Three days had passed since Izumi and her companions had taken flight on their magnificent ink-crafted birds, soaring through the skies toward their destination. The journey was nearing its end, with the distant mountains and forests coming into clearer view below. Five figures—Izumi, Sarutobi Muraki, Yamamoto Kawa, Akimichi Jiro, and their client—rode atop five soaring birds, their silhouettes gliding gracefully across the blue sky.
Far above them, hidden among the clouds, a strange white bird hovered at a distance, watching silently. Perched on its back was a boy with bright yellow hair tied into a playful ponytail. His sharp amber eyes narrowed as he observed the group below. A sly grin spread across his face.
"Oh, oh, oh," the boy muttered to himself with a cruel edge, "there's a lot of value in destroying these fools. They made us wait so long. If I hadn't been following them, they would have flown past unnoticed. But... it's truly annoying that they've also found a way to fly."
Without hesitation, the boy's hand plunged into the pouch at his waist. When he opened his palm, an eerie sight met the eyes of any onlooker: a mouth, complete with teeth and a pink tongue, was chewing incessantly right there on his palm.
After a few moments, the mouth spat out a small, smooth ball of white clay. With deft fingers, the boy began kneading the clay, shaping it carefully. When he finally opened his palm, several delicate models emerged—small, white figures shaped like dragonflies.
With a swift series of practiced hand seals, the boy's crafted dragonflies suddenly began to grow rapidly in size. Within seconds, the tiny sculptures transformed into real, flying dragonflies, buzzing ominously as they surged toward Izumi and her companions far below.
---
The sudden noise of the approaching dragonflies startled the group in mid-flight. Muraki squinted upwards and shouted, "Incoming!"
Izumi's eyes flashed with determination. Without wasting a second, she called out, "Ink Squid Bomb!"
Following her sharp hand seals, she took a deep breath and expelled a volley of squid-shaped ink bombs from her mouth. The black ink squid bombs expanded quickly in the air, growing large and fierce, speeding toward the oncoming white dragonflies.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The two opposing forces collided midair, causing tremendous explosions that showered the sky with splattered ink and dust.
The proximity of the blasts was too close for comfort. The shockwaves and debris caused some of the giant ink birds the group rode on to falter. Gradually, some of the birds' forms began to dissolve into ink before disappearing entirely.
"Ahhh!" The client screamed in alarm as his bird shattered beneath him, plummeting toward the earth. Yamamoto Kawa and others cried out similarly.
Muraki shouted urgently, "Izumi!"
Reacting instantly, Izumi reached into her sleeve and pulled out a pre-drawn sealing tag from her wrist. With a quick clap of her hands, she shouted the command, "Ninjutsu: Super Beast Imitation Art!"
Instantly, several giant ink birds materialized out of thin air and swooped in to catch the falling party members, cradling them safely as they descended. As they settled, Izumi called out confidently, "Leave the enemy to me! Everyone else, stay careful and stay low!"
Sarutobi Muraki nodded and cautioned, "Be careful out there."
---
Deidara, the yellow-haired boy, hovered above with a wicked grin, watching Izumi intently.
"Oh? Konoha has ninja who can fly now, huh?" he said, pointing at Izumi. "Let me show you my art!"
Izumi smiled coyly. "Little brother, don't cry when I beat you later."
Deidara scoffed, "Hmph! How many years older are you to call me 'little brother'? It's hard to say who'll be crying later! Maybe you won't even get the chance before I blow you to bits!"
Izumi gazed at Deidara thoughtfully.
Should I use genjutsu like Itachi? she pondered. That would end this too quickly. Not very fun. I want to savor this fight.
As for her team below, she thought, Let them manage themselves.
She licked her lips in anticipation and immediately began forming hand seals.
Deidara, too, began preparing his explosive clay bombs.
"Go!" he shouted, sending several white, bird-shaped bombs speeding toward Izumi.
Izumi took a deep breath and countered, "Ink Squid Bomb!"
A barrage of squid-shaped ink bombs surged forward, crashing into Deidara's white clay birds with a thunderous series of explosions.
Black ink rained down from the sky like a dark storm.
