Sometimes, the night seems to arrive especially quickly.
Naruto and the others ran anxiously along the road, traversing mountains and fields, and before they knew it, night had fallen.
However, they continued their pursuit. On the previous night, the starry sky overhead had stretched like a grand river of stars, visible from any other place.
"It's quite noisy."
In the Land of Wind, on that unfinished night from before, Logan gazed out through the gaps in the village's entrance and couldn't help but remark.
In the distance, most of the residential areas were in complete chaos. The roar of explosions struck the body of Sunagakure like heavy punches, one after another.
Panicked lights flickered on in patches, and the shouts of people carried over with the wind, blending into a cacophony of disorder.
From the moment Deidara unleashed his first explosion, creating such a scene hadn't required much effort. With Sunagakure's guards and elites now mobilized, the situation only escalated.
From Logan's vantage point, the specific details of what was happening on the horizon were hard to make out clearly. But through the explosions, he could almost picture Deidara's white figure riding his clay bird, arrogantly circling back and forth above the buildings. And then, there were the hands of yellow sand stretching into the air, desperately trying to grasp the invader.
Sasori listened to the uproar from Sunagakure, and is filled with countless emotions, but he remained unmoved. He calculated the time and muttered, "That guy Deidara is really useless. He's made me wait so long."
Logan had nothing to say to that, and just waited quietly. In the face of an unexpected incident, Sunagakure had diverted all its immediately available forces to respond, leaving the relatively quiet main entrance even more deserted.
Boom, boom!
The explosions continued intermittently, shaking the earth and sending debris flying from the buildings. Logan instinctively focused on sensing... until, not long after, the explosions stopped.
Hiruko creaked as it moved, and Sasori stepped out from the shadow of the wall, "It seems like it's almost done."
The explosions had indeed stopped. Logan wondered if he might have missed something, but the stirring of sand and stones on the ground, the howling wind, and the sound of flapping wings grew louder as they approached from the distance. He followed Sasori outside, and in the sky, he saw Deidara's figure riding the white bird gradually grew larger.
"Yo, Sasori-danna."
The giant clay bird landed on the ground. Despite its lifelike appearance, it had a dull expression. After the battle, its body was covered in large and small wounds, likely telling the tale of a hard-fought struggle.
Deidara, who was covered in dirt and bloodstains, greeted them with a grin, looking rather pleased with himself. He pointed to the Ichibi's Jinchuriki tied to the tail of the clay bird, "Mission accomplished!"
Then, as if to provoke him, he raised an eyebrow at Logan.
The Biju Capture Plan involved nine Biju, and the Akatsuki's core members numbered ten in total. Aside from the leader, Pain, that left exactly nine people to handle the targets.
"..."
In this way, the unwritten rule in Akatsuki is that one person is responsible for one Biju or one Jinchuuriki.
Logan had no interest in competing with Deidara over questions like, 'Have you ever defeated a Jinchuriki?' or 'Who's stronger?'. He glanced at the unconscious Gaara and casually remarked, "Impressive. But what happened to your arm?"
Deidara's expression immediately darkened.
Sasori's gaze lingered briefly on his partner's empty left sleeve. He didn't offer any words of concern, but just snorted, "Too slow."
His tone carried a hint of impatience, but Deidara didn't seem to mind. He shrugged, then said with a mix of resignation and seriousness in his voice, "Don't say that. This Ichibi's Jinchuuriki is pretty strong."
"That's why I told you to prepare thoroughly. You brought so little clay. What I hate most is waiting for others and making others wait."
Compared to Deidara's disheveled appearance, the unconscious Gaara looked even worse. There wasn't a single intact spot on his body, and his skin was peeling away like sand, covered in horrifying wounds left by the explosions.
"The result is what matters. Speaking of which, Sasori-danna, how did things go on your end?"
"Of course, I made all the necessary preparations."
"Oh."
Logan raised his hand, "I say, shouldn't we get moving? You've just kidnapped their Kazekage. If we wait any longer, the enraged Sunagakure's Ninja will come after us with everything they've got."
Sunagakure, which is now in complete disarray, had lost all semblance of nighttime tranquility. The entire village was in an uproar, with collapsed buildings, raging fires, cries and shouts blending together.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ninja and civilians were running around in confusion, not yet fully grasping the situation.
Meanwhile, among the towering cylindrical towers and low, flat-roofed houses, organized squads of shadowy figures were swiftly mobilizing, heading straight for the gate.
The chatting duo paused for a moment, and one of them nodded.
"Of course we know that."
Sasori turned decisively and walked into the passage beneath the wall.
Deidara bared his teeth at Logan in a mocking grin, then waved his hand. The clay bird, which is still carrying Gaara in its tail, flapped its wings to maintain low-altitude flight as it followed its master.
The corpses of the gate guards still lay where they had fallen, the only difference being that the blood on their clothes had long since dried and crusted over.
After getting outside the village, an endless desert stretched before them. The wind and sand had settled, leaving only the cold moonlight pouring down.
Emerging from the narrow entrance, the open expanse felt incredibly freeing.
As if the thick scent of blood clinging to them would finally fade, Logan exhaled deeply.
A few minutes later, a massive explosion erupted behind them.
Logan didn't look back. He knew it was Sasori's handiwork. The Sunagakure Ninja pursuing them had obviously triggered the trap he prepared.
There was a faint rumble of bricks and stones falling, and it can be imagined the easily defensible entrance might now be completely blocked. What had once been an advantage against invaders now worked against those trying to escape.
With a scoff, the two Akatsuki's members put their bamboo hats on their heads again.
Hiruko's bulky form left deep tracks in the sand, while the other figure walked lightly, leaving a trail of footprints. Their departure seemed no different from their arrival, steady, unhurried, silent in coming and going.
After tonight, the world would know about the Akatsuki.
…
The night deepened. Under a cloudless sky, the moon shone with unusual clarity.
Logan and the other two trudged through the sand, accompanied by the tireless flapping of the clay bird's wings.
"Raiden Hattori." Sasori's voice cut through the silence.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Logan was stunned for a moment and asked.
Deidara didn't react at all, looking like he was half-asleep and half-awake as he trudged along. Sasoriturned his head and glanced at his oblivious partner, clearly annoyed at having to be the one to handle formalities.
"Next, we have to send Ichibi to the predetermined location." Sasori said, "I believe you know what comes after, right?"
"Performing the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals?" Logan replied matter-of-factly, "In order to extract Ichibi from the Jinchuriki's body, the organization prepared a massive container to hold the Biju, didn't it?"
That Logan was privy to such critical intel, as it was information that would send shockwaves through the major nations, didn't surprise Sasori.
Getting straight to the point, he asked, "Since you understand all that… do you still plan to follow us further?"