Atop Mount Ashina.
Pink cherry blossoms bloomed like an ocean.
Crowds of tourists moved through them, enjoying the scenery and making merry.
Many even brought picnic blankets and bento boxes, enjoying spring outings with friends under the cherry trees.
Kyo strolled along the cherry blossom avenue on the mountain, feeling refreshed and carefree.
He had to admit, besides Konoha, the Land of Fire was indeed the most livable country in the entire Shinobi World.
Under this system of one village per country, there could even exist bustling little cities like this, like paradises untouched by the world.
Completely different from the gloomy, cold Land of Amegaru, it was a world of difference.
Therefore, Kyo basically made it a habit to wander around these big cities after completing missions, openly slacking off.
But just then,
a peculiar, high-pitched voice came from behind Kyo.
"Hello~"
"I'm here, yo... Ky-Yo-San~"
Hearing this voice, Kyo stopped, his eyebrow involuntarily twitching.
This peculiar tone,
even without turning around, he could guess it was White Zetsu speaking.
However,
this White Zetsu was not that goofball Guruguru beside Obito.
This was the one fused with Black Zetsu.
Kyo's Spiritual Pressure Perception could also accurately detect the two completely different soul signatures.
The next moment,
Kyo slowly turned around,
looked at the black-and-white Zetsu before him, raised his chin slightly, and frowned:
"Came a bit too fast, didn't you?"
At his words,
White Zetsu let out a light chuckle, then raised a scroll in his hand, smiling:
"Well, it seems my arrival has interrupted your leisure process... my apologies."
"But it was the leader's order, so..."
"Here are the files."
As he finished,
Kyo took the scroll from him.
Opening it, he immediately saw the picture of an immature, blond-haired boy's face.
It was indeed the Foremost Artist of the Shinobi World, the one who loved terrorist attacks,
Deidara.
Seeing the picture, Kyo's gaze shifted slightly.
He didn't expect his age to be this young.
He looked almost the same age as the students back in Amegakure.
"Iwagakure, is it..."
"Let's go."
Kyo put away the scroll,
glanced briefly at the Venus Flytrap, and walked forward.
Although he wanted to slack off a bit more,
dragging out the mission wasn't a good idea either.
Moreover,
the reward for the main mission hadn't been released yet.
When Kyo looked at the system,
it still showed the same old message-
[Main Mission Completed!]
[Friendly Reminder-]
[Rewards for this mission will only be distributed after the host safely leaves the mission execution location.]
'Safely leave the mission execution location...'
'Did that mean,'
'I had to complete all the missions I currently had...?'
Kyo felt a bit helpless.
But there wasn't much he could do about it.
For now,
completing the mission to recruit Deidara was the priority.
After all, a long time ago, Kyo had an unfinished standing side mission to recruit three official members for the Akatsuki.
This time,
he could take the opportunity of inviting Deidara to complete it.
...
Time passed, days flew by.
In the blink of an eye,
Kyo and Zetsu had successfully arrived at Deidara's residence.
Land of Earth,
outside Iwagakure.
Kyo had now shed his Amegakure's uniform and changed back into the Akatsuki robe. His hair and glasses remained as they were upon returning from Konoha.
Their entry, of course, went unnoticed by any Iwagakure Shinobi.
Because,
Zetsu came from underground.
And Kyo came from the sky.
After landing, they rendezvoused again.
"It's just ahead."
The Black-and-White Zetsu walked towards Kyo,
pointing at a structure resembling an ancient temple up ahead, his voice deep.
Kyo squinted slightly, looking at the somewhat desolate scenery around him,
a hint of emotion in his heart.
Deidara was undeniably Iwagakure's genius.
Besides Onoki, he was the one in all of Iwagakure with the most aptitude to become Tsuchikage.
However, due to his frequent bombing attacks, he had been forced to relocate here, more like a deliberate act of confinement by Iwagakure.
This place was just too remote;
without Zetsu's assistance and instructions from intelligence, finding him alone would have been far too troublesome.
"Let's go."
Kyo's gaze returned to calm, and he walked forward.
Zetsu immediately followed.
...
Shortly after,
entering the temple-like structure,
Kyo immediately saw a blond, ponytailed boy squatting on the ground ahead, his back to them.
His hands were busy fiddling with something in front of him,
doing who-knows-what.
