Naruto bound Deidara, keeping his senses alert the whole time. In the end, he shook his head regretfully and said to Deidara, "Your partner abandoned you. Looks like the Akatsuki members don't have very good relationships with one another."
"After all, we each joined Akatsuki for our own reasons."
Deidara knew he couldn't escape now, so he said calmly, "But don't expect me to tell you anything. Get it over with and kill me."
"Whether you live or die isn't up to me."
Naruto looked at Kakashi, who was approaching from a short distance away. "Iwagakure has a bounty on you. It's currently twice the price offered on the black market, and it keeps going up."
"Twice?!"
Deidara's eyes widened, then he muttered under his breath, "That old geezer's willing to spend that much... No wonder old man Kakuzu always gives me strange looks. If I hadn't joined Akatsuki, he'd probably have caught me and taken me to that old geezer for the money."
"The black market doesn't care whether you're dead or alive, but the old geezer you mentioned insists on you being alive and in one piece."
Naruto made the point clear, then turned his attention back to the task at hand. He'd confirmed there were no other Akatsuki members nearby. Lifting Deidara with one hand, he went to meet Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, how's Gaara?"
"His injuries aren't serious, but there are signs of poisoning. I've given him emergency treatment. Once we're back in Sunagakure, Sakura can treat him. A few days of rest should be enough."
"Good thing we got here in time. When I opened that stone just now, I saw them summon something huge. I think they were about to extract Shukaku from Gaara."
"Hmm... Are you planning to take this guy back with us?"
"He's