Gift from a Good Friend

Because the meteor was burning as it fell, it was nowhere near the size of Madara Uchiha's Tengai Shinsei, only slightly larger than a Tailed Beast Ball when it hit the ground.

The Mushroom Cloud's coverage also fell short of the impact caused by two Tengai Shinsei.

However, the high-temperature shockwave produced by the meteor's explosion was even more destructive than Tengai Shinsei, its power no less than that of an energy-based Tailed Beast Ball explosion.

After the Mushroom Cloud dispersed, the mountain where Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara had been standing was gone.

The mountain they had hidden in was much larger than the surrounding hills, so only a small half of it had been blasted apart.

A massive meteor crater had appeared amid the mountain range.

All that remained were countless fragments of rock, along with lava chunks left behind by the intense heat or the meteor itself.

"Art... this is art!"

The tremors had only just stopped when the unharmed Deidara emerged from the black sphere, protected by layers of rock and iron balls. He created a Clay Bird and flew into the air, gazing down at the scene below.

The fanatic expression on his face made it seem as though he wanted to blow himself up right there and compete with Izayoi.

"Idiot, get down here."

Sasori of the Red Sand's scolding voice came from below.

"Not bad. You actually both survived without a scratch."

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice reached their ears.

Izayoi had somehow appeared above Deidara again.

Hearing the voice, Deidara immediately looked up in delight and abruptly asked, "Hey, do you also think that fleeting beauty is true art?"

"You mean explosions?"

Unlike those who either failed to understand or looked down on the idea, Izayoi nodded and answered seriously, "Explosions are indeed very beautiful. They're the beauty of power—the stronger they are, the more beautiful they become. Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki are feared precisely because they can unleash Tailed Beast Balls with astonishing explosive force."

"Right? Right?!"

Deidara shouted excitedly, "Explosions really are art! Sasori, look—someone recognizes my art."

"Idiot, he's the enemy." Sasori of the Red Sand scolded him again, while firmly defending his own art. "And eternal beauty is true art."

"No, fleeting beauty is true art!"

"Eternal beauty!"

"..."

For a time, the two argued, one in the sky and one on the ground.

Izayoi did not interrupt them. Instead, he folded his arms and watched the scene with great interest.

"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore."

In the end, it was Deidara, only sixteen this year, who lost patience first and ended the argument.

He turned his head with a snort, then looked at Izayoi and warmly said, "Hey, since you understand art so well, do you want to join our organization?"

Having finally found someone who shared his views, Deidara very much wanted to recruit Izayoi.

"Oh? What kind of organization are you?" Izayoi asked with an amused smile.

"We are..."

Deidara had barely begun to answer when Sasori of the Red Sand's reprimand rang in his ears. "Shut up! Deidara, do you want to die?"

At that, Deidara seemed to remember something and had no choice but to stop himself.

Still, he said to Izayoi, "Join us, and I'll tell you."

"I'll pass on joining your organization, but we can be friends."

Izayoi looked down at Sasori of the Red Sand and said, "I've already given you a meeting gift between friends. In return, can you give me your Puppet Technique and the method for making Human Puppets?"

"So that's why you came looking for us," Sasori of the Red Sand said in a low voice, though inwardly he felt a flicker of smug satisfaction.

It seemed this guy did understand art after all.

He was just a little fickle. He clearly liked Sasori's eternal art, yet he had given Deidara's explosive art such high praise.

"That's right."

Izayoi naturally had no idea what Sasori of the Red Sand was thinking.

He nodded, ready to strike at any moment.

"Hey, why do you want Sasori's Puppet Technique? That stuff isn't art at all. You'd be better off learning Explosion Release from me... mmph!" Deidara said.

The moment Deidara finished speaking, Sasori of the Red Sand's voice rang out. "Fine. I'll give it to you."

"?"

A question mark practically appeared on Izayoi's brow beneath his mask.

That easily?

Sasori had looked so serious that Izayoi thought he was unwilling and had been preparing for a fight.

All at once, Izayoi seemed to remember something, and a faint look of realization crossed his mind.

He had nearly forgotten that Sasori of the Red Sand's Main Body had also turned himself into a Human Puppet.

"Then thanks."

Getting what he wanted so easily, Izayoi was more than happy to accept.

