Chapter 123 – A Mix of Grace and Might, Hearts Turned Toward Him
Because One's Own Life Reincarnation was a forbidden jutsu that Granny Chiyo had developed herself, she knew better than anyone the consequences of using it.
Uchiha Dali had just used this very technique, converting all of his chakra into life force to revive Rasa.
Rasa had indeed been brought back to life—but the cost to the user was inevitably their own life.
So at this moment, Granny Chiyo felt both utterly confused and deeply worried.
Her gaze bore into Uchiha Dali, and at last, she couldn't help but ask, "I don't know why you used that technique… but why would you do something like that?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Dali looked at her with a puzzled expression, as though he had no idea what she was talking about.
But Granny Chiyo pressed on. "If you know that forbidden technique, then you must also understand the price it exacts!"
"So why would you do such a thing, Fourth Hokage?"
Granny Chiyo simply couldn't wrap her head around Uchiha Dali's actions.
From her perspective, this man had just subdued the entire Hidden Sand Village—no, the entire Land of Wind—with an overwhelming and irresistible force, compelling them to submit.
If that was the case, then Uchiha Dali clearly wasn't the type who would willingly sacrifice his own life to save the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand.
So why did he do it?
Why use One's Own Life Reincarnation, giving up his own life to bring Rasa back?
Faced with her questioning, Uchiha Dali shook his head with a wry smile. "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"It's just saving a person. A simple effort. Why make such a fuss?"
"The Hidden Sand is now under Konoha's banner, and Rasa is one of my subordinates. Saving him is only natural, isn't it?"
His words left Granny Chiyo stunned once more, her pupils trembling as she furrowed her brow in disbelief.
"The jutsu you used… wasn't One's Own Life Reincarnation?"
She asked hesitantly.
"One's Own Life Reincarnation? Never heard of it."
Uchiha Dali shook his head, confused.
He genuinely seemed to have no idea what that forbidden technique was.
Now it was Granny Chiyo's turn to be perplexed.
"Did I misjudge? That shouldn't be… that jutsu just now was unmistakably One's Own Life Reincarnation…"
At this point, Granny Chiyo was beginning to doubt everything she thought she knew.
She hadn't been able to figure it out from the start.
Her forbidden technique had never been leaked, known only to her. So how could an outsider not only know about it, but use it right in front of her?
It made no sense.
But now that Uchiha Dali was claiming he hadn't used One's Own Life Reincarnation, it did help explain some of her confusion.
Still, if it wasn't her jutsu, why did it function in exactly the same way?
She simply couldn't make sense of it.
In the end, she could only chalk it up to Konoha having its own secret forbidden techniques.
And judging by the results, this jutsu that could bring someone back from the dead was even more effective than her own One's Own Life Reincarnation.
After observing carefully, Granny Chiyo had basically confirmed that Uchiha Dali wasn't in any life-threatening condition.
Aside from a massive loss of chakra, everything else about him seemed perfectly normal.
"I never expected… that Konoha has another medical ninja whose skills are just as astonishing as Lady Tsunade's."
"It's no wonder Konoha became the strongest ninja village in the entire shinobi world."
"Rasa, I'll leave what comes next to you…"
With that, Granny Chiyo turned and walked away toward the village, no longer concerned with the others present.
She was questioning herself now.
Never mind how Uchiha Dali had come to master a jutsu so similar—practically identical—to her own One's Own Life Reincarnation.
If this technique could truly revive the dead without costing the user their life...
Then as a medical ninja, she absolutely had to uncover its secrets.
If she could find a way to remove the life-forfeiting side effect from her One's Own Life Reincarnation, it would become a divine technique!
Meanwhile, Rasa, having just regained consciousness, had overheard the conversation between Granny Chiyo and Uchiha Dali.
He had a pretty clear picture of what had happened while he was unconscious.
His death had come from exhausting his chakra beyond his limits.
By all rights, he should be dead.
And yet, here he was, alive again—saved by none other than Uchiha Dali.
Rasa felt deeply conflicted.
He had lost the battle.
That meant the Land of Wind and the Hidden Sand Village were now under the control of the Land of Fire.
He and every other Hidden Sand shinobi were now subordinates of Uchiha Dali.
He hadn't even had time to adjust to that new reality…
And now he owed the man a life debt.
He owed Uchiha Dali his life.
"I don't know what to say… Lord Fourth Hokage."
"The Hidden Sand has now submitted to you. From here on, I leave things to your judgment…"
Rasa paused for a moment, then spoke in a respectful, subordinate tone.
Yet his words didn't stir any resentment among the surrounding Hidden Sand shinobi.
If anyone was to blame for their current situation, it was all of them.
They had all attacked Uchiha Dali together—and he had utterly crushed them.
So it was their own actions that had cost them their future. Rasa bore little personal responsibility for that.
And having witnessed Uchiha Dali's overwhelming power firsthand—who would dare harbor rebellious thoughts now?
Not only had he defeated them, but he had also selflessly expended an enormous amount of chakra to save Rasa.
Everyone had seen it with their own eyes.
A man with strength beyond resistance… who had extended a hand to heal someone who had just been his enemy.
Such magnanimity—who could compare?
After all, Uchiha Dali could easily have chosen not to act.
So now, even if the Hidden Sand shinobi were still adjusting to their new roles, and remained mostly silent, they had already tacitly accepted that they were now Uchiha Dali's subordinates.
"The Hidden Sand has submitted—but the Land of Wind may not have."
"Rasa… do you want to become the Daimyō?"
Uchiha Dali suddenly asked.
Rasa's body tensed at those words, and he looked at him in astonishment.
"Answer me. Do you want it, or not?"
"Lord Fourth Hokage, I…"
"So you do. Then I'll give you three days to deal with the internal situation in the Land of Wind."
"I'll say just one thing—dignity is won with your fists. The Hidden Sand, with all its strength, bowing to the Daimyō's palace? That's absurd."
"As my subordinate—show me the backbone you ought to have!"
"Three days from now, report to me in Konoha."
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslation. Thanks for your support! Don't forget to send Power Stones—300 Power Stones = +1 bonus chapter!)