Getting the fifteen-year-old Kazekage out of the heavily guarded village wasn't too difficult—provided you had something to pique the Fifth Kazekage Gaara's interest. Conveniently, the whereabouts of the Third Kazekage mattered a great deal to him.
Still, the barren desert where the meeting took place wasn't Gaara's first choice. Along with his trusted subordinates and older brother, he was accompanied by Chiyo, the legendary puppeteer of the ninja world. Chiyo had an inexplicable connection with a member of Akatsuki. To put it bluntly, she was a blood relative of this red-clouded, black-robed man crawling on the ground with a grotesque face. To Chiyo, this ugly man was her "adorable grandson."
The "grandparent-grandchild battle" was a spectacle that fascinated Itachi and Kisame, who came to assist in capturing the tailed beast. If time permitted, they would have bought popcorn from a nearby town. After all, battles between puppeteers weren't everyday entertainment. As for capturing the One-Tail, Itachi had to admit—even though Deidara had once lost to him, and in all subsequent battles over the years, Deidara always failed—capturing a fifteen-year-old Jinchūriki like Gaara was effortless.
As the fight between Chiyo and Deidara reached its climax, Gaara was knocked unconscious by an explosive clay attack from Deidara. Fortunately, he had not used the tailed beast chakra. Unfortunately for Deidara, he lost his left arm in the process. But to Deidara, this was insignificant. Calmly, he sat alongside Kisame and Itachi, watching the puppeteers' duel with idle amusement.
"Impressive, old man! Truly amazing! Mm!" Deidara said with admiration. Apart from disagreeing on the concept of art, Deidara was essentially the number-one fan. Itachi could tell there was some strange, unspoken bond between them but didn't care to investigate further.
"Hey, you done?" Kisame finally realized. Deidara had been so engrossed in the fight that he forgot the task. Unknowingly, the battle had already ended.
"A piece of cake! Mm!" Deidara made a perfect "OK" gesture. Itachi glanced at Deidara's lost arm, said nothing, and quietly watched him posturing. Sensing the gaze of a man he could never beat, Deidara grew angry, "You! What's with that look?! Wanna fight? Huh!"
Itachi turned back to watch the puppeteers' battle, silently "adding a cut" to Deidara's ego.
"You still can't beat me," Deidara shouted, losing his temper. He leapt up, pointing one hand at Itachi, shouting violently, "Damn yellow weasel! I'll blow you to pieces, mm!"
The volume and rage disrupted the battle. With Chiyo unable to counter, and the red-haired boy already disengaged, Nagato stepped forward, glancing at Deidara's missing arm and then at Kisame and Itachi, calmly asking,
"So this is how you assist in capturing the One-Tail?"
Kisame and Itachi nodded knowingly, lips twitching. They grabbed Deidara, who was about to rush Itachi, and then checked on the unconscious Fifth Kazekage.
"Mission complete. Let's go."
"No need to decide who's stronger?" Kisame asked, gesturing to Chiyo, curious whether she or her grandson was the superior puppeteer.
Nagato shook his head, looking down at Chiyo, exhausted under the massive rock.
"No fight. Not interested. Just borrowing the Kazekage for a few days; we'll return him later."
A rare serious explanation. Counting Chiyo and Gaara's brother Kankuro, along with eight other ANBU members, ten in total, all were lying on the sand, incapacitated but alive. Deidara now summoned his clay giant bird, infusing it with chakra, while the Five-Tails were wrapped by another bird's tail, ready to obey.
"You bastards! Who are you people, what are you doing to Gaara?!" The Fifth Kazekage's brother struggled to speak, poisoned and paralyzed at the start of the fight.
"I said we're borrowing him! Can't you understand?! Huh!" Deidara shouted. Itachi dusted himself off, saying,
"Alright, let's go."
The Sharingan spun, casting an illusion that rendered all conscious individuals unconscious. Then Itachi, along with Kisame, leapt onto the bird carrying Gaara.
