Zero and Haku mobilize

"Sand Shower".

A low shout suddenly rang out, followed by a cloud of sand rising into the sky.

The sand concentrated above Hiruko's head, and in an instant, a sand rain poured down, with nimble, snake-like streaks of sand spiraling upwards from the ground.

"Huh? Can't move?" Sasori realized that Hiruko was entangled in the sand on the ground.

Bang bang bang!!

Countless raindrops of sand pelted Hiruko, creating a series of muffled crackling sounds. Hiruko was like a small boat adrift in a raging storm.

In the blink of an eye, Hiruko was swallowed up by endless sand.

Sasori's attack was also neutralized at the same time, and the group of Sunagakure Shinobi were saved, quickly moving towards the three people who appeared on the sand dune.

"Gaara." Baki glanced at Gaara, slightly relieved.

Not only Gaara, but Temari Kankuro, who were responsible for meeting Gaara ahead of time, also arrived together.

"Baki- sensei, what's going on here?" Temari looked at Deidara in the sky, then turned to Baki and asked.

"It's the Rogue Ninja Sasori of the Red Sands..." Before Baki could finish speaking, Gaara coldly interrupted, "The Red Clouds on a Black Background Coat belongs to the Akatsuki Organization."

"Mercenary organization from the Land of Rain?" Baki knew nothing about Akatsuki, while Gaara only knew some information from Jiraiya at Mount Myōboku.

"It's an organization that specializes in collecting Tailed Beast, and Ōtsutsuki Tōka is also a member of Akatsuki Organization!" Gaara added in detail.

Upon hearing this, two words immediately flashed through the minds of everyone present—enemy!

Since the target is the Tailed Beast inside the Jinchūriki, there is no need to hesitate. Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara are both enemies of Sunagakure.

Baki made a gesture, and the Sunagakure Shinobi surrounding Gaara immediately dispersed.

They formed a defensive formation below, preparing to attack Deidara flying in the sky. Just then, the Hiruko around Hiruko, who was buried in sand, suddenly moved.

Immediately afterwards, a dark shadow burst forth from the sand that had been covering it.

"What? He's still alive?" Temari and Kankuro were most familiar with Gaara's abilities; the power of the Sand Shower was enough to shatter a wall of earth.

The short man in the Red Cloud Black Cloak was hit head-on, yet he emerged unscathed?

Is this Sasori of the Red Sands's true strength...?

"Everyone be careful, this guy is S-rank Rogue Ninja from the village!"

Just as Baki finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept past his ear.

Kankuro, also Puppet Master, removed the Crow from his back, connected his ten fingers with Chakra Threads, and manipulated the Crow to swoop down on Sasori.

"A genius Puppet Master, huh? Leave it to me!" Kankuro appeared dismissive, but inwardly he was thinking, "I want to know the difference between myself and a genius!"

Sasori of the Red Sands is the target of almost every Sunagakure Shinobi Puppet Master.

Kankuro was no exception; while respecting Sasori, he also vowed to surpass him!

Crackling!

The Crow swooped in, opened its beak with a click, and the mechanism hidden in the puppet's mouth activated, revealing a circular nozzle.

"Secret Technique: Poison Needle in the Mouth!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Three consecutive small-area, high-density green poison needles shot through the air; Scorpion, being Puppet Master, could not avoid the Puppet Master's fatal weakness.

That's the Puppet Master's Original Body!

The battle is over once the poisonous stinger hits the scorpion's Original Body!

"Oh? It's Crow!" Hiruko glanced up indifferently at the dark figure rushing towards them, his cold tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

Clang, ding ding ding!

The enormous steel tail behind Hiruko quickly extended, circling the city several times to form a steel barrier that blocked all the poison needles in the air.

As everyone was shocked, a foul gust of wind swept by, and the enormous tail descended from mid-air, slashing down at nothing in the void.

Puff puff puff!!

Others might not understand what was going on, but Kankuro, who was on the opposing side, knew very well that Sasori's attack had not missed.

Instead...

He severed all the Chakra Threads connecting him to the Crow!

With a thud, the Crow flying in the air, like a kite with a broken string, fell limply to the ground.

It slid forward through the sand until it came to a stop at Hiruko's feet.

"How is that possible? One move..."

Can't even catch them?

Kankuro's expression changed drastically, and a hint of fear appeared in his shocked pupils. He believed that he was no worse than others.

Even the renowned genius Puppet Master of the Land of Wind Sasori of the Red Sands!

"Kankuro, come back!" Baki shouted immediately upon seeing this, and two Sunagakure Shinobi Body Flicker Technique appeared beside Kankuro, watching the Poison Scorpion's tail warily.

