Somewhere on the border of Konoha
Standing on the back of the giant Clay Bird, Kurenai sneaked glances at Deidara from time to time. It was as if she wanted to ask something from Deidara, however, she was hesitating, not sure what to do.
As Deidara noticed her sneaking glances, his face darkened and he said in an uncomfortable tone, "I have already told you, I am not Dojin, and I have nothing to do with that damned Amatsukami Organization, so can you please stop staring at me!"
Kurenai quickly said, "I… I have no intention of trying to obtain Amatsukami's secret information or anything, I just wanted to ask something about Fujin… how has he been? Did he recover from his injuries?"
Deidara scowled, and said in an irritated tone, "Do you have some problem with your brain? Didn't I already say that I am not Dojin? Why the heck would I know anything about Amatsukami?"
At this time, Ōnoki who was sitting on a chair at the front turned back and said, "Young girl, Deidara isn't lying… I can assure you that he really has nothing to do with Amatsukami."
Initially, Ōnoki also suspected Deidara to be Dojin of Amatsukami, however, after he heard the exact timing of Dojin's appearance in the Shinobi World, Ōnoki quickly ruled out all the possibility of Deidara being Dojin. The reason is simple, at the time when Dojin appeared and fought against the Akatsuki Organization, Deidara was in Iwagakure learning Dust Release under his guidance.
After what Sandaime Tsuchikage Ōnoki said, Kurenai still seemed to want to say something, however, at this time, Kakashi placed his hand on Kurenai's shoulder and shook his head, "All right Kurenai, let's not talk about this for now… escorting Tsuchikage-sama back to the village for the Five Kage Conference is the mission of our team at this time, and we should focus on it."
Kurenai sighed, and nodded, "I understand Kakashi-kun… and I am sorry for making the situation difficult for you."
Kakashi smiled lightly, "It's quite all right."
With Kurenai silent, Ōnoki looked at Kakashi, and asked, "I take it that the other Kages have arrived, right?"
"Yes, Tsuchikage-dono, I have received confirmation from Hokage-sama that Raikage-dono, Mizukage-dono, and Kazekage-dono have smoothly reached the village. As soon as our party arrives as well, the Five Kage Conference can begin." Answered Kakashi.
Ōnoki nodded lightly, "I see." And added, "In that case, we should also speed up."
At his words, Deidara speeded up the Clay Birds.
…
A few hours later.
After escorting Ōnoki and Deidara to the Venue of the Five Kage conference, Kakashi and Kurenai left as per Jiraiya's instructions, who told the two of them to rest for now.
On the way to their homes, Kakashi couldn't help but question, "Kurenai… how are you adjusting to your new life?"
Kurenai frowned, "What do you mean Kakashi-kun?"
Kakashi sighed, and said, "I was just wondering if you are facing any problems with how things have changed, until a few days ago you were an Anbu, just like me, but now we are regular Jonin, we have to perform missions as a regular Jonin does, and we have to adjust to being in the light, unlike before."
Kurenai thought about it and answered, "I don't think I am uncomfortable with this new life… The frequency of missions is less compared to before, we don't have to be so covert and mindful of all our actions, plus the darkness we used to interact with on a daily basis has also decreased, but most of all, I get more time for myself to train and become stronger… this is a good thing, so I guess you can say that I am adjusting quite all right, and I am quite happy." Then asked after a pause, "What about you Kakashi-kun? Do you find adjusting to this new life uncomfortable?"
Kakashi shook his head, "Nah… I am good, same as you, I get more time to train."
Kurenai nodded, and the two continued to walk in silence.
After a while, Kurenai looked down, then she suddenly turned towards Kakashi and asked, "Say Kakashi-kun… do you really believe that Deidara is Dojin?"
Kakashi thought about Kurenai's question, and replied, "Based on my observations so far, if we compare their temperament, they don't seem to be the same person at all. Deidara is just too… how should I put it… Weird I guess(?)… his unusual obsession with art… I don't think the Dojin we interacted with before had such an obsession with art."
Hearing Kakashi's reply, Kurenai couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "If that's the case then why do you believe that Deidara is Dojin? Is it because of the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai that they both have and because of the similar Explosive Clay that both of them use?"
Kakashi nodded, "That's just one point… the second point is Dust Release… Dust Release is not something that can be mastered so easily, countless people have tried and failed, the only reason being that they don't have an understanding of how it works. Up until a few months ago, no one other than Tsuchikage-dono could use Dust Release, then suddenly, someone appears and uses Dust Release… naturally, the two should be connected in one way or another, right? And it just so happens that Deidara has that connection with Tsuchikage-dono. On top of being that old Man's disciple, he uses other similar Jutsu as well, and his fighting style matches with Dojin, so the two of them should be the same person, otherwise, it would be too much of a coincidence."
Kurenai nodded, "I see." and said, "If he really is Dojin, then this clearly highlights how good he is at fooling others and disguising himself, at the same time, his non-reliable nature and artistic obsessive personality can't be trusted at all. Everything he puts in front of us is likely to be nothing more than a façade."
