In a rough, sandy wasteland, fragments of a fan and broken puppet pieces were scattered across the ground. Temari and Kankuro lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious and barely breathing.
Sasori, who had been watching silently from the sidelines, slowly stepped forward and asked, "Why didn't you kill them?"
Deidara replied in surprise, "Hey, Sasori-no-Danna, these two are ninjas from your own village. You really planning to kill them?"
Deidara deeply respected Sasori. Though he said it was hard to gauge the right amount of force, he actually held back intentionally. Otherwise, if he had used his C4 Karura (C4 Gauron), unleashing invisible nanoscale bombs into the air, except for opponents with absolute defense or special visual jutsu, no one would even know how they died.
Sasori glanced at the two lying motionless on the ground and said while walking away, "Let's go. Nobody comes here often, and with the sun beating down, they won't survive for long anyway."
"What about the oasis? Are we not going to check it out?" Deidara asked.
Sasori replied, "We've already wasted too much time. Let's seal One-Tail first. We can come back later if we get the chance."
"Fine," Deidara reluctantly agreed. So saying, the two vanished into the desert sands.
After the Chunin Exams concluded, most of the participants had already returned to their respective villages. Unexpectedly, Tenten's team was still wandering through the desert.
Lee's face lit up with excitement as he said, "Tenten, this is great! I never thought you'd locate Ziluo's mission site. It's been over two years since we last saw him, and he's become much stronger now. That was one fierce fight!"
Tenten knew Lee better than anyone. Sighing, she replied, "Now that the match is over, let's head back. I bet the others have already arrived at Konoha."
At that moment, Neji seemed to sense something and abruptly stopped walking. He formed a hand seal and activated his [Byakugan].
"Huh? What's wrong?" Lee and Tenten both tensed up.
[A short distance ahead of us, there are two people lying on the ground. They seem severely injured.] Neji, using his Byakugan, discovered the aftermath of the recent battle.
"What are we waiting for? I'll go save them!" Without hesitation, Lee dashed toward the direction Neji was looking.
Before Tenten could even call out, she sighed helplessly, "That guy."
Instantly, both Neji and Tenten pulled out their Wing Units from their backs. Wings spread wide, they lifted into the sky, quickly overtaking Lee who had already started running ahead.
Upon arrival, the three quickly recognized the two on the ground. "Isn't this Sunagakure's Temari and Kankuro?" Tenten exclaimed. "Who could have hurt them so badly? If we had arrived just a little later, they would've died."
Tenten immediately pulled out healing bandages and started emergency treatment while feeding them water mixed with healing pills she had prepared.
Temari's face wrinkled in pain as she struggled to open her eyes. After glancing at the three, she spoke weakly, "Go... go help me notify... Kazekage-sama... save... save someone..."
After saying that, Temari lost consciousness again.
Neji didn't hesitate. "They must've faced off against a truly terrifying enemy. What's more, Gaara, who usually never leaves their side, isn't here either. Something's strange. We must return to Sunagakure Village as quickly as possible and report this intelligence to the Kazekage immediately."
Tenten nodded. "Neji, you're right."
The three—Tenten, Neji, and Lee—who had made their decision picked up the two and quickly headed toward Sunagakure.
In the sand sea, Mabui looked at Samiu with surprise. "What did you just say?"
Samiu replied calmly, "I said, I'm going with him."
"Why?" Mabui snapped in frustration. "Don't you know I already convinced him? He let you return to Kumo."
"No," Samiu firmly shook her head. "I left the village on a mission, and since that mission isn't complete, I can't go back."
Mabui grabbed Samiu's hand and muttered softly, "How many times will it take for you to get it? You won't be able to finish that mission."
Yet, Samiu held firm to her stance.
Anya found the sisters, on the verge of arguing, amusing and casually spoke up, "Tomorrow, I will return to Konoha. Those willing to come with me, feel free to join."
Inside the Kazekage's office, Sasori stared at the travel-worn appearance of Tenten's group with mild disbelief. Never would he have thought it'd be this coincidental. Inwardly, he cursed Deidara for not finishing the job cleanly and leaving behind such trouble—what was he supposed to do now?
Just then, Anya, who had said his goodbyes to the two sisters, appeared here appropriately. "From what I know," he suggested, "most of Sunagakure's ninja are currently occupied by the Oasis Plan, so there aren't many available to search for the culprit. How about we request help from Konoha and initiate a joint operation between allied nations?"
Seeing Anya arrive, Sasori relaxed slightly and agreed, "Fine, let's go with that plan."
"Tenten, Neji, you two are fast runners. Now act as messengers and deliver the official intelligence report to Konoha immediately."
"Understood."
"What about me?" Lee asked blankly, feeling full of energy but helpless about how to use it.
Anya volunteered, "Take me to where I found those two and accompany me while I follow the traces of the battle. Maybe we can find the enemy's location."
Lee happily accepted, "Sure!"
Using the Spirit Transformation Technique, Anya communicated secretly with Sasori.
"So what exactly happened?"
Sasori sighed bitterly and recounted everything that had occurred. It really was one big coincidence—by some strange twist of fate, Tenten had saved the two at just the right moment.
After thinking for a moment, Anya said slowly, "It's nothing major. Think of this as a chance to alert Akatsuki and accelerate their plans."
"But," Sasori reminded him, "Big Brother Kurotsuchi, are you sure you want to take action? The ones at the location we visited were only my puppets and Deidara himself. Others used Rinnegan's unique ninjutsu—the Projection Technique."
That explained it. Konoha would definitely dispatch quite a few jonin; if Anya joined them, facing off against Deidara and Sasori would certainly mean certain death.
"It's okay," Anya considered again before replying, "Then forget that puppet. Retrieve the soul fragment you sent into it—we don't need you staying within the Akatsuki anymore. It's time for the person behind them all to finally reveal themselves. As for Deidara, if he truly wants to escape, he should still have the ability to do so."
"But…" Sasori seemed uneasy.
"What is it?"
"Deidara's pretty simple-minded. Without me around, I'm afraid he might..."
"No worries. Trust him," Anya replied confidently. "Deidara may be simple-minded, but he's not stupid. He knows what not to say."
"Okay then."
When they finished talking in the Spiritual Space, Lee dashed ahead to the rescue site. Anya followed close behind. Tenten and Neji also began their journey back to Konoha.
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