In the early morning of Amegakure, light filtered through the thick clouds and the gaps between buildings, falling onto the corridors of the base.
Renya and Danzō walked out of their room, preparing to familiarize themselves with the surroundings.
After only a few steps, at the corner ahead in the corridor, two figures blocked their path, openly sizing them up.
On the left was a blond teenage boy wearing a black robe with red clouds. A miniature scope covered his right eye, and on his forehead was a rogue ninja headband from Iwagakure. He was the self-detonating brat—Deidara.
He stood with one hand on his hip, the other pinching a lump of slightly wriggling white clay, his gaze unfriendly as it scanned Renya up and down, especially lingering on his eyes.
On the right was a red-haired young man who looked like a teenager. He said nothing, merely watching them quietly.
He was the genius puppet master from Sunagakure—Sasori of the Red Sand!
"Hey, you guys are the new members who joined the organization, right?" Deidara locked his gaze onto Renya.
"I heard you're from the Uchiha clan?"
Ever since he was defeated by Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu, he had developed a stress reaction toward the Uchiha.
Fortunately, the Uchiha clan had been wiped out, and aside from Itachi, he would hardly encounter another Uchiha. Otherwise, Deidara definitely wouldn't be able to handle it…
From Hidan, Deidara learned that two new members had joined the organization, one of whom possessed the Sharingan. So he brought Sasori along to cause trouble.
Shimura Danzō stood behind Renya. Some overconfident fool had appeared.
He hadn't expected that on just the second day after joining the organization, Renya would already be targeted by his colleagues.
Fortunately, they were targeting Renya and had nothing to do with him.
Danzō was very clear about his position—to be as inconspicuous as possible within the organization.
That way, no matter what inhumane things his good friend did, it would have nothing to do with him.
Even if someone brought it up, they would only mention Uchiha Renya. No one would ever mention the embarrassing name "Tonton"…
"More or less." Renya didn't deny it. Yesterday he had already activated his Mangekyō in front of Pain, so denying it now was pointless.
"Uchiha Renya, I challenge you!"
Deidara pointed at Renya and spoke seriously.
He, a genius from Iwagakure and a fanatic of explosive art, had been utterly defeated by Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu without any resistance.
He refused to accept it, so he wanted to challenge another Uchiha to prove himself!
"Let's not, okay?" Renya said helplessly. "I'm not very good at using genjutsu."
At this moment, Deidara looked only about fifteen or sixteen years old. Renya truly didn't want to bully a kid.
If word got out, wouldn't he lose face?
"You bastard, are you looking down on me?!"
Deidara instantly flew into a rage.
"Looking down on me?! I'll make you understand what true art is!"
Renya: …
Wait, what did he even say?
He wasn't looking down on him at all—he was just stating the facts.
He had no idea why Deidara was so angry…
Teenage boys in their rebellious phase were really hard to deal with!
"Uchiha bastard! Let me show you true art! Hah!"
Completely enraged by Renya's nonchalant attitude, Deidara's eyes flashed with the humiliating memory of being defeated by Itachi.
He suddenly threw the clay in his hand forward. The lump of white clay rapidly expanded and transformed midair into several buzzing clay spiders, which rushed toward Renya at incredible speed!
The clay spiders instantly closed in on Renya and exploded!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions engulfed Renya's position. Smoke, dust, and rubble scattered everywhere, leaving the dim corridor in ruins.
Deidara looked at the center of the explosion, a smug smile appearing on his face.
"Hmph! Pathetically weak! This is the price of underestimating me!"
From the smoke, a figure staggered out—it was Renya.
He looked utterly miserable: his clothes were tattered, covered in scorch marks and tears. Multiple "wounds" on his body were "bleeding," his face "pale," his breathing "labored."
"Cough… cough… so this is… the art of the Akatsuki…" Renya said "with difficulty," his voice "weak."
"Hahaha! See that?! This is my art! A fleeting brilliance! The Uchiha's Sharingan? Before true art, it's nothing!"
Seeing Renya in such a miserable state, Deidara burst into triumphant laughter, the pent-up frustration in his heart seemingly swept away.
He glanced at the silent Sasori below and Danzō in the distance, raising his chin in pride.
His defeat by Uchiha Itachi had only been an accident. Since he could defeat Uchiha Renya, he believed he could handle Uchiha Itachi as well!
However, just as Deidara was at the peak of his pride, immersed in the pleasure of revenge and proving his art—
"Crack!"
A faint sound, like glass shattering, suddenly echoed in his mind.
Deidara's laughter stopped abruptly.
Immediately after, the scene before his eyes began to distort and shatter!
The exhilarating throwing, hand seals, explosions… none of it had ever happened!
"This… this is…?!" Deidara's pupils shrank sharply, the smug expression on his face instantly replaced by shock.
He was still standing in that dim corridor, not having moved a single step.
The clay in his hand remained the same slightly wriggling lump as before, even maintaining the shape it had when he first took it out.
Genjutsu? He had fallen into genjutsu again!
The previously "injured" Uchiha Renya stood less than a meter in front of him, still wearing an intact black robe, still smiling.
Forget serious injuries—his clothes weren't even wrinkled.
The only change was that his black eyes had turned into the three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Y-you… didn't you say you weren't good at genjutsu?!"
Deidara's voice was dry.
He had been caught in genjutsu without even realizing it the entire time.
And this was "not good at genjutsu"?!
Damn it, this guy definitely hadn't told the truth!
Saying that before the fight was clearly to mislead him!
"I really am not that good at it."
Renya wasn't lying. Compared to his other abilities, genjutsu truly wasn't that powerful.
Deidara: …
Are all Uchiha like this?
Do they not realize how pretentious they sound?
He believed that once Uchiha Itachi returned from his mission, he would definitely be interested in this suddenly appearing clan member.
He was really looking forward to the scene of two smug Uchiha meeting!
...
At this moment, in Konohagakure.
"Itachi-san, what should we do next?"
Kisame Hoshigaki asked softly.
Uchiha Itachi glanced in the direction of the Uchiha clan compound, then withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice:
"Capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and at the same time observe Konoha's defensive strength."
And also see how his younger brother had grown… and whether the higher-ups of the village had kept their promise.
But he didn't say those latter words out loud.
"Understood."
Kisame had no objections to Itachi's proposal.
The two disguised themselves as shinobi from Kirigakure and walked through the streets of Konoha.