Chapter 340: One's Own Life Reincarnation!

“Difficult?”

Rasa narrowed his eyes slightly. He immediately caught the implication behind Elder Chiyo’s words.

“So you’re saying it’s not impossible?”

Rasa pressed her.

Elder Chiyo hesitated. After wavering for a long while, she finally gave Rasa a meaningful look without answering aloud.

Rasa understood.

There were clearly some things she couldn’t discuss openly.

He didn’t press her any further and instead said,

“We don’t have much time. Yashamaru, immediately after the meeting, organize the villagers and have them evacuate to the underground shelters throughout the village!”

“Maki, coordinate our wartime supplies. At the same time, contact the shinobi stationed along the borders and order them to return to the village as quickly as possible to reinforce us!”

“Yura, immediately take the shinobi remaining in the village to Sazanami Temple and establish defensive positions there. No matter the cost, you must stop the enemy at Sazanami Temple!”

One order after another came from Rasa’s mouth.

Sunagakure immediately entered a state of full military alert and began operating at maximum capacity.

While the Sand shinobi and civilians throughout Sunagakure busied themselves with preparations, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa accompanied Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizō to a special-care ward in Sunagakure Hospital.

There was only one bed in the ward.

Lying on it was Bunpuku, the One-Tail Renchūriki, who was already nearing the end of his life.

Bunpuku’s eyes were tightly closed. Various tubes were connected to his body, and he had already lost consciousness. His life was being sustained entirely by medication and medical equipment.

“Not long ago, Bunpuku briefly regained consciousness,” Elder Chiyo said heavily, her expression complicated as she looked at the man on the bed.

“He told me that he and Shukaku had reached an agreement. Shukaku will not emerge and cause trouble until Bunpuku’s life has completely come to an end.”

Rasa was surprised.

“How did he manage that? He actually convinced Shukaku to agree to something like that?”

The death of a Renchūriki would also cause the Tailed Beast within them to die.

Shukaku agreeing to Bunpuku’s request was essentially agreeing to accompany him in death.

Although Tailed Beasts could eventually revive, getting Shukaku to make such a concession was already extremely difficult.

Elder Chiyo shook her head slightly.

“Bunpuku has been together with Shukaku for several decades. Even a stone would have been moved by that much time together.”

“Although Bunpuku never completely earned Shukaku’s trust, he did gain a degree of recognition from him.”

“If the village hadn’t constantly interfered between them, perhaps the two of them could have become very good friends.”

Bunpuku had been Sunagakure’s first Renchūriki, as well as Shukaku’s first Renchūriki.

In the beginning, Bunpuku regarded himself as the jailer responsible for keeping Shukaku under Sunagakure’s control. He was filled with wariness and vigilance toward the Tailed Beast.

Shukaku, meanwhile, naturally harbored resentment and anger toward the prison that bound him.

But as the years passed, Bunpuku matured and came to understand Shukaku better. He realized that Shukaku wasn’t merely a mindless beast devoid of emotion. He could communicate, reason, and be understood.

Bunpuku was therefore the first to change his attitude. He began trying to communicate with Shukaku.

And little by little, Shukaku accepted Bunpuku’s presence.

However, Bunpuku’s position had always remained firmly aligned with the village, while Sunagakure continued to treat Shukaku as nothing more than a dangerous weapon. Shukaku, in turn, harbored nothing but resentment toward Sunagakure.

As a result, Bunpuku and Shukaku were never able to achieve complete trust and understanding.

They were both friends and enemies.

Out of his feelings for Bunpuku, Shukaku had ultimately chosen to fulfill Bunpuku’s final act of loyalty to Sunagakure.

Rasa, however, remained somewhat unconvinced.

In his eyes, Shukaku was no different from a wild beast.

How could a creature like that possibly possess something as complicated as emotions?

Rasa didn’t dwell on the matter any further. Instead, he asked,

“Elder Chiyo, back in the conference room, it sounded as though you had a way to put Bunpuku back on the battlefield?”

“There is a way.”

Elder Chiyo nodded slightly, but she still spoke with considerable hesitation.

“But I don’t know whether we should use it.”

Rasa frowned.

“Elder Chiyo, things have already reached this point. The village is about to face the threat of annihilation!”

“At a time like this, what does it matter whether we should or shouldn’t?”

“If there are consequences, I’ll bear them in full under the authority of the Kazekage. What method are you talking about?”

Elder Chiyo sighed once more before finally speaking.

“Many years ago, under my leadership, the village’s Medical Corps developed a medical forbidden technique.”

“One’s Own Life Reincarnation.”