and stumbled back.

"D-Don't come near me!"He tripped and fell to the ground, crying in terror.

In his inner consciousness, he had just witnessed Naraku easily subdue Shukaku.

The monster Gaara once feared—

In front of Naraku, it was like a helpless little raccoon cat!

Lying on the ground, unable to struggle!

Even if Gaara wanted to prove his existence through violence—

He knew he couldn't possibly defeat Hyuga Naraku.

"You want me to get rid of that monster?"

Naraku stared at Gaara, his glowing Tenseigan piercing through the seal to see the raging Shukaku.

The tanuki had just been humiliated—

Now it raged wildly inside Gaara's mind like a brat throwing a tantrum.

No wonder Gaara was mentally breaking down.

Gaara's small face was blank.

Then he nodded eagerly."Can you really take it out?"

He had never had a peaceful night's sleep.

That damn tanuki didn't need sleep!

Its voice was ugly, it was rude, and it kept yelling "kill them all!"

"Don't listen to him, Gaara!"

"He's going to extract Shukaku from you! He's going to kill you!"

The Fourth Kazekage shouted desperately.

He was still locked in battle with Pakura and couldn't get to Gaara.

"Kill me?"

Gaara whispered to himself, lowering his head.

A long silence.

"...If I die, I die."

"Nobody cares about me anyway."

His voice trembled in despair.

He'd been assassinated by Yashamaru.

Even worse—Yashamaru told him cruel things before dying.

And the one who ordered that assassination...

Was his own father.

His uncle—the one person he trusted—came to kill him himself.

According to Yashamaru:

His mother gave birth to him with a curse.

He lived only as a vessel for that curse upon the village.

"My existence is meaningless."

"If I die, I die."

Gaara's eyes went hollow, his voice devoid of life.

Naraku stood still, sighing internally.

He had to admit—

As a father, Rasa had completely failed.

"I can remove the monster and keep you alive."

Naraku knelt and gently patted Gaara's head.

After all, Gaara was one of his favorite characters in the original series.

Right now, Gaara was teetering toward darkness but hadn't fallen yet.

Naraku didn't mind saving his life.

Swoosh—!

The sound of sharp threads slicing through the forest echoed.

From one direction, countless trees were split open, forming a path.

An aged but vigorous figure leapt through—

Chiyo of the Sand, accompanied by her "Mother" and "Father" puppets!

"Elder Chiyo!"

The Fourth Kazekage was overjoyed.

He had realized earlier that he couldn't take on both Uchiha Obito and Shukaku at once.

So he'd sent Baki to summon the reclusive elder.

And now, she was finally here!

But he hadn't expected her to face Hyuga Naraku instead!

"What happened to the village?"

Chiyo, her face etched with deep wrinkles, looked around in shock.

In the distance, the towering stone wall surrounding Sunagakure had a massive hole blasted into it.

Earlier, she'd felt a powerful explosion even in her seclusion.

Now the entire village was swallowed by a sea of trees.

Rasa—the Fourth Kazekage—was actually fighting Pakura?

Wasn't she a war hero?

Chiyo was utterly confused.

Had the world changed so much while she was in seclusion?

"Elder Chiyo! Konoha's Fifth Hokage is trying to take Shukaku!"

Rasa, while fending off Pakura's fierce attacks, quickly briefed her.

From Tobi's attack, to Naraku's arrival—he summarized the night's chaos.

"…In short, Shukaku must not be taken!"

"Even if we have to execute Gaara!"

"Shukaku will just resurrect in a few years anyway!"

The Fourth Kazekage gritted his teeth.

He didn't expect Chiyo to defeat Naraku.

But she could find an opening to kill Gaara!

Once Gaara dies, Shukaku dies too.

Naraku would fail to retrieve it.

At most, they'd have to deal with him again when Shukaku resurrects in Sunagakure a few years from now.

But at least today—

Shukaku would not be taken!

Even if that meant...

Executing Gaara on the spot!