"Sasori, we've been searching for three days and still haven't found that mining village. Is your intel fake or what?"
At that moment, the art duo had no idea they were being watched.
Deidara circled the skies a few times, finding nothing, before descending to vent his frustration.
"The intel came from Jue—it shouldn't be wrong," Sasori replied, his voice heavy and raspy. "A group called the Black Hoe family has popped up in the Land of Rivers recently, dealing all sorts of minerals on the black market. That family must have access to a massive ore source. If we find them, we won't have to deal with Kakuzu's nonsense anymore, and we can stop running around on missions."
"Fine, I'll stick with you a few more days," Deidara said, resigned.
With that, Deidara hoisted Sasori into the air on his clay bird, preparing to scout a new area.
As they soared, a small patch of shadow suddenly enveloped them, shielding them from the sun's glare.
Looking up, they saw a figure bathed in dazzling golden light, their features completely obscured.
"A flying ninja?!"
Deidara's jaw dropped. "Did the old man send someone to drag me back?"
Flying ninjutsu was rare, with the Hidden Rock Village's Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique being the most famous.
Sasori's eyes narrowed as if he'd noticed something. "He's not from the Hidden Rock. Deidara, get down—now!"
At the same time, his mouth opened wide into a rectangular shape, unleashing a barrage of high-density poison needles toward the figure like a storm of bullets.
The needles moved so fast that Deidara barely had time to react before they surged upward, threatening to engulf the stranger.
But in the next instant, the hundreds of needles hit an invisible wall, rebounding in a chaotic shower.
A rain of steel plummeted toward the ground.
Seeing this, Deidara quickly maneuvered his white clay bird downward, flicking his sleeve to release several origami-sized clay birds that flapped their wings and shot into the sky.
"Explode!"
Deidara formed a Snake hand sign with his other hand and gave a sharp command.
Boom!
Multiple explosions overlapped, their brilliant flames bursting like fireworks in the sky.
Sadly, it was still daytime, robbing the display of some of its beauty.
A gust of wind cleared the smoke, and as Deidara and Sasori escaped the shadow's range, they finally got a clear look at their attacker.
It was a man, about six feet tall, clad in a black bodysuit. His face was hidden behind a pure white mask that matched his hair, devoid of eyeholes, exuding an aura of mystery.
This was, of course, Izayoi, disguised with the Transformation Technique.
Gazing down at Deidara and Sasori, Izayoi murmured, "Let's start with a little greeting gift."
He raised his right hand, palm facing the sky.
A wisp of Chakra flared into existence, then flickered out.
"Nah, this jutsu's not complete yet. Too underwhelming for a proper greeting."
"Let's try a new technique instead! With my current Chakra reserves, I should be able to pull it off…"
Izayoi formed a Snake hand sign with both hands, and blue Chakra flames erupted from his body.
An invisible current of air surged upward, sending his white hair whipping wildly.
He held the hand sign for over half a minute, the Chakra flames never faltering.
Watching from a slope where they'd landed, Deidara spoke up. "What's he doing?"
"Probably preparing a jutsu," Sasori said gravely. "Be careful. No ninja who can fly on their own is a pushover."
As he spoke, Sasori pulled out a scroll, ready to unleash his puppet army.
But his movements froze.
Beside him, Deidara stared skyward, mouth agape in disbelief.
Izayoi was waving at them, his voice carrying from a distance. "If you survive this, let's be friends!"
With that, he flew off.
It was noon now, the sun blazing overhead like a massive fireball.
Or was it an illusion? The fireball seemed to be descending, closing in on Deidara and Sasori.
"What… what is that?"
The scene shifted to Team 8 and a caravan, who were taking a detour up a high slope. They all stopped in unison.
Every pair of eyes turned toward the sky above the art duo, faces frozen in shock.
Some of the more timid civilians collapsed to the ground in fear.
"A… a meteor?!"
"No, that's… a meteorite!!"
Indeed, the massive fireball was a meteorite, hurtling downward at breakneck speed, its friction with the atmosphere igniting flames that turned it into a blazing orb.
Staring in the direction of the falling rock, Kurenai Yuhi whispered, "Is this a coincidence? It has to be a coincidence, right?"
After all, what kind of jutsu could possibly summon a meteorite?
But she didn't notice Hinata behind her, gazing at the meteorite with eyes full of awe.
"Deidara, run!"
Back with the art duo, Sasori shouted urgently.
"So… so cool…"
But Deidara stood rooted to the spot, staring at the meteorite as if he could already see the glorious spectacle of its impact. "This is true art!"
"Idiot!"
Sasori snarled, his iron tail whipping out from his back to bind Deidara before leaping off the slope.
At the same time, he pulled another scroll from his cloak, summoning his trump card.
Poof!
A cloud of white mist cleared, revealing a human puppet dressed in a black bodysuit. Its skin was human, but its bones and organs were laced with puppet materials.
This was the Third Kazekage.
Chakra Threads connected to the puppet, and the Third Kazekage spread its arms. A torrent of black Iron Sand poured from its sleeves, forming a massive tetrahedron in the air below.
Sasori, carrying Deidara, landed on the tetrahedron, then commanded the Third Kazekage to use Magnet Release to propel it toward another mountain. Using Chakra Threads, he pulled the Third Kazekage along, circling the mountain's face, aiming to reach the far side.
But the meteorite was falling too fast—there wasn't enough time.
Sasori changed plans, ordering the Third Kazekage to angle the tetrahedron downward, blasting a man-made cave into the mountainside.
Sasori dragged Deidara and the Third Kazekage inside, first manipulating the Iron Sand to form a solid wall, sealing the entrance.
Then he summoned more Iron Sand, layering it around them until it formed a massive black sphere.
BOOM!
The moment the sphere took shape, a deafening explosion roared through the mountains.
The meteorite's impact sent shockwaves echoing through the valleys, piercing the Iron Sand walls and stripping Sasori, Deidara, and every creature in the area of their hearing.
A terrifying wave of heat obliterated countless plants and animals, leveling the impact site's mountain in an instant. The shockwave slammed into surrounding peaks, shattering their walls.
Miles away, Team 8 and the caravan on their slope heard the blast and saw a colossal mushroom cloud rising in the distance.
Even with mountains between them, they felt the ground tremble faintly beneath their feet.
They were standing on a slope—meaning the entire mountain was quaking slightly.
It was a testament to the sheer power of that blazing fireball.
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