Bang!
As Naruto, Itachi, and Kisame reached the outskirts of Sunagakure, Naruto took out his villa and said, "This area isn't within Sunagakure's surveillance range, so we shouldn't have any trouble. Let's rest for now."
Naruto's strategy was simple: Sit back and wait for Deidara and Sasori to appear.
This is the only way to Sunagakure. So as long as the other party appears, Naruto's Observation Haki will be able to sense it.
Rather than going directly to Sunagakure to find Gaara, Naruto was more interested in dealing with Deidara and Sasori first.
For Naruto, Nagato and Konan, as the leaders of the Akatsuki, were targets he planned to save for later. Among the rest of the Akatsuki's members, only Deidara and Sasori were left to be dealt with.
As for Black Zetsu and Obito, Naruto had already abandoned the idea of recruiting them.
Black Zetsu was someone Naruto thoroughly despised. This kind of insidious and cowardly guy has no personal charm. In order to prevent Kaguya's appearance or any betrayal, Naruto had resolved to eliminate him completely!
Obito, on the other hand, was a tragic figure. He's a manipulated pawn with no agency of his own. Naruto planned to leave him to Kakashi, allowing his former teammate to resolve their shared history.
Once Kakashi found closure, Naruto intended to personally put an end to Obito's story. After all, regardless of the justification or circumstances, Obito was the one responsible for the death of Naruto's parents. This was an unchangeable fact!
"Snore…!"
After three consecutive days of relocating bases and traveling without rest, Naruto was utterly exhausted. Collapsing onto the bed, he immediately fell into a deep sleep.
One day. Two days. Three days...
After Naruto fully recovered, ten days had passed, but there was still no sign of Deidara or Sasori.
"Those two bastards… They accept the mission so quickly, but how come their efficiency is so low?"
Naruto couldn't help but complain.
If he hadn't been preoccupied with other plans during the meeting, he could have intercepted the mission himself and avoided this endless waiting.
Yet, despite his impatience, he hadn't expected to wait a full ten days without any action.
During these ten days, the only consolation came from the system's sign-in rewards.
[It is detected that the host has stayed in the Land of Wind for one hour. Sign-in successful. Reward: Wind Release: Wind Dragon Twister!]
[Wind Release: Wind Dragon Twister: A technique that gathers and compresses vast amounts of Chakra within the body to form a wind dragon, which can be freely controlled to launch attacks. Specializing in large-area destruction, the wind dragon can slice enemies with razor-sharp wind blades and amplify Fire Release Ninjutsu. With mastery, the user can summon multiple wind dragons to create massive tornadoes!]
While Naruto had plenty of powerful techniques already, this new Wind Release Ninjutsu pleased him for one simple reason: it aligned perfectly with his desire to show off.
Having previously collected Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique and Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Naruto had been intent on completing a set of dragon-themed Ninjutsu for every Chakra Attributes.
With Wind Release: Wind Dragon Twister now in his arsenal, only Earth Release and Lightning Release were missing.
Over the course of ten days, Naruto had trained to an astonishing degree of proficiency with the new Ninjutsu. He was now capable of summoning nine wind dragons simultaneously, creating a colossal tornado in the process.
In the desert environment of the Land of Wind, the technique could even incorporate sand to generate devastating sandstorms.
'When Deidara and Sasori show up, I'm definitely going to give them a taste of this. Otherwise, all this waiting will have been for nothing.'
"They're here!"
Just as Naruto was daydreaming, Itachi shouted.
Using his Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi had spotted two familiar figures in the distance.
Moments later, Naruto's Observation Haki also picked up on the presence of two powerful presences approaching.
Although Naruto's Observation Haki covered a wide area, Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan, enhanced with Weapon Blessing from Naruto's clone, allowed him to use the Mangekyo without any strain.
With its unparalleled clarity and range, Itachi could accurately detect targets from several kilometers away.
Of course, this is only temporary.
After all, Naruto's Observation Haki naturally had a growth attribute. Given time, his detection range would undoubtedly surpass Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Finally, they're here!"
Naruto dashed out of the villa. After storing the villa into his system inventory, he expanded the range of his Observation Haki.
After sensing the surroundings, he suddenly realized why Deidara and Sasori were so slow.
Logically, Deidara could create explosive clay birds. Even if their flight speed couldn't match Naruto's Sky Dance Technique, they shouldn't be this slow.
The problem lay with Sasori.
At this moment, Sasori was controlling the Hiruko puppet, a heavy-armored tank with high defense and attack power.
However, its sole drawback was its painfully slow movement. Hiruko crawled forward at a snail's pace, barely faster than an average pedestrian.
Because of this, it had taken them ten days to get here.
"Naruto-kun, how about I go bring them over?" Kisame eagerly suggested, clearly impatient.
At Sasori's speed, even though they were only a few kilometers away, it might still take them half an hour to reach the group. The wait was excruciating.
"No, no rush."
Naruto smirked mischievously.
"Uh-oh, not this again..."
Kisame had seen that smirk more than once, and every time, it spelled trouble.
Indeed, just as Kisame had guessed, Naruto was up to no good.
Initially, Naruto had planned to agree with Kisame's suggestion. But then, an idea struck him, which is a more entertaining approach.
After all, waiting ten days was aggravating. If Naruto didn't get back at them somehow, how could he let it slide?
"They're slow, aren't they? Fine. Starting now, for every second they take, I'll hit them with one extra punch!"
Hearing Naruto's calm yet ruthless words, both Kisame and Itachi couldn't help but shudder.
They were well aware of the power behind Naruto's punches. Even enduring one punch was unbearable, so if he landed several... these two's lives might truly be at stake.
Yet neither Kisame nor Itachi said a word of objection.
Not just because they were loyal to Naruto, but because they, too, had suffered through these ten days of waiting.
Itachi, in particular, added coldly, "For every second they take, I'll stab them once more in the Tsukuyomi World!"
Under normal circumstances, Itachi wouldn't have cared about something like this.
However, Deidara and Sasori had been targeting Gaara. As fellow servants, Itachi couldn't just let their actions slide.
Furthermore, the ten-day delay had worsened the situation.
While Kakuzu and Hidan had been helping Naruto earn money, Itachi and Kisame had wasted ten days of their lives waiting around because of Deidara and Sasori's sluggish pace. That was simply unforgivable.
The desert remained silent, eerily so.
Finally, the sound of Hiruko dragging itself forward broke the stillness.
"They're here. 36 minutes and 8 seconds!"
Kisame stopped his timer and announced, "That's a total of 2,168 seconds!"
"Hmm? Kisame, why are you here? And what are you mumbling about?"
The one speaking was wearing the signature Akatsuki's cloak. His dark golden hair hung down to his chin, covering his left eye. A playful bun was sticking up on the top of his head, and most of his long hair was tucked beneath his collar. It was Deidara.
But before Deidara could get a proper answer, the only response he received was a sandbag-sized fist.