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Land of Wind.
The yellow sand still filled the sky.
Two figures, wearing straw hats and black cloaks adorned with clouds, trudged through the sandstorm until they finally reached their destination.
Sand Village.
One of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
The home of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast.
The Akatsuki's plan to collect the Tailed Beasts required them to follow a strict order based on the number of tails. Now, among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the weakest, Sand Village, was their first target.
"Sasori."
Deidara pulled a clay bird from his pocket and flung it into the air, where it immediately enlarged.
"This time, leave it to me!"
Standing atop the clay bird, Deidara struck a pose for Sasori: "Sasori, how do you like my art?"
"Don't make me wait too long," Sasori replied coldly.
"Of course! If Akihara Kagura could single-handedly capture Sand Village, so can I!"
Deidara turned to Sasori with a confident smile before soaring into the sky on his clay bird, searching for Sand Village's Jinchuriki.
"What a naive kid..."
Sasori watched the clay bird fly, sighing lightly. This blond kid often spoke ill of Akihara Kagura, not realizing he had always been Kagura's pawn...
No matter how strong Deidara was, there was a significant gap between his abilities and Kagura's.
He hoped this blond kid would realize soon that years of training did not make him a match for Kagura. What started as a childhood grudge could lead to him risking his life, and then Sasori would have to intervene with Kagura...
While Sasori was lost in thought, Sand Village erupted in chaos. It seemed the village's ninja had spotted the intruding Deidara. Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, approved by Konoha, rose into the sky on a wave of sand to confront him!
As a Jinchuriki, Gaara was not easy to deal with. His sand manipulation was precise, and the sky was filled with sand chasing Deidara.
"This..."
Sasori watched, speechless, sighing inwardly. How could Deidara think he could challenge Kagura in such a state?
Though Deidara and Gaara were evenly matched, their battleground was Sand Village. To protect the villagers, Gaara had to hold back, allowing Deidara to exploit openings...
Above Sand Village, a wave of sand grabbed Deidara's arm, ripping it off!
Deidara ignored the loss of his arm, using the detached limb to release clay spiders into the sand...
The next moment, he unleashed more clay birds!
The birds flew towards Gaara, forcing him to envelop himself in a sand sphere!
But...
This was exactly what Deidara had planned!
As Gaara hid inside the sand sphere, thinking he had evaded the clay birds, small spiders emerged from the birds!
Boom!
Explosions echoed from within the sand sphere!
Severely injured, Gaara could no longer maintain the sphere and fell from the sky. Deidara, riding his giant clay bird, swooped down and captured Gaara!
"Shukaku, captured!"
A smile of satisfaction crept onto Deidara's face.
"....."
Sasori was baffled.
This blond kid had gone to great lengths, even losing an arm, to capture Sand Village's Kazekage. What was there to be proud of?
However, Sand Village had not given up.
They sent a falcon to seek aid from their ally, Konoha, while dispatching troops to track Deidara and Sasori. Among them, the puppet master Kankuro was the fastest!
Yet...
This time, Kankuro faced the world's most powerful puppet master!
A cannon emerged from Sasori's Hiruko, firing dozens of rockets that exploded, blasting Kankuro and his puppets away!
"Let's go."
Sasori ended the battle with ease.
"Sasori's art style..." Deidara grinned, watching Sasori handle the fight effortlessly. He then steered his giant clay bird towards the distance.
"Hmph..."
Sasori glanced at the clay bird in the sky.
Four metal pipes emerged from Hiruko, quickly transforming into four propeller blades, lifting Hiruko into the air and catching up with Deidara's clay bird.
"What was that..."
Kankuro lay bewildered in the desert, staring at his scattered puppet parts, unable to comprehend the enemy he had encountered.
Without any chance to resist...
He was easily defeated.
A team of Sand ninja soon found Kankuro and took him back for treatment. Having lost track of the enemy, they could only wait for Konoha's response.
Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office.
Akihara Kagura, having returned from the Akatsuki, reported to Tsunade about the Root's findings on the Akatsuki members active in the Land of Wind. He also deliberately summoned the other Hokage for a collective meeting.
Such a proposal could not be refused.
Tsunade sent people to notify the four Hokage to return to Konoha and others to the Sand Village, ordering them to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki.
However...
A plea for help arrived from the Sand Village.
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, had been captured by the Akatsuki! As the leader of the Great Ninja Village, Konoha had to fulfill its responsibilities. Tsunade could not refuse the Sand Village's plea for help and immediately dispatched teams to the village, including Team Three and the newly reformed Team Seven.
At the Root base.
Akihara Kagura sat in his office, reviewing scrolls, while Uchiha Sasuke kneeled before him, listening to his orders.
"Team Seven has already departed."
Akihara Kagura lightly traced the characters on the scroll with his fingers as he spoke, "Sasuke, follow them, monitor and protect them."
"The enemy is..."
Uchiha Sasuke recalled what Akihara Kagura had mentioned before.
"It's just as you think."
Akihara Kagura set down the ninjutsu scroll and said softly, "The Akatsuki captured the Fifth Kazekage. Naruto and his team will encounter the Akatsuki while rescuing him..."
"Uchiha Itachi..."
Uchiha Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Even if he didn't encounter Itachi this time, he could seize the opportunity to capture an Akatsuki member and force information about Itachi from them.
