**Chapter 147: Revisiting Chiyo**

After handling the situation with Rasa, Hattori headed over to visit Chiyo again.

When he entered, Chiyo was talking to Ebizō, but as soon as she saw him, she stopped speaking and turned her head away.

Seeing this, Hattori laughed and walked over to her, gently squeezing her shoulders from behind.

However, after just a couple of squeezes, Chiyo brushed his hands off.

"Don't touch me. Wasn't knocking me out earlier enough? Or are you planning on hitting me again?"

"Uh..."

Realizing Chiyo was still upset about what had happened earlier, Hattori quickly apologized.

"Sorry, teacher. I was just really caught up in the moment back then! Please understand."

"So, you're saying I deserved it?" Chiyo raised her eyebrows.

"No, no... I didn't mean that!" Hattori denied quickly.

"Oh, didn't mean that? Then you're saying what I say doesn't matter as much as Karura's?" 

Hattori: "(Д*)"

So she was waiting for me here. But how did she know about what happened earlier? Oh, right… the ANBU!

Turning his head, Hattori glanced at Ebizō, who was looking back at him with a slight smile that seemed to say—

"Yes, it was me!"

Hattori: "…"

This busybody!

Since Chiyo already knew about the incident, Hattori had no choice but to look out the window.

"The weather is so nice today. What beautiful scenery… ah… lovely, lovely…"

Chiyo: "…"

Ebizō: "…"

Not even bothering with an excuse, huh?

Seeing Hattori's unbothered expression, Chiyo gave a slight smile and shook her head.

"Fine, whatever the reason, the fact that you managed to control yourself today shows that you've really matured. I'm proud of you."

"Hehe, it was nothing really," Hattori replied modestly. "It's all thanks to your teaching, teacher!"

Hearing this, Chiyo smiled even more proudly and nodded approvingly.

"Oh? And you're humble, too? Not bad!"

As Chiyo continued to praise Hattori, Ebizō, who had been watching silently, finally couldn't take it anymore and revealed the truth.

"Not bad, you say? This kid might not have killed Rasa, but he had Karura carve seventeen characters on Rasa's face, making it unbearable to look at!"

"Uh…" Hearing this, Chiyo looked curious. "What seventeen characters?"

"On his left cheek, it says 'Despicable and Shameless.' On the right cheek, 'Filthy and Vile,' and on his forehead, 'Disgrace of the Hidden Sand.'"

He glanced at Hattori with a twitch of his mouth.

"And not only that, this kid inked it in, so unless Rasa peels off his entire face, those words are there to stay. Might as well have killed him!"

"Uh…"

After hearing this, Chiyo was stunned, her mouth hanging open in shock. "Hattori, is what Ebizō said true?"

"Yep!"

Hattori didn't try to hide it and just shrugged.

"Considering all the underhanded things he's done, he doesn't deserve to care about his face anymore."

"…"

Seeing Hattori's justified expression, Chiyo was silent for a while before shaking her head with a wry smile.

"Well, I guess Rasa can just wear a veil from now on. Anyway, Hattori, you came to see me for a reason, didn't you?"

"Yes!"

Hattori nodded and got straight to the point.

"This time, I came to ask you for a technique, teacher. It's called—Reincarnation of Self."

"What?"

Hearing the name, Chiyo's face immediately changed, and she stood up in shock.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Before Hattori could answer, she turned to Ebizō. "Did you tell him?"

"It wasn't me!" Ebizō shook his head. "Why would I tell him something like that?"

"Not you?"

After Ebizō denied it, Chiyo seemed to realize something, her brows furrowing.

"Even if it wasn't you, it must have leaked from your side. Ebizō, you need to clean up your ANBU team!"

"I know!"

Ebizō nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I trusted Rasa too much before, which let him slip in his people. It's not just the ANBU; even the puppet corps has some of his people. It's time to clear things out properly!"

Saying this, he stood up and began to walk out.

At the door, he stopped and spoke.

"Hattori, I'll make sure you get an answer for this."

With that, he left without looking back.

Watching this, Chiyo fell silent for a moment before turning to Hattori.

"Ebizō… he didn't mean any harm. Don't blame him."

"Yeah, I know!"

Hattori nodded immediately upon hearing Chiyo's words.

"I know what kind of person Elder Ebizō is, so I don't blame him. Teacher, please give me the Reincarnation of Self technique. I want to study it thoroughly!"

"No way!"

Hattori's words had barely left his mouth when Chiyo rejected him without hesitation.

"The Reincarnation of Self technique is too dangerous. It's a forbidden jutsu that combines puppet and medical techniques, and it's not complete. One mistake could cost your life. I can't give it to you!"

"…"

Seeing Chiyo's resolute expression, Hattori frowned but didn't give up. Instead, he continued to persuade her.

"Since you said it's incomplete, why don't we work on it together and complete it? Surely, there was a reason you created this jutsu in the first place, right?"

"…"

Hearing Hattori's words, Chiyo fell silent once more.

Of course, there was a reason she had created the Reincarnation of Self technique.

After her son and daughter-in-law were killed by Sakumo Hatake, she had once accidentally seen her grandson Sasori crafting two puppets.

They were puppets modeled after her son and daughter-in-law.

She could never forget the sight of Sasori controlling those puppets to hug his small, lonely body, only for them to drop lifelessly when he lost focus, leaving him with a blank expression.

From that moment on, Chiyo began researching the Reincarnation of Self technique, with the goal of granting puppets real life.

For her grandson, Chiyo had sacrificed so much.

But due to a lack of communication, Sasori never realized this. Before Chiyo could complete the jutsu, he had already defected.

Thinking of Sasori, Chiyo's face grew sad, and she let out a bitter laugh.

"The reason I developed the Reincarnation of Self? Perhaps there was one in the past, but there isn't anymore."

"No, there still is!"

At this point, Hattori pulled open his shirt, revealing the "Corpse" seal imprinted over his heart that held Pakura.

Then, seeing Chiyo's stunned expression, he spoke firmly, one word at a time:

"That reason is—to bring back the one most important to me… and make them whole again!"