"Both of you, stay in the Akatsuki and keep gathering intel for me. If there's any move to capture a Tailed Beast, let me know right away."
"No problem!"
Deidara and Sasori didn't hesitate at all, quickly nodding in agreement to Kazama's orders.
Seeing that he'd managed to recruit two Akatsuki members without shedding a drop of blood, Kazama was thrilled.
Right now, Itachi in the Akatsuki was already working with him.
Deidara and Sasori had fallen under the control of Betsu Tensei (Another Heaven), pledging their loyalty to him.
With Kakuzu and Hidan already taken out by Kazama, that left only Kisame, Hei Zetsu, Nagato, and Konan.
The Akatsuki, which seemed like an unbreakable powerhouse, was already more than half under Kazama's influence.
If the mastermind behind the scenes, Hei Zetsu, found out, he'd probably be so furious he'd spit blood on the spot.
Kazama's next step was to find a chance for Itachi to lure Kisame to him so he could use Betsu Tensei to control him too.
Then, he'd sneak into Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village) to confront Nagato and Konan, exposing Hei Zetsu's schemes.
"As for Obito, that guy's been keeping a low profile and hasn't shown his face. I'll have to deal with him later. But when I do run into him, I need to figure out a way to free him from Hei Zetsu's manipulation. After all, Obito only fell into darkness because he was deceived by Hei Zetsu and Uchiha Madara!"
"Kazama-sama!"
While Kazama was lost in his plans, Deidara and Sasori suddenly spoke up.
"Our current mission from the Akatsuki was to capture the Sanbi. But since you've frozen it, if we go back empty-handed, the Akatsuki might get suspicious. That'd make it hard for us to keep spying for you!"
"No worries!"
Hearing their concerns, Kazama immediately created a Mokuton Bunshin (Wood Clone) and transformed it to look like the Sanbi.
"What the—!"
Deidara and Sasori were floored when they saw Kazama's clone morph into the Sanbi Isobu. They couldn't help but feel his power was beyond comprehension.
"This clone carries half the Sanbi's chakra. When the Gedo Mazo (Demonic Statue of the Outer Path) absorbs it, it'll still open its eyes as expected. Then, the fake Sanbi will just vanish without a trace—no one will suspect a thing!"
"Awesome! This way, we can report back without any issues!"
"Well then, we'll take our leave!"
As Deidara and Sasori departed, Kazama prepared to use Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) to transport the frozen Sanbi to Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village).
But then he suddenly remembered that Yukimaru and Guren, who had helped him summon the Sanbi earlier, were nowhere to be seen.
He quickly activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and spotted the two of them passed out in the distance.
At first, Kazama thought they'd been knocked out by the shockwaves from his battle with the Sanbi.
But when they woke up, he learned they'd actually fainted from sheer awe at his godlike abilities, which left him half-laughing, half-exasperated.
"Kazama-sama, what happened to the lake?!"
When Yukimaru woke up and saw the once-rippling lake now completely dry, she was stunned.
"My fight with the Sanbi caused the flames to evaporate all the water," Kazama explained.
"To think you could evaporate an entire lake's worth of water—that's some insane Katon (Fire Release) power! Kazama-sama, you never cease to amaze us!"
Guren gave Kazama a big thumbs-up as she spoke.
Meanwhile, Yukimaru looked at the dried-up lake with a pang of regret.
"It's such a shame this huge lake is gone. Kazama-sama, is there any way to bring it back to how it was?"
"Yukimaru, come on! No matter how strong Kazama-sama is, he's still human, not a god. How could he possibly refill a lake this massive? Don't be ridiculous!"
Before Kazama could respond, Guren shook her head at Yukimaru.
But Kazama smiled. "Yukimaru's got a point. It's a pity to let a lake this big stay dry, especially since I caused it. Alright, I'll restore it to its original state!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, Guren quickly tried to stop him.
"Kazama-sama, think this through! This lake spans hundreds of miles. Even if a hundred ninja used Suiton (Water Release) together, it'd barely make a dent. How could you do it alone? And even if you could, your chakra wouldn't hold up for a Suiton that massive!"
"For me, anything's possible. Mokuton Tajuu Bunshin (Wood Style: Multiple Clones)!"
With that, Kazama summoned a whopping ten thousand Mokuton Bunshin around the lake.
"Suiton: Kaisho no Jutsu (Water Release: Tsunami Technique)!"
All ten thousand clones then unleashed a powerful Suiton on the dried-up lakebed.
In the blink of an eye, the barren lakebed transformed back into a shimmering, rippling expanse of water—somehow even more beautiful than before.
"That's incredible! Kazama-sama, you never stop blowing my mind!"
Seeing Kazama literally turn a wasteland into a sea, Guren was utterly floored, her admiration for him reaching new heights.
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