Unknowingly, Deidara had been idling in Amegakure for half a year.
During this time, the scale of the ninja world war continued to expand. After Konoha's failed assault on Sunagakure, Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, seemed emboldened. He led the Sand shinobi in a counterattack against Konoha, only to be soundly defeated.
As it turned out, without the environmental advantages of the Land of Wind, even a weakened Konoha was not a force Sunagakure could afford to provoke.
Jiraiya personally entered the battlefield and easily defeated Rasa. The Sand shinobi forces were also routed by Konoha's ninja. After this mutual exchange of losses, both sides engaged in a prolonged standoff in the Land of Rivers, beginning a drawn-out war of attrition.
Three months later, the ever-aggressive and militaristic Kumogakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha under the leadership of the Fourth Raikage, A. This time, the losses were much greater.
Even Jiraiya could only manage a draw against the Raikage, and with Konoha having deployed a significant portion of its forces to the Land of Rivers, the village was left dangerously vulnerable.
In the end, it was Might Guy who returned just in time. After opening the Sixth Gate and exchanging a few blows with the Raikage, the latter, seeing no further gains to be made, chose to retreat with his forces.
Thus, Konoha found itself fighting on two fronts, plunged into an unprecedentedly difficult situation.
During these six months, Deidara hadn't been idle either. While continuing his research on clay art, he also unlocked several new skills.
The Shock Value he had accumulated from his previous encounters with Tsunade and Iwagakure allowed him to level up twice. Combined with the one Skill Point he had remaining, he now had three Skill Points to spend.
He used these points to unlock the following:
The mainline skill in Pyrotechnics: C3 Enhanced Type: Number 18.Two skills in Morphology Optimization: Animal Form Activation and Human Form Activation.
The conditions for unlocking these two Morphology skills were relatively simple. For Animal Form Activation, he needed to sacrifice three powerful summoning beasts. Deidara easily fulfilled this by asking Nagato for three of the Animal Path's summons.
As for Human Form Activation, it required the Red Secret Technique. Deidara shrugged it off, thinking, Am I not close enough with Sasori to borrow that?
The current status of the Strongest Artist System was as follows:
Strongest Artist System
Host: DeidaraShock Value: 9000/21000Skill Points: 0Unlocked Skills:Pyrotechnics: Explosion Mastery Level 2, C2 Enhanced Great Dragon, Ultra-High Temperature, Greater Detonation Range, Timed Bomb, C3 Enhanced Type: Number 18Morphology Optimization: Morphology Optimization, Insect Form Mastery, Insect Form Activation, Human Form Mastery, Human Form Activation, Animal Form Mastery, Animal Form ActivationMaterial Science (Clay): Improved Clay, Lightning-Resistant Clay, Advanced ClayNinja Arts: Chakra Enhancement, Ninjutsu Enhancement, Genjutsu Resistance Level 1, Clayification
The bad news was that Deidara had reached Level 20. From now on, even elite jonin-level opponents wouldn't provide Shock Value; only quasi-Kage-level individuals or higher would suffice.
As Deidara pondered this, a long leg suddenly appeared in front of him, kicking away the clay figurine he had been meticulously crafting.
"Seriously, Deidara-nii! All you ever do is play with your clay!"
"Don't you know it's time for the gathering?" Kurotsuchi stood with her hands on her hips, her face clearly showing her dissatisfaction.
Both Deidara and Kurotsuchi had grown noticeably taller over the past six months, thanks to being in their rapid growth phase. Naturally, their legs had also lengthened.
By now, Deidara had been in this world for a year and a half. He was currently fourteen years old, while Kurotsuchi, two years younger, was twelve. Naruto and Sasuke, a year younger than Kurotsuchi, were eleven.
As for the "gathering," it was a suggestion from Deidara. Since it was the holiday season and the Akatsuki members were getting along relatively well, he proposed holding the first-ever Akatsuki annual dinner.
Not being on a mission, Deidara didn't wear the iconic black cloak with red clouds. Instead, he opted for casual attire and strolled leisurely through the streets with Kurotsuchi.
The streets were bustling with people, their faces filled with smiles. Amegakure was probably the most prosperous place in the ninja world right now. With so many powerful individuals guarding it, how could it not thrive?
Kurotsuchi clung familiarly to Deidara's left arm. Unlike most girls her age, she wasn't particularly interested in the various vendors and holiday goods around them.
Girls often matured faster than boys. Though she was undeniably still a little girl in terms of age, Kurotsuchi no longer saw herself that way. She believed she had already grown up.
"Deidara-nii, I'm about to be assigned to a team with a jonin instructor. Why don't you be my teacher?" Kurotsuchi suggested.
Deidara rolled his eyes. While it was true that twelve-year-old ninjas usually formed teams and were assigned a mentor, Kurotsuchi was already at jonin-level strength. Did she really need a teacher?
Besides, Deidara only knew clay art. How could he possibly guide anyone as a teacher? That would just be leading someone astray.
"If you're interested in this kind of thing, why don't you team up with Suigetsu and Karin?"
"You three don't need a mentor anyway," Deidara replied.
Kurotsuchi pouted. "Forget it then. I don't want to team up with that blue-haired guy, and I don't like that tomboy either."
"Why don't you like Suigetsu?" Deidara asked curiously.
Suigetsu seemed pretty interesting to him. Aside from being a chatterbox and carrying a giant sword around, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him.
"No reason!" Kurotsuchi huffed.
"Wait, isn't that Suigetsu over there?"
Speak of the devil—Deidara spotted a figure with a giant sword standing in front of a flower shop.
"Suigetsu, why are you buying flowers?" Deidara asked, walking over curiously.
Suigetsu accepted a bouquet from the shopkeeper. The flowers were vibrant and cheerful, clearly not the type meant for patients or memorials.
"I'm planning to confess to Haku tonight!" Suigetsu said with a grin.
Hiss!
Deidara couldn't help but take a sharp breath. Oh right, there was this whole drama. He had completely forgotten about it after egging Suigetsu on last time.
This was juicy! A major development!
"So, how have things been going with Haku lately?" Deidara asked, his eyes fixed on Suigetsu.
Suigetsu scratched the back of his head in frustration. "Ugh, not great."
"What happened?"
"It's all because of Zabuza! He keeps getting in the way. I can't even get a chance to talk to Haku!"
"But tonight, everyone will be at the dinner. I'll confess in front of everyone. Let's see how Zabuza stops me then!" Suigetsu said confidently, a sly smile on his face.
"Good luck! You've got this!" Deidara patted Suigetsu on the shoulder.
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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