Over a hundred kilometers from Sunagakure, in a beautiful spot nestled between mountains and water, Deidara and Sasori walked straight up to a cliff face.
They passed through a torii-like gateway and stopped in front of a massive spherical boulder. A large paper talisman bearing the character "Seal" was stuck to its surface.
Deidara formed Hand Seals with one hand, activating the Cursed Technique he had set up. The boulder slowly rose, revealing a hidden cave behind it.
Once Deidara and Sasori had entered, the boulder slowly descended again.
There was no lighting inside the cave, leaving it extremely dark, but Deidara and Sasori seemed able to see just fine.
"Why are you so late?"
A phantom figure appeared in the darkness and looked at Deidara and Sasori. "Hurry up and get ready."
"The One-Tail Jinchuriki was much stronger than I expected. We weren't prepared enough."
Deidara shook his empty left sleeve. "Good thing old man Sasori helped me out. If I'd been alone, I might've been stuck in Sunagakure."
"..."
The phantom figure didn't know what to say for a moment. Two seconds later, he finally spoke. "I've told you many times not to underestimate Jinchuriki."
"Now that I've learned from this, I'll make sure I'm prepared every time from now on."
Deidara put on a surrendering look. "Let's get down to business first. Business!"
The phantom figure fell silent for a moment, formed Hand Seals, then slapped his palm against the ground, raising a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, a giant "Demonic Statue" stood in the cave. Its palms faced upward, fingers spread and pointing skyward.
Just as Deidara and Sasori were about to jump up, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
"Whoa!"
Deidara nearly fell over, but managed to steady himself. "What's going on? Was