Deidara's eyes narrowed in fury as he saw ink splattering and smudging the pristine white surface of his bomb-birds. Tiny black spots defaced his creations in a way he found deeply insulting.
"Seriously! This person's ink has defiled my artwork. I will never forgive her!"
Izumi couldn't help but chuckle. "These bombs pack quite the punch."
Several of Deidara's bomb-birds managed to break through the ink and smoke, charging straight toward Izumi with unrelenting speed.
"How troublesome," she muttered.
Her Sharingan sprang open, the iconic red eye swirling as it tracked the incoming threat.
"My Lightning Release has the widest attack area. This should work."
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Countless bolts of crackling lightning erupted forward, filling the air with brilliant arcs.
The bird-shaped bombs struck the lightning blast and exploded instantly, falling harmlessly to the ground.
Deidara's fury boiled over. "Damn it! She found my weakness so fast! Curse you, Lightning Release ninja!"
Izumi laughed as she closed the gap between them. "Little brother, go home and drink your milk!"
Deidara growled, "How much older are you, really?! You're the one who should die! Watch me blow you away!"
As he prepared to detonate another bomb, his body suddenly froze mid-air.
He looked down, eyes widening in shock.
Dark ink had spread silently from earlier splatters, forming sealing tags that encased parts of his body.
His face drained of color as panic set in.
"When did she cast this Ninjutsu on me? Was it that ink from before? This ink can actually..."
Izumi shrugged playfully. "This isn't ordinary ink. Even if I told you what it is, you wouldn't understand."
Smiling brightly, she added, "Go home and drink your milk, kid!"
Before Deidara could react, Izumi swooped down and knocked him unconscious with a single punch.
She chuckled softly, "I won't kill you."
Tying him up in a humiliating position, she hummed a tune as she flew back toward the others.
---
Below, Sarutobi Muraki was locked in fierce combat with a powerful ninja from Iwagakure. Their battle was fierce and balanced, neither side willing to yield.
Nearby, Yamamoto Kawa and Akimichi Jiro fought two other Iwagakure ninja their own age. The clash of weapons and techniques rang out sharply through the air.
Izumi arrived just in time to lend aid.
Spotting an opening during the fight, she launched a swift sneak attack, knocking one of the enemy ninjas unconscious with precise strikes.
Only a young Iwagakure girl remained, her expression twisted in frustration. "That brat Deidara actually lost?" she spat in disbelief before turning and fleeing.
Akimichi Jiro glanced at the captured Deidara and nodded. "Let's hurry to Master's side."
"Right." The group gathered the two captives and rushed to Muraki's location.
The Iwagakure ninja who had survived grimaced at the sight of their captured comrades.
Sarutobi Muraki wasted no time. Standing tall and confident, he began negotiations.
Eventually, the Iwagakure ninja agreed to pay a sum for the return of their comrades and abandoned their mission altogether.
---
When Deidara finally regained consciousness, he glared furiously at Izumi. "That hateful woman! I'll kill her!"
The female Iwagakure ninja nearby smothered a laugh behind her hand. "That's hilarious! When I tell Kurotsuchi that her senior brother got tied up like this, it'll be priceless, hehehe."
Deidara's face flushed with anger.
"No!"
"So!"
"Okay, okay! Whatever cosmetics or food you want, I'll give it to you!"
"Mm-hmm, that's more like it!"
---
Sarutobi Muraki watched as the Iwagakure ninja departed, shaking his head thoughtfully.
"They actually gave up. Those two kids must be very important to them. Never mind. Our village has plenty of geniuses too!"
The medicinal herbs were handed over to the merchant's youngest son, who proudly vowed to cure his father.
But unknown to the group, the merchant was not truly ill. It was a cruel family drama.
The father had been pretending to be sick all along.
The eldest son had destroyed the herbs in hopes of hastening his father's death, while the younger son had secretly destroyed most herbs as well—but left just one plant, loudly proclaiming his filial devotion and delivering the herb himself.
In truth, most of the family fortune was slated to go to an illegitimate son, who had been posing as a servant in the household.
The two older sons would receive only a small portion.
After witnessing the complicated family affairs unfold, the wealthy merchant was careful to arrange everything more clearly.
The group could finally relax and enjoy the rest of their stay, relieved that the mission had been successfully completed.
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