My Art Surpasses Yours

"Since that's the case, I can only beat you into submission. Your art is worthless before mine."

Hyuga Kei opened his Sharingan, and a single condescending remark enraged Deidara.

"You bastard! How dare you insult my art? Unforgivable!" Deidara reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out some clay.

The clay instantly transformed into a centipede in his hands.

"Explosive Clay: Centipede."

Deidara threw out the clay centipede. It instantly grew larger and coiled around Hyuga Kei's body.

Seeing that he had succeeded, he was about to detonate the clay.

Hyuga Kei reminded him, "Why don't you look at what's on your own body?"

Deidara abruptly looked down at himself. At some point, his body had already been tightly bound by a clay centipede.

"Genjutsu! When?"

"The moment you looked into my eyes."

"Is this your art?"

"Yes and no."

"I can join the Akatsuki Organization, but your life must be left to me."

"Fine, if you can take it."

Hyuga Kei handed Deidara a set of Akatsuki Organization clothes. Deidara released his centipede and put on the Akatsuki cloak.

"Welcome aboard. Sorry for the offense just now."

Hyuga Kei introduced them. "I'm Hyuga Kei. This is Sasori. Unlike your art of explosions, he pursues eternal art."

"So everyone in our organization is an artist?"

"You could say that."

Kakuzu and Hidan pursued the art of immortality, Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki pursued the art of slaughter, while Konan and Pain pursued the art of peace through destruction.

"I'm getting more and more interested in our organization."

"You definitely won't be disappointed."

The current Deidara was still just a brat. At twelve years old, he was even younger than Uchiha Itachi and Hyuga Kei. Chasing art with childish innocence, he had boarded this pirate ship after just a few words.

"The intelligence said you know a Flight Technique. Can you carry passengers?"

"Of course. My art is omnipotent."

The group climbed onto Deidara's Clay Giant Bird, traveling several times faster than they had on the way there.

"Your art is really useful." Hyuga Kei did not hold back his praise, and Deidara was especially delighted to receive praise from another artist.

"Of course. My art is omnipotent."

"May I ask you some questions about the art of Explosion Release?"

Deidara was becoming a little carried away by the flattery. He believed Hyuga Kei had been won over by his art and wanted to learn it.

"Hahaha, of course. Ask away."

Watching Hyuga Kei coddle the brat from the side, Sasori suddenly felt that it had not been easy for Deidara to live this long. He had been tricked out of his Kekkei Genkai secret technique with only a few words.

"What two types of chakra are fused in Explosion Release, and how are they fused?"

Hyuga Kei voiced the doubts in his heart. His research into Kekkei Genkai had always failed, and now a ready-made teacher had appeared before him.

"Explosion Release is a fusion of earth- and fire-nature chakra... You need to..." Deidara generously explained his experience.

After listening, Hyuga Kei felt as though enlightenment had struck him. His understanding of Kekkei Genkai rose to another level, no longer limited to the most basic research.

Explosion Release was one way of fusing earth- and fire-nature chakra. It used the same attributes as Lava Release but manifested in a different form.

Hyuga Kei nodded to show that he understood, then immediately began trying to fuse the two types of chakra.

"Tsk, tsk. Your talent isn't that great either. Back then, I learned it after only watching a few times."

Deidara had found something he was better at than Hyuga Kei, and he was extremely pleased.

Hyuga Kei did not get angry. He had finally coaxed himself a teacher, so naturally, he had to keep him happy.

"Let's go down. We're about to reach the Land of Rain," Sasori reminded the two, who were still immersed in their research.

Once they brought Deidara to Konan, Hyuga Kei and Sasori's mission would be complete.

With no mission, Hyuga Kei could freely arrange his time from then on.

Recently, he had felt that he had less and less time. Many matters lay before him.

1. Absorb the Tenseigan's Dojutsu Power; 2. Practice chakra fusion Kekkei Genkai; 3. Learn puppet-making; 4. Find Yuka to learn Uzumaki clan Fuinjutsu.

Hyuga Kei needed to learn all of these, and none of them were easy. Each required a great deal of time.

Fortunately, Hyuga Kei had found teachers for goals two, three, and four. He no longer had to grope his way forward alone.

Just as Hyuga Kei had absorbed the blood produced by the Uzumaki mother and son during this period and was preparing to focus on training, Uchiha Izumi came to find him.

"Lord Kei, why can't I feel even a little anger when I see Uchiha Itachi? He exterminated our Uchiha clan, yet I somehow feel a little familiar with him."

Hyuga Kei's Mangekyo dojutsu had altered her memories, but it had not changed her feelings.

"Izumi, you're too kind. Even after learning the truth, you don't blame his choice because you understand his difficulties."

"Is that so? I understand."

"You only need to treat him as a stranger."

"Understood, Lord Kei."

Just after Uchiha Izumi left, Uchiha Itachi came to Hyuga Kei. "What did you do to Uchiha Izumi?"

He confronted Hyuga Kei immediately, without any courtesy.

Hyuga Kei narrowed his eyes. "I'm your former Anbu superior, yet you're this disrespectful to me?"

Uchiha Itachi opened his Sharingan and stared coldly at Hyuga Kei. He had not been idle during this time either, having investigated much information about Hyuga Kei.

He discovered that after he had left Hyuga Kei's command, the Anbu Second Squad led by Hyuga Kei had secretly done many things detrimental to the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.

"Heh. I changed her memories. Izumi has long forgotten you."

"Didn't you abandon her? Only in my hands can Izumi find meaning in continuing to live."

Uchiha Itachi clenched his fists, a rare hint of anger appearing on his face. "So you absorbed Uchiha Shisui's corpse?"

Through Uchiha Izumi's strange behavior, he had connected it to Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, along with the intelligence Konoha had released about Hyuga Kei absorbing other people's Kekkei Genkai.

Back in Konoha, had Hyuga Kei guessed it from his abnormal emotions during those days? Then how had he discovered the place where Shisui died?

No wonder, on the day Shisui died, he had suddenly announced that he would no longer accept missions. He had not been concerned about my emotions; he had gone to search for Shisui's corpse.

If Hyuga Kei could hear Uchiha Itachi's deductions, he would definitely applaud him. As expected of the Uchiha known for wisdom.

"So what? It's still better than slaughtering your entire clan."

After a long silence, Uchiha Itachi loosened his fists, his expression returning to calm. "We're no different."

"We're not the same. The Hyuga killed my parents and harmed my blood relatives, so it was only right for me to destroy them. But you..." Hyuga Kei did not continue.

But everyone understood what Hyuga Kei meant. It was only natural for him to destroy the Hyuga, while Uchiha Itachi's destruction of the Uchiha made him someone without father or mother.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Uchiha Itachi no longer traded verbal barbs with Hyuga Kei and stated the main purpose of his visit. "I warn you not to lay a hand on Sasuke, otherwise..."

Hyuga Kei curled his lip. "Why are you telling me this? I think you should keep an eye on Orochimaru. If he can't beat you, he might go after your little brother."

Uchiha Itachi's departing steps immediately froze. Hyuga Kei made perfect sense. He decided to find an opportunity to return to Konoha and place several Transcription Seals containing Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi on Sasuke's Sharingan.