Natsuki had a Fire Country accent, so saying he was from the Fire Country was better.
There shouldn't be a problem with people from the Fire Country coming to the Earth Country to travel, right?
Akatsuchi was still suspicious: "But you're wearing the clothes of the Earth Country people, and this isn't a tourist spot, yet you say you've been here for a few days. Something is clearly not right!"
Huh? You noticed that!
You really are sharp!
Natsuki chuckled: "Sir Ninja, I came to the Earth Country to experience the local customs, so it should be normal to wear the clothes of the Earth Country people to blend in.
Furthermore, traveling is all about following your own heart. Even if it's not a tourist spot, I can stop when I want, leave when I want, just for my own enjoyment. Is that not allowed?"
This....
Akatsuchi had nothing more to say.
He still felt that this guy was strange, but the other party's answer seemed to be fine.
Moreover, he showed no fear at all when faced with his questioning, clearly not a simple person.
However, he couldn't just attack someone based on a little suspicion. After all, the Hidden Stone Village also needed to maintain its image. If they randomly attacked tourists, who would come to the Earth Country to trade in the future?
"Akatsuchi, you're being too suspicious."
Kurotsuchi said, "He's just an ordinary person. We should hurry up and find Brother Deidara."
Akatsuchi: You call me by my name directly, but you call Deidara 'Brother', huh?
Akatsuchi didn't dwell on it either. After following Kurotsuchi and asking around, they quickly left.
Natsuki remained in place, as if mesmerized by the scenery here.
In reality, Natsuki was indeed doing the mission with a tourist's mindset.
After all, he already knew the Akatsuki's hideout was in the Rain Country, so finding Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand or not was the same.
However, he still had to put on a show and wait a few more days before returning. To prevent suspicion, he also had to stay at the intelligence point for a while longer, but his luck wasn't great, and he clearly couldn't continue to be leisurely.
Just then, a faint explosion sound came from a distance.
Saying it was faint was only because it was far away; to ordinary people, it was less significant than a firecracker.
However, Natsuki was very sensitive. Upon hearing the sound, he felt something was wrong and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave, heading towards the direction of the explosion sound without anyone noticing.
It was also because of his speed that when he arrived nearby, he could still see the dust caused by the explosion had not yet settled.
And within the dust, a blonde, ponytail-wearing lunatic was constantly throwing out small white spiders. Who else could it be but Deidara, that explosion art fanatic?
And not far behind Deidara, a person who looked like a hunched old man stood quietly.
It was Sasori of the Red Sand, or rather, Sasori of the Red Sand's shell puppet.
"What are those two doing? Did they encounter an enemy?"
Natsuki quietly used the Telescope Technique, finally able to see a bit more clearly, only to see an old man with red hair and a red beard standing opposite Deidara.
Even though this old man didn't appear much in the original work, Natsuki recognized him at a glance.
The Four-Tails Jinchuriki of Hidden Stone Village, Roshi!
It seemed that because Roshi had a bad relationship with the Tsuchikage, he left the Village, so encountering him outside was normal.
However, he didn't expect that Roshi would actually run into the two members of Akatsuki.
Hmm? Perhaps not, maybe Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand's target was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki?
After all, with Ōnoki and Kurotsuchi both looking for Deidara, it was impossible for Deidara to return to the Earth Country for a so-called bounty mission; bounty missions could be done in other countries as well.
It's very likely that these two came specifically for the Jinchuriki of Hidden Stone Village!
"Logically speaking, this should have been left to Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, right?
Putting aside Deidara's grudges with Hidden Stone Village, just considering the Four-Tails Jinchuriki's Lava Release, it would have been more suitable for Kisame Hoshigaki, who is skilled in Water Release, to come.
In the original work, it was Kisame Hoshigaki who captured Roshi, so what's the situation now?"
Natsuki was indeed a bit confused, but now it was impossible to follow the original work.
After he had leaked a lot of information about Akatsuki members in advance, and after Akatsuki's finance minister, Kakuzu, was killed, Akatsuki might have made other decisions.
Didn't Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand also get forced out to take bounty missions?
So it's not strange at all that they came to Hidden Stone Village!
Natsuki convinced himself, then continued to watch the battle.
He saw Deidara controlling white spiders to quietly crawl through the smoke and dust, attempting to secretly approach Roshi.
At the same time, he quickly made several clay birds, deliberately distracting Roshi's attention.
But Roshi was no ordinary person; Deidara's little tricks were not enough in his eyes.
...Seeking fresh flowers...
He formed hand seals and rushed forward, constantly spitting out huge balls of lava from his mouth: "Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Huge lava balls roared towards them, igniting along the way due to the high temperature.
The clay spiders quietly released by Deidara and the clay birds released into the air were all ignited, exploding on the spot.
However, the lava balls continued forward, completely engulfing Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand.
Deidara was helpless and could only quickly create a giant clay bird, taking him and Sasori of the Red Sand into the air, successfully avoiding the lava balls.
But Roshi continued to look up and spit smaller lava balls into the air.
This time the lava balls were not only dense but also very fast, scaring Deidara into hurriedly controlling the giant clay bird to dodge.
..... ..... ...
"This old man is really dangerous!"
Deidara, however, was smiling.
He put his hands into his Ninja Tools pouch, and the large mouths on his palms immediately began furiously swallowing clay and chewing.
"This old man is tough to deal with; large clay creations will likely be blown apart by the lava, so I'll make some small ones.
C1 Clay Spiders it is.
As long as one can crawl onto the old man, I can blow him up!"
Saying that, the mouths that were rapidly chewing on his palms opened, and white spiders were created one by one.
Deidara controlled the giant bird, constantly dodging Roshi's lava balls, and when he flew over Roshi's head, he immediately dropped a pile of clay spiders.
Seeing the clay spiders about to land on Roshi, Deidara was incredibly excited.
He formed hand seals and shouted: "Art is an explosion! Yeah!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Small spiders, fierce explosions.
Roshi seemed to be completely engulfed by the explosions, making the smile on Deidara's face widen.
Just as he was about to see if Roshi was dead or alive, fire suddenly shot out from the ground.
Roshi's figure was clearly within the firelight, his entire body looking as if it was covered in lava, and a tail had grown behind him!
He was about to use the power of the tailed beasts!
"Deidara! You brat!
Why didn't Ōnoki teach you properly!
Since that's the case, today I will kill you, boy!"
"Lava Release Chakra Mode!"
The next second, Roshi transformed into a lava person and directly charged into the air, causing a violent explosion in the sky.