Deidara pursed his lips upon hearing this; Orochimaru hadn't told him the specifics of the mission.
He was living a carefree life in the Northern Lands, indulging in eating, drinking, and having fun, and doing research.
He strongly suspected that this mission was Orochimaru giving him something to do because he was too idle.
"Don't be upset. Although you're just here to make up the numbers, you've actually come in handy along the way!"
When Kisame saw him complaining, he offered some words of comfort.
"Oh? Are you recruiting ninjas or is there a fight going on?"
Hearing that there were other missions, Deidara became interested again.
Besides research, the next step is to verify the research results, and fighting is the best way to do that.
"Forget about fighting, we're not even good enough to withstand the assassins from the Net!"
Since the establishment of the Net, all land within the Northern Lands region has been under the Net's jurisdiction.
While the Net organization may not be well-known in other countries, it is undoubtedly a powerful weapon for eliminating evil and maintaining order within the country.
They only send their officers to handle matters that even the Jonin of the Net can't resolve, and those cases are extremely rare.
Seeing that it wasn't a fight, Deidara's face visibly fell, because he seemed to have guessed his mission for this trip.
"Sigh... Demolitionist. Demolitionist Soul, I am the modern-day bomber! My art shouldn't be wasted on such trivial matters."
This wasn't the first time Deidara had been captured to split rocks; his business had only increased since the construction of the railway began in the Northern Lands.
The number of demolition incidents he has handled in the past two years is more than the total number of incidents he has handled in his entire life.
Unfortunately, the Northern Lands is short of talent, especially lacking someone with Deidara's strong professional skills, particularly in directional blasting, which he has mastered.
This isn't without its advantages; at least it significantly improves control over Chakra, making his skill level impeccable.
"Hey! This proves that Lord Gold Kage values you. In the Northern Lands, no one else can do it as well as you!"
Kisame patted Deidara on the shoulder, saying that young people need to be praised more often, so as not to dampen their enthusiasm.
As the two chatted idly on their way to the Land of Swamps,
In the Land of Swamps, a new wave of guests has arrived at the ruins where the souls of Mōryō were once sealed.
"Lord Scorpion, it seems we're late!"
Several ninjas from the Amegakure, dressed as ninjas, looked at the ruins before them.
The leader, also dressed in a black robe with red clouds, was Sasori of the Red Sands, a member of the Akatsuki.
"Based on the intelligence gathered, Orochimaru finally brought Yomi here."
These people were all peripheral members of the Akatsuki, and they were assisting Sasori in capturing Orochimaru.
Of course, Sasori's abilities might not be enough to defeat Orochimaru, but he wasn't the only executive in charge of this task.
"His breath is still below!"
Just then, a flock of crows slowly approached Sasori's side and quickly coalesced into a figure— Uchiha Itachi.
The Akatsuki is currently short-handed, and the last person Orochimaru met was Itachi. Regardless of whether there was any shady deal between them, Nagato assigned this mission to him.
Upon hearing Itachi's analysis, Sasori waved his hand at the people around him.
"Still down there! Now that you're here, we need to see him alive or dead!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding ninjas sprang into action. Nagato only asked that Orochimaru be taken back, regardless of whether he lived or died!
He had disliked this guy for a long time, and their conflict had already begun when they first met.
It's just that the latter two belonged to the same organization, so they didn't have a chance to make a move.
He ordered his men to clear the ruins and then withdrew his gaze.
Itachi had already reached the tree trunk and closed his eyes to rest before him.
The two were only temporarily paired up, and both were taciturn, so naturally they didn't have much in common.
Furthermore, Sasori of the Red Sands has no goodwill towards the people of Konoha, whether it's Konoha's White Fang, Orochimaru, or Itachi in front of him.
"Lord Scorpion! We've found him!"
After a while, one of the Rain Ninja exclaimed in surprise. The other ninjas also gathered over and quickly moved several Daishi over.
By the time Sasori and Itachi got closer, Orochimaru's corpse had already been brought back to light.
"The elderly sleep so well, they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow!"
Sasori of the Red Sands blurted out these words out of the blue, and the expressions of the other ninjas twitched slightly upon hearing them.
Even Itachi, standing to the side, cast a strange glance at her. What deep-seated grudge could someone have done to deserve such insults after someone has died?
He fell asleep as soon as he lay down. Was the large pool of blood under Orochimaru's body just a red sheet?
Moreover, the flesh and bones were smashed to pieces by the stones, and if it weren't for the highly recognizable robe and the face that could still be barely identified, it would be difficult to recognize the person.
"What a waste of this physical body, otherwise it could have been refined into a decent puppet!"
After carefully examining the corpse on the ground, Sasori confirmed that it was indeed Orochimaru.
However, his body was too badly damaged to become his Human Puppet.
A short while later, people in the distance found another corpse, which turned out to be Yomi's.
In a collapse of this scale, the bodies of ninjas are not much different from those of ordinary people.
Yomi looked even worse; his entire body was almost a pool of blood and mud, red, white, and green, with his brains spilled all over the ground.
"They must have been in a battle before they died, but Yomi shouldn't have had that kind of strength!"
After surveying the ruins once more, Scorpion analyzed the scene from that time.
Although he disliked Orochimaru and even loathed him, he had to admit that the scoundrel was indeed quite capable.
"The Yomi might not be able to do it, but perhaps the things here have the power to do so!"
Itachi's words once again reminded everyone that this place was indeed where the legendary Mōryō was sealed.
They had gathered a lot of intelligence along the way, though they weren't entirely clear on the specifics, but the location of the seal was no longer a secret.
Now that the seal has disappeared and the Mōryō have vanished, leaving only two corpses, one can't help but wonder.
"Whatever happened, the person is dead, and our mission is complete!"
Sasori of the Red Sands was fairly satisfied with the result. Although it was a pity that he couldn't deal with the guy himself, seeing his miserable end seemed not so bad.
After saying that, the long tail behind the scorpion puppet's body wrapped around Orochimaru's corpse.
The body still needs to be taken back to Nagato for his approval. If Kakuzu were here, he would definitely call him an expert!
As for Yomi's corpse, what's the point of taking it back? It's beyond repair. Hopefully, he has some filial descendants who will collect his body.
One act ends and another begins; two days later, Deidara's giant bird returned to the same spot.
However, the two did not linger for long, and left after only glancing at the ruins.
They didn't know why they had to do it; they were just following orders.
Next, they will travel to the Land of Demons to find the legendary Miko; that is their main mission.