"You're a member of the Akatsuki?" Temari exclaimed in shock. By now, the Akatsuki's actions had become widely known, making their name familiar to all.
"That's right," Deidara nodded casually.
"Could you take us to meet Sasori-senpai? Please!" Temari bowed deeply, her tone earnest.
"And why would you want that?" Deidara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ever since Sunagakure was destroyed, we've become like a tree without roots. Even our father, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, has disappeared."
"To survive, we've had no choice but to accept Danzō's conditions and live under Konoha's rule as vassals."
"But if it's Sasori-senpai, with his strength, he could surely help us!"
"Please!" Temari bowed again, her plea even more desperate this time.
The fall of Sunagakure had unfolded on two fronts. On one side, Rasa and the Sand ninja forces had been defeated on the battlefield by Konoha, with only a handful of survivors following Rasa into obscurity. On the other side, Sunagakure itself had been ambushed by Iwagakure. The attack, sudden and overwhelming, had left the village defenseless, resulting in the Sand villagers being taken as prisoners.
Later, when Konoha launched a counteroffensive against Iwagakure and drove them out of the Land of Wind, the Sand prisoners became captives of Konoha instead.
This was why the sibling trio—Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara—were now here. As orphans of Sunagakure, they had effectively become Danzō's assets. Their participation in this joint Chūnin Exam under the name of Sunagakure was nothing more than Danzō's attempt to bolster his influence.
"But Sasori killed your previous Kazekage. Isn't he a criminal in your eyes?" Deidara questioned.
"We don't have any other choice," Temari answered bitterly.
Surprisingly, Gaara, the dark-eyed boy with the gourd on his back, also stepped forward and bowed. "Please!" he said, his tone soft and uncharacteristically calm—nothing like the Gaara from the original story.
Oh, that's right. His One-Tail had already been extracted, Deidara suddenly remembered. He had been there when it happened.
But wait—why is Gaara still alive?
And for that matter, why is Rasa alive?
It was only now that Deidara realized these questions, though it was clear he wouldn't get answers anytime soon.
Oh well, it's just Rasa. What could he possibly do? Deidara dismissed the thought, deciding it wasn't worth his concern.
"Please!" Another bow, this time from Kankurō. Seeing his sister and brother bow, he couldn't help but be moved by their determination and joined them.
"Alright, follow me. But let me make one thing clear right now," Deidara said as he turned to lead the way.
"If you're hoping to rebuild Sunagakure, that's impossible. Sasori-nii will never agree to something like that."
"But if all you're looking for is a place to stay, I can agree to that right now. Just come to Amegakure."
Deidara's words were met with a sharp glare from Kurotsuchi, who was clearly displeased.
"What's the matter, Kurotsuchi?" Deidara asked, puzzled.
"Deidara-nii, don't you think something like guiding them could just be handled by a clone?" Kurotsuchi said sweetly, though her eyes sparkled with a dangerous light.
"Oh! Oh, right!" Deidara immediately caved, creating a Clay Clone to escort the sibling trio to Sasori.
Just as Deidara and Kurotsuchi were about to continue their stroll, another unexpected interruption occurred.
"Wait!" The cold, stoic Sasuke Uchiha approached them.
"And what do you want?" Kurotsuchi turned to face him.
But Sasuke, being the master of silent arrogance, ignored her completely and fixed his gaze on Deidara. "You're in the same organization as Itachi, aren't you?"
"That's correct," Deidara replied with a nod.
"Tell me everything you know about him," Sasuke demanded in a cold tone.
Deidara extended a hand toward Sasuke.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked as he walked over, curious.
"Information doesn't come for free, does it?" Deidara said matter-of-factly.
Seeing Sasuke's annoyed expression, Deidara waved a finger. "Don't even think about trying to take it by force. I could handle all of you with just one finger."
"You bastard! Who do you think you're looking down on?" Naruto shouted, rushing forward in anger. He wasn't actually planning to rob Deidara; he just couldn't stand being underestimated.
"Ow!" Naruto was sent flying back after just a couple of moves.
"Watch me! Multi Shadow Cl—"
Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto and held him down.
"Idiot! He's a member of the Akatsuki, which means he's an S-rank rogue ninja! Charging at him is suicide!"
S-rank rogue ninja!
Sakura's words were meant for Naruto, but they also made Sasuke realize the gravity of the situation. Someone who could be in the same organization as that man was far beyond his current level.
After all, Sasuke wasn't even a Chūnin yet. Even Kakashi, someone as powerful as he was, had once admitted that he was no match for Itachi.
"How much do you want?" Sasuke asked.
"Ten million ryō," Deidara stated without hesitation.
"Ten million?! That's outrageous!" Naruto protested loudly.
"We only earn about a thousand ryō from a D-rank mission. Ten million would be... uh, how many D-rank missions is that?" Naruto began counting on his fingers but couldn't figure it out.
"Idiot!"
"It's about ten thousand D-rank missions. Even if the three of us pooled our earnings, we'd still need to complete three thousand missions," Sakura explained, smacking Naruto on the head.
Naruto blinked. "Oh, I see."
"If we can do four D-rank missions a day, three thousand missions would take... uh, how many days is that?"
"Idiot! It's seven hundred and fifty days!"
"And how many years is that?"
Sakura: "..."
Ignoring Naruto's ramblings, Deidara turned back to Sasuke. "Don't think the price is too high. I'm already giving you a discount. Information about Itachi is worth every ryō."
Come on, information about the great Itachi Uchiha—how could it not be worth at least a third of Asuma's bounty?
"I don't have that much money," Sasuke admitted, looking a bit embarrassed.
The Uchiha clan's assets had long been reclaimed by the village. There was no way they'd leave anything for an orphan. If the village had any moral standards, the Uchiha massacre wouldn't have happened in the first place.
"Don't worry! I'm a generous man and have already thought of a solution for you," Deidara said, pulling out a pen and paper. After scribbling for a moment, he handed the document to Sasuke.
"What's this?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"In simple terms, it's a contract transferring your image rights and reputation to me for five million ryō," Deidara explained.
"I can use your likeness to make movies or write novels. Don't worry, it won't interfere with your training. I'll just have an actor use the Transformation Jutsu to look like you."
Sasuke was even more bewildered. He was a brilliant ninja, but when it came to things like this, he was completely clueless. It felt a bit off, but at the same time, it didn't sound like a bad deal.
"What's the matter? You're always talking about revenge, but you can't even make this small sacrifice?" Deidara taunted.
"Hmph! I'll kill that man no matter what!" Sasuke declared, signing his name on the contract.
"But that's only five million. What about the other five million?" Sasuke asked, realizing the issue.
"Don't worry! I've already thought of that too," Deidara said, pulling out another contract.
"All your whiskered, blonde teammate has to do is sign this, and we're good to go."
"This is for Sasuke, so of course I'll do it!" Naruto said without hesitation, signing his name immediately.
Deidara smiled as he collected both contracts.
"A pleasure doing business with you two!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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