Several more months passed.
It had now been a full year since Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was defeated.
Midnight. The moon hung high in the branches—yet another full-moon night.
Within the Land of Fire stood a lavish palace. On its left side rose a massive clock tower. The Western-style design looked somewhat out of place among the surrounding Japanese-inspired buildings, but the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had always loved collecting such things.
Yes—this was once the Daimyō's own residence.
Bong! Bong! Bong!
As the clock struck midnight, its heavy chimes reverberated through the empty palace, echoing in a way that made the atmosphere feel eerily strange.
When the tolling ceased, ten figures appeared simultaneously within the palace.
"Looks like everyone's punctual this time," Hidan said arrogantly, scythe slung over his shoulder—though to a stranger, he might've seemed like the leader himself.
"Not a bad choice of meeting spot," another voice remarked.
Deidara snorted. "Hah, a few years ago, no one would've even dreamed of gathering here. This place used to be the residence of the most powerful man in the Land of Fire."
At Naruto's request, Akatsuki's gathering spot this time had been set in the Daimyō's former palace.
"Shame there's nowhere to hang upside down anymore," Deidara muttered.
"If you really want to dangle, you could always try the palace ceiling," Sasori—usually reserved—said for once.
Deidara tilted his head back, glancing at the high vaulted ceiling. He compared the distance, then shook his head. "Too high. Takes all the fun out of it, eh, little Sasori?"
"If you call me that again, I'll turn you into a puppet," Sasori replied, voice flat but with a subtle undercurrent that hadn't been there before.
Ever since acquiring Isshiki's scientific legacy, Sasori had remodeled his body once more. He was no longer simply a puppet—he had become a puppet-humanoid hybrid.
Deidara only smirked, feigning mock fear.
"...Naruto." Nagato finally spoke, cutting through the noise. "You called us here for a reason, didn't you?"
"Yeah, yeah," Deidara and Hidan chimed in, noisy as ever. "You activated the rings' communication link to summon us here. Must be important, right?"
"As peace ambassadors, we're very busy people."
"Pfft—" Kisame couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. "Busy? Sure. Everyone knows about Akatsuki's genius demolition artist. Didn't you blow up two entire mountains recently? Word reached even me all the way in the Land of Water."
Deidara beamed proudly. "Hahahaha! Didn't think my fame had spread that far already, yeah."
Hidan tilted his head, thinking. "Deidara, ever consider the possibility… he wasn't actually praising you?"
"Shut up or I'll let you taste my new bombs!" Deidara snapped, hands already reaching into his pouch.
"Tch. What's there to brag about? A technique that fizzles out the moment it meets Lightning Release," Hidan scoffed, clasping his hands behind his head, utterly nonchalant.
Recently, Hidan had been training in Yang Release. Partly to improve his taijutsu—his fight against Isshiki had made it painfully clear how weak he really was. No ninjutsu, lousy taijutsu—if not for his immortality and the power of Jashin's curse technique, he'd have been one-shotted instantly. He had to toughen his body.
And partly to accelerate his regeneration. That way, if anyone messed with him, he could stab himself through the heart over and over again, killing his opponent each time via curse.
Because why not? That was just how he played.
"No, no, no," Deidara shook his finger, smirking smugly. "Those days are over. My clay bombs no longer fear Lightning Release, yeah."
His explosions had always been strong, but lightning was his natural weakness. Even weak lightning techniques could neutralize his clay, turning his bombs into duds. It was the one flaw in his otherwise perfect art.
But now, after inheriting Isshiki's knowledge, he'd overcome that weakness. His "art" had ascended to a whole new level.
"Sasori… is that true?" Konan asked.
Deidara's clay bombs being vulnerable to electricity was no secret. If that limitation was truly gone, he'd become far more dangerous—like a walking weapons factory.
"Yeah. The brat really did find a way around Lightning Release," Sasori admitted. Then added, "And the destructive power is respectable, too."
Deidara lifted his chin proudly, face saying I'm amazing, shower me with praise already.
Then Sasori, as if reminded of something, produced a scroll. With a flick of his wrist and a puff of smoke, a new puppet appeared.
It looked just like the old Hiruko—but its design and material were entirely different. Under the moonlight, its body gleamed with metallic luster.
He called it Hiruko II.
"So this is your new puppet, eh, Sasori-nii? You've been sneaking around all secretive lately just to make this thing?" Deidara circled it like a curious child, hand reaching out to touch—only for Sasori to smack it away, hard.
It looked exactly like someone trying to touch a luxury car and getting slapped away by its furious owner.
"Ahh, that hurt, Sasori-nii," Deidara whined, clutching his swelling hand. The new modifications had made Sasori's strikes much heavier.
"Idiot. Never touch a puppeteer's work without permission," Sasori snapped, pointing at the brightly marked joints of Hiruko II. "That's poison. Even the leader couldn't neutralize it. Unless you want to die, keep your hands to yourself."
With that, he climbed inside the puppet, returning to his old Hiruko-like appearance.
"Poison, huh? Not my thing," Deidara muttered, casually inching a few steps away before turning to Kisame. "Hey, hey, shark-face—what've you been working on this past year?"
Kisame scratched his head. "Just some body training. Picked up a few taijutsu moves."
"Lame, yeah."
"What about you, Kakuzu-ossan?"
Before Kakuzu could answer, Hidan shot his hand up eagerly. "Ooh, I know, I know!"
"Kakuzu-ossan exchanged knowledge with some guy named Shennong. Learned a jutsu that lets him integrate bloodline limits. Now, as long as he gets someone's heart, he can use their kekkei genkai."
"Whoa, cool!" Deidara exclaimed, eyes shining with envy.
"Brat… next time, I'll make sure to rip your heart out," Kakuzu growled.
"Then tell me, Kakuzu-ossan," Hidan grinned wickedly. "Which heart will you take? My devout heart for Jashin-sama? My compassionate heart for saving all souls? Or my loyal, unwavering heart of faith?"
Naruto could only stare in speechless exasperation at the group.
The Akatsuki members were chatting away happily—like students sharing summer vacation stories on the first day back at school.
No one even remembered why they'd gathered in the first place.
Please drop some power stones support me at my
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL