Three days later, outside Iwagakure in the Land of Earth.
Behind a barren rocky mountain, an aqua-blue figure slowly took shape. It was Lin Ze's Genbu Shadow Clone.
He had not paid too much attention to the affairs in Konoha, merely instructing Tashihime, who had remained there all along, to act as circumstances allowed and obtain some of Naruto's and Sasuke's cells amid the chaos.
He could not put off his Rinnegan any longer. He had to put it on the agenda.
Standing on high ground, Lin Ze gazed at the enormous village built against the mountains in the distance-Iwagakure.
Compared to when he had first visited the Land of Earth several years ago, Iwagakure was now larger, its fortifications more complete, with patrolling Iwa Shinobi everywhere.
"Almost ten years..."
Lin Ze felt somewhat wistful.
Time had passed so quickly. The one-year-old child who had kneaded clay back then should have grown into a cute young boy by now.
His objective on this trip was clear-Deidara.
More precisely, Deidara's Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai.
Deidara's bloodline was very pure, and his talent was astounding, making him an excellent source of a Kekkei Genkai for creating an Earth Release Clone.
"Deidara should already be studying under Ōnoki by now."
Lin Ze recalled the original plot.
In the original story, Ōnoki had made an exception and accepted Deidara as his student at age nine because of his talent for Explosion Release. He had joined Iwagakure's ANBU at twelve and defected at around thirteen-though that had been more like a rebellious teenager running away from home.
By his calculations, Deidara was about ten years old now.
Lin Ze delayed no longer. His figure turned into a stream of water and sank into the ground, heading toward Iwagakure.
Iwagakure's defensive barrier was considerably stronger than