Adi's face was filled with panic. He hurriedly grabbed Nagi's hand and whispered anxiously,
"Hey, kid, those ninja clearly aren't here with good intentions. We absolutely need to avoid them. How about… we come back another day? Safety first, right?"
Nagi nodded.
"Understood. Then we'll take a detour and avoid them."
No one objected.
When the group detoured to a dilapidated shrine, Nagi suddenly stopped again.
Everyone immediately became alert and scanned their surroundings.
After sensing the area, Nagi shook his head.
"We're surrounded."
The moment he finished speaking, the ground began to shake violently.
The earth rose up and formed an extremely thick circular earthen wall, trapping them inside.
Three figures landed on top of the wall.
Leading them was a short old man with a large red nose.
Samui and the others immediately recognized him—
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
Ōnoki laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Finally caught you, Deidara!"
Adi sighed helplessly and removed his conical hat.
"So you caught me after all… old man."
Ōnoki then turned to Samui and the others.
"Shinobi of Konohagakure, there's no need to worry. We're here specifically for this troublesome brat. I ask that you refrain from interfering."
Deidara pointed angrily at Ōnoki.
"Damn it! Not only did you seal my chakra, you even brought this many people to capture me. Old man, that's totally cheating!"
Ōnoki snorted dismissively.
"Hmph. Dealing with a slippery brat like you requires careful planning. Now be a good boy and come back with me. I'll personally train you to become the finest Tsuchikage."
Samui and the others were shocked.
They had never expected that the person they were escorting was actually a candidate for Tsuchikage.
Deidara immediately refused.
"No way! I'm not going back! I still have to pursue my art!"
Ōnoki was so angry his hair seemed to float upward.
"You brat! Do you really think joining that mercenary group—the Akatsuki—will help you pursue art?"
Deidara said proudly,
"Of course! Sister Konan has a great sense of art. She's nothing like you people who don't understand true appreciation."
Before Ōnoki could respond, the girl with short black hair beside him narrowed her eyes and glared at Deidara.
"Oh? Calling her Sister Konan already? Looks like you really like her. Tell me—did you join the Akatsuki because you have a crush on her?!"
Deidara was speechless.
"What kind of nonsense is that…? Anyway, old man, Kurotsuchi—goodbye."
The moment he finished speaking—
Deidara suddenly turned into a puddle of water.
At the same time, Nagi and the others also dissolved into water.
"Water Clone Technique?"
"Looks like we were played… but…"
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Deidara began explaining the real reason behind this mission.
When he was young, Deidara often caused explosions in Iwagakure.
Although they looked terrifying, they rarely injured anyone.
The only real victim… was actually Ōnoki.
One year, while Ōnoki was using the restroom, Deidara had "accidentally" detonated a clay spider inside the outdoor latrine.
…The result could easily be imagined.
Because no one in Iwagakure seemed to understand his art, Deidara gradually grew tired of staying there.
Then one day, he happened to see Konan "bombarding the ocean."
He was completely captivated by that spectacle of artistic destruction.
So he voluntarily followed her and joined the Akatsuki.
Within the organization, Deidara found the group quite interesting.
And there was also someone whose artistic philosophy was the exact opposite of his own—yet strangely, he quite enjoyed working with that person.
(After all, strange people tend to attract other strange people.)
But the good times didn't last long.
One day, Ōnoki personally led a group to visit the Akatsuki.
His goal was simple:
Bring Deidara back to Iwagakure.
As the leader of the Akatsuki, Nagato stated that he would respect Deidara's decision.
Naturally, Deidara refused.
Since the Akatsuki was one of the world's top mercenary organizations, Ōnoki couldn't afford to openly offend them.
But unwilling to give up, he tried another approach.
He sighed dramatically.
"Ahem… I'm already an old man. Traveling all this way wasn't easy. Our Iwagakure truly lacks successors now. Don't you young people understand how to show consideration for the elderly?"
Ōnoki shamelessly played the "old man card."
As for dignity as Tsuchikage?
That kind of thing couldn't fill his stomach.
Unfortunately for him—
That tactic didn't work with the Akatsuki.
At that moment, Kakuzu coughed twice.
"Ahem. Ōnoki, as your senior, I've also had a hard life. Deidara is an important member of the Akatsuki. If he leaves, things will become inconvenient for us. Don't you know how to show respect to the elderly?"
"..."
For the first time, Ōnoki found his unbeatable tactic turned against him.
But Kurotsuchi then switched strategies and began using a cute pleading approach.
Although Deidara was completely immune to it, the other Akatsuki members thought the girl seemed quite nice.
So, following the principle of "better to unite lovers than tear them apart," the Akatsuki members took a step back.
Finally, after much persuasion from Ōnoki's silver tongue, Deidara reluctantly agreed to a challenge.
If Ōnoki could capture him within one month, he would return to Iwagakure.
However, Ōnoki added several restrictions:
Deidara could not remain in any country for more than ten days.
He could not re-enter a country he had already visited.
Once the game began,
Ōnoki activated spies across multiple nations.
Deidara couldn't stay anywhere for long.
In the Land of Rivers, Ōnoki personally led a pursuit squad.
Deidara accidentally fell victim to a sealing technique, causing his chakra to gradually become sealed.
Even so, he managed to escape into the Land of Fire.
Ōnoki remained calm, acting as if everything was under control.
Because Deidara only had a little over ten days remaining.
To survive, he had to leave the Land of Fire.
Ōnoki manipulated Iwagakure's intelligence network to force Deidara to run through every neighboring country of the Land of Fire.
Since he couldn't enter any other nations again—
There was only one possible exit left.
The Land of Rain.
Returning to the present…
Deidara sighed helplessly.
"Sigh… the old man and the others don't understand my art at all. Art is an explosion. Yeah. I'm definitely not going back."
Nagi and the others stared at him speechlessly.
Seriously…
Running away from home in pursuit of art—
And if he gets caught, he'll be forced to return home and inherit the family business?
What kind of ridiculous plot is this?
When they finally arrived near Amegakure, Nagi was about to speak.
But Deidara interrupted him.
"Kid, you don't need to say anything. I understand. Even though we didn't spend much time together, when it's time to part ways, we still have to say goodbye.
If I weren't laying low right now, I'd definitely host you properly."
He gave a small wave.
"So… thanks for your hard work. I appreciate the escort.
If fate allows it, we'll meet again someday."
After that, Deidara glanced around cautiously and slipped into Amegakure in a suspicious, sneaky manner.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789