The two protected Kankuro as they retreated, while keeping an eye out for Sasori's sudden attack.

The scorpion, however, had no desire to fight whatsoever, and its venomous steel tail retracted with a crackling sound.

He looked up at the large white bird circling in the sky and snapped impatiently, "Deidara, what are you dawdling about?"

"Anti-air?" Temari followed Sasori's gaze to the sky, the Three-Star Fan on her back already in her hand.

Clang!

The appearance of three stars signifies that Temari is getting serious.

"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!"

A surge of violent Wind Release chakra was injected into the air, causing it to form a massive storm. Within the storm, countless Wind Blade slashed wildly at the enemy.

It has an extremely wide attack range and is very powerful against both air and ground targets.

Boom!!

As Temari and waved her Three-Star Fan, a strong wind arose, and an Artificial Sandstorm swept across the entire desert.

The giant white bird flying low was right in the storm's attack range.

"Wind Release, this is a bit troublesome!... Hmm." Deidara gathered chakra in his feet and attached himself to the back of the giant bird.

In the storm, the giant bird was blown about, swaying back and forth, and could be cut to pieces at any moment by the Wind Blade hidden in the storm.

However, Deidara was very confident in his aerial combat skills, perfectly maneuvering the white giant bird to dodge the deadly attacks in the storm.

It seemed to be teetering on the brink of collapse, yet it narrowly avoided the Wind Blade each time.

Several breaths passed, and the violent storm swept away endless yellow sand, but Deidara and the giant white bird were still in the air.

This time, however, Deidara increased the distance just to be on the safe side.

"You guys are done, it's my turn!... Okay."

Deidara rode the giant white bird a considerable distance into the air, and when he estimated that the Sunagakure Shinobi below couldn't hit him, he reached his hands into the clay bag hanging from his waist.

Chakra was injected into the Explosive Clay as Deidara opened and closed his mouth in both palms.

"There are quite a few Sunagakure Shinobi fodder, let's use C3 No. 18 to clear them out!... Hmm."

Deidara's eyes narrowed as he noticed that Hiruko had retreated a considerable distance, giving him ample space to fight.

For a moment, the air was filled with a chilling atmosphere.

Deidara clasped his hands together in Hand Seals, then spread his fingers to reveal a mouth in his palms.

The Explosive Clay, infused with its highest level of chakra, burst forth and, pulled by Gravity, plummeted straight toward the ground.

With a bang, the white Explosive Clay exploded in the air, transforming into a giant human-shaped bomb.

The doll-shaped bomb swelled rapidly in the wind, expanding and accelerating its descent; its power was enough to destroy a village!

"Oh no! Everyone scatter!" Baki's expression tightened, and he shouted sharply.

Everyone present had witnessed Deidara's abilities; in other words, they knew that the rapidly falling behemoth was going to explode!

Based on their volume, even the small bird from that flight was enough to shatter the Rock.

Then wouldn't this behemoth before us be...?

Before they could think any further, as Baki's voice erupted, all the Sunagakure Shinobi scattered in all directions like madmen.

"Too fast, there's no way to dodge it." The only ones who remained relatively calm were Gaara and his group, who grew up on the sand dunes.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro could see it, and Baki naturally could too; blindly running away wouldn't get them out of the way.

On the contrary, it will completely expose what's behind it, and then...

"Damn it!" Baki cursed under his breath, raising his hands to prepare to unleash his Secret Technique. Whether it would work or not, he had to at least give it a try!

Just then, the sand on the ground began to churn wildly, spewing out strange sandbags like boiling water.

"The desert is my home turf!"

Gaara stepped forward, his hand suddenly extended, fingers spread and then clenched into a fist.

Desert Wave!

The churning sand seemed to come alive, surging towards each retreating Sunagakure Shinobi and forming a protective barrier entirely composed of sand around them.

C3·18 also landed at this time.

A violent collision with the ground is the signal for a bomb to explode!

Rumble!!

A giant Mushroom Cloud shot into the sky, and the powerful force stirred up a storm that sent sand flying into the air. The swirling yellow sand seemed to coat the heavens and earth with a layer of sandy yellow.

To the north of the Battlefield, two figures dressed in Red Cloud Black Cloak walked south, one on each side.

These two are none other than Animal Path and Konan, who traveled the route between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind, serving as Deidara to capture the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

Animal Path and Konan were the follow-up support troops.

One -One-Tail Beast doesn't need such powerful combat strength, but Nagato was worried, and capturing One-Tail was urgent.

That's why Nagato made such a careful decision.

