Chapter 88: Where's Deidara?

The moonlight was cold and clear, on the border of the Land of Earth. A large group of Iwa Ninja were searching for something among the collapsed ridges, while Ōnoki sat on a pile of rubble nearby, his face grim. Recalling everything that happened today, his mood was exceptionally foul. A group of powerful Ninja, holding a grand event in his own territory? He couldn't tolerate such a thing, especially since he had seen it. "Flying Thunder God Technique?" Ōnoki admitted he was overly agitated at the time. Minato had indeed died long ago. But that flickering figure and the easily shattered puppet brought painful memories to his mind. "Lord Tsuchikage, we've gathered most of the information." As he pondered, an Anbu appeared before him, kneeling on one knee and speaking softly. This Anbu was also somewhat flustered. Facing the enraged Ōnoki, perhaps only Deidara and a few others in Iwagakure weren't afraid of him. "Speak." Ōnoki was terrifyingly calm, speaking few words, and the Anbu immediately began. "According to the sensory Ninja's report, although the Chakra signatures here are chaotic, there are roughly only eight prominent ones." "One of them was the one fighting you, Lord Tsuchikage, and the other six were fighting each other." "Six people..." Ōnoki nodded. When he had just arrived, he had indeed seen three groups fighting in the sky. Three of them all had white hair, and the other three were all wearing black robes. He asked, "Do you know who they are? Can they be tracked?" "Lord Tsuchikage, it's temporarily unknown, after all, here..." The Anbu shook his head in difficulty, and Ōnoki understood what he meant. This was the border, and there weren't many Ninja stationed here to begin with. Even the Anbu were for emergencies, and likely wouldn't have recorded much information on powerful individuals. "Also, these six Chakra signatures that were fighting..." The Anbu Ninja continued, but stopped mid-sentence, seemingly struggling for the right words to describe it. "Their Chakra was extremely powerful, especially four of them, which are quite terrifying. As for the one who fought Lord Tsuchikage..." At this point, the Anbu shook his head, unsure how to continue, but Ōnoki's expression grew even uglier. Although he knew there were many powerful Ninja in the Ninja World, for so many to suddenly appear and cause trouble in his village, was this looking down on him or what? "Is there any other information besides that?" Ōnoki suppressed his anger and asked in a low voice. "Puppets and Lightning Release, and there's no need to mention Flying Thunder God, I saw all of those. I want other, more detailed information!" "Besides what Lord Tsuchikage mentioned, we only detected Water Release and Fire Release in combat." The Anbu Ninja was starting to crack. Ōnoki, though short, had an imposing aura. "As for the others, they have not yet been identified." "Alright, I understand." Ōnoki stood up in frustration. Even if it wasn't fully identified, he could guess some things. "Is Konoha going back to ten years ago?" Recalling that constantly flickering figure, he didn't think there was any other Jutsu that could replace it, and he pondered how to 'talk' to Konoha about this. At the same time, he also planned to question that kid Deidara, since he seemed to have been in this vicinity all along. "Where's Deidara? Have you found him?" "Lord Tsuchikage, Deidara, he..." "What about him?" "He seems to have left..." "Which way did he go?" The Anbu didn't dare to speak, only pointing in the opposite direction, which immediately sent Ōnoki's blood pressure soaring. That direction was no longer within the Lord of Earth... ...... "It seems they got out successfully, but..." Within the Land of Rain, Pain looked at the disheveled Kisame, Itachi , and the practically dismantled Sasori, and finally shook his head without speaking further. The three of them looked truly miserable. Kisame might have been better off. Though his clothes were gone and his body covered in scars due to his sturdy physique, he could at least still stand. Itachi 's eyes seemed unfocused, and he had many injuries on his body, most notably the corner of his eye. There was a clear bloodstain there, indicating severe eye strain. As for Sasori... Only his upper body remained, and half an arm was missing. The fact that he was still alive in such a state showed he was extraordinary. "Tsk tsk, I didn't expect you, of all people, to suffer such a great loss against a mere kid?" Kakuzu didn't care about much else, he still remembered Sasori mocking him. "And I recall giving you information. You're truly regressing as you age." "The information you provided wasn't entirely accurate." Sasori raised his head indifferently. Though his tone showed no emotion, his eyes were extremely cold. "He also has a special state where his strength and speed are comprehensively enhanced, not the Lightning Release Chakra Mode you mentioned." "His Purple Lightning was mostly used to counter my poison gas, not to enhance himself. A slight error in information can lead to serious problems." "Always making excuses." Kakuzu sneered, but Sasori was not afraid. "Is that so? You didn't even manage to make that kid exert himself, did you?" "Hmph, I'll win next time." Pain was right there, and Kakuzu knew he couldn't make a move, but he still had to say something harsh. However, he was also feeling uneasy now. He wasn't sure what bizarre things Takemi had come up with, but he knew that kid had probably improved again. He knew Sasori's abilities. It would be very difficult for him to deal with him, yet that kid had made Sasori so miserable. Although, a large part of the reason Sasori ended up like this was due to Ōnoki's Dust Release and their leader Pain's attacks. "But that Flying Thunder God, it was truly terrifying..." Recalling the dense barrage of kunai, even knowing some were real and some were fake, who would dare to ignore even one? If a real one landed next to him, wouldn't he be finished? 'I must acquire a good Wind Release heart. I can't let that guy come so easily!' 'I must get some good materials suitable for Wind Release. I absolutely must defend against it next time!' At this moment, Kakuzu and Sasori thought the same thing simultaneously. "Tch, those two are so boring. But this guy is also immortal?" Hidan didn't understand what those two were arguing about and couldn't be bothered to think about it. He was currently scrutinizing Sasori up and down. He noticed that this organization seemed to have many similar types, but this Sasori didn't seem human, did he? "Alright, both of you shut up. The mission failed, and Deidara is nowhere to be found. I hope you didn't spill any secrets." Pain spoke up then, cutting them off. He truly didn't want to deal with these guys, and he was feeling a bit annoyed himself. "Nagato, Jiraiya-sensei seems to have seen us." From inside the enclosed vehicle on the other side, Konan's voice rang out, which was what bothered Nagato the most. "I know, but you don't need to worry too much, it was only for an instant." "And even if something was discovered, it's fine, because we are on the right path..." (End of Chapter) Read 40 Advanced Chapters on patreon.com/astralicity