"You've joined Atsukara!"
Ōnoki floated in midair, facing Deidara calmly. His tone, however, was unusually composed.
"Then stay and tell me about the Atsukara."
He got straight to the point. He wanted to keep Deidara here.
And more than that, he wanted to learn about the organization.
"You're trying to get me to talk? That's impossible!" Deidara exclaimed, pointing at Ōnoki and shaking his head decisively.
"No wonder Boss… heh, heh… only told me to deliver the message and not waste time talking to you. I knew you had ill intentions!"
Deidara wasn't the type to betray his organization.
Especially now, when he was still a member.
"If you won't speak, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Ōnoki's white eyebrows shot up. His gaze locked on Deidara, unwavering.
"Then I'll just have to keep you here and extract some information myself."
A light radiated from Ōnoki's body. He seemed to grow lighter.
In an instant, he appeared in front of Deidara. One of his fists rapidly enlarged and slammed toward Deidara and his clay bird.
The speed was incredible, and it carried a terrifying force.
If it landed, even a standard jonin would suffer serious injury.
"You want to keep me here?"
Deidara narrowed his eyes. He swung several small clay birds, colliding perfectly with the enlarging fist.
Boom—
The explosion rang out, sending a devastating shockwave across the area.
Deidara maneuvered his clay bird to retreat several meters. Ōnoki spun through the air multiple times before regaining his balance.
Covered in dust and grime, he looked at Deidara with a mix of shock and disbelief.
The explosion, using only a tiny amount of clay, had sent him flying. Even his petrified arm began to tingle.
It hadn't been long, but Deidara had become even stronger!
Even that small amount of clay barely consumed any chakra!
Was this still the same Deidara from before?
"Tsuchikage, if you want to force me to stay, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed!" Deidara said, looking at Onoki, a cold smile curling on his lips.
How laughable!
Onoki actually thought he could trap him.
"Earth Release—Earth Giant Technique!" Onoki didn't say anything, his hands forming seals again.
A giant rock golem rose from the ground!
Onoki, the Tsuchikage, stood on the golem's head, controlling it with precision. Its massive stone fists swung toward Deidara.
Ordinary rock golems would crumble easily, but under Onoki's control, they were as strong as steel.
"You think this will make me stay?" Deidara sent his clay birds flying high, a smile still on his face. "Even a rock golem can't hold me!"
"No. I need information about the Atsukara. I can't let you leave!" Onoki responded immediately. A massive boulder appeared in the golem's hands and was hurled at Deidara.
Boom—
The stone didn't even reach him. Two of Deidara's small clay bees collided with it and exploded!
Shards flew everywhere.
Then came more stones, over a dozen, but each one was blown apart by Deidara's clay.
Deidara's eyes grew cold. He had originally considered the village ties and could have simply left, but Onoki wouldn't let him go.
His voice turned icy. "The boss wanted me to leave immediately after delivering the message. I'm not supposed to cause trouble, but this time, you started it!"
With that, dozens of clay birds, no bigger than sparrows, darted toward the stone golem. They landed on every joint of the giant.
Boom—
As Deidara's command rang out, the clay birds exploded simultaneously!
The massive rock golem collapsed with a roar. The force of the explosion pulverized the stones at its center into dust, while other fragments flew outward in all directions.
"Watch out!"
Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi, rushing over, saw a massive boulder hurtling toward them and shouted a warning to the people behind.
Then, they quickly formed hand signs and used a dirt wall to block most of the rocks.
"Damn… Did Deidara actually dare to fight Grandpa Onoki?" Kurotsuchi muttered under the dirt wall, knowing Deidara was battling Onoki.
She leapt onto the dirt wall, glaring furiously at Deidara in the sky.
Gritting her teeth!
If she could fly, she would've taught Deidara a lesson already!
He had been away for years and actually thought he could beat Grandpa?
Ridiculous!
Then Grandpa would just have to teach him a proper lesson.
"Not letting me leave?" Deidara looked at Onoki, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
"Seeing you now, I need to know more about Atsukara. You lot are an unstable factor in the ninja world!" Onoki was a bit disheveled, but his gaze toward Deidara was sharp and serious.
Atsukara was too mysterious!
If he let Deidara go, he might never get the chance to understand them.
And… the black-clad ninja who attacked him last time—were they also part of Atsukara?
He had to find out!
That black-clad ninja could also use Dust Release.
"Unstable factor? The purpose of Atsukara is to bring peace to the ninja world!" Deidara said seriously to Onoki. "Old man, you're overthinking it!"
Hearing Onoki's words about the organization, Deidara no longer felt any respect for him.
"Then tell me, the last night raid on Iwagakure, the one who stole Iwagakure's jutsu—was that someone from Atsukara?" Ōnoki asked, looking at Deidara, each word sharp and deliberate.
This…? Deidara froze. Stole Iwagakure's jutsu? Wasn't that Genya's doing?
He hadn't expected… that now, Ōnoki would bring it up again.
"Judging by your expression, I can tell. It was done by a member of Atsukara!" Ōnoki's mind was already clear on the matter, but his respect—and fear—for the organization grew even stronger.
That mysterious person could copy any jutsu he performed. Even Dust Release. And their chakra reserves were enormous—one person could shake the entire Iwagakure!
A ninja like that was definitely a member of Atsukara.
Then… who else belonged to the organization?
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know the secrets of Atsukara.
"That wasn't stealing—it was borrowing. Besides, my boss can copy anything just by watching it. In his eyes, no jutsu is a secret," Deidara said matter-of-factly. This, of course, was his understanding of Genya.
Just watch it once… and you can do it!
His Dust Release was something that black-clothed man had learned after watching just a few times.
As he had predicted, Deidara had been recruited by the ninja who attacked Iwagakure last time.
"Since the one who caused chaos in Iwagakure last time was a member of your Atsukara, I can't let you leave," Ōnoki said, staring at Deidara.
"Stay here on your own. Don't make me use my full power… or else, I won't be able to control myself!"
****
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