The Hidden Rock Village.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat at his desk, a hint of worry on his face as he looked up at a team of Hidden Rock Anbu standing in front of him.
"Still no trace of Roshi?"
"Not yet."
The Anbu captain shook his head, his voice hesitant: "Recently, Konoha Anbu have frequently crossed the border and become active within the Land of Earth. To drive out these enemies, we're currently short on manpower."
Upon hearing the intelligence about Konoha, Onoki's brow furrowed: "Have you found out the purpose of the Konoha Ninja's infiltration into the Land of Earth?"
"Um..."
The Anbu captain was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "According to the information we've received from spies in the Land of Fire, Konoha seems to be tracing Akatsuki."
"..."
Onoki fell into deep thought.
After a while, Onoki slowly raised his head and looked at the Anbu captain: "Can we still contact members of Akatsuki?"
Recently, Akatsuki's members have become much more active than before, having destroyed both the Hidden Sand Village and The Hidden Mist Village, which led Onoki to entertain some other thoughts.
On one hand, Onoki was worried that Akatsuki might invade The Hidden Rock Village, bringing immeasurable damage to the village.
On the other hand, Onoki somewhat hoped that Akatsuki would continue to invade other major countries, ideally destroying all the ninja villages of the other four major nations.
Unfortunately, they hadn't collaborated with Akatsuki for a long time.
The Hidden Rock Anbu captain hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "Lord Tsuchikage, our previous contact point with Akatsuki seems to have been abandoned."
"Is that so?"
Onoki slowly bowed his head. After thinking for a while, he raised his head again: "Do not let your guard down during this period. Besides driving out the Konoha Ninja, keep a close eye on Akatsuki's whereabouts. I suspect they may invade us..."
Boom!
The ground suddenly began to tremble!
A deafening explosion echoed!
Onoki and the Hidden Rock Anbu captain's expressions changed. After exchanging glances, they were ready to leave and quickly investigate the location of the explosion.
Before they could take action, reconnaissance ninja who first noticed the problem reported: "Lord Tsuchikage, the perimeter defenses have been breached by enemies!"
"Organize defenses immediately!"
Onoki ordered loudly, put on his Tsuchikage hat, and his small body flew out of the window: "I'm heading to the perimeter defenses now!"
Outside The Hidden Rock Village.
An Ancient Giant Dragon stood outside the village, overlooking the populous ninja village, and breathed out a huge fireball, creating a breach in the vast wall surrounding the enormous ninja village, and then strode into the village.
Since the enemy descended from the sky, the ninjas responsible for guarding the walls didn't have time to react and were directly blasted away by the Ancient Giant Dragon's massive fireball!
The Ancient Giant Dragon continued to advance into The Hidden Rock Village, its huge wings brushing against the watchtowers constructed on the walls, and then crashing into building after building.
Sounds of collapsing structures echoed one after another.
As this colossal Ancient Giant Dragon walked into the entire village, it was like a true apocalyptic catastrophe for the ninjas of The Hidden Rock Village.
Wherever the Ancient Giant Dragon passed, clouds of smoke and dust rose, accompanied by cries and screams, as everyone who saw the dragon's body began frantically fleeing towards the center street of The Hidden Rock Village.
The first to arrive was not the Third Tsuchikage Onoki but his granddaughter Kurotsuchi, who recently became the captain of the Lava Release Squad of The Hidden Rock Village.
Kurotsuchi leaped onto a rooftop, directing the nearby populace to take refuge while gathering her ninjas to prepare for defense and counterattack: "Team Five, your duty is to organize the evacuation of nearby civilians! Everyone else, with me!"
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
"Captain Kurotsuchi!"
A Hidden Rock Ninja suddenly pointed at a figure standing atop the Ancient Giant Dragon and shouted: "Captain, there's someone on top of that creature!"
"Someone?"
Kurotsuchi instinctively looked up towards the head of the Ancient Giant Dragon, and upon seeing that familiar blonde hair, a hint of surprise appeared on her face: "Is that... Brother Deidara?"
"Deidara?"
"Isn't he the rogue ninja from the Blast Squad?"
"Everyone shut up!"
Kurotsuchi scolded before gritting her teeth: "Follow me immediately to stop this creature from rampaging through the village and protect the villagers!"
As the Lava Release Squad was approaching, Deidara stood on top of the Ancient Giant Dragon, surveying the scenery of his hometown: "Ha, seems like it's still the same here! Not much has changed over the years, that old man is truly useless!"
"Doesn't seem that interesting either..."
Uehara Naraku yawned listlessly, glanced at his system panel, which displayed a reward of a hundred gold coins for discovering The Hidden Rock Village.
Such a reward is really just a handout.
"Then let's show you something exciting!"
Deidara suddenly opened his hand, releasing numerous Clay Flying Birds that circled around him.
He pointed abruptly at the tallest building in The Hidden Rock Village and laughed wildly: "Go on then, let the people in the village enjoy the return of Lord Deidara's art!"