"Beg me, yellow weasel, and I'll take you back! Mm!" Deidara yelled from his own bird. Itachi slapped him on the head.
"Move it. The boss is waiting."
Deidara pouted, activating chakra, and both birds soared toward their destination.
"What about your arm?" one asked.
Deidara didn't care.
"Crushed by this kid. Absolute defense, old man! Mm."
"Idiot," came a flat reply, followed by, "Kakuzu will fix it later."
He then contacted the headquarters to report the mission.
—Wait, a severed arm? Could a One-Tail Jinchūriki really be that strong?
Obito, observing Deidara's flailing, thought, Absolute defense indeed. He's like a rock, completely unbreakable!
"Nagato, Itachi, Kisame, what are you doing?" Nagato slightly frowned. The Itachi projection scratched his nose apologetically.
"Sorry, boss, got a bit distracted."
"Boss, that yellow weasel watched the whole thing! Mm!" Deidara pointed at Itachi, complaining. Itachi shrugged.
"So the desert isn't my turf," Kisame said, trying to deflect. Pain arms folded silently, just observing. Even they felt pressured under that gaze and admitted defeat.
"Sorry…"
"Don't let this happen again, Kakuzu."
"I know, but without a prosthetic, he'd need one." Kakuzu didn't resist. Obito interjected, "I'll get it."
Within five minutes, Obito returned with a state-of-the-art prosthetic developed using White Zetsu technology and handed it to Kakuzu.
Nagato preferred sealing the tailed beast close to where it was captured. The base wasn't far from the Land of Wind. Apart from Konan, even Nagato came in person this time. Replacing Deidara's arm was quick, and preparing the seals took less than half an hour. The Geto Statue was summoned, and Konan's projection appeared.
"We're using the improved Sealing Jutsu: Nine Phantom Dragons, leaving one-twentieth of chakra in the Jinchūriki. The sealing will take three days and cannot be interrupted. Understood?"
Everyone nodded repeatedly. Nagato looked to Konan.
"You okay over there?"
Her distant body in Amegakure nodded, mirrored by her projection.
"Good. Begin."
As they formed the seals, the unconscious Gaara slowly floated. The Geto Statue opened its mouth, pale blue chakra flowing out, enveloping Gaara. The One-Tail's red chakra was gradually absorbed into the statue.
Nagato expected reinforcements from Sunagakure; even careful, their target was the Kazekage. Preparations were thorough: substitution techniques and even sacrificial setups, though unused. Three days later, the first eye of the One-Tail fully opened in the statue, and the hidden base remained undetected. Everything proceeded smoothly until the sealing was complete and Nagato deactivated the statue.
"Exhausting! Mm!" At the end, Deidara collapsed. Three days of continuous chakra output for the Sealing Jutsu: Nine Phantom Dragons was grueling. Even Kisame, with the second-most chakra among them, struggled. Obito, with his unique physiology, was tired but not as completely drained.
Just as he prepared a simple meal in the space-time dimension, a sudden gust hit. The improved Raikage Strike tore through, smashing Obito and the food he held. He survived, albeit with ruined clothes and a severed right arm.
Seconds before, he had entered the space-time dimension unharmed; seconds later, he emerged battered and covered in dust.
"I'm taking the One-Tail back! Move it!" Obito said, disappearing again. Deidara laughed.
"Space-time ninjutsu… unbelievable!"
Kakuzu commented, inspecting the injuries. The wound carried faint electrical currents invisible to others but detectable with the Rinnegan.
"Raikage Strike?"
Obito quickly brushed off the residual chakra.
"Doesn't matter. Let's go, I've got the One-Tail to deliver."
"I'm starving. Let's move," Itachi muttered weakly, Nagato agreeing.
Within seconds, all appeared at Amegakure, still under light rain. Obito had successfully returned the One-Tail.
"Leader, ramen?" Itachi asked, noticing Nagato's stillness.
Nagato nodded.
"Company expense?" Deidara's eyes sparkled.
"Personal expense!" Nagato and Kakuzu shouted in unison.
━━━━ ❖ ━━━
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