Everyone had just crawled out of the pitch-black underground cave and hadn't yet adjusted to the blinding light.
"They're here."
Naruto stopped abruptly, tilting his head slightly toward the sky.
High in the distant sky, a giant clay bird burst through the clouds.
Standing atop the bird's back were two figures clad in black cloaks with red clouds: Deidara, and Sasori of the Red Sand hidden inside Hiruko.
Crouched at Deidara's feet was a White Zetsu clone, clinging tightly to the bird's back while peeking out cautiously.
"They really are over here!"
Deidara looked down condescendingly at the group below, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
Beside him, the White Zetsu clone cautiously poked its head out for a look before shrinking back.
"I told you earlier, that Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's sensory ability is terrifying, so I didn't dare get any closer..."
"...now that they're found, my mission is complete."
"Shut up, you coward!"
Deidara cursed impatiently, his lips curling into a cruel smirk as he maneuvered the giant clay bird into a steep dive toward Naruto.
"Now witness true art, hm!"
On the ground...
...Naruto didn't even bother removing his hands from his coat pockets, merely turning his head to glance at the somewhat dazed young girl beside him.
"Go on, Hikari."
"Let me see your strength," Naruto instructed in an even tone.
"Yes."
Uchiha Hikari stepped forward without a moment's hesitation, her tattered dark blue robe fluttering in the wind.
As he dove, Deidara spotted the figure stepping up to block their path.
"Huh? A little girl?"
Deidara froze for a second before bursting into hysterical laughter.
"Hey, hey! Has the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki lost his mind from fear?"
"He actually sent a brat out to throw her life away?"
"That's not very gentlemanly of him, hm!"
However, right in the middle of his wild laughter...
...the girl on the ground snapped her head up.
Her pitch-black pupils instantly flared crimson, three tomoe spinning violently before locking into an eerie Mangekyo Sharingan pattern.
From hundreds of meters away, her eyes locked firmly onto Deidara mid-flight.
"The Sharingan?!"
Deidara's laughter cut off instantly.
As an Akatsuki member—especially after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Itachi Uchiha—he harbored an unforgettable hatred and intense wariness toward those eyes.
"Another Uchiha?!"
"Hmph, I don't care who you are..."
Far from breaking eye contact, Deidara's face twisted with manic excitement, his gaze turning fanatical.
"To defeat Itachi, I've trained my left eye relentlessly for years—I can see right through genjutsu now!"
"A genjutsu from this distance is completely useless against me, hm!"
"Die!"
Brimming with confidence, he thrust his hand into his pouch to grab explosive clay, eager to deliver a crushing blow and show them true art.
However...
...Hikari's pupils dilated below.
Tsukuyomi!
In an instant, the colors of the world inverted.
Deidara froze mid-motion as he reached for his clay.
His prized resistance to genjutsu proved as fragile as paper before Tsukuyomi, the absolute pinnacle of mental attacks.
He couldn't withstand it for even a single second.
Deidara's eyes rolled back into his head, and he pitched headfirst off the bird's back.
Deprived of his chakra supply, the giant clay bird reverted into a lifeless lump, plummeting toward the ground.
"What an idiot!"
Sasori of the Red Sand, who had been observing from beside him, was thoroughly appalled.
"Daring to make eye contact with an Uchiha... falling for a genjutsu in an instant?!"
Though cursing under his breath, his reaction was lightning-fast.
Several chakra threads shot out from Hiruko, snagging the falling Deidara in midair.
Boom!
The giant clay bird and the two Akatsuki members crashed into the wasteland dunes, sending a towering cloud of dust into the sky.
Splat.
An insignificant squelch was lost amidst the chaos.
The White Zetsu clone crouching on the bird's back didn't even get a chance to scream before being crushed into a puddle of white slime.
As the dust settled...
...Hiruko crawled out from the crater, carrying the unconscious Deidara on its back.
"A genjutsu capable of taking Deidara down instantly..."
"...are you related to Itachi Uchiha, little girl?"
He glared at Hikari standing nearby, his mechanical joints clicking ominously.
"In that case, I'll convert you into one of my human puppets... you should make an exquisite addition to my collection."
Hiruko hinged its maw open, spraying a torrential hail of poisoned needles straight toward Hikari.
Facing the blanket of poisoned needles, Hikari didn't retreat an inch.
Her hands blurred as she wove seals at blinding speed.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Wall!"
A blazing wall of fire erupted instantly, engulfing the needles and melting them down in the intense heat.
Without missing a beat, Hikari locked her gaze onto Hiruko's heavy armored shell.
Amaterasu!
Pitch-black flames ignited out of thin air on Hiruko's outer armor.
"What is this?!"
Sasori's mind raced in shock.
He tried smothering the fire with sand, then attempted to disperse it with chakra, but the black flames refused to go out.
Instead, they spread at a terrifying speed, engulfing the entire Hiruko puppet in a roaring black inferno.
Even the puppet shell—specially reinforced to withstand most ninjutsu—proved completely useless against Amaterasu.
"Damn it... this fire won't extinguish!"
Realizing Hiruko was about to be reduced to ash and that the black flames were spreading toward his core...
...Sasori made a split-second decision.
Hiruko's back split open, a scroll unrolled, and his true puppet body—emblazoned with the kanji for "Scorpion"—launched out.
The chakra threads extending from his fingers grabbed the unconscious Deidara, attempting to escape like a cicada shedding its skin using the explosive recoil.
"The intel was wrong!"
"These people are monsters!"
"Retreat!"
Sasori no longer possessed any desire to fight.
The blonde kid hadn't even raised a finger yet, and a mere subordinate had instantly neutralized Deidara and destroyed his Hiruko shell.
This wasn't a capture mission... it was suicide!
"Trying to leave?"
Naruto, who had been watching the spectacle unfold, curled his lips into a cold smirk.
Having probed White Zetsu's memories earlier, he was fully aware of the value these Akatsuki members held.
One possessed the rare Explosion Release Bloodline Limit, while the other possessed master-class puppetry technology.
They were precisely the talents his faction urgently required.
Therefore...
"...since you're already here, don't bother leaving."
Clatter.
Several golden chains erupted from behind Naruto like lightning, perfectly cutting off Sasori's escape vector.
"What?!"
Sasori only had time to gasp in shock.
One chain whipped around like a golden serpent, instantly binding the unconscious Deidara tight.
Another chain was even more precise, bypassing the hidden blades on Sasori's frame to wrap tightly around his true puppet body and lock onto the core in his chest.
The sealing formulas flared to life instantly.
The potent sealing technique severed the chakra connection between his core and the puppet vessel.
Sasori's puppet body instantly went limp, hanging helpless like a broken marionette.
The confrontation ended in the blink of an eye.
From Deidara's arrogant entrance to both of them being bound like trophies, less than two minutes had passed.
"Haa..."
Hikari dropped to one knee on the sand, covering her bleeding eyes as her chest heaved with heavy breaths.
She had once been raised as a weapon, having multiple Mangekyo Sharingan ocular jutsu transplanted onto her body via Transcription Seals to adapt to different combat scenarios.
Yet unleashing Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu in rapid succession remained an immense strain on a body that had only just reawakened.
Naruto walked up beside her, nodding approvingly.
"Good job."
"For your first fight, you pass."
Hearing his praise, Hikari's tense nerves finally loosened, and a faint glint of joy flickered across her cold, distant eyes.
Nearby, Sai skillfully unrolled a scroll.
"Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitation Drawing!"
A massive ink hawk soared out from the paper, clutching the bound Sasori and Deidara in its talons.
"Alright, our team is set."
"Time to head back to the Northern Territory."