Hidan fell silent.
Hidan is actually a perceptive guy.
Because Hidan has witnessed the terror of Amaterasu, perhaps the Amaterasu dojutsu is the only technique that can pose a threat to him, capable of burning his body clean.
"Alright, let's go!"
Uehara Naraku rubbed his forehead and said softly, "Senior Kakuzu, please help tidy up your teammate properly!"
"Mm, no hurry."
After Kakuzu nodded, he looked down at Hidan's head and said in a muffled voice, "Since he was rude to you, let him reflect on it here for a while!"
Hidan: "..."
Damn, Hidan feels like everyone in the Akatsuki is targeting him!
Outside the hideout.
As Uehara Naraku clasped his hands to summon the ancient giant dragon, Deidara hurriedly stopped him, giggling as he tossed the clay dragon he had crafted onto the ground: "Hey, Uehara, I worked hard on this for a long time!"
Before he finished speaking, a puff of smoke rose from the ground, and an ugly, gigantic clay dragon appeared before them, its size almost identical to the ancient giant dragon.
Deidara, somewhat smug, pointed to his new creation and said, "How about it, isn't it about the same as your summoning beast?"
"So ugly."
Sasori of the Red Sand shook his head disdainfully.
Deidara turned his head in dissatisfaction, with a gloomy expression: "Hey, Senior Sasori, at least give me some praise. This is the masterpiece I created through tireless nights and days!"
"Alright, I'll humor you."
Sasori looked at Deidara helplessly, then reluctantly jumped onto the back of the ancient giant dragon. Uchiha Sasuke and Uehara Naraku did not refuse either.
Deidara beamed as he watched this and hopped onto the back of the clay dragon, raising his fingers: "Now, let me show you my new masterpiece!"
The clay dragon flapped its wings a few times, struggling to lift off into the air, wobbling towards The Hidden Cloud Village.
However, this clay dragon that Deidara made seemed to have just been completed and was not yet flight-tested. Along the way, bits and pieces of clay kept dropping off, making people worry that this clay dragon might suddenly fall apart while flying.
Deidara scratched the back of his head, sweating, and started riding a clay giant bird alongside the clay dragon, constantly patching up the spots where clay had fallen off.
Honestly, it was a bit heart-wrenching to watch.
This guy Deidara went to great lengths to ensure his friends could enjoy their journey on this clay dragon.
Uehara Naraku was too embarrassed to suggest changing rides.
After a long while, Deidara returned to the back of the ancient giant dragon, giggling as he said, "Alright, reaching The Hidden Cloud Village should be no problem!"
"Are you sure it's really not a problem?"
Sasori of the Red Sand looked at his teammate expressionlessly and cautiously suggested, "If it really doesn't work, we might as well switch to riding Uehara Naraku's summoning beast!"
"Hmm..."
Uchiha Sasuke's expression was somewhat indescribable.
To be honest, the issues with this clay dragon aside, it was truly ugly and nothing like the majestic ancient giant dragon of Uehara Naraku...
How did Deidara have the nerve to call this art!
"Don't worry, it'll be fine for sure!"
Deidara pursed his lips, looked dissatisfiedly at Sasori of the Red Sand and Uchiha Sasuke, then turned to Uehara Naraku: "Uehara, do you want to switch rides too?"
"..."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, sighed, and said, "Deidara has worked so hard, Senior Sasori, Sasuke, let's just go like this."
"That's what friends are for!"
Deidara beamed and patted Uehara Naraku on the shoulder. He was about to say more when he suddenly felt a tremor beneath his feet.
Apparently, another piece of the clay dragon had fallen off...
"..."
Deidara's smile slowly faded. He retrieved his clay giant bird, stepped onto it, and said softly, "You all sit tight, I'll go make some repairs..."
"...Okay."
The three of them looked completely helpless.
Can this clay dragon really make it to The Hidden Cloud Village?
This is pure wishful thinking! We haven't even left the Land of Rain; it might just fall apart. It's truly unnerving to ride on!
Deidara, this guy...
He's really unreliable!
But unfortunately, Uehara Naraku had already promised Deidara.
And Deidara was diligently patching up his clay dragon. Seeing him work so hard, the three of them really couldn't bring themselves to discourage him.
Sasori of the Red Sand watched Deidara fly up and down, stuffing clay into the clay dragon, his expression somewhat gloomy: "Next time, we absolutely shouldn't entertain his requests."
"Hmm..."
Uehara Naraku nodded.
Uchiha Sasuke sighed quietly, looking at the Clay Giant Dragon and said, "I really hope this dragon could fall apart soon... then we could ride Senior Uehara's Summoning Beast."
Although this Clay Giant Dragon doesn't look very reliable.
Deidara, who crafted the Clay Giant Dragon, is still very reliable.
Because Deidara repairs along the way, filling it with clay everywhere, this clay mount can still continue to carry, slowly guiding them forward.
