"You're finally out!"
Outside the Hokage Residence, Deidara had been sitting on a stone bench by the street, doodling nonsense into the dirt with a stick. As soon as he saw Kitagawa Gen coming down, his eyes lit up.
Tossing the stick aside, he immediately ran over.
"So? Pretty amazing, right? My clay brought us all the way back—saved us so much time! And, and—tell me about your art!"
"…"
Gen stared at the new blond in front of him, lips twitching slightly.
He couldn't help but wonder—had he stumbled into some kind of blond infestation?
He had one blond living next door at home, and now he goes on a mission and finds another one.
'And now, in addition to the White Fang and the Yellow Flash, there's also some kind of… artistic soulmate?'
Gen was baffled. He was clearly a long-game kind of fighter—when did he suddenly become 'instant-flash'?
"The art of Flying Thunder God lies in resolving all problems in an instant."
Though a bit speechless, Gen still replied.
"Just like an explosion—eternity in a single moment. Or rather, my moment is your eternity."
"Yes, yes! It's not exactly the same, but it totally aligns with my artistic philosophy!"
Deidara nodded earnestly, clearly thrilled.
"I love explosions the most! Explosions are art! Because that single instant is when my art is truly expressed!"
"Right, right…"
Gen nodded casually, humoring him with a vague response.
This kid's obsession with art was borderline deranged. Instead of accepting the role of Tsuchikage or even staying as a leg in the chain of succession, he chose to abandon everything and become a rogue ninja.
The script of a so-called 'winner in life'... and yet he ended up blowing himself to dust.
But one had to admit—he truly stayed committed to his vision of 'art' from beginning to end.
"Hey, hey, hey—how about a little sparring match?"
Suddenly, Deidara flared up again.
"We need to test each other's art. What do you say?"
"Not happening. I've got no time for that right now."
Kitagawa Gen immediately shook his head. There was no way he was going to entertain Deidara's antics in Konohagakure. Maybe if they were in Iwagakure, he'd consider it.
"Come on, I'll treat you to some food first. The Hokage is preparing to contact your sensei—once that's settled, you can go home."
"Wait, what? Why would I go back?"
As soon as he heard that, Deidara protested loudly.
"That old geezer's a total pain! He still doesn't accept my art, seriously—hey, hey, hey, say something!"
Gen pretended not to hear. He was quickly realizing that Deidara was quite the chatterbox.
And honestly, the mention of Ōnoki brought his mind back to the recent mission—especially that moment when the Dust Release beam came crashing down from the sky.
That sensation… that was on a whole different level of terror.
Gen couldn't help but mutter inwardly. He had felt the sheer lethality of Dust Release firsthand.
The Magnet Release defense forged by Sasori using the Third Kazekage had crumbled under it without resistance—instantly pierced through!
The power was absurd. Over-the-top, even.
'Still… it's a shame I couldn't get a more precise read on the full ratio of that technique.'
Dust Release descended as a single beam of light—Gen had dodged faster than anyone, but that meant he hadn't been able to observe much more in that instant.
'But just because it wasn't clear doesn't mean I can't try a few small experiments…'
As the thought crossed his mind, he turned to look at Deidara, who was still rambling beside him.
'Earth Release, Fire Release, and Wind Release—all fused in perfect balance. I got a rough sense of the ratio, so…'
Gen's mind wandered to Deidara's clay. Honestly, he still wasn't sure whether it was a secret technique or some kind of kekkei genkai.
But that clay clearly involved a fusion of Earth and Fire Release—maybe there was inspiration to be found there.
And since this kid claimed they shared the same artistic philosophy…
"All right. That's enough."
Kitagawa Gen spoke up directly—even though he hadn't really caught what Deidara had just said.
"Have you ever considered something?"
"Eh? Considered what?"
"That grumpy old man you keep complaining about... doesn't his Dust Release align with your artistic philosophy?"
"Huh? No way. He—"
"In a single moment, white light descends. And in that same instant, everything is reduced to silence. The immense power and the explosion erase all enemies in a flash. Isn't that exactly what your art and mine are about?"
