Naruto: Reborn as Neji Hyuga After Dying in One Piece

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With the last enemy neutralized, Naruto knelt beside Gaara's still body. His fists clenched, his eyes downcast. Even though the battle was over, there was no victory in his heart.

They had won the fight… but he hadn't brought Gaara back.

Neji stepped forward, his Tenseigan eyes glowing faintly, scanning the field for lingering chakra signatures. Finding none, he spoke calmly:

"Let's move. This area may still have traps left behind by the enemy."

Kakashi, breathing heavily, nodded. "Neji's right. Over there an open field will be safer."

The group moved as one. Neji crouched, lifting Gaara carefully. Naruto moved to the other side, helping support him.

"Don't think you failed," Neji said quietly. "You gave everything you had. The world isn't perfect… so we have to fight for the changes we want."

Naruto didn't answer, but his grip on Gaara tightened.

---

On a grassy hilltop, the breeze was gentle. Gaara lay motionless under the cloudless sky.

Naruto's hands trembled as he stood over him. His voice cracked, full of grief and rage. "Why Gaara? Why is it always him?"

"He's the Kazekage now, he finally became something more, and they just take him from us?"

Only another jinchūriki could understand that pain. The stares. The whispers. The way people acted like you didn't belong in the same world.

Living in the village, surrounded by people, yet utterly alone.

Naruto's tears fell freely. "I couldn't save Sasuke… and now I can't save Gaara. Three years of training, and I'm still that same useless kid from before."

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Chiyo stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Gaara. Wordlessly, she knelt, placing her hands over his chest.

A pale, luminous chakra began to flow from her palms into him pure life energy.

Sakura's eyes widened. "That jutsu…!"

Naruto's head snapped up. "What are you doing?"

The chakra pouring from Chiyo was warm, vital, and draining her. Her already aged body began to wither.

Sakura's voice was tight with grief. "She's… trying to bring Gaara back."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Bring him… back?"

Kakashi closed his eyes in silent respect. Even Guy's usual boundless energy dimmed.

Naruto stepped closer. "Can you really do it? Can you bring him back?"

Chiyo's voice was faint. "…Not alone. I don't have enough chakra."

"Then use mine," Naruto said without hesitation.

He knelt, placing his hands over hers. Their chakra merged, golden and bright under the sun.

Chiyo's eyes softened at the sincerity in his face. "Someone like you… In a world created by stubborn old fools like me… it gives me hope."

Her lips curved into the faintest smile. "I've made so many mistakes. But now… I can finally do something right."

Her gaze swept the group. "Perhaps the world will be different in your time. Perhaps the villages will learn from ours."

She looked at Sakura. "You're strong and not just for a kunoichi. You can surpass even your teacher one day. Don't waste your strength on me. Use it to protect the people you care about."

Then back to Naruto. "You're the only one who truly understands Gaara's pain. And Gaara understands yours. Help him… in every way I no longer can."

The life flowing from her hands intensified. Neji's Tenseigan vision traced the intricate chakra streams of her life force pouring directly into Gaara's coils. He could see the heartbeat return, faint but growing stronger.

The sand-nin reinforcements arrived just as Gaara's eyes began to flutter open Temari, Kankurō, Baki, and others surrounding him.

Naruto managed a tired smile. "They all came to save you, Gaara."

---

Far away, atop a wind-swept cliff, Neji and Sasori watched the scene through the Tenseigan's projection field.

Sasori's eyes lingered on Chiyo. "…She…"

Neji turned slightly. "You understand now. Let's go. The D-Organization welcomes you, Sasori."

"…Understood."

Two silhouettes stepped away from the cliff's edge, vanishing into the distance.

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