Onoki asked in a deep voice.
His expression slightly darkened.
His question seemed on the surface to be asked for Deidara's sake.
However,
In reality,
His true purpose was fundamentally not to ask about Deidara's whereabouts,
But,
To inquire about Kyo's true intention.
After all, just from Deidara's reaction, Onoki knew-
This little brat...
Was definitely not going to stay!
A problem child who worshipped the art of explosion, upon encountering an even more magnificent explosion, what kind of psychology would emerge...
Onoki could guess the answer to this question with his toes!
For this very reason,
He had no intention of persuading Deidara to stay or anything.
Words of advice?
What good would that do!
Deidara was never one to fall for Talk-no-Jutsu.
As for fighting, forcefully keeping him...?
Completely impossible.
Not to mention that Iwagakure had always been in a cooperative relationship with Akatsuki,
Mainly, after witnessing the power of that explosion just now, Onoki was not very willing to initially provoke a conflict.
After all, if these two guys teamed up to launch explosive attacks on Iwagakure, then no matter how skilled Onoki is, he couldn't block everything.
In that case, in the end, Iwagakure would still be the one to suffer.
Therefore,
Unless absolutely necessary,
Onoki was unwilling to come into conflict with these two Akatsuki members before him.
As for Deidara,
Although Onoki still harbored hopes that he would mend his ways and inherit the Tsuchikage position in the future,
For now, it seemed he would have to let him go for the time being.
However,
Currently, what intrigued Onoki more was, of course, this never-before-seen Akatsuki member, Kyo.
Even that half-black-half-white guy on the ground, Onoki vaguely remembered seeing half his face before.
But this person alone,
Was different.
Onoki sensed many strange things about him.
After all,
In the past, Akatsuki had never caused such major destruction to Iwagakure, their collaborator.
But this golden-eyed guy before him,
Seemed completely unconcerned, directly using an explosion to turn the entire mountain behind Iwagakure into a crater.
Not just arrogant,
Completely... audacious to the extreme!!
Moreover,
The feeling this person gave him,
Was completely different from all the Akatsuki members he had encountered in the past!
Furthermore,
He could even stand in the air as if walking on level ground...
That's right,
Not floating, but standing!
In fact,
From the moment he arrived here, Onoki had noticed this.
However,
At the time, he subconsciously thought Kyo was using some technique to create a foothold to stand in the air.
But after observing for a while,
He suddenly realized... there was no so-called foothold!
There wasn't even any trace of Chakra where this guy's feet were stepping, it was literally thin air!
Realizing this,
A flicker of shock emerged in Onoki's heart.
Although he could also fly,
His principle was using his "Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique" to reduce his own gravity, thus achieving a floating state.
But this guy in front of him was different!
His steady and unwavering posture was absolutely not due to reduced gravity, it meant... he truly possessed some kind of unimaginable power over the air!
Coupled with the terrifying cherry-colored explosion attack just now,
Onoki was now certain.
This golden-eyed guy's strength might have completely surpassed the Akatsuki members who had come for cooperation before!
And the power he wielded was also exceptionally strange!
The last time,
Onoki felt such a strange feeling from a person,
Was the Kitsune Ogre of the Las Noches who defeated the Fourth Raikage in Kikyo Castle in the Land of Fire...!
Although Onoki wasn't there at the time,
Based on the intelligence Akatsuchi brought back, he had naturally understood the situation clearly.
For that reason,
He had resolutely ordered the intelligence unit to start gathering information back then.
But even now, there were still no leads.
But now, for some reason, the strange powers wielded by this golden-eyed guy before him involuntarily made Onoki think of that.
Could it be,
This guy had found the ancient secret arts within the Las Noches...?
Onoki pondered, his mind racing.
However,
After only a moment, he dismissed this bold guess.
After all, if the treasures of the Las Noches were truly found,
Given the high-profile personality of that Kitsune Ogre back then, it was impossible for him not to come out and make some noise.
Onoki gazed at Kyo, his gaze flickering as he thought rapidly.
"..."
And over here,
Hearing Onoki's question, Kyo's gaze also shifted slightly.
He naturally understood.
This Third Tsuchikage, although old,
Did not mean he was a fool.
On the contrary, among the contemporary Five Kage of the various countries, his cunning and scheming ranked among the top.
The fact that he wasn't urgently making a move against Kyo here,
Was already a good indication.
Initiating conversation,
Meant he didn't want conflict.
And this point,
Coincidentally suited Kyo's intentions.
After all, although Kyo wasn't afraid of Onoki's power, he also didn't want to waste more time here.
Thinking this,
Kyo slightly raised his eyes, preparing to answer.
However, before he could speak, suddenly, Deidara beside him clenched his fist, raised his chin, and said sharply:
"Tch, old man!"
"You're really noisy, hey! I'm not some machine of Iwagakure, do you have to interfere with wherever I go?!"
"I'll say it straight!"
"I'm going to study ultimate art with this Kyo-senpai!"
"Iwagakure, I'm done with it!"
Deidara said very directly and loudly.
It seemed, relying on Kyo's presence beside him, he became even more arrogant facing his former master.
As his words fell,
Onoki immediately looked over, couldn't help but frown.
Tch,
What's going on?
This kid Deidara... should have just met Akatsuki, right?
And now he's already showing such a persistent attitude?
Studying ultimate art...?
Sure enough,
This guy's brain simply couldn't be understood by common sense...
Just as Onoki was pondering, Kyo's calm voice came from beside him, interrupting his thoughts.
"Just as Deidara said."
"Our purpose in coming to Iwa this time was indeed to invite Deidara to join Akatsuki."
"There's no other reason."
"Let's go."
Saying this, Kyo glanced at Deidara, then without another word, directly turned and flew downwards.
His movements were clean and neat, without any hesitation or delay.
It seemed he was about to leave directly.
Seeing this,
Deidara was momentarily stunned.
Huh???
This, we're leaving just like that...?!
He's so dismissive of the old man Tsuchikage...?
Deidara was dumbfounded.
He knew Kyo's strength was high, but he didn't expect him to completely ignore Onoki, the Tsuchikage.
And at this moment,
Seeing this, Onoki naturally had a face full of question marks.
???
This...?
What did this guy answer?
He didn't reveal any useful information at all???
And he's leaving just like that?
"..."
Onoki was momentarily stunned, speechless.
In all his years, he had never met anyone so impolite in front of him...
At this moment,
Deidara also reacted and quickly urged his clay bird downwards.
"Wait for me, senpai!"
He shouted loudly, while Kyo was already about to land on the ground.
But just then-
A sudden change occurred!
A voice from an unknown direction suddenly shouted loudly:
"You can't escape!!"
"Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!"
"Clang!"
As the words fell, in an instant, the ground beneath Kyo's feet let out a cracking sound!
The next moment, countless rock spikes suddenly shot up from the ground!!
They were directly attacking the descending Kyo!!
"--?!"
Seeing this sudden scene,
In the sky above, Onoki's old face stiffened, directly dumbfounded!
This...
Who the hell did that?!