"It looks like Sasori and Deidara have already clashed with the Sunagakure Shinobi." Konan stared intently to the south; the enormous Mushroom Cloud must be Deidara's technique.

Even from a distance of at least a hundred miles, you can feel the roar of the Wind and Sand.

The battle must be extremely intense...

"Tōka's plan is a success. Speed up." The Animal Path calmly withdrew its gaze, and its movement speed increased considerably.

The two continued to walk with steady steps, but their speeds were completely different. Several Phantom flashed in their sights, and then their figures disappeared into the depths of the Wind and Sand.

Under the same sky, at the same point in time.

Beyond the massive Waterfall that hides the Takigakure Land of Waterfalls a towering cliff that reaches into the clouds, beyond which lie dense forests, Big Tree, and towering mountains.

Although Takigakure is surrounded by four countries, its unique geographical location has prevented it from ever being invaded by any other country.

On another mountain peak, facing the enormous Waterfall, three dark figures lurked among the Tree Shadow.

"Karin, are you sure it's behind this huge Waterfall?" Takigakure is relatively mysterious, and this is Kimimaro's first time Takigakure.

The three of them had heard some of the rumors circulating in the Ninja World.

Perhaps it's because of Teacher Tōka, perhaps it's because of the Akatsuki Organization, or perhaps it's because the Tailed Beast of the Great Nations have been captured.

This alerted Takigakure, prompting them to recall the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Based on the initial intelligence, we tracked it all the way here, only to find that the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki had suddenly disappeared."

Karin was absolutely certain that Takigakure was located behind this great Waterfall.

Because behind the enormous Waterfall that connects heaven and earth, Karin can clearly sense many different chakras.

Among the many mixed chakras, some strong and some weak, there is one that is particularly special, filled with an aura of evil and rage!

"I'm certain the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki is right behind here, Takigakure is right behind here too," Karin said seriously.

Yakumo frowned slightly; with their combined strength, it was impossible for them to force their way into Takigakure.

"Although Takigakure's strength is below that of the Five Great Nations, it is showing signs of becoming the Sixth Great Nations; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to acquire the Seven-Tails Chōmei."

The same thought flashed through everyone's minds at the same time: unless the teacher himself came, they absolutely could not force their way in.

"Perhaps we can think of other ways." Kimimaro his lips, his gaze fixed on the Waterfall hanging from the cliff.

He was searching, searching for a place to infiltrate.

"Didn't the teacher tell us to find the whereabouts of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Karin didn't immediately understand what Yakumo said, but Kimimaro's next words instantly enlightened her.

"You wouldn't be thinking of...?"

Kimimaro and Yakumo both looked at Karin's face. Although they didn't answer, their eyes clearly told Karin the answer.

What they were thinking was exactly what she meant by "Could it be...".

Karin is not a combat type, while Mind's Eye of the Kagura is the most powerful Sensory Technique.

Yakumo's Genjutsu is very powerful, and her body has been well-maintained over the years, as well as being infused with Yang Release Chakra by Tōka, making her no different from an ordinary person. However, Taijutsu will always be the weakness of the Kurama Clan.

Of the squad, only Kimimaro truly possessed the ability to engage the enemy in direct combat.

Both Karin's Mind's Eye of the Kagura and Yakumo's True Illusion can only play a supporting role.

If they encounter the Takigakure ninja and enter battle, they will not only alert the enemy but also put the three-person team in danger.

Karin did not object to the two's idea of infiltrating Takigakure. After so many years in the Land of Snow, what the three of them looked forward to most was seeing Tōka again.

They naturally hoped to complete the first task Tōka assigned them perfectly.

"We should at least wait for Lord Sasori and the others to arrive," Karin said after a moment's hesitation.

"Lord Sasori won't be coming." Kimimaro received the information that Sasori and Deidara had gone to the Land of Wind, which was delivered by Black Zetsu.

The initial plan was for Kimimaro and his two companions to find the exact location of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, while Sasori and Deidara would travel to the Land of Waterfalls to capture him.

However, when Nagato decided to personally capture the One-Tail Jinchuriki, he ordered the Art Group to go to the Land of Wind as the vanguard.

Finally, Kimimaro added casually, "Don't worry, Master has already had Black Zetsu send a message to the Land of Snow."

"The Land of Snow? So, Sister Pakura and Sister Bai are coming?" Upon hearing the words "Land of Snow, "Karin's face, which had been drooping, brightened with joy.

Kimimaro took one last look at the great Waterfall and made his decision.

"Before they arrive, we'll stay in a small town thirty miles away."

Swish swish swish!!

The three figures blurred and quickly disappeared...