Noticing the tense atmosphere, the nearby movers quickly hastened their work.
"Waaaaah!"
Furious flames seemed to burn in Konohamaru's eyes, as if he wanted to incinerate the man before him who was trying to snatch away his house. This house was left to him by his deceased grandfather. It belonged to him in the past, it belonged to him now, and it would belong to him in the future! But how could a little kid, not even a Genin, break free from the hold of a Jonin?
"Sarutobi-jonin, I'm not going to get angry at a little brat who doesn't know anything," Namikaze Naruto said, looking at the man with the thick beard, Asuma. "Why don't we hear what he has to say?"
"You villain! This house is mine! No one can take it away!" Sarutobi Konohamaru roared, taking a step forward as if to pounce on the enemy before him.
"That's a good look in your eyes," Naruto said, appraising him with a nod. "Since you say this house is yours, then strive to become stronger, and take it back from me with your own hands."
"Lord Ninja—" The lead worker approached, looking nervously at the three of them as they faced off. "We've finished moving everything."
"Let's go." Sarutobi Asuma scooped up his nephew and gave Naruto a deep, lingering look. "This courtyard, from now on, belongs to you."
Watching the little kid being carried away, still baring his teeth and brandishing his claws defiantly, Naruto shook his head slightly, then turned and walked into the courtyard, paying them no further mind. His earlier words had been spoken on a whim. He didn't really think the little brat could ever catch up to his pace. This wasn't arrogance, but confidence.
Click~
He pushed open the door. Gazing at the courtyard, which now seemed deserted due to its previous occupants' departure, he let out a light sigh. "A new life begins..."
In a gloomy, dense jungle within the Land of Grass. A large number of Kumogakure shinobi were gathered, waiting silently, waiting for their leader to give the order to attack. At the very front of the formation, on a clear patch of ground, a Kumo Jonin in uniform sat cross-legged, eyes closed, hands forming a seal. Beneath him, the ground was covered with densely packed, insect-like script—a powerful jutsu formula. The Fourth Raikage stood guard nearby with his trusted aides. Not far off, the four members of the Shinobi Squad were either leaning against trees, sitting quietly, or half-dangling from branches.
"Open!"
The seated Jonin gave a sharp cry, chakra surging madly into the jutsu formula beneath him. Amplified by the formula, an abyss-like spatial rift slowly tore open in mid-air.
"The rest of you, secure the passage!" the Raikage commanded.
"Yes, sir!" the Kumo ninja responded in unison.
Zzzzzzzzt!
An immense amount of brilliant blue lightning instantly enveloped the Fourth Raikage's muscular body. Leading the charge, he plunged into the spatial rift.
"Let's go!" More than a dozen Kumo Jonin followed close behind.
Shing~
Uchiha Sasuke opened his eyes, a pair of crimson Mangekyo Sharingan slowly rotating. A gust of wind rose beneath his feet, and his figure vanished from the spot. The other members of the Shinobi Squad—Deidara, Yenako, and Chojuro—disappeared simultaneously.
The Fourth Raikage opened his eyes again. A barren, impoverished land greeted him. Yellow sand danced across the sky, and hills of various shapes were the only scenery. The faintly reddish sky gave off an inexplicable sense of solemnity and oppression. This was Akatsuki's alternate dimension.
"Three o'clock direction!" A Kumo sensor ninja pointed the way for them. After crossing a series of hills, a withered, humanoid behemoth, looking as if all moisture had been sucked from its body, came into view.
"So this is the Gedo Mazo?" the Fourth Raikage asked, glancing at Deidara behind him.
"It is, yeah, but it's a bit different from what I remember. Its eyes should be closed, un," Deidara said, puzzled. Everyone focused their gaze. On the Gedo Mazo's face, among its many eyes, two were now eerily open. "Looks even more disgusting now, un," Deidara said with a look of disdain. From the first time he'd seen this monstrosity, it had never appealed to his aesthetic sense.
ROAR!
The earth began to tremble violently.
"What's happening?" Everyone's expression changed drastically. The distant, mountain-sized Gedo Mazo let out a furious roar. With a slight exertion of its hands, the massive iron chains binding them snapped.
"Is he also a member of Akatsuki?" A Kumo Jonin pointed to the top of the Gedo Mazo's head. There, a red-haired man in a black cloak adorned with red clouds stood, arms crossed, calmly observing them.
"I've never seen him before, un," Deidara said, his expression doubtful. What's going on? Isn't the Gedo Mazo always controlled by the Deva Path Pain?
"It seems Akatsuki has hidden many things from you," Yenako commented.
"Tch!" Deidara pouted.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Gedo Mazo strode forward, each step upon the earth causing a terrifying tremor that shook mountains.
"He's mine." Uchiha Sasuke leaped up, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes spinning rapidly. Dark violet chakra began to condense and form around his body! Supported by the fearsome dojutsu power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the third power of the Sharingan—Susanoo, in its final form, the Great Tengu—materialized directly in the path of the charging Gedo Mazo. The two behemoths instantly collided.
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave erupted, kicking up the earth. Deidara and the others focused chakra to their feet, anchoring themselves firmly to the ground to avoid being blown away. At the epicenter of the collision, the ground had sunk several feet.
"Uchiha Sasuke?" Nagato, atop the Gedo Mazo, looked at the youth opposite him. In that young face, he could vaguely see the shadow of his former subordinate, Itachi.
"So, you're the leader of Akatsuki?" Sasuke stared back, his gaze fixed on the Rinnegan in Nagato's eyes. The ultimate dojutsu of the Uchiha from a bygone era. It was also the direction of his own efforts. Thanks to the intelligence revealed by his future self, he knew this red-haired man was the true leader of Akatsuki. The Deva Path Pain that Deidara spoke of was merely one of his puppets.
"Your older brother was not your equal," Nagato stated with a slight nod.
Zzzzt!
From the segmented limbs on the Gedo Mazo's back, a massive amount of chakra began to gather. Several lightning-like blasts erupted, ploughing through the surroundings. Taking several of the lightning blasts directly, Sasuke felt the terrifying drain on his dojutsu power, and his expression flickered. He was protected by his Susanoo, but the others were not so fortunate. Even if they were powerful Jonin, or even Kage-level, facing such a terrifying attack, they could only flee in disarray.
Amidst the ruin and chaos, several figures in black cloaks with red clouds leaped out from the surrounding hills.
"Yeehaw!" Hidan swung his massive three-bladed scythe, drawing blood from a Kumo ninja.
"Bastard!" Looking at the wound on his arm, a Kumo Jonin's face darkened. The wound wasn't fatal, but the feeling of being ambushed infuriated him.
"Ooh, ooh! Mad now, are ya?" Hidan licked the blood from his blade, waving provocatively. "Come on!" With that, he ran off into the distance.
"Ko! Ju! With me!" The Jonin, not letting anger cloud his judgment, called two of his comrades to follow. After all, their opponents were the infamous Akatsuki; their strength was not to be underestimated.
"Finally out in the open!" The Fourth Raikage transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging towards the nearest enemy.
"Sasori, my man, long time no see, un!" Elsewhere, Deidara greeted the enemy before him.
"I can finally make you into a puppet," Sasori's low voice was filled with killing intent.
"What a coincidence! I was thinking of turning you into art, yeah!"