Outside the Akatsuki Hideout.
After Deidara and Hidan, those two foul-mouthed guys, had a fight, each team set off for their respective destinations.
Deidara, still somewhat disgruntled, looked at the members of the second team who were traveling on foot and sneered, "Hmph, a bunch of losers. By the time they reach the Land of Lightning, we'll have already captured the One-tailed!"
After saying that, he threw down an ugly clay doll, dusted off his palms, and laughed, "Yo-ho! C2 · Dragon! Hey, take a look at my masterpiece, let's fly directly to The Hidden Sand Village!"
"..."
The three people looked speechlessly at the ugly Clay Giant Dragon.
Uehara Naraku was silent for a moment, then spoke softly, "A couple of years ago, at Orochimaru's base, I also found a Summoning Contract, let me try it instead!"
Sasori of the Red Sand and Nagato both cast expectant looks.
Only Deidara became agitated, waving his fist, "Hey hey hey, Uehara, do you look down on my art? This is a masterpiece I spent a lot of time on..."
Uehara Naraku ignored Deidara, simply clasped his hands together, and instantly expended ten thousand points of natural and chakra energy!
Uehara Naraku formed a set of Summoning Seals with a serious face, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A huge Summoning Spell appeared under Uehara Naraku's palm!
Just when Sasori and Nagato were eagerly hoping that Uehara Naraku could summon some powerful Summoning Beast, nothing appeared on the spell...
"Hahahahaha!"
Deidara slapped his thigh and laughed wildly, "What is this! With such an impressive name, I thought it was something amazing..."
A huge shadow suddenly covered them.
Deidara's laughter abruptly stopped, and he slowly looked up at the sky at an unusually terrifying dragon that had suddenly flown over!
The body of this Ancient Giant Dragon was beast-like with limbs, but a pair of wings gave it the ability to soar in the air.
Simply in terms of size, the Ancient Giant Dragon was even more massive than the Gedo Statue.
What was more terrifying was the enormous chakra emanating from it...
In the minds of everyone sensing it, the overwhelming presence of the Ancient Giant Dragon made them not dare to provoke it; it was the first time they saw a Summoning Beast with so much abundant chakra.
The Ancient Giant Dragon's head was strangely adorned with a pair of menacing horns, and its mouth emitted a blue glow as if ready to spit out a blue flame at any moment...
If it could play a role in actual combat, then no Summoning Beast in the Ninja World would be its match.
Sasori of the Red Sand slowly turned his head to look at Uehara Naraku and spoke haltingly, "Uehara, is that your Summoning Beast?"
To be honest, at this moment Sasori of the Red Sand really had the urge to make Uehara Naraku's Summoning Beast into his own puppet!
Unfortunately, it was easy to turn hostile.
Sasori of the Red Sand was in debt to Uehara Naraku!
"It should be my Summoning Beast, right?"
Uehara Naraku raised his eyebrow, looking at the Ancient Giant Dragon above, and waved his hand at it.
The Ancient Giant Dragon seemed to notice Uehara's gesture, glided in the air for a moment, and swiftly stopped in front of Uehara Naraku!
As the Ancient Giant Dragon landed, the wind generated by its high-speed movement buffeted everyone's body, making them have to use chakra to anchor their feet to stand firm.
"Roar!"
The Ancient Giant Dragon stood on its four limbs and roared at the sky!
The enormous sound wave almost instantly overturned the surrounding forest!
Following that, the dragon's robust-looking tail swung, and with a strong hit, smashed Deidara's clay dragon to pieces!
That's it!
Uehara Naraku: "..."
Sasori of the Red Sand: "..."
Nagato: "..."
All three trembled at once, turning instinctively to look at the owner of the Clay Giant Dragon, Deidara, after seeing it smashed to pieces by a single tail strike.
Given their understanding of Deidara, if anyone dared to destroy his artwork, this little blonde would probably go berserk!
Especially among them, Sasori of the Red Sand knew how important the Clay Giant Dragon was to Deidara. It was handcrafted by Deidara himself, and he often repaired and maintained it; you could say it was one of Deidara's favorite artworks.
Now this handcrafted Clay Giant Dragon was smashed to pieces by the Ancient Giant Dragon's tail... One could imagine Deidara's mood.
Sasori of the Red Sand, looking at his stunned companion, spoke in a muffled voice to persuade, "Deidara, the mission comes first, there will always be more..."
Deidara was seething with rage, his face twisting into a terrifying smile, and eventually broke into maniacal laughter, "Hehehehe hahahahahahaha... that bastard dared to destroy my art ah ah ah ah ah!"
Deidara frantically rushed towards the Ancient Giant Dragon in front, punching and kicking at its toes!
It was practically just scratching the Ancient Giant Dragon.
After the commotion, everyone finally hopped onto the Ancient Giant Dragon's back. Deidara, as if giving it a lot of face, closed his eyes and climbed up the dragon's leg, hand-in-pocket.
