Art

An excited shout came from the edge of the enormous crater. Deidara leaped out from behind a massive rock, completely unscathed, evidently shielded by some defensive measure. As he gazed at the devastation, his eyes shone with fervor, as though he were looking at the most beautiful masterpiece in the world.

"Shut up, Deidara!" a slightly raspy voice snapped. Sasori of the Red Sands slowly emerged from another stretch of rubble, fine cracks marking the shell of his signature Hiruko puppet. "I almost got caught up in that art of yours."

Just then, Toru Kujyo silently appeared above Deidara's head, looking down at them from on high.

Deidara jerked his head up. At the sight of Toru Kujyo, he froze for a moment, then grew even more excited. "Hey! You! You were the one who did that just now, right? Hmm? Tell me, how does my explosive art compare to what you just did?!"

An amused smile curled Toru Kujyo's lips. "A fine work of art, full of instantaneous explosive power and the beauty of destruction. I acknowledge your art."

"Oh!" Deidara gesticulated wildly with excitement, as though he had received the highest possible praise. "Did you hear that, Sasori, my man? He said my art was great! That fleeting burst is the most beautiful thing of all! Hmm!"

Sasori of the Red Sands snorted. "Hmph. Shallow. Eternal, unchanging beauty is the pinnacle of art."

"What did you say?! Sasori, my man, eternity is nothing but decay! Only a moment of transcendence deserves to be called art!"

"No. Only eternity can yield true value."

The two began arguing endlessly over their artistic philosophies once more, while Toru Kujyo hovered in midair with keen interest, as though watching an entertaining play.

After arguing for a while, Deidara suddenly turned to Toru Kujyo and invited him enthusiastically. "Hey! You! Since you understand art too, how about joining us? Hmm? Our organization has plenty of comrades pursuing the ultimate in art!"

Toru Kujyo raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What organization? Sounds interesting."

"We're..." Deidara was about to answer when Sasori of the Red Sands interrupted him.

"Deidara!" Sasori of the Red Sands said sharply. "The organization's rules forbid disclosing that information freely."

Toru Kujyo smiled. "All right, I'm not particularly interested in joining your organization for now. But we could certainly be friends. Fate brought us together, so how about this? Mr. Sasori, I can see you're highly accomplished in the Puppet Technique. Why not give me your Puppet Technique and your methods for creating Human Puppets as a token of our friendship?"

Sasori of the Red Sands' expression was hidden beneath Hiruko's mask, but his heart sank at those words. This fellow's strength is unfathomable, and his eye is just as keen. He acknowledged Deidara's explosive art, yet asked him for the Puppet Technique. To Sasori, such behavior seemed rather fickle, lacking purity.

Deidara chimed in from the side. "Hey, hey, my Explosion Release is the greatest art of all! I can teach you! Hmm!"

"Shut up, Deidara!" Sasori of the Red Sands snapped again. Then, to Deidara's surprise, he said to Toru Kujyo, "Fine."

Toru Kujyo understood. His Tenseigan had already seen through the fact that the Hiruko before him was not Sasori of the Red Sands' true body. In fact, Sasori of the Red Sands had long since transformed himself into a Human Puppet. Perhaps that was why he had so readily agreed to this seemingly unreasonable demand.

He secretly checked the system. On Sasori of the Red Sands' panel, traits such as [Puppet Master (Purple)] and [Human Puppet (Purple)] gleamed. Talent like this was rare. Killing him would be a waste; keeping him around to slowly "milk" for points was the way to go.

Moreover, Toru Kujyo judged that although these two were troublesome, neither had reached super Kage level. Deidara's C4 Karura and C0 Self-Destruct were undeniably powerful, but with proper precautions, they were not impossible to counter. The intelligence advantage lay entirely with him. That was why he dared to show himself and "extort" them with such confidence.

Sasori of the Red Sands had agreed because Toru Kujyo's devastating attack, along with the unknown strength and intelligence-gathering ability he had displayed, had made him deeply wary. He had no desire to fight such an enemy to the bitter end without sufficient information.

"Catch." Sasori of the Red Sands took three scrolls from inside his robe and tossed them to Deidara. "Give them to him."

Deidara caught the scrolls, then tossed them toward Toru Kujyo somewhat reluctantly.

Beneath Toru Kujyo's eye mask, his Tenseigan shifted slightly, releasing an invisible gravitational pull.

"Shinra Tensei: Attraction!"

As though seized by an invisible hand, the three scrolls accelerated instantly and landed securely in Toru Kujyo's hand.

At the sight, both Deidara's and Sasori of the Red Sands' pupils contracted.

"Th-this jutsu... it's like the leader's..." Deidara cried out, but Sasori of the Red Sands silenced him with a sharp look before he could finish.

Toru Kujyo put the scrolls into his storage space, his smile unchanged. "Thank you both for your generosity. Until we meet again."

Before his words had faded, he vanished into the distant sky.

Only after Toru Kujyo's presence had completely disappeared did Sasori of the Red Sands seem to breathe a sigh of relief. Immediately afterward, however, a fierce sense of humiliation welled up within him. He was Sasori of the Red Sands, a proud member of the Akatsuki, yet today he had not only been robbed of his precious Puppet Technique scrolls, but nearly had his entire hideout wiped out as well! It was an utter disgrace!

Night deepened, and the campfire crackled. Team 8 and the mining crew rested at a temporary campsite in the Land of Rivers. The twenty-kilometer scouting range provided by Hinata's Byakugan put Kurenai Yuhi considerably at ease, though it also left her astounded by how quickly these two youngsters were growing.

Toru Kujyo, however, seemed preoccupied. After entering the Land of Rivers, the Tenseigan beneath his eye mask had detected several powerful chakra fluctuations. Two were filled with frenzy and menace, vaguely reminding him of the pairing of "art is an explosion" and "eternal beauty." Another was unfathomable, as deep as an abyss and as imposing as a mountain.

"Teacher Kurenai, we'd better go around that mountainous area up ahead," Toru Kujyo suddenly said, pointing to a spot on the map. "My senses tell me there's trouble there."

Kurenai Yuhi looked at him. Though puzzled, she chose to trust him because of his earlier performance. "We'll do as you say."

That detour added another three days to their journey. The group made slow progress along the rugged mountain paths, leaving everyone exhausted.

During those three days, one of Toru Kujyo's Shadow Clones had already slipped away from the group and ventured deep into the uninhabited mountains.

"The Tenseigan's destructive power really is astonishing." Toru Kujyo's Shadow Clone hovered in the air, blue light shifting in his eyes as he gazed at the mountaintop below, torn to pieces by invisible gravitational forces.

He tried extending the gravitational pull into the heavens. A moment later, a meteor several meters across actually plunged from the clouds, trailing fire. He guided it precisely toward a distant barren peak, and the resulting thunderous crash was faintly audible even dozens of kilometers away.