Izayoi's original plan had been to kill Sasori of the Red Sand, confiscate his inheritance, and perhaps even turn him into a member of the Wireless Puppet army.

However, while enjoying the explosion earlier, Izayoi had casually checked Sasori of the Red Sand's perks and abandoned that idea.

Puppet Master (Purple)

Kage-Level Aptitude (Purple)

Chakra Control (Purple)

In this world, where one had no hope of reaching the Super Kage Level without somehow becoming connected to the Otsutsuki Clan, and where even gaining power beyond the Kage level came at the cost of one's life, Purple Perks were the highest-grade perks any genius could possess.

Purple Perks corresponded precisely to the Kage level.

There were simply too few Kage-level Experts in this era.

Kage-level Experts like Sasori of the Red Sand, with three Purple Perks, were even rarer.

Even Deidara beside him only had two Purple Perks: Kekkei Genkai Release (Purple) and Kage-Level Aptitude (Purple).

But no one was born a Puppet Master. At most, they were geniuses like Izayoi, possessing Puppet Genius (Blue).

Sasori of the Red Sand had clearly transformed himself into a Human Puppet and defied fate, turning Puppet Genius (Blue) into Puppet Master (Purple).

It would be far too much of a waste to kill such talent.

He should keep milking him dry, just like Sasuke Uchiha.

Once Izayoi's Tenseigan completed its final evolution, he would need to upgrade his Otsutsuki Bloodline to advance further, which required an enormous amount of Points.

A single Purple Perk yielded a random four-digit amount of Points when dismantled.

Since they had not died from the welcome gift earlier, Izayoi did not mind sparing them.

If pushed too far, Deidara's C4 and C0-Detonation could both threaten Izayoi.

However, neither of them had reached the Super Kage Level.

As long as they were not Super Kage Level fighters, they remained within the scope of "a ninja's battle is a battle of intelligence."

As a transmigrator, Izayoi knew far too much about them.

In contrast, the two of them knew nothing about Izayoi.

Perhaps that was precisely why Sasori of the Red Sand had agreed so readily.

Otherwise, if some random passerby came up and demanded that he hand over his Puppet Technique and the method for making Human Puppets, then if Sasori of the Red Sand was in a good mood, he might reward that person by turning him into a member of his puppet army.

If he was in a bad mood, that person would get a poisoned needle or a tail swipe, then be left to rot in the wilderness.

"Here are your things."

Sasori of the Red Sand took out three scrolls, wrapped them with his iron tail, and threw them toward Deidara in the sky.

As for why he did not throw them to Izayoi, it was naturally because Izayoi was too high up.

Before Deidara could descend to catch them, Izayoi opened his palm.

An invisible force of Gravity immediately stopped the flying scrolls and slowly lifted them into the air.

"This is... Almighty Pull?!"

Seeing this, both Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand's Main Body changed expressions, staring at Izayoi in shock.

The foolish Deidara even tentatively asked, "Leader?"

This idiot!

Sasori of the Red Sand's heart filled with helplessness.

As expected...

With interest, Izayoi said, "Almighty Pull? Not a bad name for a move. Your Leader can use Gravity too?"

"Oh no!"

Deidara hurriedly covered his mouth, achieving the feat of kissing himself.

The scrolls did not fly directly to Izayoi. Instead, they stopped in midair more than ten meters away.

With a light flick of Izayoi's finger, the scrolls opened on their own.

Only after seeing that no poisonous gas spewed out did Izayoi use the Tenseigan's farsight to inspect them at ease.

After only glancing through them a few times, Izayoi nodded and drew the scrolls over.

Then, looking down at Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand below, he waved goodbye. "Thank you for the gifts. Until we meet again, my friends."

With that, Izayoi flew away.

Watching his departing back, Sasori of the Red Sand, who had been prepared to fight to the death if the other man turned hostile, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Having witnessed the man's flight and meteor, Sasori of the Red Sand had determined that he was the exact type to counter him.

If Deidara had not been there, he would have fled while the smoke was still lingering.

Then, seeing the man use the Leader's ability and recalling how his poison needles had been deflected, Sasori of the Red Sand felt an even deeper despair at the impossibility of victory.

Fortunately, the man had no killing intent.

Still, being stopped and robbed on the road, and nearly getting killed in the process—it was truly infuriating!