Leaving

"So that's how it is..." Miao looked at Deidara with a faint smile. "Alright, I agree. I'll act with you." Deidara turned his head away and spoke somewhat awkwardly at Miao's expression.

"Hmph!" Deidara snorted coldly and said proudly, "I only agreed to act with you because, in my eyes, your abilities are also a form of art."

"Is that so? That works too. No matter what, my goal has been achieved." Miao spoke calmly, a slight smile appearing on his handsome face.

"Hmph!" Deidara said doubtfully, "A Ninja like you can't possibly be nothing more than an ordinary Bounty Hunter Ninja. You must have some purpose, one that even made you drag me into your camp."

"A purpose? Yes, I do have one. But even without you, I could still carry out my plans. Meeting you was simply an unexpected delight. As for why, it's because I see you as an incredibly talented Ninja. Although your strength is nothing much right now, you will surely possess great power in the future. Who wouldn't be willing to cooperate with such a powerful Ninja?" Miao said calmly. These were indeed his sincere thoughts; anyone would be more than willing to befriend a powerful Ninja.

"Hmph! You really do have a good eye! Hahahaha..." Hearing Miao's words, Deidara immediately threw his head back and laughed smugly again.

"Your goal is to show your art to the world, isn't it? But attacking these Ordinary People has no real meaning for you, nor can it prove anything. How about taking on a big job?" Miao said with a smile.

"Oh? A job that you call big must be extraordinary. It has to be quite an exciting mission, right?" Deidara asked with great interest.

"Yes, it is quite an exciting mission. But it wasn't commissioned by anyone. It's something I want to do myself," Miao said calmly.

"Something you want to do yourself?" Deidara looked at Miao in confusion. Miao smiled and said, "This isn't a place to stay for long. Let's leave first. Kumogakure's Ninjas will probably arrive soon." The commotion from his earlier battle with Deidara had been far too great for Kumogakure's Ninjas to miss.

"Hmph, those uncultured barbarians from Kumogakure? I'm not afraid of them, hmm!" Deidara said disdainfully. "Don't put it that way. Avoiding conflict with them now doesn't mean we fear them. Let's go," Miao said calmly.

"Tch!" Deidara curled his lip, then quickly left with Miao. The grassland gradually returned to peace. The night breeze swept over it, making the thick grass sway gently as the smoke from the explosions slowly dispersed.

Not long afterward, a squad of Kumogakure Ninjas rushed over from afar. The leading Ninja frowned slightly upon seeing the ravaged grassland. "Captain, a battle seems to have taken place here not long ago. It looks like the work of the Iwagakure Ninjas who attacked the border town," a Cloud Village Ninja behind him said with an ugly expression.

"Tch! Damn Iwagakure! Are they trying to start a war?!" The captain snorted coldly, his face filled with fury. He then said to the Cloud Village Ninjas behind him, "Nonoi, return to Kumogakure immediately and report this matter to Lord Raikage. The rest of you, continue assisting the townspeople."

"Yes!" everyone answered. They then transformed into countless Black Shadows and vanished from the spot.

The area fell quiet once more. Yet not long after the Cloud Village Ninjas had left, a patch of ground outside the Woods beside the grassland began to writhe. Soon, a figure slowly rose from the earth.

The person wore a cloak patterned with Black base with Red Cloud. Two enormous green leaves stood upright on either side of the person's head, creating an incredibly bizarre appearance. Yet even stranger was the person's face: one half was white, while the other was black, like yin and yang merged together.

The white half had facial features and wore a teasing expression, while the black half had only a yellow eye, not even a mouth, making it appear exceptionally sinister.

"It seems something quite interesting happened here just now. Was that guy named Deidara up to some terrifying stunt again?" the white half of the face said in an unusually mocking tone.

"It seems only a battle took place. We just don't know who his opponent was. But Deidara is on our organization's candidate list. The leader told us to keep an eye on him, that's all," a raspy, sinister voice came from the black half of the face, as though the black and white halves did not belong to the same person.

"That's true. It seems the leader has already decided to recruit Deidara into our organization. Sasori, Itachi, and Kisame appear to have already set out. They'll probably make contact with Deidara before long. Our organization will gain another member then," the white half said with a grin.

"But with Deidara's personality, he won't be someone who obediently listens," the sinister, raspy voice came from the black half again.

"Hehe, that's Itachi and the others' problem. Leave the task of taming him to them; we only need to watch the show. Still, I'm truly curious what interesting things will happen once someone with Deidara's personality joins our organization," the white half said with a curious smile.

"The reason the leader wants that person in the organization is because he believes Deidara's abilities will be useful to it. Nothing more. Let's go," the black half said coldly.

"Tch, Black Zetsu, you're still as unromantic as ever," White Zetsu said in a strange tone. His entire body then slowly sank into the ground and disappeared. No further movement could be seen, as though no one had ever come here at all.

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