Grass Country.
Deidara sat dozing on a large rock while Scorpion meticulously maintained his puppets nearby.
After an unknown length of time, footsteps sounded in the distance.
Deidara looked up, then said impatiently, "Hey, what took you so long? We've been waiting almost all afternoon!"
Juzo Biwa, walking toward Deidara, smiled. "We ran into a little trouble on the way!"
There was no doubt.
The ones approaching were none other than the other Akatsuki Organization team members, Itachi and Juzo Biwa.
Deidara asked, "Did you run into shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages?"
When he reached them, Juzo Biwa planted Kubikiribōchō in the ground. "No. We just ran into a few Grass shinobi."
When Deidara heard they were Grass shinobi, he lost interest.
Juzo Biwa casually remarked, "Those guys from Kusagakure aren't good at much, but they're quite skilled at gathering intelligence. The moment the Box of Paradise showed up in the Land of Demons, they got wind of it."
"The Box of Paradise?!" Deidara paused, then said, "That Grass shinobi kid named Muku, the one connected to the Upper Rank?"
Juzo Biwa nodded. "Ever since the war in Grass Country, the Grass shinobi have been looking for him. Recently, word got out that he'd shown up in the Land of Demons."
Deidara smiled. "He's been hiding for so long. Looks like he can't stay hidden any longer, hmm!"
Juzo Biwa said, "The boss won't let him off for getting mixed up with those Upper Rank monsters. I hear Kakuzu and Hidan have already gone to the Land of Demons!"
Deidara asked, "Oh, are they going to kill him?"
Juzo Biwa shook his head.
He clearly didn't know what specific orders Nagato had given Kakuzu and Hidan.
Deidara and Juzo Biwa chatted about this and that, while Scorpion remained