Land of Grass.
Deidara sat napping on a large rock, while Sasori was meticulously maintaining his puppet at the side.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of footsteps came from not far away.
Deidara looked up, then said impatiently: "Hey, why did it take so long? We've been waiting for almost the whole afternoon, un!"
Juzo Biwa, walking toward Deidara, smiled: "Encountered a little trouble on the way!"
Undoubtedly.
The owner of the footsteps was none other than the other Akatsuki team, Itachi and Juzo Biwa.
Deidara asked: "Did you run into ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages?"
Walking up to them, Juzo Biwa stabbed the Kubikiribochō (Executioner's Blade) into the ground: "Not that, just ran into a few Grass Ninja."
Hearing it was Grass Ninja, Deidara lost interest.
Juzo Biwa said casually: "Those guys from the Hidden Grass Village aren't good at anything else, but they are quite skilled at intelligence gathering. The 'Box of Ultimate Bliss' just appeared in the Land of Demons, and they already received the intelligence."
"Box of Ultimate Bliss?!" Pausing, Deidara said: "That Muku kid from the Grass Ninja, related to the 'Upper String'?"
Juzo Biwa nodded: "After the great battle in the Land of Grass, the Grass Ninja have been looking for him. Recently, it is heard that he showed up in the Land of Demons."
Deidara smiled: "After hiding for so long, it seems he finally couldn't hide anymore, un!"
Juzo Biwa said: "Mixing with those monsters from 'Upper String', the Leader won't let him off. I heard Kakuzu and Hidan have already gone to the Land of Demons!"
Deidara asked: "Oh, are they going to kill him?"
Juzo Biwa shook his head.
He clearly didn't know what specific orders Nagato gave to Kakuzu and Hidan.
Deidara and Juzo Biwa chatted idly about this and that, while Sasori at the side continued to focus on maintaining his puppet, and Itachi remained silent, with absolutely no intention of joining the idle chatter.
A moment later, Deidara complained: "Hey, isn't everyone here? Can we set off now?"
Sasori, having completed the daily maintenance of the puppet, put away his tools and said: "Don't rush, there are still Hiruko and Ranmaru."
Deidara was stunned for a moment, then said unhappily: "Sasori-brother, it's just dealing with one Orochimaru, aren't the four of us enough? We still have to wait for Hiruko and Ranmaru?"
Obviously, their assembly this time was to deal with Orochimaru and seize the Yin Nine-Tails in Orochimaru's hands!
Juzo Biwa said: "Haven't you heard the rumors in the black market? That guy Orochimaru used the forbidden jutsu 'Impure World Reincarnation' developed by the Hidden Leaf's Second Hokage to enslave the Hidden Leaf's First, Second, and Fourth Hokage. He isn't that easy to deal with!"
Deidara muttered: "Being enslaved by the forbidden jutsu he developed himself, the Hidden Leaf's Second Hokage is really disgraceful enough! But speaking of which, Sasori-brother, you seem to have made the Third Kazekage and Fourth Kazekage into human puppets too. You and Orochimaru are indeed worthy of being former partners, un!"
Sasori's mouth twitched: "Hmph!"
Frankly speaking, he really had some thoughts of wrestling with Orochimaru this time. He wanted to test whether the Third Kazekage and Fourth Kazekage human puppets in his hands were more powerful, or the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Hokage 'Impure World Reincarnation bodies' in Orochimaru's hands were more powerful.
Just then, everyone's vision darkened.
Looking up, they found a giant flying bird appearing in the sky above. Undoubtedly, that was Hiruko's flying chimera beast.
Seeing this, Sasori said: "Everyone is here, let's set off!"
Deidara immediately threw out two balls of explosive clay.
Bang bang
Accompanied by two bursts of white smoke, the two balls of explosive clay that fell to the ground instantly turned into two huge, pure white explosive flying birds.
Sasori and Deidara leaped onto one, while Juzo Biwa and Itachi leaped onto the other. Subsequently, the two explosive flying birds flapped their wings, carrying the four into the air, catching up with the fusion beast in front!
...
Hidden Leaf Village.
Hokage Office.
Jiraiya reported the matter of Naruto possibly being controlled by his dark side and slipping away privately during the return journey to Tsunade in full detail.
The Yin Nine-Tails was still lost outside, and now the Yang Nine-Tails was missing without a trace. After listening, Tsunade was so angry that she directly rubbed her temples.
Yakumo hurriedly said: "Tsunade-sensei, the responsibility lies with me this time. I didn't watch Naruto closely."
Tsunade waved her hand: "Now is not the time to assign blame!"
The Third Hokage took the pipe out of his mouth and asked Yakumo: "Regarding the 'Heart Demon', your Kurama Clan should have some understanding, right?"
Because the Kurama Clan's Bloodline Limit 'Five Senses Manipulation' involved reality and illusion, Kurama clansmen who awakened 'Five Senses Manipulation' were extremely prone to split personalities, leading to the appearance of a 'Heart Demon'.
Therefore, the more outstanding the clansman in the Kurama Clan, the easier it was for a 'Heart Demon' to appear.
However, due to the gradual decline of the Kurama Clan in recent decades, before Yakumo, no clansman had awakened the Bloodline Limit for a long time. Thus, only a knowledgeable elder like the Third Hokage knew these secrets of the Kurama Clan.
"Yes!"
Facing the Third Hokage's inquiry, Yakumo did not hide anything and stated some basic situations regarding the 'Heart Demon'.
With Yakumo's description of the 'Heart Demon', the few people present had a rough understanding of the Heart Demon controlling Naruto.
Tsunade said: "So, Naruto's 'Heart Demon' has a personality opposite to his, and is very likely a guy who clearly distinguishes kindness and hatred, and seeks revenge for the smallest grievance!"
Jiraiya added a sentence: "And is very good at enduring and disguising."
Utatane Koharu said: "He left without saying goodbye on the sea, which shows he distrusts the village and may even harbor some kind of hostility!"
Yakumo recalled for a moment and added: "He might be stronger than Naruto. I could clearly feel that his chakra was more abundant than Naruto's!"
Although the 'Ketsuryugan' in Yakumo's eye sockets was a pair of genjutsu eyes and did not possess the perspective ability like the Koryugan, Byakugan, or Hogan, just by feeling, Yakumo vaguely perceived that Menma's chakra volume was a head taller than Naruto's.
Tsunade sighed and summarized: "In other words, the opponent is a brat with an extreme personality, who knows how to disguise and endure, may have malice towards the village, and is obviously stronger than Naruto?"
"Yes."
Yakumo nodded awkwardly.
Because the Heart Demon is more extreme and crazy, in the vast majority of cases, it will be slightly stronger than the main body.
Tsunade tapped the table lightly with her finger: "Where would he go!"
Jiraiya suddenly said: "Is it possible he went to find the Nine-Tails? I remember when the other half of the Nine-Tails returning to the Ninja World was mentioned, his expression was a bit off."
Yakumo also recalled that scene and agreed: "Mhm, he seemed very excited at the time."
Smack
With a smack, Tsunade slammed her palm heavily on the table: "We need to move!"
Jiraiya stepped forward: "I will lead the team this time!"