Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village. While protecting the village, Gaara's body had grown weak, and he fell from the sky. As he descended, he injected a trace of chakra into the bone Rorin had given him earlier.
The shinobi of the Hidden Sand Village were in a panic as they watched Gaara falling. Kankuro cried out in alarm, "Gaara!"
Deidara smirked and slowly flew toward where Gaara was falling, intending to seize him. But just as the bird's tail was about to coil around Gaara, a figure suddenly appeared.
Rorin caught the falling Gaara midair, his expression calm.
"You… why didn't you notify me earlier?"
The exhausted Gaara forced a faint smile. He had no energy left, his body showing dry, cracked patterns like weathered sand.
Below, the Hidden Sand shinobi stared in shock and uncertainty. They couldn't tell whether this sudden arrival was friend or foe. But just before Rorin and Gaara landed, they finally recognized him.
Kankuro exclaimed in delight, "It's Rorin! Kaguya Rorin from the Hidden Leaf Village! That's great—reinforcements!"
The surrounding sand shinobi also broke into relieved smiles.
Rorin landed steadily while holding Gaara, then looked up at Deidara in the sky, a grin forming at the corner of his mouth.
Deidara, hovering above, looked extremely displeased, glaring angrily at the sudden intruder who had ruined his plans. He clenched his teeth in frustration.
Kankuro, Baki, and the others quickly approached. Before long, they gathered around Rorin and Gaara. Rorin handed Gaara over to Kankuro.
"Take him for treatment," Rorin said softly.
Kankuro accepted Gaara with gratitude, but his brow furrowed as he glanced at the enemy still circling above.
Rorin noticed his concern—he was clearly worried that Deidara might drop another C3 bomb like before.
"Don't worry," Rorin reassured him. "Now that I'm here, I'll drive him back."
Hearing this, the heavily injured Gaara slowly opened his eyes and looked at Rorin. At first, he hadn't contacted him because he didn't want to trouble him. This was his village—protecting it was his duty as Kazekage. But in the end, he had no choice. Realizing he might fall into the hands of the Akatsuki, he finally sent a message to Rorin.
Now that Rorin had promised to help defend the village, warmth filled his heart. Even so, he still worried about him. But in his current state, there was nothing he could do. His consciousness quickly faded, and Gaara fell completely unconscious.
Sensing something was wrong, Kankuro turned to take Gaara away for treatment. After a few steps, he looked back at Rorin.
"Be careful!"
Rorin nodded, no longer watching them as they departed. His gaze shifted back to Deidara in the sky.
With a thought, he connected to the system.
'System, give me another nanoscale biological bug like before.'
[Understood, host.]
A faint glimmer appeared in Rorin's left hand. He stared at Deidara and muttered to himself,
"Flying, huh? That used to be troublesome… but now…"
Suddenly, the Curse Mark spread across his body, quickly gathering on his back. In moments, a pair of fleshy wings grew from his sides. Now able to control the distribution and intensity of natural energy in his body, his appearance remained unchanged aside from the wings.
Flapping them, Rorin slowly rose into the air. Deidara, watching him transform into a winged figure, showed a hint of surprise.
Soon, the two faced each other midair—Deidara standing atop his clay bird, Rorin hovering opposite him.
Deidara frowned and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here? Judging by the mark on your shoulder, you're from the Hidden Leaf Village, right?"
Rorin didn't bother replying. He charged straight at Deidara, irritating him. Deidara quickly maneuvered his bird to evade.
Since it was his first time fighting in the air, Rorin struggled to control his direction. It was also his first time moving with wings—his trajectory veered slightly, and he missed his attack.
Below, Baki watched with a strange expression. He remembered Rorin—back then, he only knew him as someone with the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai who fought using bones. But after just over a year, Rorin now had wings.
"Good thing he's our ally," Baki muttered. "Otherwise, today would've been a disaster."
Meanwhile, Rorin steadied himself midair, frowning at Deidara. If he wanted to hit him, he'd need greater speed.
Glancing at the wings behind him, he suddenly smiled.
"Looks like this time… it's the real Blue Bird."
Before, when he used Blue Bird, it relied on bone wings formed from Shikotsumyaku to boost speed. But now—these were real, living wings.
Eight Gates—Gate of View, open!
Blue lightning surged across his body once more, making him resemble a vivid azure bird.
True Blue Bird!
Rorin shot toward Deidara like a bolt of lightning—a streak of blue flashing across the sky.
On the other side, Deidara's expression changed to panic. The moment Rorin turned green earlier, he had already sensed something was wrong. More importantly, he had run out of prepared explosives. All he could do now was escape.
In an instant, Rorin appeared beside him. Lightning surged from his right hand toward Deidara's arm, while his left struck at his neck—successfully planting the nanoscale biological bug.
As for why he chose the neck, it was simple—Deidara was the kind of lunatic who might lose an arm at any moment. But his neck? Unless he did something truly suicidal, it wasn't going anywhere.
Deidara and his bird were sent flying into the distance. Rorin stabilized himself in the air, calmly waiting.
Now he just had to wait for Deidara to retreat. Hopefully, he could use him to gather some intelligence on the Akatsuki.
Meanwhile, Deidara regained control midair, already injured. He glared viciously at Rorin, then smirked.
"What an idiot… he accidentally sent me flying out of danger. Damn it, looks like this mission's a failure. Time to retreat."
Deidara guided his clay bird farther and farther away, soon arriving at the rendezvous point with Sasori.
"What happened? Where's the One-Tail Jinchūriki?" Sasori demanded.
"Something unexpected came up. We can only withdraw for now," Deidara said, shaking his head in regret.
"Hmph. Knew you weren't reliable. Didn't I tell you to prepare more thoroughly?" Sasori complained.
Glancing back at the Hidden Sand Village, the so-called "art duo" left in disappointment.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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