The reason Ye Feng left Konoha so quickly was not that he was in a hurry to protect Naruto, but that he had received word from the Akatsuki.
Before visiting the Akatsuki, Ye Feng had made more than a dozen glass beads and asked Shisui to distribute them to every full member.
Once the Akatsuki members captured a Tailed Beast, they would crush these glass beads, allowing Ye Feng to sense their location and come to collect the unconscious Jinchūriki.
Just now, Ye Feng had sensed a glass bead shatter. Presumably, Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara had completed their mission.
Ye Feng returned to the Village of the Gods, put on a Divine Envoy's mask, opened a space gate, and stepped through.
At that moment, two figures stood inside a cave in the Land of Wind, with another figure lying motionless at their feet.
They were Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara, and the one on the ground was naturally Gaara.
Deidara said impatiently:
"This 'Sacred God' is taking far too long!"
Sasori of the Red Sands did not agree with him, but merely reminded him in a low voice:
"You'd better watch your mouth. That person isn't so easygoing!"
At those words, Deidara's expression darkened, as though he had recalled the scene when the Sacred God appeared that day.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out:
"He's right. You'd better watch that mouth of yours!"
Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara both paled and hurriedly turned to look. A masked figure had appeared behind them without either of them noticing a thing.
Just then, a trickle of blood suddenly escaped the corner of Deidara's mouth, and his body involuntarily sank onto one knee, while Sasori of the Red Sands felt nothing at all.
Deidara felt