Chapter 331: Kakashi's Change
"Lord Sasori? Yeah, there was indeed someone with him. That guy wore all white, acted arrogantly, and carried himself with such conceit. Ugh."
Deidara recalled Hiruko's appearance, finding it a bit nauseating.
Especially during battle, Hiruko lacked even the slightest bit of artistic flair that Deidara and Lord Sasori prided themselves on!
Haneda confirmed that Hiruko had joined the Akatsuki, feeling a flicker of excitement.
Hiruko's development of the Chimera Jutsu allowed a ninja or a summoned beast to fuse with him.
It was essentially a lower-tier version of the All-Creation Absorption, but it didn't require the constant expenditure of ocular chakra to maintain the fusion.
Haneda realized he could first crudely use the Chimera Jutsu to merge with the power of the Tenseigan and then employ the All-Creation Absorption to fully integrate the Tenseigan's abilities.
Through this method, he could indirectly harness the full power of the Tenseigan!
Haneda asked, "The Akatsuki and Konoha have some degree of collaboration, yet Hiruko, as a missing-nin from Konoha, was accepted into the Akatsuki? That's odd."
"Deidara, you've worked with the Akatsuki twice. What do you know?"
Deidara thought carefully before responding, "Lord Sasori mentioned that Hiruko wasn't recruited by the leader. He came to the Akatsuki for some special kekkei genkai, trying to perfect a technique he's working on."
Deidara then seemed to recall something, leaning in to ask in a hushed voice, "Brother Haneda, you're not planning to bribe Hiruko and then betray Lord Sasori, are you?"
Haneda shook his head. "I'm curious about the jutsu Hiruko is researching. Of course, I also plan to head to the Land of Rain soon and take care of Sasori while I'm there."
Hearing that Haneda intended to target Lord Sasori, Deidara's face turned sorrowful as he dramatically wept, "Brother Haneda! If you're going to kill Lord Sasori, take me with you!"
"I want to give him a grand farewell, filled with the ultimate art and no regrets. A truly artistic funeral. Yeah!"
You're not sparing him either, huh…
Haneda's mouth twitched. He remembered how Deidara had self-detonated during their battle, not even considering Tobi's safety.
Although Deidara had spoken as if he cared, his actions had left a wide radius in ashes.
Thankfully, Tobi was Obito and could phase through attacks or escape into the Kamui dimension—otherwise, he'd have been obliterated.
"Fine. But you'll have to follow my lead on the way," Haneda agreed.
Deidara had at least worked with both Sasori and Hiruko and knew something about their escape tactics. Bringing him along might lead to unexpected results when capturing or killing them.
"Yeah! This time, I'm going to prepare a gigantic, super-specialized explosive clay creation so that Lord Sasori can experience a masterpiece of unprecedented art! Yeah!"
Deidara waved his hands excitedly.
The specialized explosive clay he mentioned was enhanced with black powder, increasing its explosive power and making it resistant to Lightning Release countermeasures.
Once deployed, this specialized explosive clay would detonate regardless of circumstance. While Lightning Release chakra could suppress the Explosion Release, it couldn't stop the physical blast itself.
As for the "gigantic, super-specialized" explosive clay, with Deidara's current chakra reserves, it would be comparable to a tailed beast bomb in destructive force.
Of course, it would take everything he had to create it, completely draining his chakra.
Haneda knew Deidara was dead serious—he genuinely planned to betray Sasori for Haneda's sake.
But from Deidara's perspective, there was nothing wrong with that. After all, Deidara was the kind of man who would self-destruct out of sheer frustration.
If, someday, Deidara were brainwashed and decided to betray Haneda, Haneda wouldn't even be surprised.
After sharing the time and place to meet before leaving Konoha for the Land of Rain, Haneda departed from the great mining cavern.
This time, he used Flying Thunder God to arrive directly in front of Kakashi's home.
It was around 7 or 8 in the morning, and Kakashi, breaking from his usual laziness, had already left early for training.
Haneda activated his Kagura Mind's Eye to locate Kakashi and then teleported to the Third Training Ground.
At the training ground, Kakashi was practicing integrating Lightning Release into his sword techniques.
Wielding the Purple Lightning Chidori Blade alongside the Hatake Swordsmanship, he sliced through a massive boulder with a single strike.
Immediately afterward, as if facing an imagined enemy, Kakashi used Flying Thunder God to teleport away, putting a safe distance between himself and the boulder.
After completing the sequence, he sheathed his blade and turned to look at Haneda.
Haneda smiled lightly. "What's this? You didn't visit the memorial stone this morning? Usually, this is the time you'd be placing flowers there, isn't it, Kakashi?"
Kakashi chuckled bitterly. "No matter how many flowers I leave, someone always throws them away…"
Haneda said, "So you've just given up? That doesn't sound like you."
Kakashi explained, "I used to go there more to reminisce about the past. You understand that kind of feeling, don't you? Sitting alone in a quiet place, not doing much, just standing or sitting there silently."
"But I have a new goal now. I can't keep living the way I used to."
Haneda asked, "You mean you want to bring Obito back? Pull him out of the darkness and back to Konoha—to reality?"
Kakashi nodded. After his last battle with Obito, he realized he wasn't strong enough.
He hadn't even fully mastered the Mangekyo Sharingan, the gift Obito had given him.
Kakashi smiled bitterly. "I used to not understand why you never told me everything. Now I do. The more you know, the more burdens you carry, and the more painful life becomes."
Haneda replied, "That's because you're willing to take on such responsibilities. That's why you feel burdened and why it hurts."
The two fell silent.
In the past, Kakashi hadn't known Obito was alive. After the Third Great Ninja War, he had drifted aimlessly.
Later, when Minato sacrificed himself, Kakashi took on the responsibility of leading and fought to secure victory for Konoha against Iwagakure.
When Haneda returned, Kakashi helped him as a friend, serving as his right-hand man and supporting his rise to Hokage.
In truth, Kakashi had spent his entire life helping others, never setting goals for himself or having his own ambitions.
He lacked any personal drive.
But now, knowing that Obito was alive—albeit consumed by darkness—Kakashi had found his own purpose.
He wanted to bring Obito back—to himself and to Haneda.
The guilt he had carried for years had transformed into motivation, though it also deepened his pain.
If only he had protected Rin back then, perhaps Obito wouldn't have fallen into darkness.
A soft breeze swept through, scattering the fallen leaves on the ground and breaking the silence.
Kakashi spoke, "I'm guessing you have something you need from me, Haneda?"
"Nothing escapes you," Haneda said with a wry smile, spreading his hands.
To be honest, he often couldn't figure out how Kakashi managed to read his intentions so easily.
Kakashi seemed to sense Haneda's confusion and explained, "You're not wearing your usual durable, dark-colored clothes today, so you're not here for training."
"Plus, you told me last night you were heading to the moon and wouldn't be back for several days. But here you are this morning, so clearly something didn't go well on the moon, and now you have a new issue to deal with."
"Haneda, why don't you tell me what's going on?"
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