Before leaving.
Deidara had his usual argument with Hidan.
Deidara is half an idiot + clown, Hidan is a pure fool + idiot, so Deidara naturally can't win against Hidan, because Hidan lowers Deidara's IQ and then uses his wealth of experience to win the argument.
After losing this time, Deidara slowly turned his gaze to Uehara Naraku, making Uehara Naraku's heart skip a beat.
"Hey, Uehara, where's your Summoning Beast?"
Deidara puffed his cheeks, widened his eyes, and gestured wildly to describe Uehara's Ancient Giant Dragon: "The one that goes roar roar roar roar roar... Hurry up and let it spray this bastard Hidan to death!"
Deidara even attempted to mimic the Ancient Giant Dragon's roar with his voice, but failed to produce any impressive sound, instead coming off as a bit of a clown.
Everyone shot Deidara a glance.
What kind of Summoning Beast sounds so cute?
Uehara Naraku also rolled his eyes in disbelief at Deidara. It's your family's Summoning Beast that goes roar roar!
"Hey, Uehara, hurry up!"
Deidara stretched his arms, urging loudly: "Quickly summon your Summoning Beast. Help me this time, and next time I'll create a super large C2 Dragon for you to play with!"
"Not necessary, your aesthetics are flawed,"
Uehara Naraku shook his head, slowly clapped his hands together, performed a Summoning Hand Seal, and said softly: "Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
After a huge Summoning Seal appeared, a moment later in the sky, an Ancient Giant Dragon flew over, making some who had never seen it before frown unconsciously.
That Summoning Beast, its size was indeed massive.
And its presence was unbelievably strong!
Even Hidan and Kakuzu, who don't care much about Summoning Beasts, couldn't help but watch as the Ancient Giant Dragon landed in front of Uehara Naraku.
"Truly shocking…"
Hoshigaki Kisame grinned, revealing his sharp teeth: "Uehara… every Summoning Beast's battle power is beyond imagination, incredibly strong!"
The first time they met, the Deep Sea Titan summoned by Uehara Naraku had exhausted all of Hoshigaki Kisame's Chakra… but now this Summoning Beast is undoubtedly stronger than that Deep Sea Titan!
Deidara quickly climbed to the top of the Ancient Giant Dragon, occupying the best spot, pointing at Hidan below, muttering and urging: "Quick, quick, quick, spray that guy to death in one go!"
Unfortunately, the Ancient Giant Dragon didn't follow Deidara's orders but instead glanced around leisurely, awaiting Uehara Naraku's command.
"Let's go up!"
Uehara Naraku leapt up and landed beside Deidara, as Sasori of the Red Sand also used Puppet Strings to fly up directly.
Momochi Zabuza and Uchiha Sasuke rode such a mount for the first time, jumping several steps to leverage the climb, their bodies slightly wobbly.
Deidara, acting like the owner of the Ancient Giant Dragon, enthusiastically called to them: "Hahaha… Quickly use your Chakra to cling onto it, otherwise, you might get thrown off along the way, but the ride will be thrilling!"
"..."
Uehara Naraku looked at him speechlessly.
This guy Deidara insisted on doing tasks together just to hitch a ride on his Ancient Giant Dragon, didn't he?
Momochi Zabuza glanced at Uehara Naraku and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Where does this Summoning Beast come from? Nothing like it has ever appeared in the Ninja World, right?"
"The Ninja World is vast…"
Uehara Naraku chuckled lightly and continued: "I got this Summoning Scroll from Orochimaru earlier. Who knew it would turn out to be such a large creature? It's perfect for us as a flying tool, saving time on the way…"
"A scroll from Orochimaru?"
Uchiha Sasuke furrowed his brows.
If back then, Uehara Naraku, Uchiha Itachi, and Hoshigaki Kisame hadn't forcibly taken him to the Akatsuki, and instead, he had joined Orochimaru, maybe he'd have had the chance to get such a flying Summoning Beast too?
Honestly, Sasuke was really envious.
This year, Sasuke is only sixteen, an age filled with youthful vigor; how could he not like such a strong and flying Summoning Beast?
Uchiha Sasuke found another reason to resent Uchiha Itachi…
If not for Uchiha Itachi forcing him into Akatsuki back then, he might also have an Ancient Giant Dragon now!
Of course, Sasuke doesn't know that back then Uchiha Itachi forcibly pressured him to join Akatsuki because the two bad guys beside him, Uehara Naraku and Hoshigaki Kisame, were arguing loudly that Sasuke must join Akatsuki or be killed…
"Let's go!"
Uehara Naraku looked down at the gigantic beast below him.
"Roar!"
The Ancient Giant Dragon soared up, flapping its wings in the air for a while and then, following Uehara Naraku's command, flew toward the Land of Water!
After Uehara Naraku and the others left.
Everyone's gaze naturally fell on Kakuzu.
Hidan was even more straightforward, saying: "Hey, Kakuzu, where's your Summoning Beast? Let everyone have a ride too!"
"Shut up."
Kakuzu brusquely interrupted Hidan, looking up at the giant dragon leaving in the sky, and mused: "If missions were executed this way, the speed would be fast, and it would save time, thus reducing unnecessary expenses. It seems in future missions, choosing to partner with Uehara Naraku, that kid, should be prioritized…"
"Hey hey hey, is money all you think about?"
Hidan shouted angrily at his partner: "I absolutely hate money; it's a desecration to the Evil God!"
Hoshigaki Kisame: "..."
Uchiha Itachi: "..."
Hozuki Mangetsu: "..."
