At the border of the Land of Wind.
Deidara and Sasori trudged unevenly across the sand and gravel, their footsteps making faint scraping sounds.
Sasori's puppet body was on the verge of falling apart.
"Hey, Sasori, can you still walk?"
Deidara clicked his tongue impatiently, but did not shrug off Sasori's hand resting on his shoulder.
"This body will do for now."
Sasori's voice was flat, as though he were stating an irrelevant fact.
They walked in silence for a while. Only when the distant dunes took on faint outlines beneath the moonlight did Sasori speak again.
"There's no rush to go back."
Deidara turned to look at him.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"The mission failed. The organization already knows what happened."
Sasori spoke slowly, without the slightest ripple in his voice.
"Besides, Itachi and Kisame gathered some intelligence this time, too.
Konoha will most likely tighten its defenses. They might even strike first.
The organization needs time to set up its defenses. They won't be urging us to return right now."
Deidara frowned.
"So?"
"So we can stay out here and recover for now."
"...Fine."
Deidara shrugged. He was not the sort to rush back and report anyway.
After walking a little farther, Deidara suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned his head and stared at Sasori.
"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask-when that old hag Chiyo locked you inside that cage puppet, how did you unlock it so easily?
That thing didn't look like something just anyone could take apart."
Sasori's steps faltered slightly.
The moonlight fell across his youthful face, revealing no expression.
"Granny Chiyo is my grandmother, after all."
Sasori spoke.
"She's the one I first learned the Puppet Technique from.
I know how to unlock the puppets she uses."
"Oh," Deidara said,