Land of Wind.
High in the sky, a massive white Clay Giant Bird glided steadily onward.
"Hey, Uncle Sasori, we're almost there, right?"
A somewhat flippant voice came from atop the bird's back.
Deidara, with his long blond hair, lay sprawled on the bird's back in boredom, propping up his chin with one hand.
"This damned desert is boring as hell. There isn't even a scrap of scenery that could be called art."
"Shut up, Deidara."
A muffled voice came from behind him.
The speaker was a strange, bloated puppet.
Hiruko.
Sasori of the Red Sands' battle fortress, and the shell he usually hid within.
"Tch. Someone who doesn't understand art."
Deidara curled his lip.
"I see it, hmm."
Deidara's gaze turned toward the distant horizon.
The outline of a village built into a massive rock wall's hollow had already appeared in view.
That was their target: Sunagakure.
The Clay Giant Bird began descending, flying toward the village.
However.
As they drew closer, the relaxed expression on Deidara's face gradually turned to confusion, then was completely replaced by shock!
"Th... what is this?"
Deidara abruptly sat upright on the bird's back, unable to believe what he was seeing.
The Sunagakure below could no longer be called a village.
Collapsed ruins, scorched earth, and wreckage still belching black smoke silently spoke of a catastrophe of unimaginable brutality.
"You... you've got to be kidding?"
Deidara's voice trembled slightly.
"Th... this is art too?!"
Shock flashed through Deidara's eyes before a morbid fanaticism ignited within them!
Deidara trembled with excitement. He had never imagined that, aside from his own Explosive Clay, someone else in this world could create such a breathtaking "masterpiece"!
"Who was it? Who did this?"
Deidara turned excitedly, wanting to share his delight with his partner.
But he discovered that