The Story Begins!

Time flew by like a swift horse passing through a crack.

In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.

Over those five years, no major changes had occurred on the surface of the shinobi world.

The Five Great Ninja Villages still maintained a fragile peace. Though friction between the nations never ceased, no large-scale war had erupted.

But in the darkness unseen by ordinary people, a force known as Akatsuki was rapidly growing stronger.

Land of Rain.

Perpetual dark clouds blanketed the sky, and cold rain endlessly fell from above, shrouding the entire city in a hazy mist.

Atop a tall tower, a blond youth gazed down at the city below, his face full of impatience.

"This is Akatsuki's base?"

"It's way too gloomy, yeah."

The youth had tied his long hair behind his head, with his left eye hidden beneath golden bangs. Each of his palms bore a strange mouth.

A genius shinobi from Iwagakure's demolition corps.

Deidara.

Five years ago, through system deductions and intelligence from within Akatsuki, Uchiha You had located Deidara ahead of time.

At the time, Deidara was already being hunted by Iwagakure for his frequent use of Explosive Clay.

He believed that explosions were true art and held Ōnoki's Dust Release and Iwagakure's rules in utter contempt.

Uchiha You had personally traveled to the Land of Earth and invited him to join Akatsuki.

The process had not gone smoothly.

Upon meeting him for the first time, Deidara had given Uchiha You a clay bird mixed with Detonating Clay.

Before that clay bird could explode, Susanoo had crushed it into dust.

Deidara had refused to accept it.

He had then created clay spiders, giant birds, and countless clay bombs in succession, trying to prove his explosive art to Uchiha You.

Yet even all