If nothing unexpected happens, with Deidara's enthusiasm, this dragon should hold up to get them to The Hidden Cloud Village.
"I shouldn't have agreed to him."
Uehara Naraku rubbed his temples, quietly raised his fingers, manipulating the Fourth Hokage far away near the Akatsuki Hideout to awaken.
Akatsuki Hideout.
Yakushi Kabuto sat in his laboratory, tapping his fingers on his desk, waiting for the command dispatched remotely by Uehara Naraku and for the helper sent by Uehara.
Hoshigaki Kisame sat beside Yakushi Kabuto, sent by Black Zetsu to oversee Kabuto, chatting casually with Kabuto.
"Mr. Kabuto, Mr. Kisame, here is the tea I made for you!"
Karin stormed in, placed the tea tray on the table, and hummed an unknown tune while pouring tea for them.
Hoshigaki Kisame glanced at Karin, then at Yakushi Kabuto, a subtle smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Yakushi Kabuto pushed his glasses and softly said, "Karin, I need to go out later, please help me organize my notes from yesterday."
"Yes!"
Karin nodded seriously and imitated Yakushi Kabuto, adjusting her glasses as she walked into a lab.
Ever since she was rescued by Yakushi Kabuto from a group of Grass Village Ninjas, Karin has had a good impression of Kabuto, now becoming his assistant.
Karin feels her life is quite alright.
With a bunch of Akatsuki members outside, she doesn't need to fight; she just needs to assist in occasional lab chores and organizing notes.
Hoshigaki Kisame lazily lifted his teacup, speaking out of boredom: "Heh, this task of overseeing Mr. Kabuto is really not for me!"
"It's fine."
Yakushi Kabuto smiled and shook his head, speaking softly, "I specifically invented a barrier for White Zetsu, if any White Zetsu intrudes into this lab, Kisame just needs to eliminate it."
"Heh."
Hoshigaki Kisame clicked his tongue in admiration.
Being tasked to oversee one's own comrades is truly tedious; it kind of makes him nostalgic for the days when he was ordered to monitor Uchiha Itachi!
Just when Hoshigaki Kisame wanted to say something, a figure dressed in a Divine Robe appeared before them, it was the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato.
Uehara Naraku, as he controlled Namikaze Minato, conveyed a message: "Kabuto, you can set off, the Fourth Hokage will take you to Konoha to rendezvous with Uchiha Obito, leave the matters in Konoha to you."
"Yes, Lord Naraku."
Yakushi Kabuto pushed his glasses and softly asked, "Should we take this opportunity to destroy or seize that Kotoamatsukami Sharingan?"
Evidently, Yakushi Kabuto intends to release Uchiha Itachi, using him to lure out that hidden Kotoamatsukami Crow inside Uzumaki Naruto.
Uehara Naraku controlled the Reanimation of the Fourth Hokage, remaining silent for a moment before softly speaking: "If I haven't arrived at Konoha yet, do not lightly release Uchiha Itachi, wait for my arrival in Konoha to discuss further."
Once Uchiha Itachi is released, upon seeing Kotoamatsukami, he will undoubtedly lose control, hence it is crucial to immediately resolve Uchiha Itachi to avoid complications in the plan.
Uehara Naraku is somewhat worried about Yakushi Kabuto falling into Uchiha Itachi's trap; after all, Uchiha Itachi is very skilled at combat, thus absolute strength is necessary to crush him!
"Yes, Lord Naraku."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded seriously.
Yakushi Kabuto merely wants to test whether altering one's will with Kotoamatsukami would cause Uchiha Itachi to escape Reanimation control; if he were willing to ask, Uehara Naraku would surely provide him the correct answer.
Unfortunately, Yakushi Kabuto only wishes to try it himself.
Once Uehara Naraku's will left, Namikaze Minato's Reanimation grasped Yakushi Kabuto's figure, whisking him away from the laboratory.
Yakushi Kabuto, the Reanimation of Uchiha Obito and Namikaze Minato, will be overseeing every detail of Pain's invasion of Konoha, even manipulating the decisive moments.
In a sense.
They are truly the main characters of Pain's invasion in Konoha.
If Uehara Naraku doesn't arrive in time.
Inside The Hidden Rain Village.
The storm in the sky came to a halt because the one responsible for the rain was leaving the village temporarily.
Nagato walked step by step out of his tower, taking off his hood to look up at the sunlight streaming from the sky.
One by one, the Six Paths Pain emerged from the shadows, standing behind him, as Animal Path Pain clasped his hands together, a giant Archaeopteryx Summoning Beast landed near the tower.
Nagato led the Six Paths Pain to step onto the Archaeopteryx Summoning Beast's head, turning to glance at Konan floating in the air and softly said, "Konan, let's go!"
"...Mm."