In Kurenai's perspective, Kakashi might as well be right. She personally believes that the Amatsukami members are often closer to them than they think, just take Fujin for example, he is somehow related to the Hyuga Clan, yet he is unidentifiable, Kurenai knows this fact, therefore, it's indeed possible that Deidara is Dojin.
With such thoughts in their mind, both Kurenai and Kakashi went to their homes.
…
While Kakashi and Kurenai were having a discussion about the possibility of Deidara being Dojin, a similar discussion was happening in the ongoing Five Kage conference.
Ay banged the wooden table, and said in an impatient tone, "All the evidence is pointing at you Deidara… how long do you plan to fool us?"
"Shut it Raikage!" Deidara coldly snorted, and said, "I already told everyone that I have nothing to do with Amatsukami, no matter how many times you ask me, my answer isn't going to change."
Ōnoki added from the side, "I can assure everyone that Deidara is not Dojin because, at the time when Dojin made his appearance, Deidara was in Iwagakure, it's impossible for the same person to be present at two places at the same time."
Ay questioned, "It's not impossible… Firstly, he could have used Clay Clones, which are difficult to identify, and second, there is a possibility that Deidara might have mastered your Nidaime Tsuchikage Mu's Fragmentation Jutsu… with that, he can be present at two places at the same time."
Ōnoki shook his head, and said in a certain tone, "No, it couldn't have been a clay clone." And added, "And as for Deidara mastering the Fragmentation Jutsu of my predecessor, this is impossible, I have neither told him about that Jutsu nor have I ever given him the scroll."
Raikage was dissatisfied, "Your answer is flawed… what do you mean that you haven't told him about that Jutsu? What if he learned about it from somewhere else? What if Amatsukami told him about that?"
Ōnoki was silent, he didn't know how to refute Raikage's words. That is indeed a possibility.
Hiruzen stared at Deidara, and asked the most important question, "Deidara… have you mastered Dust Release?"
At this question, everyone stared at Deidara with a questioning gaze.
Feeling everyone looking at him, Deidara's mood became gloomy, but he answered anyway, "Yes, I have indeed mastered Dust Release… But I am not that damned Dojin! Heck, I am the person who wants to know most as to who that guy is, he is trying to copy my art! If he falls in my hands, I am going to show him that the original is always original, fakes can never equal original!"
Hearing that Deidara has indeed mastered Dust Release, Ay said, "See… he has even mastered Dust Release… who else could be Dojin but him? Deidara, it's about time you stopped pretending!"
"Are you all right in your head old guy?! I have said countless times that I am not him… just think about it, if I were Dojin, why would I let the Akatsuki Organization destroy Iwagakure? Wouldn't I immediately inform all the members of Amatsukami about Akatsuki's attack and call for backup?" said Deidara in a defeated tone.
When Deidara put forward this point, everyone was silent… nobody had an answer to this question… 'Yes, if Deidara really is Dojin, why didn't Amatsukami arrive to save Iwagakure?'
Seeing that nobody had an answer, Sandaime said, "Well, regardless of whether Deidara is Dojin or not, let's stop this topic here. Nothing is going to happen if we continue to press him, if Deidara is really not Dojin, then it's useless to force, and even if he is Dojin, then also it's useless to force him because we can't do anything to him.
So, let's put this topic aside for a while, and discuss the matter for which the Five Kage conference was organized."
Everyone nodded with a defeated expression and the topic was successfully changed.
Soon, under the guidance of Sandaime Hokage, the focus of the Five Kage Conference shifted to the siege and suppression of Danzo.
Because of Danzo's terrifying strength, Raikage proposed to form a coalition of elites in order to hunt him down effectively, and nobody opposed his proposal. In everyone's eyes, Danzo is a menace who threatens the entire Shinobi World, the sooner he is dealt with, the better for everyone.
The only problem is, they haven't been able to determine Danzo's whereabouts, so they don't know when and where to start.
Seeing that this topic wasn't progressing, Tsuchikage brought the threat of Akatsuki to the table.
No doubt, Akatsuki is also very threatening to the entire Shinobi World, they want to deploy countermeasures against Akatsuki, the problem is, Akatsuki is too strong, even if all the villages combine together, there is really nothing they can do against Akatsuki, so this topic couldn't be carried any further.
When the topic shifted to Amatsukami, nobody knew what to say, some could only look at Deidara, but other than this, nothing could be said. The existence of Amatsukami is the biggest mystery in the Shinobi World, and nobody seems to know anything about that organization. Again, the topic couldn't be continued and stopped halfway.
The Five Kage Conference was going nowhere, and after a while, everyone started to mentally feel exhausted.
Seeing everyone getting more and more uninterested, Sandaime announced, "Well, let's end the discussion here for today, and we will again begin tomorrow. In the meantime, everyone can think up possible solutions and propose them in the next discussion."
Everyone nodded and was about to get up and leave, when suddenly, Pakura asked Hiruzen, "Hokage-dono, I have heard that the Ninja Academy of Konoha is organizing a real-world simulation assessment for their trainees, and both Fu and Uzumaki Naruto are also participating in it, is that correct?"
Hiruzen nodded, "Ah yes… that is the case." And said, "If anyone is interested, they can watch the assessment being carried out."
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