After watching Pain finish dealing with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which had absorbed the Tailed Beast Chakra, Tobi, who called himself "Madara," dropped down from above and said quietly:
"Let's go deal with the last Tailed Beast Jinchūriki, Konoha's Nine-Tails, Naruto Uzumaki..."
"We can't afford any mistakes this time. We'll all go together."
"Tch!" Hidan scoffed. "Sorry! I'm not in the habit of fighting alongside other people! Leave catching the Nine-Tails to Kakuzu and me. You lot can wait at the base."
Sasori said, "Leave it to you? You couldn't even handle the Eight-Tails, and you still have the nerve to take the job? Let me go after the Nine-Tails instead."
Deidara confidently raised a hand and patted his chest. "Exactly! Big Brother Sasori and I are more than enough! Hmm!"
With that, Deidara quietly leaned close to Sasori's ear and muttered, "Big Brother Sasori, once we get to Konoha, let's play rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to fight. Hmm!"
White Zetsu had emerged from underground at some point and offered a reminder with a hollow smile:
"This time is completely different from before. The Five Great Nations have devised a plan to counter our hunting of the Tailed Beasts. Going after the Nine-Tails now means facing the strength of all Five Great Nations at once."
Black Zetsu said, "I don't need to describe their strength. You should all know it well. Even with every member of the Akatsuki mobilized, there's no guarantee we can capture the Nine-Tails without a hitch. Deidara, I suggest you rein yourself in and stop trying to fight alone."
Hearing this, even the usually stubborn Deidara fell silent.
However powerful his art was, Deidara still knew his own limits when it came to facing the Five Great Nations.
Tobi turned to Black