They hadn't expected that going after Deidara would lead them to run into someone from the Uchiha Clan!
They could only say they'd had the worst luck!
Uchiha Yu didn't waste his breath. Those three Genin weren't even enough to warm him up.
In just a few quick moves, without using a single ninjutsu, he took them all out with nothing but Konoha-Style Taijutsu.
"With skills like that, you still dared to pick a fight with me? What a disgrace. Standards sure have fallen."
Uchiha Yu could only shake his head helplessly. Was anyone allowed to mouth off to him these days?
Deidara stared at Uchiha Yu in amazement, too excited to speak.
"Are you from the Uchiha Clan? You're so strong!"
Deidara could have dealt with those few cannon fodder ninjas too, but nowhere near as easily as Uchiha Yu had.
Uchiha Yu dusted off his hands. "My name is Uchiha Yu. Of course I'm from the Uchiha Clan."
Before Deidara could say anything, another strange voice sounded from behind them.
"Uchiha Yu? Are you Uchiha Itachi's younger brother?"
Uchiha Yu immediately turned around and saw two ninjas standing behind him.
They might have been ordinary ninjas, but what nearly made Uchiha Yu choke was that they were...
Kisame and Sasori of the Red Sands!
Sasori of the Red Sands was still tucked inside Hiruko. He and Kisame wore conical hats and Red Cloud Robes from the Akatsuki.
The towering Kisame made Uchiha Yu feel as if he were being crushed.
"You're..." Uchiha Yu almost blurted out the words "the Akatsuki."
But if he really said those words... he'd probably be done for.
"They're rogue ninjas!"
Deidara stared at Kisame Hoshigaki's Forehead Protector, his eyes widening.
A rogue ninja from the Land of Water!
"Deidara, come with us," Kisame Hoshigaki said.
If not for Uchiha Yu, Uchiha Itachi would have joined the Akatsuki after the night of the clan's massacre.
The awkward part was that Uchiha Itachi was still diligently serving as a ninja in Konoha.
So they had to recruit ten-year-old Deidara ahead of schedule.
He was a little young, but at least he was a ninja, and he was both capable and full of potential.
Recruiting Deidara early was part of the Akatsuki's current plan.
Cold sweat beaded across Uchiha Yu's forehead.
These two weren't ordinary foes, and they were nothing like Orochimaru or Jiraiya.
If he gave Orochimaru something he wanted, Orochimaru might spare his life. Jiraiya, for his part, wasn't the type to kill the innocent.
Kisame Hoshigaki and Sasori of the Red Sands were completely different. There were too many ninjas dead at their hands to count!
They were true harbingers of death! If they made a move, they'd be coming straight for his head!
"You two go ahead. I'm going to make myself scarce." Uchiha Yu swallowed and slowly backed away.
Kisame Hoshigaki glanced at Uchiha Yu. "Why don't you come with us too?"
Uchiha Yu froze. Were they trying to recruit him?
Was the Akatsuki really that short on people?
Actually, according to the original story, Uchiha Itachi should have been the one helping the two of them recruit Deidara.
And Uchiha Itachi had done most of the work. But now he was still a model young man, and there was no chance he'd have anything to do with them.
"I'm not going!" Uchiha Yu said. "You're way too impressive for me. I'm not worthy of joining you! The world is vast. How about we part ways and meet again if fate allows?"
"Whether you come or not isn't up to you." Kisame Hoshigaki sneered and slowly reached for Samehada on his back.
Uchiha Yu instantly felt a chill run through him.
He started weighing all the resources he had at his disposal.
After thinking it over, Uchiha Yu could only reach one conclusion.
With his current strength, even if he used all his ocular techniques, he might still not be Kisame Hoshigaki's match.
Facing him head-on would mean certain death.
Especially with Sasori of the Red Sands standing right there. If he made one wrong move, he'd end up as a puppet, chatting about life with the Third Kazekage.
Deidara looked at Uchiha Yu, then at Sasori of the Red Sands and Kisame Hoshigaki. "I'm not going with you! I'm going to Konoha!"
Sasori of the Red Sands paused. "Why do you want to go to Konoha?"
Deidara put his hands on his hips. "Because lots of people in Konoha appreciate my art. They're people with real wisdom. I can't get along with people like you who only know how to use force!"
"Art?" Sasori of the Red Sands sneered. "Do you even know what art is?"
Deidara held up a lump of Explosive Clay. "The explosion in that instant! That's true art!"
Sasori of the Red Sands snorted. "Ridiculous."
As he spoke, a steel scorpion tail extended from Hiruko's back and hooked toward Deidara.
"Come quietly with me." Sasori of the Red Sands sneered, as if Deidara were already in his grasp.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Uchiha Yu formed Hand Seals and blasted the scorpion tail with Fire Release.
With a boom, the scorpion tail was knocked aside and stabbed into a nearby rock.
Uchiha Yu exhaled a mouthful of black smoke and looked at Sasori of the Red Sands and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"I spotted Deidara first. Can't you two respect who got here first?"
Uchiha Yu knew he might not be able to beat the two of them, but he had still spent several days making his way to Iwagakure to find Deidara.
If Kisame Hoshigaki and Sasori of the Red Sands stole him right out from under his nose, that would be infuriating.
"Kid, I was going to spare your life because you're only seven. Don't push your luck." Sasori of the Red Sands' voice suddenly turned menacing.
Uchiha Yu took a deep breath. "How about we sit down and talk this out?"
The moment he finished speaking, Hiruko's mouth opened, and several Poison Needles shot toward Uchiha Yu!
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Uchiha Yu slapped his palm against the ground. A tall wall rose up and blocked the Poison Needles.
With several sharp cracks, the Poison Needles struck the wall and left a string of fractures in it.
"That's some serious piercing power." Uchiha Yu took a deep breath. If they'd been just a little stronger, he'd have been done for.
"Not bad. You really are from the Uchiha Clan," Sasori of the Red Sands said with a smile. "If you come with us too, I guarantee you'll become countless times stronger than you are now."
Uchiha Yu leaped back several steps, stopping more than ten meters from Sasori of the Red Sands. He shook his head. "I'll pass. I really don't want to go! I mean it!"
The Akatsuki was certainly powerful, with plenty of talented people.
But what kind of nonsense was it for him to become a rogue ninja at just seven years old?
Besides, Pain might be the Akatsuki's leader on the surface, but the real ones in control were Obito and Zetsu.
And behind the two of them were Uchiha Madara and Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Uchiha Yu really didn't want to get mixed up with them.
Kisame Hoshigaki drew Samehada. "If he won't come willingly, then kill Uchiha Yu! We'll take his younger brother with us!"
Before you continue