As soon as Anya finished speaking, she realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly added, addressing Minato, "Didn't I tell you when you married Little Pepper? My wedding was earlier—everyone in the village attended. You've forgotten, haven't you?"
Minato scratched the back of his head and awkwardly chuckled, "Ah… so that was real? I thought you were joking."
"How could marriage be a joke? It's not something you joke about—it's for life," Anya said firmly before taking Terumi Mei's hand without hesitation.
Not far away, watching this scene unfold, Onoki finally understood what was going on. All this time, the other four Kage had been his allies, while he alone had been left out. How tragic.
He walked over to Sasori and asked, "He's a ninja from Konoha. During the Second Battle and Third Battle, he must have killed many Sunagakure Village ninjas. Why would you entrust the entire village's future into his hands?"
Sasori gave him a half-smile and replied, "I know what you're thinking. Don't overthink it—once you see Sunagakure Village, you'll understand."
Onoki said in disbelief, "You really have that much confidence in your village?"
After a moment's silence, Sasori responded, "Compared to Iwagakure Village, your village is nothing more than a place for savages."
Upon hearing this, Onoki became furious, practically steaming with rage.
Meanwhile, Anya suddenly felt her waist being crushed by Terumi Mei. Luckily, through soul resonance, she sensed two powerful chakra fluctuations ahead—salvation was near.
Anya immediately shouted, "Airship, stop! There's a major battle ahead. Don't go any further!"
Sasori stood up angrily. They had already entered Sunagakure Village's territory—who dared to fight here?! If the precious oasis they had painstakingly built were damaged, it would be unforgivable.
Anya quickly used Shunshin to block Sasori's path, smiling as he said, "This looks like an interesting fight. Let me go check it out—I'll stop them too."
"Huh? It actually caught your interest," Sasori murmured, curiosity sparked. Given Anya's current strength, if he went all-out, quite frankly, no one could survive even a single strike.
At that moment, Terumi Mei approached expressionlessly and said, "You're trying to shake me off, aren't you? We haven't finished talking yet."
Witnessing this, Sasori took two steps back, inwardly sighing—Big Brother Kurotsuchi is great in every way, yet she insists on liking… worse still, she won't even admit it.
Anya's expression stiffened slightly as he quickly said, "Where did you get that idea? Since we're here, let's go together. I'd love to see how much that little girl has grown."
"Fine. I also want to know who is fighting so fiercely in the sky."
"Then let's go." Wings unfolded from Anya's back. He wrapped an arm around Terumi Mei's slim waist and leapt forward, flying out of the airship.
Seeing this, Chojuro and Ao could only helplessly shake their heads. Since this man's arrival, Terumi Mei had completely changed—no longer displaying her former composed and commanding presence.
Still, as her guards, they couldn't just ignore the situation. Ao performed a series of hand seals and quietly murmured while staring at the distant sky, "Byakugan."
"Woah! So strong! It's actually midair combat for real!" Ao couldn't help but exclaim.
Onoki asked, "Can you make out who they are?"
[Mental Transmission] One of them uses clay bombs. That must be Deidara from Akatsuki. That's strange. According to intelligence reports, he should've died already. Standing beside him is a female ninja, who also appears very strong.
"What? It's him," Onoki roared in anger. "Damn brat! I'll get him myself right now."
"Wait." Sasori wasn't surprised at Deidara's name. That guy had always been a bit reckless—most likely up to some explosive experiment in his old village again. Though it was a hassle, Deidara was still his partner, so he couldn't just let Onoki take him without putting up a fight.
Onoki said with dissatisfaction, "Do I need your permission to capture a rogue ninja from my own village?"
"No need. My older brother and the Mizukage have already gone. Results will come soon." After stopping Onoki, Sasori turned to Ao and asked, "Who's fighting him?"
"Also one male and one female ninja. The male controls sand, forming massive chakra in the sky—that should be Gaara's ability. The female manipulates insects. Her identity remains unknown."
Sasori immediately understood. "It's actually them. Now that's a twist."
Soaring freely in the sky, Mei felt extremely delighted and couldn't help cheering.
Anya was captivated by her lively expression, leaned over, and gently kissed her cheek.
Mei blushed happily with slight shyness as she said, "Don't tease me. Promise not to interfere with me later."
"Alright."
With Anya accelerating their flight, the two quickly arrived near the aerial battle.
They saw Deidara and Kurotsuchi standing atop a white bird flying through the air.
Opposite them, Gaara stood on sand, manipulating a giant sand arm to attack Deidara.
Deidara dodged while launching small clay bombs in response. Once the sand arm exploded, another batch of clay bombs transformed into birds and flew toward Gaara at incredible speed.
Gaara's Absolute Defense took effect, blocking the attack. Fuu then spat out Scale Powder from the side, impairing Deidara's vision midair. At the same time, using the wings attached to her back, she launched several air blades at Deidara.
Seeing this, Kurotsuchi formed hand seals rapidly: [Earth Release: Earthen Rampart!]
After blocking the attacks, Kurotsuchi continued forming seals without pause: [Lava Release: Lime Congealing Technique!]
She spat out lime from her mouth, combining it with Water Release to create fast-acting cement that solidified Gaara's re-collected sand within an extremely short time.
Fuu, unyielding, similarly formed seals and declared: [Insect Devouring – Consumption!]
Tiny glowing insects surged forward like moths drawn to a flame, attacking Deidara's clay bombs. Soon enough, they consumed them entirely, rendering the bombs inert.
The battle raged on, with neither side gaining the upper hand. In the long run, however, Gaara's team held the advantage—they had two individuals capable of flight, granting greater mobility advantages compared to Deidara's side.
Seeing this, Mei hesitated slightly before asking Anya, "Ah, both sides are young couples fighting. Which group should we attack?"
Anya gave a faint smile. "They're all juniors. We can fight them together."
Mei chuckled, shooting him a sidelong glance. "You sure have a lot of faith in me."
"Although she said that, the woman showed no mercy in her actions: [Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet].
From her mouth burst a roaring stream of water that twisted and coiled into the shape of a mighty dragon. To unleash such a powerful water technique right here in the desert—this alone was astonishing enough. A torrent of water surged into the sky, forming a massive, coiling dragon made of cascading waves. It spiraled for a moment before letting out a beast-like roar, its massive jaws opening wide as it swept toward the four fighters, which roared toward the four fighters, its jaws wide open in a devastating sweep that left them trapped with nowhere to run.
Among all the ninja Anya had ever seen, the only one capable of pulling off such a powerful water technique was the legendary Tobirama Senju.
All Anya could think was: No wonder she's the Mizukage—her control over water is absolutely staggering. Anya smacked her lips, clearly impressed...
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