Deidara sat on top of the ancient giant dragon, pouting carelessly, "Hmph, Uehara, this doesn't mean I've forgiven you. Destroying my art is unforgivable! I'm only aiming to finish our mission faster than that bastard Hidan!"
"Alright then..."
Uehara Naraku turned his head to glance at Sasori of the Red Sand and Nagato, reaching out to tap the ancient giant dragon's head, "Let's go!"
"Roar!"
The ancient giant dragon roared and then leapt fiercely into the sky!
As its massive body ascended, a pair of giant wings spread wide, slowly flapping and carrying it into flight!
This is like a jump-start take-off!
Fortunately, everyone present was a ninja, able to use chakra to adhere to the ancient giant dragon, preventing them from being thrown off.
After taking off successfully, the ancient giant dragon began to soar, swiftly flying over mountains and rivers, heading towards the Hidden Sand Village.
Deidara stood on the head of the ancient giant dragon, spreading his arms and laughing maniacally against the wind, "Hahahahaha... someday I'll craft art this big too!"
"..."
Uehara Naraku, Sasori of the Red Sand, and Nagato exchanged glances, too lazy to pay attention to the golden-haired lunatic standing on the dragon's head!
Sasori of the Red Sand was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Uehara, where does such a summoning beast live? I want to capture one to make a puppet..."
Who wouldn't want such a handsome summoning beast?
Sasori of the Red Sand genuinely wanted to make a giant puppet like this, so that he wouldn't have to ride on Deidara's clay giant bird every time.
"Cough, cough..."
Nagato coughed violently a few times, opening his mouth somewhat sheepishly, "Well, I could modify it to make it stronger."
That group of summoning beasts in the Animal Path were all modified by Nagato himself.
In the field of biotechnology, Nagato also had a unique interest.
Uehara Naraku glanced at them, shook his head speechlessly, and said, "None left, I probably lost the summoning contract I found in Orochimaru's base somewhere, after all, I generally don't use summoning beasts in battle."
Anyway, Orochimaru is already half-dead.
It's no big deal to pin the blame on him.
Listening to Uehara Naraku, Sasori of the Red Sand and Nagato regretfully shook their heads.
Even though the ancient giant dragon hadn't been in a battle yet, its raw strength alone was enough to exert immense power, not to mention its fast flying speed.
In the morning, they departed from the Akatsuki Hideout.
By nighttime, they had arrived at an altitude of ten thousand meters outside the Hidden Sand Village.
Sasori of the Red Sand looked down at the far-off Hidden Sand Village, speaking in a gruff voice, "I remember placing a few spies in the Hidden Sand Village; their status should not be low. I'll summon them now to lead us directly in!"
Sasori of the Red Sand had placed two spies in the Hidden Sand Village, one was Yura, and the other was Maki, both of whom were Jonin, with Maki even rising to a higher rank.
However, after operating for a while, Sasori of the Red Sand suddenly awkwardly said, "Hmm? Have all the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Jutsu been removed? As expected, after Granny took power back then, how could she not notice the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand..."
"..."
Uehara Naraku stood nearby, speechlessly looking up at the sky.
If memory serves, back then, under the guise of Shimura Danzo, he had made a deal with Ebizo, selling out one of Sasori of the Red Sand's spies.
Clearly, Chiyo and Ebizo had taken this seriously, likely having tested all the Jonin in the village, freeing Maki and Yura from the control of the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand.
Deidara immediately proposed, "Why don't we just fly right in? After all, the Hidden Sand Village doesn't have any strong ninja..."
Sasori of the Red Sand shook his head, "The perimeter defenses have crossbows set up, and if something is detected in the air, it will raise alarm in the village..."
"Uh, doesn't matter!"
Uehara Naraku shrugged, looking at the ancient giant dragon beneath him, "It should be fully immune to those little things; why not just launch a direct assault, defeat the Hidden Sand Village, and capture that little guy Gaara."
"Indeed."
Nagato also nodded beside him.
With the immense power both Uehara Naraku and Nagato possessed, they could easily defeat the Hidden Sand Village on their own, so naturally, they were unwilling to waste time here.
What's more, they had the ancient giant dragon, a powerful summoning beast!
Nagato didn't continue asking for opinions, he simply looked at Uehara Naraku, softly saying, "Uehara, let's act directly!"
"Alright!"
Uehara Naraku gazed at the distant, small Hidden Sand Village, patting the body of the ancient giant dragon, commanding in a deep voice, "Let's go, show me your power, let them experience the terror of Akatsuki!"
"Roar!"
The ancient giant dragon roared loudly to the heavens!
In the next moment, the dragon flapped its wings and flew towards the Hidden Sand Village, passing over the outer defensive lines, casting a shadow that darkened the skies within the Hidden Sand Village!