Kidnapping Deidara

The golden ¥ symbol shattered the giant shark-shaped water bullet instantly!

"Is that not chakra? What on earth is that?" Hoshigaki Kisame looked as if he had seen the sun rise from the west.

Before he could even recover his senses, the Money Scattering Technique slammed directly into his chest.

With a miserable howl, blood sprayed from Hoshigaki Kisame's chest as his body was sent flying backward.

Under normal circumstances, this strike would not have been enough to take Hoshigaki Kisame down.

But at this moment, Hoshigaki Kisame's mind was blank, completely devoid of any defense, and his body flew straight out, crashing into the desert.

"A strange golden chakra emerging from the body... what could it be?" Sasori narrowed his eyes, feeling incredibly excited.

He now wanted to try and take Uchiha Yu down to turn him into a Human Puppet for his own amusement.

"That strike just now..." Deidara reminisced about the violent explosion of that golden chakra, his heart filled with shock.

"This is true art!" Deidara grabbed onto Uchiha Yu's leg, "I, Deidara, am willing to call you the strongest! You are the true art!"

Uchiha Yu deactivated his Money Release Chakra Mode, his face twisted in pain.

Just that brief Money Release Chakra Mode and the Money Scattering Technique had cost him fifteen thousand ryo!

That was all his hard-earned money!

"Run! Run quickly!"

Uchiha Yu dragged Deidara away, taking advantage of the fact that Hoshigaki Kisame hadn't yet climbed to his feet, and bolted into the distance.

Sasori didn't give chase, merely watching the backs of the two as they retreated.

"You can get up now," Sasori said, looking at Hoshigaki Kisame in the crater.

Hoshigaki Kisame took a deep breath and sprang up from the crater.

The wounds on his body had already been mostly healed by Samehada.

"As expected of the guy the boss has his eye on, he really has some skill." Hoshigaki Kisame chuckled and brushed the dust off his body, "Sooner or later, we'll bring them back!"

Sasori nodded and said, "Let's call it a day for now. There are others eyeing them both, so let's not let someone else snatch our prize."

With that, the two left the area.

From a crack in the rocks, a small snake crawled out, flicking its tongue.

Otogakure.

Orochimaru released the hand seals, a smile plastered on his face.

"Mangekyo Sharingan... Wood Release... and that strange chakra." Orochimaru wore a terrifying grin, "This is the ideal vessel I've been searching for!"

Outside Iwagakure.

Uchiha Yu took a deep breath, looked at Deidara beside him, and glanced back. Finding that Hoshigaki Kisame and Sasori hadn't followed, he let out a long sigh and patted his chest.

"That was too close." Uchiha Yu found a rock and sat down, "If I didn't have the Money Release Chakra Mode, I might have been done for."

Although he had suffered a small loss in this battle, it gave Uchiha Yu a clear gauge of his own strength.

He was roughly at the level of an average Jonin, and after activating the Money Release Chakra Mode, he could touch the threshold of a quasi-Kage.

While the strength of a Jonin was quite respectable in the Ninja World, it was merely the standard for the Akatsuki organization.

Without activating the Money Release Chakra Mode, he was no match for Hoshigaki Kisame at all.

"At least I got Deidara." Uchiha Yu stood up and said to Deidara, "You should come back to the Land of Fire with me. They are targeting you; if you stay here, you'll be killed sooner or later."

Deidara nodded frantically. He had realized that if it weren't for Uchiha Yu today, his chances of survival would have been slim.

"You take me to see Onoki, I'll explain the situation to him, and then I'll take you to the Land of Fire to lay low for a while," Uchiha Yu said.

Deidara was not yet a rogue ninja at this point, just a mischievous teenager who frequently caused trouble.

Moreover, as the disciple of Onoki, his status was quite prominent.

If he were being targeted by a strange organization, Iwagakure would certainly want to protect him.

It was perfect; if he just took Deidara back, he wouldn't have had a good excuse, but this gave him a legitimate opportunity to take Deidara away.

Deidara nodded frantically again, his eyes filled with anticipation.

He didn't want to stay here anymore; it was simply too terrifying.

Going to that Land of Fire place sounded much better!

Inside Iwagakure.

Onoki looked at Uchiha Yu and Deidara before him, his face full of astonishment.

"What did you say? You were targeted by rogue ninjas?" Onoki floated in the air, which finally made him a bit taller than Deidara.

He stroked his beard, looking completely incredulous.

Deidara nodded, tears streaming down his face, his voice trembling as he flopped onto the ground and wailed, "That's right! One guy was crawling on the ground like a cripple, and the other had a Land of Water headband on his forehead! They were both wearing Red Cloud Robes and conical hats, and their strength was at least Super-Kage level! I don't want to stay here anymore! I want to go to the Land of Fire for refuge!"

Uchiha Yu fell silent for a moment.

Damn, his acting skills were even better than his own!

Could this really be Deidara as a child?

Onoki's face darkened with frustration.

Beyond-Kage level? Was there even anyone that strong left in the entire Ninja World?

Who are you trying to fool?

Still, the appearances of those two individuals were likely genuine; that was something worth looking into.

"Setting that aside, who are you?" Onoki looked toward Uchiha Yu.

Uchiha Yu turned around, revealing the clan crest on his back.

"I am a member of the Uchiha Clan. I came to Iwagakure for a visit, and as soon as I arrived, I saw two rogue ninjas attacking Deidara! So, I stepped in and drove them off."

Uchiha Yu did not reveal his true identity; otherwise, it would be too difficult to explain.

Why would the son of the Fifth Hokage be idling away his time in Iwagakure?

And why would trouble start the moment he arrived?

It would definitely arouse Onoki's suspicions.

Onoki fell silent for a moment, having more or less figured out what had happened.

The scenario was likely that Deidara was about to be abducted by rogue ninjas, and Uchiha Yu had acted out of righteousness to drive them away.

Seeing that Uchiha Yu looked to be only about seven years old, the opponents must have been around the level of genin, or at most, chunin.

He was just about to politely decline Uchiha Yu's offer when he saw Kitsuchi, his son, winking at him from the side.

Kitsuchi: Hurry up and agree! Let Deidara get away from the village! I don't want to see the sewers blown up ever again!

Onoki took a deep breath and winked back at Kitsuchi.

Onoki: What if something happens to Deidara?

Kitsuchi winked back: Then if the sewers get blown up next time, I'm not doing anything about it!

Onoki: ...

After careful consideration, Onoki finally made his decision.

"Member of the Uchiha, for the sake of my disciple's safety, let him take refuge in your Konoha for the time being." Onoki wore a kindly smile. "However, my disciple is a bit mischievous and enjoys playing pranks; I hope you can be understanding!"

Uchiha Yu chuckled.

Rest assured, don't I know exactly what he's capable of?

Can't I handle a single Deidara?