Ringo Ameyuri: "..."
What kind of weird teammates are these!
Hoshigaki Kisame, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Ringo Ameyuri exchanged a subtle glance. Clearly, the three of them understood that assisting Kakuzu in this mission was secondary, and monitoring or supervising Uchiha Itachi's actions was the primary objective.
After this group left, a space-time vortex appeared behind them, revealing the figure of Uchiha Obito. In the next second, Uchiha Obito once again transformed into a space-time vortex and followed Kakuzu's group.
This mission, Uchiha Itachi received exceptionally generous treatment.
In the open and in the shadows, he had four ninjas responsible for supervising him, plus the obvious threat of Hoshigaki Kisame. It was believed he would stay well-behaved.
Kakuzu wasn't aware of the undercurrents among the team assisting in the mission—Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, and others. He was solely focused on making money.
That was how pure of a person Kakuzu was.
Kakuzu flipped through the map and the bounty handbook in his hands, saying in a low voice, "We'll go to the Temple of Fire first, take out that guy named Chiriku, then head to the bounty station to collect the thirty million ryo reward, and see if we can kill a few more Konoha ninja for some extra bounty..."
Hoshigaki Kisame chuckled softly, opposing Kakuzu's suggestion: "If I remember correctly, to avoid casualties, attacking a ninja village is prohibited without Pain's permission, right? Even capturing Tailed Beasts requires a team of at least four..."
"It's just about getting some Konoha ninja bodies to exchange for money."
Kakuzu gave Hoshigaki Kisame a sinister glance and said, "If you're afraid to die, Hidan and I can go by ourselves. You can return now!"
They were the Immortal Duo, after all.
It's really incomprehensible why Uehara Naraku insisted on this bunch following them to make money. Since they're here, they can't just stand around doing nothing.
The Akatsuki sent out six people; they can't just take down Chiriku, right?
Kakuzu flipped through his bounty book and frowned, asking, "This guy named Sarutobi Asuma used to be one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, worth five million more than Chiriku's body. Uchiha Itachi, do you have any intel on him?"
Uchiha Itachi shook his head and said, "I only remember Mr. Asuma being the Second Son of the Third Hokage of Konoha. I'm unclear about other information..."
"Are you serious, Mr. Itachi?"
Hoshigaki Kisame grinned slightly, chuckling: "We once encountered him when we infiltrated Konoha. He seems adept at using a Chakra Blade and Fire Release Ninjutsu..."
Uchiha Itachi furrowed his brow, saying, "Did such a thing happen?"
"Of course it did."
Hoshigaki Kisame continued to answer with a soft laugh, "During that battle, didn't you injure Kakashi? Uehara Naraku was still an intern at that time, waiting for us outside of Konoha. If I remember correctly, before we infiltrated Konoha, you even lent him money..."
"Forgot."
Uchiha Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"Hmph, can you even forget about money?"
Kakuzu snorted coldly, looking disdainfully at Uchiha Itachi: "Forgetting such an important thing as lending money is not in line with your age memory-wise!"
"Perhaps..."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head indifferently.
A gentle breeze ruffled his hair.
While this team was diligently advancing towards the Temple of Fire, Uehara Naraku and his group, on the other hand, had already arrived in the Land of Water on an Ancient Giant Dragon.
After all, flying is always a bit faster than walking.
The situation in the Land of Water was somewhat tense.
Due to Hozuki Mangetsu's intelligence, coupled with the Akatsuki's major movements in capturing Tailed Beasts, Terumi Mei had no choice but to take precautions.
Unfortunately, the Hidden Mist hasn't chosen a suitable Jinchuriki, so for now, the Three-tailed Isobu has been driven to a defensible location.
Terumi Mei has dispatched thousands of Hidden Mist Ninjas to garrison near the Three-tailed Isobu, with densely packed outposts almost sealing off Isobu's location so tightly that even a bird would need the permission of a Hidden Mist Ninja to fly in.
Based on the information she received from Konoha, the Akatsuki members have been capturing Tailed Beasts at a remarkable speed.
Before they found a suitable Jinchuriki and ensured an infallible Fuinjutsu technique, Terumi Mei can only resort to this clumsy way to protect the Three-tailed Isobu.
After a night of flying.
In the early morning.
When Uehara Naraku and others arrived here, they were also surprised by the number of Hidden Mist Ninja, not expecting ninjas to one day also protect Tailed Beasts...
"How foolish..."
Deidara, using his small telescope, looked at the densely packed Hidden Mist Ninja on the ground and flashed an innocent smile: "The entire Hidden Sand Village was utterly destroyed by Uehara, how do they think these people can stop us?"
"Shut up."
Sasori of the Red Sand glanced displeasedly at Deidara, wondering what's up with his teammate. The Hidden Sand Village is his hometown after all; doesn't he know not to mention it?
Must he always bring it up?
Really makes one want to sew that mouth of Deidara's shut!
Uehara Naraku instructed the Ancient Giant Dragon to land on a desolate mountain, tapped his arm, and said, "Alright, let's first find a place to discuss the strategy!"
"Is there a need for strategy?"
Deidara looked at Uehara Naraku with a deadpan expression: "Why not make this big guy fly over there, and I'll throw down a C3·18 and blow everyone away, then let Sasuke catch the Three-tailed—isn't it that simple?"
"We can't do that."
Uehara Naraku glanced at Uchiha Sasuke, whose face was filled with gravity, and chuckled softly: "After all, I'm Sasuke's proctor, and I have to clear a proper examination site for the examinee!"