The Bet from Back Then

The sky was clear and cloudless.

A large white bird flew swiftly toward Konoha through the skies outside the village.

"I wonder if Big Brother Sasori is around." Deidara had already spotted Konoha's outline from afar.

Deidara suddenly noticed someone watching him.

He looked around, but there was naturally no one in midair.

Below him lay a dense forest of towering trees.

The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan? They're quite alert.

As Deidara thought this, another wave of Chakra scanning spread over from afar.

Clearly, Konoha had also deployed a Chakra-sensing barrier to verify the visitor's identity.

By the time Deidara reached Konoha's outer city—

Konan was already waiting in the air, her snow-white wings beating.

"Deidara, why are you here?"

Deidara had long known of Konan's connection to Konoha. When Konoha had been attacked before, Iwagakure's spies had seen Konan as well.

It was no surprise that Konan was here now.

"I came to see Big Brother Sasori. Oh, the old man also told me to check on Konoha's situation."

Deidara still put Sasori first. As for Ōnoki's business, that naturally came afterward.

An expression of understanding appeared on Konan's face. She flapped her wings and flew toward Konoha as she spoke.

"Follow me. Konoha is under martial law right now, so it won't be easy to get in."

Deidara answered and followed behind Konan.

With Konan leading the way, nothing happened along the route.

They soon arrived above a cordoned-off area.

"Sasori just returned from a mission. He's in his lab."

"You've been there before, so I won't take you over."

Konan pointed below, having brought Deidara to his destination.

As Konoha's chief mechanical architect, Sasori naturally had a dedicated laboratory here.

The connected factory buildings below were divided into several areas: research and development, production, and repairs.

It had