"What in the world is a leg shadow? No, that's not right, tell me your purpose for coming to Iwagakure! Also, what is that in your hand, and what did you just do?"
Kurotsuchi floated in front of Bai Mo, first confused, then realizing it wasn't the time for curiosity, and began to interrogate him.
"The purpose is, of course, to rescue Deidara."
Bai Mo remained calm.
Time Deletion has a characteristic: during the deleted time, Bai Mo cannot affect external objects, nor can external objects affect Bai Mo.
On the Land of Waves bridge, when the wandering samurai swung his sword at Bai Mo, after Bai Mo activated Time Deletion, he didn't need to dodge at all; his body would pass through the sword, and he would simply walk to a safe position.
That's right, this also means there is no barrier or physical cage that can trap Bai Mo.
When he was previously hit by Nagato's Planetary Devastation, even if Bai Mo hadn't awakened New Moon to reverse gravity, and Nagato hadn't dispelled the Planetary Devastation, Bai Mo could still use Time Deletion to escape from the sphere of Planetary Devastation.
So, facing Kurotsuchi's concrete-poured cage, Bai Mo had no need to dodge at all.
If he dodged, the opponent would still pursue, a meaningless waste of time.
However, Kurotsuchi didn't know this.
Hearing Bai Mo say he was there to rescue Deidara, she couldn't help but let out a laugh: "Hmph, you were caught so easily by me, what ability do you have to save Deidara-ge?"
"Oh, I still have a question you haven't answered.
What did you pull out just now, and what did you do?
Were you sending a message to other members of your Akatsuki Organization to call for more backup?"
Kurotsuchi leaned in to ask.
Bai Mo was now so encased by the Cement Ninjutsu that only his head was exposed, so even if Kurotsuchi got close, she couldn't tell what was in Bai Mo's hand.
"A camera, I took a picture."
Bai Mo still answered very cooperatively.
It made Kurotsuchi a bit uncomfortable.
—She had never seen such a spineless person; he would tell her any information she asked for.
"A picture? What for?"
"For my collection, and to gather information, so people who don't know the Tsuchikage's precious granddaughter know what she looks like."
"Gathering information…"
Kurotsuchi's expression turned serious.
The two words "for my collection" were completely ignored by Kurotsuchi.
She was now wondering if the other party had some conspiracy by collecting her information.
Was it aimed at her grandfather Ōnoki, or at Iwagakure?
"Since you're so cooperative, I'll release the Cement Ninjutsu on your hands and take the camera and photos.
Don't even think about forming hand signs to counterattack; I'll be prepared, and the next attack won't just be about trapping you."
Kurotsuchi said, raising her right hand, ready to press it against the solidified rock on Bai Mo's body to break off a part.
However… "Here, take it."
"Oh, okay."
Kurotsuchi subconsciously took it.
Then her pupils suddenly contracted, and she pulled away from Bai Mo.
"You!"
Kurotsuchi looked in shock at the camera in her hand and the photo still stuck in it, not understanding how Bai Mo had escaped.
"Don't be afraid, I have no ill will."
Since he was already exposed, Bai Mo simply walked out of the Cement Ninjutsu.
In Kurotsuchi's eyes, Bai Mo's figure flickered, and he instantly teleported out.
The rocks of the Cement Ninjutsu lost Bai Mo's gravity control and fell vertically to the ground.
It was then that Kurotsuchi realized the point she had vaguely felt was wrong earlier—if she had truly trapped the opponent, why could he still float in the air, even with the Cement Ninjutsu attached?
"Our Akatsuki Organization is a peace-loving organization. The most common things our leader says are, 'Let the world feel joy,' and 'Ninjutsu is meant to bring smiles to people's faces.'
If your Iwagakure has any missions that are unsuitable for you to handle, or that you cannot solve, you can come to us.
If the mission is suitable, we can help out and complete it with 100% success."
Bai Mo saying these words was not meaningless.
It should be known that in the original work, it was clearly stated that Iwagakure had hired the Akatsuki Organization.
Aside from Kumogakure, which had rogue ninja and was distrusted by the Fourth Raikage, Iwagakure directly hired them.
So why was that?
It's simple; you can clearly see it from the attitude of Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi, and their group towards Deidara in Iwagakure.
Iwagakure did not issue a bounty for Deidara, and Ōnoki and the others did not view Deidara as an enemy with whom they had fallen out.
In Ōnoki's eyes, Deidara was just a rebellious child.
Since he couldn't be persuaded, then fine, just hire him, a roundabout way to save the country.
The Akatsuki Organization worked as mercenaries for quite some time to raise funds, and Ōnoki used this to hire Deidara.
As a result, Deidara's contributions to Iwagakure were greater when he was a rogue ninja than when he was an Iwagakure ninja.
"Isn't that just a mercenary?"
Kurotsuchi was a bit speechless.
"It's different; mercenaries only care about money."
Bai Mo shook his finger.
"And you're picky… What in the world did you take a picture of?!"
Kurotsuchi grumbled, then instinctively pulled out the photo from the camera and glanced at it.
She instantly couldn't keep her composure.
Bai Mo's candid shot was too perfect.
It was taken right before she was about to spit out the Cement Ninjutsu, making her entire face look like a chubby baby.
[Photo]
Kurotsuchi, with a dark expression, tore up the photo, raised the camera, took another picture of herself, then stepped forward, ready to hand the new photo to Bai Mo.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Ōnoki, who had been watching the show for a long time from behind, finally couldn't take it anymore.
Did this big silly granddaughter forget something?
Before, she was thinking the photo was intelligence gathered by the other party and wanted to destroy it, but now that she saw a bad picture of herself, why did she actively take one for the other party?
Don't ask why Ōnoki just watched and didn't move.
As the Tsuchikage Ōnoki, who came from the era of Iwagakure's founding, he was rich in combat experience and recognized from the start that Bai Mo was deliberately pretending to be trapped, but also had no ill will.
Ōnoki suspected that Bai Mo was merely a decoy to attract their attention, and that others were preparing to take the opportunity to rescue Deidara.
So, most of his energy was still focused on the rock cave, on Deidara.
"Old man, I told you, you're old, hurry up and retire."
Kurotsuchi heard Ōnoki's violent coughing but still didn't react, even throwing her usual teasing remark at him.
Ōnoki nearly fainted from anger when he heard that.
"Shi Chun, stop!"
Suddenly, an urgent shout came from below.
Ōnoki was startled.
Then he saw a kunai with an exploding tag tied to its tail pass through Bai Mo's head, forming an arc in mid-air, landing on the ground, and exploding into a crater.
"I was just looking for a target, and I didn't expect one to come right to me."
Bai Mo smiled.
"Shi Chun, how could you act without authorization?"
Kurotsuchi frowned.
Not to mention that Bai Mo's allegiance was currently ambiguous, even if he truly was an enemy, they should keep him alive to extract information.
"It's alright, it's nothing."
Bai Mo patted Kurotsuchi's shoulder, then spoke to the air above the rock cave: "Konan, you heard the name, right? Help me pass the message back."
"As expected, there are accomplices!"
Ōnoki stood up from the rock wall when he saw Bai Mo's actions.
He prepared to respond to Bai Mo and their actions.
....
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