Several dark shapes flew across the sky.
At first glance, they looked like nothing more than a few large white birds. In the shinobi world, enormous birds and beasts were hardly unusual.
The Sky Ninja standing watch on the island paid them little mind.
Up in the sky, however...
Several figures in Akatsuki cloaks sat on the backs of Deidara's Clay Birds, observing the island below.
The island lay isolated beyond the mainland. Calling it an island was generous-it was really just a somewhat larger reef.
There were barely even a few trees on it.
It was small, with no resources and no fresh water.
As such, none of the factions in the shinobi world had ever paid it any attention.
Now, however, it had become a temporary base for these Sky Ninja.
"Are those guys our targets?"
On the back of a large clay bird, Deidara studied the base on the reef below and the enormous warships anchored nearby.
The people in the base were currently loading supplies.
"A few people and a handful of ships? I could blow them all up myself!"
Deidara was itching to get started.
"Wait, Blondie. Blowing them up would be letting them off too easily. Let me handle this. I'll sacrifice all their souls to Lord Jashin."
Hidan scratched his head as he spoke.
"Hmm, except Lord Jashin doesn't seem to like blood and souls anymore. I wonder if we can turn these guys into money. Lord Jashin likes money."
Kisame grinned.
"Well, well. You could talk to Boss Nagato afterward and ask him for a bigger bonus, then sacrifice that bonus to your Evil God. That would count as turning these guys into money, in a roundabout way."
"You're right! That's Kisame for you-you've got brains. So, interested in worshipping the Evil