"Brother Sasori, are you planning to turn him into a puppet?" Deidara asked curiously as he watched Sasori collect the corpse of the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki.
"Although the Tailed Beast has been extracted, as a Jinchūriki who coexisted with a Tailed Beast for so long, his body must still contain residual Tailed Beast chakra. He'll make an excellent artistic addition," Sasori replied, speaking more than usual, clearly intrigued by the prospect.
Deidara estimated that Sasori's Jinchūriki puppet would likely only reach the level of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, capable of minor Tailed Beast transformations but far from being able to unleash a Tailed Beast Ball.
"Tch! Even a fully intact Seven-Tails Jinchūriki fell to my art. Brother Sasori, has your art degraded to the point where you're just picking up my leftovers?"
"Looks like the superiority of our art has been decided!"
"Deidara! Go to hell!"
It took Sasori three full days to complete the puppet of the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki. When they finally stepped out of the cave and into the sunlight, Deidara felt a strange sense of disorientation, as if years had passed.
"Brother Sasori, did you find Raiga Kurosuki's location?" Deidara asked. During the past three days, Sasori had already issued orders to locate Raiga. With his extensive network of subordinates scattered across the ninja world, Sasori's intelligence network was formidable.
"In the Land of Grass," Sasori replied, retrieving a scroll from a prearranged drop point. Using a secret technique, he unsealed the scroll, which contained a coded message. After some time decoding it, he uncovered the information.
"What's he doing in the Land of Grass?"
Deidara recalled from the original storyline that Raiga Kurosuki fled the Land of Water and hid in the remote mountains of the Land of Fire, where he claimed a gold mine and became a petty tyrant. He even adopted a child named Ranmaru before eventually being defeated by Naruto, Neji, and the others.
But that event was still over four years away. Deidara's biggest concern was whether Raiga had defected yet. If Raiga was still in Kirigakure, Deidara wouldn't dare act recklessly. However, if he was in the Land of Grass, it was a different story.
"I heard there's a girl from the Uzumaki Clan there. They say one bite from her can heal wounds. He's probably trying to capture her as a subordinate," Sasori explained.
So Karin has appeared? Deidara thought. Before Raiga became a gold mine tyrant, he had apparently dabbled in kidnapping. These small details were never mentioned in the original story.
"Do you think he'll succeed?" Deidara asked, following Sasori with curiosity.
"A stray dog like him? The Grass Village may be small, but it still has some strength," Sasori replied.
At Deidara's insistence, the two abandoned their leisurely pace and traveled at full speed. The Land of Grass was adjacent to the Land of Waterfalls, so it only took them half a day to reach their destination.
"That green-haired, dark-eyed, big-mouthed guy—he's Raiga Kurosuki, right?" Deidara asked as he spotted the man. Despite his hazy memory of the storyline, Raiga's appearance triggered a vague recollection.
"I have to say, his looks are... unique," Deidara commented. It seemed the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist all had peculiar appearances.
Raiga stood wielding his twin Thunder Swords, facing off against a group of Grass Village ninjas. Among the Grass ninjas was a little girl with red hair, wearing oversized black-rimmed glasses and simple clothing. Her exposed limbs were covered in bite marks, and her expression was one of fear and panic.
"Hey! Green-haired guy, hand over your swords. And you Grass Village folks, give me that little girl. If you cooperate, I might spare your lives," Deidara announced arrogantly as he stepped forward, breaking the tense standoff with his bold words.
"Hahaha!" The Grass ninjas burst into laughter.
"Where'd this brat come from, spouting such nonsense? Since you're so eager, we'll take care of you along with that rogue ninja over there," one of the Grass ninjas said confidently. This was their turf, after all, and the Grass Village was among the stronger small villages. They felt no fear even when facing a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Kid, if you want my swords, you'll have to trade your life for them!" Raiga growled, clearly enraged at being underestimated by a random kid.
"Tch! So we're fighting, huh?" Deidara sighed.
"Then let me show you my art!" He reached into his clay pouch with both hands. The mouths on his palms opened wide, biting off chunks of clay and chewing them.
"C1 Standard Type: Spiders!" A swarm of Clay Spiders emerged, splitting into two groups—one heading for Raiga and the other for the Grass ninjas.
"Tch! This brat really looks down on us!" one of the Grass ninjas, a jōnin, muttered in frustration. Attacking both sides simultaneously was a clear sign of disdain. But frustration aside, ninja battles weren't child's play. The jōnin led his team to cautiously retreat, choosing to avoid the unknown threat for now.
Rule number one of survival in the ninja world: steer clear of things you don't understand.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!" Another Grass ninja formed hand seals. His mastery of Wind Release was evident—even though the Drilling Air Bullet was a basic technique, the power he unleashed was formidable. The gust scattered the incoming Clay Spiders, sending them tumbling.
"Now! Use kunai!" the Grass ninja commanded.
"Yes!" The Grass ninjas hurled kunai, pinning the Clay Spiders to the ground.
"Is that all?" a young Grass ninja smirked.
"Watch out!" a nearby jōnin shouted, kicking the young ninja backward just as a massive Clay Centipede burst from the ground. Thanks to the jōnin's quick reaction, the centipede missed its target.
But that doesn't matter. My art isn't about direct hits. Deidara smirked. At this range, the explosion would be spectacular.
"Boom!"
"Raiga Kurosuki Shock Value +100." "Kawamura To Shock Value +100." "Bomura Mitsutani Shock Value +100." "Higashi Naoto Shock Value..."
A string of Shock Value notifications appeared. Though each individual value was small, the sheer number added up. By the end of this battle, combined with his existing Shock Value, Deidara was confident he could level up again and unlock Lightning-Resistant Clay.
"Where are you looking, brat?" Suddenly, a Grass ninja emerged from the ground behind Deidara, kunai in hand, aiming for his back.
"Did you think I wouldn't be prepared? Hm!" Deidara sneered.
"Take a good look at yourself! Hah!"
"What?!" The Grass ninja's expression turned to shock as he realized his body was covered in miniature Clay Centipedes. These tiny centipedes had been planted at the start of the battle to prevent sneak attacks. Deidara had deliberately shrunk their size to ensure their explosions would only harm the target without affecting himself.
"Boom!"
The would-be assassin turned into a pile of yellow rubble.
"A clone made of earth?" Deidara muttered, realizing the Grass ninja had used an Earth Clone.
Typical ninja battles—always full of surprises.