Deidara, I'm Here!

Uchiha Yu crossed his arms, watching Jiraiya before him.

If his calculations regarding the timeline were correct, the Akatsuki organization would soon be making its next move.

However, Deidara should not have joined Akatsuki yet, so Uchiha Yu could consider intercepting him.

Jiraiya pinched his chin, carefully pondering the so-called Akatsuki organization Uchiha Yu had mentioned, but he still could not find any leads.

This was the first time he had ever heard the name.

"Akatsuki? What is that? Who leads it? What is their goal?"

Seeing that Uchiha Yu seemed to know a great deal about this organization, Jiraiya could not help but ask.

Uchiha Yu shook his head, choosing not to tell Jiraiya everything about Akatsuki.

After all, given his status, it was fundamentally impossible for him to have access to such intelligence.

If he revealed information he had no business knowing, Jiraiya might start to suspect him.

"If I knew those things, I wouldn't need to tell you. Regardless, this Akatsuki is very mysterious and quite troublesome; I've heard they have ties to many rogue ninjas."

Uchiha Yu's purpose in telling Jiraiya was actually to get him to deal with the still-developing Akatsuki.

Even if there was no way to nip it in the bud, they could at least significantly slow down their operations.

That would be a good thing for Konoha.

Jiraiya crossed his arms, sighed, and gave Uchiha Yu a meaningful look.

"I am still a ninja of Konoha, but if you Uchiha intend to commit any acts of betrayal against the village, I will certainly not stand for it."

With that, Jiraiya's body gave a slight twitch, and he vanished from the spot.

Seeing that he had finally sent off this plague god, Uchiha Yu offered a bitter smile.

He hadn't expected that so many people would have their eyes on him.

Two of the Sannin had already taken an interest.

"Now that the rebellion issues with the Sarutobi and Shimura clans are settled, the next step is to recruit some teammates."

A smile tugged at the corner of Uchiha Yu's mouth.

The current Deidara should still be in Sunagakure, acting as a mischievous youth.

Only, his mischief was a bit more troublesome.

He blew things up everywhere.

Naruto at least only dared to graffiti the Hokage Rock, but if it were Deidara, he would definitely choose to blow the Hokage Rock to pieces.

There was no helping it; to Deidara, the moment the Hokage Rock exploded was far more artistic than it simply hanging there forever.

"Since I have some free time these next two days, I might as well head to Iwagakure. I can't let Akatsuki beat me to the punch; that would be a headache." Uchiha Yu gave a wry smile and shook his head.

Deidara was no pushover; rather than letting him join Akatsuki, it would be better to recruit him directly into his own ranks.

Sunagakure.

Hyuga Tokuma looked at Uchiha Yu with a puzzled expression.

"You're saying you're in a bad mood and want to wander around the outskirts of Sunagakure alone, and you want us to head back to the village first?" Hyuga Tokuma looked skeptical.

In his eyes, Uchiha Yu was the epitome of a precocious brat; his words were as reliable as a fart, and there was absolutely no reason to believe him.

"Of course! When have I ever lied to you? Sigh, as the second young master of the Uchiha, the pressure is immense. I'm burdened with worries no one my age should have to bear; it's truly hateful." Uchiha Yu crossed his arms, his eyes shimmering with tears, putting on a look of profound sorrow.

"Really?" Hyuga Tokuma still didn't believe him.

"Really. From the time I was small until now, when have I ever lied to anyone?" Uchiha Yu affirmed.

Uchiha Sasuke was silent for a moment before saying, "Big brother, did you pay the man at the photo studio?"

"..." Uchiha Yu only then remembered that when he had photos taken for Sasuke, he had apparently put it on his tab...

Counting it up... it had been over half a month.

"Ahem, I will definitely pay it. I'll take care of it as soon as I return to the village," Uchiha Yu said awkwardly.

Hyuga Tokuma looked at Uchiha Yu, shook his head, and said, "Fine. Since you want to go, I can't stop you. But you must be careful and make sure nothing happens to you, otherwise, I won't be able to explain it."

If Uchiha Yu kicked the bucket, the Uchiha Clan would likely hold him responsible first.

He was just a lowly Special Jonin; even with the Hyuga Clan backing him, he couldn't face the wrath of the Uchiha.

Uchiha Yu chuckled and said, "In that case, Uncle Tokuma, please take good care of Sasuke and Naruto."

With that, Uchiha Yu stood up and left, heading away from Sunagakure toward the direction of Iwagakure.

Iwagakure was surrounded by mountains; not only was it easy to defend and hard to attack, but the transportation was also extremely congested.

This allowed Iwagakure to hold onto its own little patch of land, never being annexed during the wars despite not being particularly strong.

Moreover, the Dust Release of the current Tsuchikage, Onoki, was indeed second to none.

In Uchiha Yu's words, it was true damage! It ignored armor! It ignored magic resistance!

Uchiha Yu had always wanted Dust Release, but it was a Kekkei Tota, requiring the fusion of three chakra nature transformations, and the price in the system shop was prohibitively expensive.

A Kekkei Genkai only cost one hundred Pay-to-Win Points, but Dust Release required five hundred.

That was five hundred thousand...

For Uchiha Yu, it was simply an astronomical price!

Uchiha Yu had no choice but to temporarily shelve the idea and continue walking toward Iwagakure.

He hadn't forgotten his goal; he was here to find Deidara!

Three days later.

Outside Iwagakure.

On a stretch of desert, a small, earth-yellow tent stood upright.

Deidara sat inside the tent, continuously kneading Explosive Clay with his hands.

"Hehe, this explosion will surely become true art!"

Deidara was only ten years old at this time, yet he had already been forced to leave the village to live because of his frequent explosive incidents.

However, because he was the student of Onoki, he had never been hunted down and killed.

Clearly, Deidara didn't want to live such a mediocre life, so he kept returning to the ninja village every few days to cause all sorts of explosions.

Deidara skillfully used the mouth on his palm to swallow the Explosive Clay, and after a moment, he spat out a small, exquisite Clay Bird.

Although this Clay Bird looked only the size of a palm, its actual explosive power couldn't be matched even by seven or eight Explosive Tags bundled together.

What's more, this thing could fly...

"Haha! It's finished! I'm going to tell those old fossils in Iwagakure! My art is..." Deidara's face was full of excitement, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by an uninvited guest outside the tent.

"Explosion?" Uchiha Yu chuckled, pulling open the tent flap.

"Hello there, Deidara. It's our first meeting, please treat me well," Uchiha Yu said very politely.

Deidara was dumbfounded, looking Uchiha Yu up and down, only to realize he didn't recognize him.

"Who are you? I don't think I've seen you in Iwagakure!" Deidara looked confused.

Since Uchiha Yu hadn't graduated yet, he wasn't wearing a forehead protector, leading Deidara to mistake him for someone from his own village.

"I'm your little fanboy. I admire your art so much; why don't you come hang out with me, how about it? Idol?" Uchiha Yu wore a wicked grin.

Deidara scratched his head.

What the hell, who is this idiot?