"Go."
Akihara Kagura waved his hand, signaling Sasuke to execute his mission.
After Sasuke left, White Zetsu emerged from the ground, seemingly aware of Akihara Kagura's plan: "Young one, should I report to Pain and the others?"
"Yes."
Akihara Kagura nodded and said casually, "Report to him. The reinforcements from Konoha are just a group of kids; the Akatsuki can easily send a team to stop them..."
"Alright."
White Zetsu sank back into the ground.
The Akatsuki moved swiftly. After capturing Gaara, Deidara and Sasori immediately started extracting the One-Tail Shukaku using the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals aiming to seal it into the Gedo Statue as quickly as possible.
Both the Sand Village and Konoha reacted promptly.
Konoha's Team Three and Team Seven soon arrived at the Sand Village.
Upon regaining consciousness, Kankuro reported his encounter with the enemy to the village leaders, particularly noting the abilities displayed by his adversary, which drew the attention of Elder Chiyo.
"The enemy claimed to be a puppet master..."
"Perhaps he is a puppet master from our village because he knew my puppets well. I was no match for him. In an instant, he released dozens of bombs from his body, destroying all my puppets in one move..."
As Kankuro reported his experience, he looked at his shattered puppets with a pained expression: "His fighting style was very strange, beyond my understanding..."
"Follow their escape route..."
Elder Chiyo sighed helplessly, having some suspicions but unable to extract more information from Kankuro.
However...
The Sand Village had no suitable successors.
Elder Chiyo decided to verify her suspicions by joining Konoha's Team Seven to track the enemy. Team Three assisted in pursuing the enemy's trail.
Meanwhile,
The Akatsuki received intelligence as well, even detailed personnel information.
Pain ordered Deidara and Sasori to prepare two living bodies, transforming them into puppets resembling Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame through the Ritual.
Although these puppets only possessed a third of their original power, it was sufficient to cover Deidara and Sasori, preventing interruptions in the extraction of the One-Tail Shukaku.
In an oasis in the desert.
Team Seven and Elder Chiyo tracked the trail relentlessly.
A figure wearing a Root ninja cloak and a cat-faced mask followed closely behind them, staying on their trail.
"Is someone following us?"
Uzumaki Naruto felt uneasy.
"…"
Hatake Kakashi, aware of the Root ninja monitoring them, reassured his disciple: "It's probably just your imagination. Let's focus on tracking the Kazekage..."
Suddenly!
Everyone halted!
In their sight, within the oasis forest, stood a figure in a black cloak adorned with red clouds, seemingly waiting for them.
This figure...
Looked extremely familiar.
"Uchiha Itachi..."
Hatake Kakashi's heart tightened.
Everyone stopped, watching Uchiha Itachi warily.
"Kakashi-sensei."
Itachi's eyes opened slightly, revealing crimson eyes: "I've been waiting for you. Sorry, but you can't pass through here."
Even though this Itachi was merely a puppet with a third of his original power, it was enough to block this team!
"Sasuke's brother…"
Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura had long heard of this name.
"The infamous Uchiha Itachi..."
Elder Chiyo sighed, recalling the legends once created by the now-destroyed Uchiha clan: "We still need to be a bit cautious, the Sharingan is not something easy to deal with..."
"Of course, we won't underestimate him..."
Hatake Kakashi adjusted his ninja forehead protector and said in a low voice, "Though Uchiha Itachi was once defeated by Kagura, he has only ever been defeated by Kagura..."
Kakashi's fingers gradually brushed over his transplanted Sharingan. Over the past few years, he had been diligently training this eye, gradually mastering some of its magical uses.
Likewise.
Kakashi also felt a certain side effect.
That is, whenever he used the Sharingan's magical abilities, it would cause a decline in his vision and impose a heavy burden on his brain and body.
"We are not without a chance of winning..."
Elder Chiyo, with her rich experience, took the initiative to teach these juniors: "Since ancient times, there has been a saying about dealing with the Sharingan. One-on-one, flee immediately. Two-on-one, strike the heart. We four can have one person distract him while the others attack from the blind spots of the Sharingan. However, I heard that this Uchiha Itachi is not that simple..."
"Leave this to me."
A voice emerged from within the forest.
Accompanying this voice, a figure wearing an animal mask, dressed in Root ninja uniform, and draped in a Root cloak instantaneously appeared on a tree.
"You continue with the mission to rescue the Kazekage..."
The Root ninja pressed his animal mask tightly and said coldly: "Leave this to me, I will take care of him..."
"Root member..."
Haruno Sakura's expression immediately became serious, frowning tightly: "Why is a Root member following us..."
"Hmm?"
Uzumaki Naruto found the person's speaking style familiar and curiously stroked his chin: "Why does this guy sound so arrogant when he speaks..."
"..."
Hatake Kakashi rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"A Root member?"
Elder Chiyo's expression turned grim.
Although the Root of Konoha had no reputation in the ninja world, the one supporting these Root ninjas behind the scenes was as towering as a giant tree, making people afraid to provoke him!
"He has his own mission..."
After lightly defending the Root ninja, Kakashi asked him another question: "If we leave this guy to you, there won't be any problem, right?"
"Of course."
The Root ninja pressed his mask tightly: "You go do your job, I will do mine, and we'll meet up after completing our respective tasks…"