He took one last look at the direction where Ning Xue disappeared, and slowly withdrew his gaze.
It is enough to know that the other person is still alive and can meet again.
He carefully put away the pocket watch and scroll, turned around and walked in the direction he came from.
Ya and Shino are still waiting for him.
Ya Zheng was squatting on the ground teasing Akamaru, while Shino was leaning against a tree trunk, his hands in his windbreaker pockets, and his eyes behind his sunglasses were looking at something unknown.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Ya raised his head and saw that Neji was back. He stood up and patted the grass clippings on his trouser legs with a somewhat curious tone.
"Neji, where were you just now? Why have you been gone for so long?"
As he spoke, he took a few steps closer.
But the moment he approached Neji, his nose twitched twice.
Ya's eyes suddenly became a little subtle.
As a ninja of the Inuzuka Clan, his sense of smell is far superior to that of ordinary people.
At this moment, he smelled a strange smell on Neji.
It's not animals, it's not mountains and trees, it's the smell of people.
"Did you meet someone just now?"
Ya narrowed his eyes and moved closer, the tip of his nose almost touching Neji's collar.
"It smells like a stranger."
Akamaru also came over, circled around Neji, and finally stopped next to his waist bag, lowered his head and sniffed, then raised his head and called out "Woof".
Neji's expression did not change at all.
He calmly took half a step back, avoiding Fang's close sniff, and spoke calmly.
"I happened to meet an acquaintance and exchanged a few words with him."
"Acquaintance?"
Ya raised his eyebrows, with obvious suspicion in his tone.
"Where do you know your acquaintance from in this wilderness?"
"We met during previous missions."
Neji didn't explain much, just changed the topic.
"Let's go, don't delay the mission."
Ya opened his mouth, wanting to ask more questions, but when he saw that Neji was already walking forward with a "no more talk" attitude, he could only give up, muttered "Tch, mysterious" and followed him.
Shino never spoke.
He walked at the end of the team, his eyes under his sunglasses fell on the back of Neji, he was silent for a moment, and then looked away.
No one noticed that a tiny black beetle quietly emerged from under Neji's clothes and flew back to Shino's cuffs.
Just when Ya was about to continue teasing Neji.
"Boom--!"
A dull explosion came from the dense forest in the distance, and the ground shook slightly, startling a large number of birds.
Several people raised their heads at the same time and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
A plume of black smoke slowly rose from the distance, standing out in the blue sky.
That direction... is that side of Naruto, right?
The three of them thought about it at the same time, but immediately realized it.
"Something happened!"
Ya's expression changed instantly, and Akamaru also arched his back and let out a low whimper.
Neji's Byakugan opened instantly, and the field of vision penetrated the shadows of trees and rocks, extending rapidly towards the direction of the explosion.
He saw three figures moving quickly, among which the orange one Chakra was particularly eye-catching.
"It's Naruto and the others!" Neji's voice deepened.
The three of them didn't have any unnecessary exchanges. They exerted force on their feet almost at the same time, and their bodies quickly flew towards the direction of the rising smoke.
Time goes back to ten minutes ago.
In the sky, a huge white clay bird was passing high in the sky, casting a moving shadow.
There are three figures sitting on the back of the bird.
Deidara was sitting cross-legged at the front, with his hands folded across his chest, chattering away with an unhappy look on his face.
"Uncle Scorpion, you judge me. During your absence, this guy couldn't help at all. He kept chattering in my ears all day long, always questioning my art."
He tilted his head, turned sideways and glanced in the direction behind him, his tone full of impatience.
"Brother Xie, how do you think this guy got into Akatsuki? Is the leader blind?"
The scorpion sits in the middle of the giant bird, still wearing the Hiruko shell.
His voice came from inside Hiruko, hoarse and flat, with a hint of absent-mindedness.
"It's so noisy."
Just these three simple words made Deidara curl his lips and turn his head.
Tobi sat at the back, holding the bird's back with both hands, rocking back and forth, and his lively tone was incompatible with the current atmosphere.
"Deidara Senior, please don't say that~ I'm very powerful! Although I accidentally stepped on senior's clay last time, it was really just an accident!"