Their entrance was, of course, immediately detected by him.
But he paid them no mind, still focused on the object in his hands.
It was a white lump of clay.
Currently being molded into the shape of a dove.
Kyo raised an eyebrow slightly.
'This guy really was a clay maniac.'
'But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.'
'Time to start the recruitment pitch.'
Kyo looked up calmly and spoke clearly:
"Yo,"
"Explosion Release boy Deidara,"
"Want to join us in Akatsuki?"
"Being confined here by Iwagakure all day must feel pretty uncomfortable, right?"
"Want to come cause some destruction together?"
Kyo stated calmly, choosing no sophisticated rhetoric.
Just getting straight to the point.
After all,
for relatively low-IQ problematic children like this,
speaking directly was more effective.
As for saying something too complex... he might not understand.
At that moment,
after the words fell,
Deidara's hands indeed paused slightly.
Then,
he tilted his head and looked back.
A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes, but it vanished quickly. He said:
"You said Akatsuki?"
Kyo smiled slightly and nodded, not answering.
The existence of Akatsuki was still relatively mysterious to the current Five Great Shinobi Villages.
But there was no need to explain in detail to him.
Sure enough, after a moment, Deidara showed a look of complete indifference,
just turned back around, and said flatly:
"That kind of stuff doesn't matter anyway,"
"I just need to focus on my artistic creations, hmm!"
As he spoke, he raised the white clay lump in his hand, staring intently, a strange smile appearing on his face.
Hearing this, before Kyo could speak, Zetsu beside him suddenly let out a soft "eh?" and then asked:
"You mentioned art...?"
"What is it?"
As soon as the words fell,
Deidara didn't turn around, but a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes, saying:
"Tch! Of course, it's the clay art created by me!!!"
"And moreover..."
"They can explode too, hehe..."
Deidara grinned as he spoke,
a mouth appearing on his palm, extending a tongue to lick the clay lump in his hand.
At this moment, his expression was very focused, as if he had forgotten the existence of the two behind him, smiling in satisfaction as he muttered to himself:
"Through explosion, making it sublime... it becomes true art-"
"Art is Explosion!!"
Deidara said excitedly,
finally, he raised the finished clay high!
The image froze.
Seeing this, Zetsu beside him was a bit dumbfounded.
'Huh?'
'Was this guy missing a screw in his head?'
However,
Kyo's expression remained unchanged.
He naturally knew what kind of person Deidara was, so he wasn't surprised.
But then,
Zetsu beside him looked at Kyo, grinned, and whispered:
"Tsk tsk..."
"This guy seems a bit mentally unstable, doesn't he?"
"So, Kyo-san... are you going to start the mission directly?"
Hearing this, Kyo glanced at him,
and directly stepped forward towards Deidara.
Hearing the footsteps, Deidara immediately turned his head back.
He stared at Kyo approaching slowly, holding his clay, then grinned, his eyes glinting as he said:
"Hey hey..."
"What's with this stance?"
"You planning to make a move on me now?"
Hearing this, Kyo didn't stop, but walked forward, taking off his glasses, and smiled:
"How about we make a deal, Deidara?"
"Right here, let's have a fight. If I win, you join Akatsuki immediately. How about it?"
Hearing this, Zetsu beside him felt a stir.
'So direct?'
'Could this even work...?'
However,
at this moment, Deidara across from him, after listening, grinned even wider, chuckling lightly:
"And if you lose, what do I get?"
As the words fell,
Kyo continued walking slowly, casually reaching up to brush back his brown hair, revealing his handsome face.
Then, he looked at Deidara, his golden pupils gleaming, and smiled:
"There is no 'if'."
"Because I cannot lose."
"--?!"
At these words, Deidara's heart skipped a beat.
'Huh?'
'What's with this guy?'
'Seems a bit overly confident, hey...!'
Thinking this,
Deidara slowly stood up from the ground, then stared at Kyo ahead, grinning, and said:
"Tch... yellow-eyes,"
"Then let me remind you of something..."
"Don't underestimate me... and more importantly, don't underestimate my art!!!!"
The instant the words fell, he suddenly pushed off the ground, swung his arm forward vigorously!
The freshly molded white clay in his hand instantly flew forward!
The target, was Kyo ahead!