"Hey... I was planning to dig for clay today. I already have a brilliant concept. This time I'll definitely create a masterpiece that will shock the world. But of course, a mission would come up right now, hmm!"
Deidara, with his long blonde hair, grumbled that this was the critical moment for his artistic creation. He was convinced this work would be his most artistic achievement yet!
"Shut up! Only eternal art has value!"
"Let's go now. I hate keeping others waiting!"
The young man with red hair and surprisingly handsome features set down his tools placed his unfinished puppet aside and carefully covered it.
This was Sasori, the former genius puppeteer of Sunagakure who had transformed himself into a human puppet!
Deidara was deeply dissatisfied with Sasori's understanding of art. He retorted loudly, "Master Sasori, true art is born in a fleeting moment... yeah!"
"Eternal beauty is the only real beauty. Your concept of art is fundamentally flawed... hmph!"
"Be quiet! Keep talking, and I'll kill you!"
"Tch!"
Seeing Sasori enter his specialized puppet 'Hiruko,' Deidara snorted disdainfully and ended their debate about art. He turned to look at Konan. "What's the mission?"
Konan, unfazed by their argument, finally revealed the mission details. "Go to the Land of Fire to retrieve Uchiha Itachi. He's injured. Hoshigaki Kisame has been killed by an enemy shinobi."
"What?"
"Hmm?"
Deidara and Sasori inside Hiruko asked the same question simultaneously.
Although they weren't particularly friendly with each other, both recognized the formidable strength of Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, so this news came as a shock.
At this moment, the voice emanating from Hiruko differed from Sasori's normal tone, sounding more ominous. "Did they encounter a team of shinobi from Konohagakure?" he speculated.
Since they had been attacked within the Land of Fire, the most likely culprits would be ninja from Konohagakure, hence Sasori's assumption.
"It was indeed a shinobi from Konohagakure, but only one," Konan replied calmly.
"..."
Both artists fell silent.
"I need to prepare additional clay. We'll depart shortly," Deidara finally said.
"My puppet requires some modifications. Give me a moment," added Sasori.
Despite their pride, both Deidara and Sasori understood that if a single ninja had managed to kill Hoshigaki Kisame and wound Uchiha Itachi, rushing in unprepared would be futile!
Of course, neither would admit to being afraid.
Both needed to prepare thoroughly—they couldn't enter a potential life-or-death battle without proper equipment.
"According to Itachi's intelligence, the enemy has already withdrawn," Konan added.
"..."
Couldn't you have mentioned that earlier?
Konan ignored their reactions and turned away.
Deidara's attention now fixated on Uchiha Itachi. After all, he had joined Akatsuki reluctantly after being defeated by Itachi's genjutsu.
But truthfully, Deidara had grown rather fond of Akatsuki.
In his view, each member's unique abilities represented a form of art, making Akatsuki the ultimate "artistic collective"!
As a self-proclaimed great artist, Deidara found satisfaction in the Akatsuki organization and even took pride in his membership.
"Master Sasori, let's go... I can't wait to see how pathetic Uchiha Itachi looks right now... yeah!"
"Even injured, he would still defeat you easily."
"Tch..."
Deidara extended his right hand, revealing the mouth embedded in his palm busily chewing. Soon, a large quantity of explosive clay emerged, forming a massive white bird capable of flight, which flapped its wings while hovering at low altitude.
Sasori and Deidara boarded the giant bird and flew toward the Land of Fire.
This was precisely why Nagato had dispatched these two—they could reach Itachi's position with greater speed.
Meanwhile, when Konan returned to the base, she found Nagato standing with Akatsuki's intelligence gatherer, Zetsu.
"Have you uncovered any detailed information about Shihouin Naraku?" Nagato asked through the Deva Path.
"Nothing beyond routine intelligence, which proves utterly useless. His power growth pattern seems rather unusual."
The Deva Path shook its head, then continued: "Although Zetsu has gathered considerable information, previously, Shihouin Naraku only displayed the characteristics of an ordinary prodigy without exhibiting any other noteworthy traits."
"We'll discuss these matters later. Let's hurry to the Fire Country border to retrieve them. If Shihouin Naraku appears, eliminate him immediately."
Konan simply shook her head in refusal. "I'll go. You should remain in the village."
Nagato understood Konan's concern for his health. Due to previous injuries, he was now confined to specialized equipment year-round. Venturing outside would be extremely troublesome.
If unnecessary, Konan preferred that Nagato not even send out the Deva Path.
After a brief silence, the Deva Path nodded, acquiescing to Konan's proposal. "You may go. I believe if Shihouin Naraku appears, he won't be a match for you. But take everything with you, just as a precaution."
"Understood."
Konan turned and departed to provide support.
The Deva Path then turned toward Zetsu, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, and inquired: "Where is Uchiha Madara? Why hasn't he appeared?"
"Hehehe... He had other matters to attend to, so he couldn't be present."
Black Zetsu's low voice responded. At this moment, he didn't even permit White Zetsu, who had merged with him, to speak, fearing exposure.
"Tell Madara to come see me as soon as possible. We have matters to discuss."
After conveying this message, the Deva Path signaled that Zetsu could depart and continue gathering information about Shihouin Naraku.
Zetsu nodded before merging with the ground and vanishing.
...
In the secret hideout where Akatsuki stored the Gedo Statue, Zetsu's figure emerged.
"Damn it!"
"How did this happen? What unfortunate coincidence led to this encounter?"
"Hoshigaki Kisame is dead? What a worthless fool!"
On the surface, Hoshigaki Kisame served the Akatsuki organization, but secretly, Uchiha Obito had already revealed his identity to him and recruited his loyalty.
Of course, what Uchiha Obito had disclosed to Hoshigaki Kisame was that he was masquerading as Uchiha Madara.
But lamentations were pointless now—the man had been reduced to ashes.
"He was quite a useful piece in our game, but was destroyed for no apparent reason."
Black Zetsu felt that he was experiencing an unprecedented streak of bad luck!
Ever since Uchiha Obito had fallen ill after battling Shihouin Naraku, their original plan had begun to derail completely.
There were numerous matters to address in Kirigakure, but before they could be resolved, the Akatsuki organization had once again encountered Shihouin Naraku.
Why was all this happening?
Black Zetsu's expression darkened as he observed Uchiha Obito, who lay unconscious, dependent on the Gedo Statue for survival.
Actually, his entire appearance was already black!
It couldn't get any darker!
"Hold on a bit longer. No matter what, Uchiha Obito must not die!"
Black Zetsu, the true mastermind behind everything, knew that Uchiha Obito would play a crucial role, and without him, many aspects of their plan would require complete reconsideration.
They might even need to find a method to resurrect Uchiha Madara prematurely!
This was the only way to ensure that the plan proceeded smoothly without further complications.
After contemplating for a while, Black Zetsu turned to leave. With White Zetsu Spore fused with Uchiha Obito nearby, he wasn't concerned about any immediate dangers.
And Uchiha Obito, lying unconscious on the ground, had green Hashirama cell branches growing all over his body!
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