Chapter 140: Artist
"Sorry, old man... I won't just sit quietly outside the village doing nothing. Since I'm out here, I must pursue that ultimate explosive art! Yeah!"
On a dusty road at the border of the Land of Earth, a figure was traveling at an unhurried pace. But this youth was completely different from other travelers—almost all his attention was focused on his hands, completely absorbed in manipulating a mass of white substance that was being constantly kneaded and shaped.
He had deep golden long hair with bangs hanging diagonally to cover his right eye, while his exposed left eye was blue-green, sparkling with the focused yet fanatical light of an artist.
This was Deidara, who had just been expelled from Iwagakure. However, compared to the future unrestrained member of Akatsuki, his face still carried traces of not-yet-faded youthfulness.
"The Land of Fire, huh... the road really is quite far." He muttered to himself while shaping, "If the old man knew I wasn't reflecting but actually ran to Konoha's territory, I wonder how angry he'd get... But if I could take this chance to join that legendary organization... Oh! This design feels pretty good!"
After careful manipulation, Deidara was finally satisfied with his handiwork. The white clay had been molded into a simple cartoon-style spider.
Just then, unnatural rustling sounds suddenly came from the nearby forest.
Deidara immediately looked up, scanning toward the source of the sound. Though his body still maintained a relaxed standing posture, the fingers holding the clay spider slightly curved inward, ready to throw it out and instantly detonate it at any sign of hostility from the newcomer.
"...What is this? A tiger?"
What slowly emerged from the dense bushes wasn't a human ninja, but an abnormally large white tiger.
Most striking was the mask covering its face—made of unknown material and carved with eerie fox patterns, giving off an unsettling feeling.
Since the white tiger showed no immediate signs of attack, Deidara didn't strike right away, but remained highly alert while observing it, especially that peculiar mask.
"Some kind of summoning beast? That mask on its face... looks really weird. Hm?"
"Strange... why do I feel like I've seen this somewhere before?"
He searched through his memories, trying to find the source of this sense of familiarity.
Just as Deidara was studying the white tiger wearing the eerie fox mask and trying to recall where that familiar feeling came from, the surrounding forest once again produced strange sounds!
But this time, the sounds didn't come from a single direction. Rustling noises arose simultaneously from all directions, and a suffocating pressure spread from the woods like a tide.
Next, figures of various forms emanating different auras slowly revealed themselves from the surrounding shadows and trees.
First to come into view were four other massive, strangely-shaped summoning beasts that, together with the white tiger, formed a perfect encirclement.
Coiled on thick tree branches was a giant serpent—the Golden Snake silently locked onto the youth below.
Nearby, the turtle-snake hybrid beast Xuanwu crouched steadily on the ground. Above in the air, the giant bird Suzaku glided quietly, while the massive dragon-form creature Qinglong emitted low humming sounds.
These varied forms that all emanated powerful chakra were the Nine-Faced Beasts.
At the front and rear of the path stood two humanoid beings—the Southern Dipper Sage and Northern Dipper Sage, each holding a staff in one hand while forming seals with the other.
Truly blocking Deidara's path were two figures standing directly in front of him: one was the black-robed Death God holding a massive scythe and emanating an ominous aura, while the other was the Celestial Maiden.
Looking at these beings surrounding him completely, the vague memories in Deidara's mind instantly became crystal clear! His body began trembling uncontrollably, but not from fear—it was the shuddering caused by extreme excitement and ecstasy!
"Hey hey... is this for real?!" He began roaring almost incoherently, his eyes wide with excitement. "If... if this really is the organization I'm thinking of! The leader! Come out right now! Stop hiding!"
Faced with Deidara's far-more-excited-than-expected reaction, Menma, hidden in the shadows, felt slightly surprised. With a thought, he used the Flying Thunder God coordinates marked on the Nine-Faced Beasts to appear without warning before Deidara, standing precisely between Death God and Celestial Maiden.
Deidara's gaze quickly swept over Menma, eagerly capturing every detail about him—the fox mask, black robe, and the Nine-Faced Beasts beside him.
That's right! It's him! The person the old man had been secretly searching for and fearing for so long! The leader of the Ember organization!
Deidara's heart pounded wildly. I never expected... to actually encounter him here!
Though he didn't know why this person would appear at the border of the Land of Earth... with the target right in front of him, things were much easier!
Just then, Menma's voice came through his mask, directly stating his purpose: "Explosion Release user, Deidara. I've come to welcome you to join the Ember organization and become one of us."
Hearing this, the smile on Deidara's face instantly expanded, becoming even more flamboyant and fanatical as he responded almost impatiently:
"This is perfect! Just perfect! I specifically came out to find you in pursuit of ultimate art—Ember!"
Seeing Deidara's nearly fanatical excited state, Menma instantly understood. So that's how it is... it seems the Great Rasengan Ring I dropped near Konoha back then had butterfly effects far beyond expectations with its destructive explosion and "artistic" presentation.
"In that case..."
Just as Menma began speaking, trying to guide the conversation toward formal recruitment procedures, the next moment brought sudden change!
Without warning, Deidara hurled the white clay spider he'd been holding straight at Menma!
"Ha!"
Almost the instant the clay spider left his hand, Deidara had already completed the final hand seal with one hand, letting out a sharp shout!
The clay spider flying toward Menma instantly expanded as the chakra within was immediately detonated!
BOOM—!!!
A violent explosion thundered! Scorching air waves mixed with dirt and grass fragments spread violently in all directions. Dense smoke and dust instantly swallowed the position where Menma had been standing, temporarily obscuring Deidara's vision.
However, when the smoke quickly cleared, the explosion's center was empty. Not only had Menma's figure disappeared, but the Death God and Celestial Maiden who had been standing beside him were also nowhere to be seen.
"You certainly are energetic." The voice came again without warning from behind Deidara.
Deidara spun around to see Menma had somehow silently appeared several meters behind him, his black robe as pristine as before, not even a speck of dust on it.
"Very good. It seems your art pursues that kind of fleeting, ultimate brilliance filled with explosive tension and... tragic beauty."
As expected... these guys with special abilities are all rebellious and not easy to make obediently listen. In the end, I still need to "communicate" with them first.
Menma sighed helplessly in his heart, already prepared for a "recruitment assessment."
But contrary to his expectations, Deidara didn't continue attacking. Instead, he quickly raised both hands in a somewhat exaggerated "pause" gesture, explaining with an urgent expression:
"Wait wait wait! You misunderstood! I don't want to fight you! Yeah!"
He stared intently at Menma, his tone becoming unusually serious. "I just wanted to use the most simple and direct method to verify whether the guy in front of me is really the true leader of the Ember organization, and not some boring impostor!"
Hearing this, Menma paused slightly, standing silently in place, waiting for Deidara's continuation.
Seeing that Menma didn't immediately attack, Deidara immediately excitedly proposed his conditions: "It's very simple for me to join your organization! Just satisfy two of my conditions!"
"First! Let me witness that legendary ultimate art with my own eyes—the perfect explosion you demonstrated over Konoha that can reduce everything to nothingness!"
"Second! Promise me! Teach me that jutsu!"
"As long as you can do these two things! I'll immediately join your Ember organization! Yeah!"