"How dare you mention last time!"
Deidara had veins popping out on his forehead, and his right hand was already touching Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist, as if he was ready to take out the clay and give it to Tobi at any time.
"Okay, stop making trouble."
Xie finally spoke, his tone still calm and calm, but Deidara paused for a moment.
"Get down to business first."
Deidara snorted, turned his head heavily, took out a pair of special single-frame glasses from his arms, put them on the bridge of his nose, and began to search the continuous mountain forest below.
After a while, his eyes suddenly stopped.
"Oh?"
He squinted his eyes and carefully observed the woodland below through the lenses, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved.
"I found an acquaintance."
In the forest clearing below, three figures were moving forward slowly.
Kakashi, Yamato, Sai.
Kakashi walked in front, followed by Pakkun, walking leisurely.
Yamato followed him, scanning the surroundings with vigilant eyes.
Sai walked at the back with that iconic fake smile on his lips.
Deidara's eyes stayed on them for a moment, and then continued to scan farther away.
Then, he saw it.
In a relatively open place, three figures were resting.
A guy wearing orange clothes and blond hair was dancing and saying something to the two people beside him.
Naruto.
"Ah, Nine-Tails is here."
Deidara put down his glasses, turned back and grinned in the direction of Xie and Tobi.
"Brother Scorpion, let's go say hello first."
Before he finished speaking, he patted the giant clay bird under him. The giant bird tilted suddenly and dived in the direction of Naruto.
The three Kakashi people on the ground also noticed something strange in the sky.
Kakashi raised his head and narrowed the exposed eye slightly.
"Deidara... and Scorpion and Tobi!"
His tone was shocked and a bit surprised.
"Trouble."
Sai didn't wait for Kakashi's order, his hands quickly Hand Seals.
"Super Beast Imitating Drawing!"
A huge Ink Bird flew out of the scroll, spread its wings, and hovered in front of the three people.
Sai turned over and jumped on the back of the bird, and at the same time stretched out his hands to pull Kakashi and Yamato up.
Ink Bird spread its wings and galloped away in the direction of Naruto.
At the same time.
Naruto was standing on a flat rock, describing to Sakura and Hinata what just happened.
"... He just looked at me, and then said 'very good', and then took out a Crow from his sleeve! A Crow! and stuffed it into my mouth!"
Naruto pointed at his throat, looking like he had eaten shit.
"What on earth does he want to do?!"
Sakura folded his arms and frowned.
"Uchiha Itachi... Why would he do this?"
Hinata stood aside, clasping his hands in front of him, pursed his lips, and felt an inexplicable sense of frustration in his heart.
Just when Naruto was about to continue describing the touch of Crow, there was a sudden sound above his head.
He raised his head subconsciously.
A giant white clay bird was swooping down from a high altitude at an astonishing speed, approaching their location with a harsh whistling sound.
There is a person on the back of the giant bird, holding a ball of white clay with one hand and an excited smile on his face.
Deidara.
"Tsk... it's that guy!"
Naruto's pupils shrank suddenly, and the memory of fighting against Sunagakure instantly came to his mind.
Then, he saw Deidara's hand raised.
A round white clay ball fell from above, rolled in the air, and fell accurately towards their location.
Naruto's expression suddenly changed.
"Be careful!"
He suddenly rushed towards the two people beside him.
With one hand on the left and one on the right, he held Hinata's waist with one hand, and grabbed Sakura's wrist with the other, and dragged them to the side.
"Boom--!!!"
The moment the clay ball hit the ground, a ball of blazing flames exploded, and the shock wave sent the three of them flying backwards. They rolled several times on the ground before barely stopping.
Smoke and dust filled the air, gravel flew everywhere, and a deep, charred pit was blasted out of the ground, with wisps of green smoke rising from the edge.
Naruto got up from the ground, his ears were ringing, and there was a blood mark on his cheek scratched by gravel.
He looked up to the sky.
The giant white bird was hovering in mid-air. Deidara stood on the back of the bird, looking down at them with a playful smile on his lips.
"Hey, long time no see, Nine-Tails kid."
(I don't know what to do recently. Do you have any suggestions? Speak freely.)