If the Fourth Mizukage were still alive, she might have used this operation to eliminate anyone unfavorable to her. But the Fifth Mizukage's style was entirely different. Zaraki Kita had no idea how Terumi Mizukage had managed to evacuate the guards stationed at the temple, but in reality, there were no Mist ninja left inside. Only a few government-appointed guards remained. Kita knew that faking a natural disaster to destroy the temple was virtually impossible. The Ōtsutsuki Shrine, painstakingly constructed with enormous manpower and resources, was earthquake-proof, fireproof, and even water-resistant. Deliberate destruction would be necessary.
After carefully investigating the ruins, Kita collected every scrap of intelligence she could carry. With the enhancement of her chakra, her Lightning Release techniques evolved from a thunderous tiger into a massive lightning dragon. BOOM! Circling and surging, the shrine, long visited by thousands of worshippers, became a pile of ruins. As for the government guards, if any survived the super S-rank secret technique Lightning Release: Twin Rising Dragons, they were lucky to cling to life—but judging by the scorched corpses scattered across the ground, survival was virtually impossible.
Click.
The long sword returned to its sheath. Hidden beneath her deep gray cloak, Kita didn't even expose a single strand of hair. As her clay bird expanded, she leapt onto it and swiftly flew toward a destination far from the Land of Water.
Minutes later, two figures—one tall, one short—appeared at the edge of the wreckage. The tall, blond man in a striking black robe with red clouds showed sheer shock, while the shorter man, hunched and grim, fixed his gaze with sharp intensity.
"Unbelievable… what kind of Lightning Release can level a place like this?"
Deidara's mouth dropped open, while Hiruuko's brow furrowed tightly.
He could count on one hand the Lightning Release users capable of such power: the Raikage of the Cloud Village, Killer B—the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Darui, the Fourth Raikage's right hand, and Kakashi Hatake of Konoha with his Sharingan. None of them would casually destroy the Ōtsutsuki Shrine.
"Uncle, what about our mission? The boss is going to kill people!"
This mission had been to assassinate the head of the Land of Water Ōtsutsuki Shrine. The client, a disciple, was impatient with their master's prolonged tenure and had commissioned Akatsuki to act cleanly, explicitly instructing them to kill only and not destroy the building. Before leaving, Nagato had specifically warned Deidara not to act recklessly.
"What do we do, Uncle?"
Crack.
From the rubble, a charred, unrecognizable figure emerged.
"Save… me… please…"
Desperately, Deidara moved stones off the person, applying medical ninjutsu. The victim's meridians had been destroyed by the Lightning Release, internal organs heavily damaged, bones pulverized, and the waist broken. The collapsed wall had absorbed some of the impact, allowing survival, but even if he lived, he would be paralyzed for life.
Analyzing the situation, Deidara exclaimed in disbelief,
"Someone actually survived!"
"Deidara, start a land, sea, and air search. They couldn't have gone far. Check for other survivors."
"Huh? Uncle… are we saving them?"
"Idiot! They need to know what happened. Hurry!"
"Ah, got it! Yes!"
Several clay birds and spiders burst from his hands, scattering in all directions, while clay centipedes wriggled into the ruins.
As he applied medical ninjutsu to save the mangled man, he probed for intelligence wherever possible.
"What… happened here? Why is this place a ruin?"
The treated man's eyes were dazed. Gaining some strength, he stammered in fear,
"I… don't… know… there was… suddenly an earthquake… then… lightning from underground… appeared… in an instant… everyone… struck… Twin Dragons… weapons…"
To launch such a destructive attack from underground without the caster being affected required extraordinary defense to block falling debris while channeling Lightning Release—few could manage it.
"What kind of person?"
…
Sitting atop her giant clay bird, Kita swallowed the last pill and blinked at a small reconnaissance bird flying past.
Hmm, didn't expect to run into them.
She pinched the tiny bird—barely half a palm in size—used solely for scouting. Its movements, powered by Deidara's minor earth chakra, looked convincingly real. Smiling, Kita injected a small amount of her own lightning chakra into the bird, dispersing most of Deidara's chakra while leaving it faintly sparking, then sent it flying in the opposite direction.
"Huh? Uncle, got it! Yes!"
Deidara looked up, and the giant clay bird had already appeared. Without pause, Kita leapt aboard. The injured reconnaissance bird was worthless now.
"Let's go."
"Ah!"
The bird surged into the sky, heading rapidly toward their target.
"Are you sure it's them?"
"Yes. Few Lightning Release users can break through my Earth Release. Uncle, in this case, the enemy can also fight in the air. A direct fight could be bad for you."
"Follow for now."
Minutes later, Deidara sat on the clay bird, silent, observing the nearly lifeless scouting bird, sparking faintly.
"Damn it!!! That bastard!!! Dared to trick me, I'll blow him up! Hmph!!!"
By inputting lightning chakra into the bird, Deidara believed he was connected to the real target, but all he tracked was a dying decoy. Not a particularly clever trick, yet the famed Akasuna no Sasori and Deidara fell for it completely.
"Strong."
After a long silence, he muttered. Controlling lightning chakra to such precision was not simple. Among chakra types, lightning is the hardest to manipulate due to its scattered nature. Using it in a subtle technique like this required mastery beyond even the Raikage.
Even if the two combined their efforts to pursue, victory was far from guaranteed.
"Let's return."
"Huh? Not continuing the chase?"
"No. Mission failed, and Mist Village will act soon. Best not to stir up trouble now."
━━━━ ❖ ━━━
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