The One They Acknowledged

Beyond Iwagakure's massive stone gate, the night wind blew cold.

When Deidara arrived, he found Sasori, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha already waiting.

"Sorry, something held me up," Deidara said.

Naruto looked at the familiar Black Robe with Red Clouds he wore and asked in surprise, "Deidara, why are you dressed like that?"

Deidara tugged at the hem of his robe, a complicated but unashamed smile crossing his face. "Laugh if you want, but back when I was with the Akatsuki Organization, even though we all had different goals, we ran wild together and chased our own convictions."

"I feel like those were the happiest days of my life. Yeah."

Naruto paused, then smiled in understanding. He seemed to remember his own younger days on Team 7 with Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura.

Sasori merely remarked coldly, "How boring."

"Come on, Sasori!" Deidara immediately sidled up to him. "Put yours on too! Our artist duo is making a comeback today! Let those alien scum see what real art looks like! Yeah!"

Sasori's brows drew tight as Deidara kept pestering him. With a flicker of intent and a faint ripple of Chakra, his ordinary clothes transformed into the Akatsuki Organization's signature black robe with red clouds.

His expression remained blank, but the robe made Sasori of the Red Sands look colder and more intimidating than ever.

With everyone assembled, Sasuke Uchiha began gathering Chakra to use his Rinnegan and open a Space-Time Passage. Just then, an aged yet powerful shout rang out from the village like a thunderclap:

"Deidara! You little brat!"

Deidara whipped around. Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki floated in the air, his face livid.

Behind him stood a dense crowd of Iwagakure residents. Ninja and civilians, young and old—nearly everyone who could come had come. They stood in silence, every gaze