"Ptooey, ptooey! The sand in the Land of Wind is truly irritating."
Two figures clad in black cloaks adorned with red clouds walked slowly across the yellow sand.
"Sasori-danna, so this is your homeland? It's certainly unique, un," Deidara remarked.
"If you don't want to become one of my puppets, then shut your mouth, Deidara." Sasori's voice was magnetic, but the words he spoke were enough to send shivers down one's spine.
"Sasori-danna is as cold as ever, un." Deidara seemed long accustomed to his icy demeanor.
Sasori's figure paused slightly, as if hesitating whether or not to turn his partner into a human puppet.
"The One-Tail Jinchuriki is just ahead," a White Zetsu slowly emerged from the yellow sand.
"Zetsu, sometimes I really want to dissect you to see what you're made of, popping up everywhere like that, un," Deidara grumbled.
"You should be thanking me for providing you with intelligence," White Zetsu chuckled.
Crossing a sand dune, a ravaged battlefield came into the trio's view.
A dilapidated warship, enormous monstrous figures, surviving Suna ninja licking their wounds…
"Looks like we missed a big show, un," Deidara said with keen interest.
"Zetsu, what happened here?" Sasori asked, turning his head.
"Last night, Sunagakure was conducting military exercises when this group of strange men suddenly broke into the exercise grounds and attacked the Suna ninja," Zetsu explained.
"We're still investigating the origins of these people."
"Which faction is so bold? Daring to directly barge into Sunagakure's exercise grounds?" Deidara's face showed curiosity.
"Unclear. Perhaps some old, dormant organization," White Zetsu shook his head.
Hearing this, Deidara and Sasori didn't press further.
The lifespan of a ninja was short, but the history of the ninja world was long. The ninja village system, from its birth to the present, had only existed for a few short decades.
Before the ninja villages, countless ninja clans and organizations had been active in the ninja world.
Although after the purges by the ninja villages, independent ninja clans and organizations had drastically decreased, similarly, during that period, many old organizations chose to lie dormant underground, awaiting the next opportunity.
To manufacture a warship of this caliber required both substantial funding and mature technology; neither could be lacking.
Newly established organizations or factions would find it very difficult to meet the above conditions.
Old organizations were different; their very existence was a history book. The network of contacts accumulated over a long time would allow them to easily gather the capital that newly formed organizations craved.
Suddenly, White Zetsu's expression turned peculiar, as if he had received some news.
"Good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" White Zetsu asked.
The two turned to look at him, their faces showing no hint of emotional fluctuation.
What would Tobi do in this situation? White Zetsu couldn't help but feel a shiver, facing their murderous gazes.
"The good news is, Kisame's squad and Kakuzu's squad are nearby and can support us at any time."
"Why are they here?" Sasori's tone changed slightly.
Deidara also sensed something was off. Weren't those two squads supposed to be capturing the Nine-Tails and Two-Tails Jinchuriki?
"That's the bad news I was about to mention." White Zetsu spread his hands. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has also arrived on the battlefield."
"How is that bad news? Wouldn't it be better to capture two Tailed Beasts at the same time, un?" Deidara's expression instantly relaxed upon hearing this.
"What if Sunagakure's, Konoha's, and Iwagakure's teams have also arrived on the battlefield? Does that count as bad news?"
Sasori, Deidara: "???"
"Zetsu, you'd better explain this clearly." Sasori and Deidara subtly moved to flank White Zetsu.
If there wasn't a reasonable explanation, they had every reason to suspect White Zetsu had sold them out.
"This really has nothing to do with me!" White Zetsu's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly explained.
"Sunagakure's reinforcements have arrived, that I can understand. But what's the deal with Konoha and Iwagakure?" Deidara chuckled lightly.
"Don't tell me that mysterious organization attacked three great ninja villages at once. If you do, I'll laugh at you."
"Sunagakure sent a distress call to Konoha because of what happened last night. As for Iwagakure's people being here, it's all because of you, Deidara!" White Zetsu said resentfully.
"Because of me?" Deidara was taken aback.
What does this have to do with him?
He'd been out roaming for so many years, and that old geezer hadn't paid him any mind.
Could it be that Iwagakure has a new Tsuchikage?
Impossible, he hadn't even heard a whisper of it…
Besides, that stubborn old man… would he willingly step down before he died?
"I don't know the specific situation, but the Iwa ninja are indeed here to bring you back," White Zetsu said.
"Go back? I wouldn't go back even if you beat me to death!" Deidara bristled, remembering the scene of that stubborn old man forcing him to practice Dust Release.
How could Dust Release possibly compare to his art?
White Zetsu, Sasori: "…"
Boom!
Two sand waves, several meters high, slammed fiercely against a warship.
Hearing the commotion, the three quickly turned their attention.
Inside the warship, Gaara slowly brought his clasped hands apart, the sand moving in sync with his actions.
Did I miss… Gaara thought, looking at the sand which held only a few fragments of armor.
Suddenly, a layer of sand condensed behind him.
Thwack!
A dazzling bolt of lightning struck, blasting a hole in the sand shield.
"ROAR!"
Gaara turned to see an ape-like humanoid also looking at him, throwing its head back and letting out a massive roar.
"Sand Drizzle!"
With a slight thought from Gaara, a large number of oval-shaped sand bullets shot out from the sand shield.
The ape-humanoid's pupils constricted as it saw the high-speed sand bullets approaching. A large amount of lightning instinctively erupted around its body.
Despite the lightning's defense, under the sheer number of projectiles, several sand bullets still struck its body.
Purple blood, distinctly different from that of a normal human, flowed from its wounds.
"ROAR!"
Having transformed into an ape-humanoid through the Stone of Gelel, she seemed to have inherited the ferocity of a wild beast. The pain from her wounds further stimulated her bloodlust.
The narrow space was instantly filled with the lightning erupting from her body.
Outside the sand sphere being bombarded by lightning, an eye of sand slowly formed. Through the sand eye's perspective, Gaara locked onto the enemy's position and raised his free right hand.
A large amount of yellow sand climbed up the ape-humanoid's legs, instantly enveloping her into a sand cocoon.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
Gaara clenched his right fist.
"AAARGH!!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sound of bones breaking came from within the sand. From the gaps between the grains of sand, inhuman purple blood slowly seeped out.
The lightning, like a fleeting bubble, vanished in an instant.
"Screee!"
From the upper level, a piercing bat-like cry passed through the steel deck and reached his ears.
It was immediately followed by the惨叫声 (miserable shrieks) of several Suna ninja.
Gaara's expression darkened. A large amount of yellow sand erupted from the ground, instantly blasting a hole through the steel partition.
"Urgh~ah~"
The sudden sense of spatial distortion caused a sharp pain in Kankuro's head.
He knew clearly that he had fallen under an enemy's genjutsu, but dispelling it by disrupting his own chakra would take time.
But in a ninja battle, victory and defeat were decided in an instant.
The time needed to break the genjutsu could very well be the time of his demise.
The bat-humanoid naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip. Her wings beat rapidly, just as she was about to deliver a fatal blow to her enemy.
A pillar of sand suddenly shot out, blocking her attack.
Ranke looked down at the red-haired young man below, her expression grim. She could no longer sense her comrade's presence; she naturally understood what that signified for Camira.
After shooting him a harsh glare, Ranke turned, broke through the ship's hull, and fled this place of trouble.
That red-haired boy could kill Camira without a scratch; naturally, he could kill her without a scratch too.
There wasn't much difference in their strength.
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