"Uh... that…"
Deidara was left speechless. He had been about to argue, but the memory of the jutsu the old man used that day left him silent.
Come to think of it… it did kind of make sense?
But still, that stubborn old man—
"Forget how he thinks about it. Focus on what technique he uses. That's what matters."
Seeing Deidara go quiet, Gen smiled and kept going.
"Also, I remember you lost to Uchiha Itachi. But if you had this technique, you could've blown him away from a safe distance. Let him experience your art firsthand."
"...Yeah, kind of true."
"So, study hard. Once you've learned it, then we can spar properly. Otherwise, I could have a blade at your throat in a flash—it wouldn't mean anything. You're not really planning to blow yourself up just to prove your art, right?"
"...That's… also true."
Deidara nodded thoughtfully. Whether he was thinking about proving his art—or about learning Dust Release—was anyone's guess.
...
"The recruitment mission failed?"
Deep in the forests of the Land of Grass, Uchiha Obito frowned upon hearing Black Zetsu's report.
Lately, he had been swamped with matters. To keep Kakuzu in check, he had been forced to engage in what he called 'sustainable overfishing' of certain wealthy merchants.
Thanks to Kamui, he didn't have to worry about being discovered—yet even so, this kind of incident had still occurred.
"That's right. It failed."
Black Zetsu nodded calmly, as if nothing serious had happened.
"Somehow, Konohagakure got wind of it. They sent a team to the Land of Earth—Kitagawa Gen, Hatake Kakashi, and Jiraiya."
"Fortunately, I spotted them in advance and had Pain make preparations. Otherwise, it could've turned into a real disaster—Ōnoki himself showed up, after all."
"What a pain…"
Obito snorted coldly at Black Zetsu's words, but the white half of Zetsu curled its lips into a grin.
Because this… was his doing.
"They actually managed to draw in Ōnoki? What the hell are they up to?"
Obito didn't notice the White Zetsu's expression. He couldn't help but curse.
"And how did Kakashi and the others get the intel? Why is it that every single time, they're able to show up so precisely? What the hell is going on?"
Obito couldn't help but feel something was off. Even though there were many threads leading back to him, his situation was somewhat unique.
It was Kitagawa Gen who had captured him, which then led to suspicion falling on Kirigakure due to his identity.
By pure dumb luck, they had stumbled into the civil unrest within Kirigakure, leading to his current predicament.
But how had they gotten information about the incident with Kakuzu and Hidan?
And now again, during this recruitment mission—they showed up?
"Any movements from Uchiha Itachi?"
Suddenly, Obito thought of something, but Black Zetsu, with White Zetsu in tow, immediately shook his head.
"No. We're well aware of his situation—we haven't let our guard down."
When it came to Uchiha Itachi, that two-faced traitor, neither Obito nor the Zetsus were letting him out of their sight.
As a pawn, no matter what motives he might have, he had to stay in line. There was no way they'd let Uchiha Itachi act on his own.
"If not him, then who could it be?"
Obito furrowed his brow even deeper. All these recent chaotic events were truly getting on his nerves.
"Is there anyone in Konoha particularly skilled at gathering intelligence?"
"Well… now that you mention it, maybe…"
Black Zetsu seemed to fall into deep thought. Only after a long pause did he raise his head and look at Obito.
"Do you still remember those Konoha shinobi who were with Hanzō of the Salamander back when Nagato and the others were being hunted down?"
"Those Konoha shinobi?"
Uchiha Obito thought carefully for a moment.
"Weren't they Shimura Danzo's men?"
Back when Hanzō and Danzo had targeted Nagato and his companions, there was no way they wouldn't have overseen the whole affair—after all, Nagato bore the Rinnegan, once belonging to Uchiha Madara.
That incident remained vivid in Obito's memory. The power of the Rinnegan had indeed proven extraordinary, and Yahiko's death had gone exactly as he expected.
"That's right—Danzo Shimura."
Black Zetsu nodded, his expression growing slightly grim.
"From what I've heard, Danzo leads another covert branch of Konoha's Anbu. He holds substantial power and is highly adept at intelligence gathering."
"He's even earned himself a nickname: The Darkness of the Shinobi."
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