Chapter 31: Instantaneous Art is Inferior to Konan, Eternal Art is Inferior to Pain
"Ah? Deidara, why haven't you left yet?"
"And what do you mean my strength is too poor and will lower our prestige?"
"The one truly lowering our prestige is someone who got trapped and needed other members to rescue him, right?"
Kurotsuchi saw Deidara suddenly appear to mess things up and immediately became displeased, lashing out at him with her sharp tongue.
After Kurotsuchi finished criticizing Deidara, she suddenly tilted her head and scratched it: "Wait, what did you just call him? Strategist?!"
"Deidara calls you Strategist, which means that your perverted deterrence plan was proposed by you?"
Kurotsuchi looked at Bai Mo with an incredulous expression.
After a moment of stunned silence, she let out a breath and uttered a few words: "Looks can be deceiving..."
"Forget it."
Kurotsuchi shook her head, then looked up at Bai Mo with a serious expression: "I'll be direct. I want to join you all because I want information. Iwagakure is still number one in my heart."
"However, if your organization is truly for the protection of the Ninja World, as you say, then I can serve as a link between you and Iwagakure."
At this point, Kurotsuchi spoke first, interrupting Ōnoki, who was about to stop her: "Old man, don't try to persuade me. I will remember your will, but your ideas are outdated."
Ōnoki retreated to the side, looking frustrated, then flew directly downwards, giving orders for the Iwagakure ninja below to retreat.
"Deidara, it's time to come out."
"..."
Deidara walked out of the rock cave, looking unhappy, still chewing on something.
Kurotsuchi immediately adopted a defensive stance upon seeing him.
"I'm eating military rations, not clay!"
Deidara glared at Kurotsuchi, annoyed.
Even if it wasn't a formal member, Deidara was still a bit displeased about an old acquaintance joining the organization.
After Ōnoki gave the retreat order, he flew back up.
"Since the Tsuchikage has ordered a retreat, and most have withdrawn, Konan, you can now 'practice'."
Bai Mo said to the air above.
Konan, who was floating above the rock wall, slowly revealed herself. Her white paper wings flapped twice, and she flew down, stopping in front of Bai Mo.
"Let's go."
Konan said.
"Deidara..."
Bai Mo looked at Deidara.
"Let Kurotsuchi fly on her own, hmm."
Deidara summoned a clay bird, jumped onto it by himself, and then flew away directly.
"Fly on my own, then fly on my own, tch. She hasn't even learned the Light-Weight Boulder Technique, and still needs a clay bird to fly. What's there to be proud of?"
Kurotsuchi pouted.
"Well then, Lord Tsuchikage, we are ready to take our leave. You should also stay far from the mountain. We've prepared hundreds of thousands of exploding tags for this first meeting."
Bai Mo said, also moving away from the rock wall and floating backward.
"Hmm?"
Ōnoki was stunned for a moment, then he noticed layers of exploding tags that had begun to glow on the rock wall in front of him, which startled him.
He didn't care if he would strain his back and hastily retreated in the direction of Bai Mo and the others.
Immediately after, the rock wall where they had been standing erupted in continuous explosions.
—As is well known, Konan prepared six hundred billion exploding tags to deal with Tobi, and she also stated that she had "practiced many times."
This was one of the practice opportunities Bai Mo found for Konan.
During the period just now, Konan had covered the entire rock mountain wall with exploding tags.
The mountain wall happened to be trapezoidal, with two protrusions on the side.
The explosion formed a perfect "Patrick Star" shape.
Deidara, hearing the sound of the explosion, turned his head on the clay bird and was immediately stunned.
He stopped the bird in mid-air and, after Bai Mo and Konan caught up, immediately asked: "Strategist, what was that just now...?"
"That's right, that was White Zetsu's secret ninjutsu, and it's only the basic version."
Bai Mo stepped forward and patted Deidara's shoulder, "Deidara, your instant art is still far inferior to White Zetsu's."
"And your teammate Sasori, his puppet ninjutsu is not just a little bit worse than the leader Pain's Six Paths of Pain."
"Although White Zetsu and the leader do not pursue art, if you cannot even surpass 'amateurs' who do not pursue art in related fields, then I think it's better not to easily call yourselves artists."
"So, work hard."
"Hmm."
Deidara nodded seriously.
"Shocking, Deidara, you were lectured and didn't even refute it? When the old man lectured you back then, didn't you always defy him?"
Kurotsuchi, who had arrived, was somewhat surprised to see this scene.
"What do you know? The Strategist's insight and understanding of art are beyond your imagination."
"Oh, by the way, Strategist, I'd like to know your evaluation of Kurotsuchi."
Deidara winked at Bai Mo.
Don't misunderstand, this wasn't Deidara suddenly having a brain fart and wanting to be a pimp.
Deidara meant what Kurotsuchi would be like in the future, wanting Bai Mo to give an evaluation so he could get even and mock Kurotsuchi.
"Leg Shadow, ah."
"What kind of evaluation is that?"
Deidara was confused.
"Leg Shadow, Leg Shadow, you said that word when you first appeared. What exactly does it mean?"
Kurotsuchi put her hands on her hips and floated in front of Bai Mo.
"Fourth Tsuchikage."
"Oh? You think highly of me becoming the Fourth Tsuchikage? Then you do have good judgment. So this Leg Shadow is an alias for the Fourth Tsuchikage?"
Kurotsuchi, hearing Bai Mo say this, proudly lifted her chin.
But she was still very confused.
Leg what leg? She didn't use any special leg ninjutsu, did she?
"She can become Tsuchikage because Iwagakure has no one left, right?"
Deidara pouted.
"Something like that." Bai Mo nodded.
"Ah?"
Kurotsuchi was full of question marks.
She wasn't displeased because Bai Mo said she would become Tsuchikage only because Iwagakure had no one left, but rather found their conversation strange.
Why did it feel like they weren't discussing "whether it's possible in the future" but rather discussing something that had already happened?
Why were they so certain when speaking?
"The scenery there is beautiful! Hmm."
Deidara seemed to have noticed the flaw in the previous question, whistled twice, and then suddenly pointed at the distant sunset with a surprised expression.
"Deidara, that's too fake!"
Kurotsuchi's head was covered in black lines.
"Strategist, should we tell her? Or should we just kill her to silence her?"
Deidara's smile faded, and he sought Bai Mo's opinion.
"There's nothing that can't be said. I am actually from the Ninja World twenty years in the future and know what will happen."
"What I just told you and the Tsuchikage is that in the future, waves of people will invade the Ninja World, and the Five Kage will be no match for their strength."
"...Your repeated honesty is giving me a headache."
Kurotsuchi held her head.
Upon hearing this, she should have been suspicious, but for some reason, after the series of events just now, Kurotsuchi subconsciously felt that Bai Mo was not lying to her.
"Then, what happened to Iwagakure in the future?"
Kurotsuchi didn't ask Bai Mo for proof but directly asked.
....
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