Meanwhile, in a certain building in the Hidden Stone Village, three figures in red cloud black robes were confronting a golden-haired youth.
"Who are you people? Why are you disturbing my art creation!"
Despite being outnumbered, the golden-haired youth showed no fear. His abilities could perfectly counter numerical superiority.
"Deidara, disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, isn't that you?"
Hearing the word "art," Sasori, hidden within Hiruko, moved his tail forward and asked in a deep voice.
"That's me. Are you sent by the old man? I'm telling you, I will never give up pursuing art!"
Deidara assumed they were sent by his master, Onoki, but Sasori's next words immediately made him reconsider.
A hoarse voice came from Hiruko, "Art is the most beautiful thing in this world."
Deidara exclaimed excitedly, "You think so too? It seems, besides me, there are still people who understand in this world."
Sasori continued, "And the most perfect art is eternal beauty!"
"Nonsense! Art is an explosion! Un!"
Deidara immediately retorted angrily. He had thought this old guy had some artistic talent, but he was clearly misguided and didn't understand true art at all!
"Youngster, you don't understand what art is at all!" Although Sasori disdained arguing with a child, he would not back down an inch when it came to art.
"Old man, don't act like you're so wise. Your so-called art is outdated!"
Deidara reached into his pocket, and soon a centipede made of white clay appeared in his hand.
"This, is art! Un!"
While the two argued over "what is art," Kisame, standing nearby, nudged Itachi, who remained expressionless, and whispered, "Do we feel like outsiders?"
Itachi didn't reply, merely glanced at Kisame before stepping forward and saying, "Deidara, we are here on behalf of the Akatsuki to invite you to join us."
"Art is an explosion! Un!"
"Art is eternal beauty!"
"Old man, yours is long outdated!"
"Youngster, you are ignorant of heaven and earth!"
"..."
Seeing that they were ignoring him, Itachi's already expressionless face grew colder. His three- tomoe Sharingan appeared, and he said, "I'll stop here, I'll deal with him."
Hearing this, Deidara finally shifted his attention to Itachi. The centipede in his hand crawled onto his shoulder, and he sneered, "You say you'll deal with me? Don't underestimate me and my art, Un!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Deidara produced several clay spiders from nowhere and threw them forcefully at Itachi, shouting, "Hya!"
Boom, Bang!
A gaping hole was blown through the thick wall. The golden rays of the setting sun shone in, illuminating the somewhat dark room.
Itachi emerged from the explosion, completely unharmed.
"Your strength is not bad, but what about this move!"
Deidara raised a finger. As Itachi landed after escaping the explosion, a giant clay centipede suddenly erupted from the floor beneath him, tightly entangling him.
"This is the end, Un!"
Just as Deidara was about to detonate the clay centipede, he heard Itachi say faintly, "Look at yourself properly."
"What!"
A feeling of restraint came over him. Deidara suddenly came to his senses and realized that the person entangled by the clay centipede was himself. If he had detonated it earlier, he would have been the one to die.
"Genjutsu? When!" Deidara was shocked. He had only exchanged a couple of moves and he had lost so miserably. Who exactly was this guy...
At this moment, Kisame, who had been watching, let out a laugh and explained, "It was all from the beginning. The moment you saw Itachi's Sharingan, you were already caught in a genjutsu."
And at this moment, the evening sun reached its most brilliant point. Itachi seized the opportunity and stood in the most "cool" position, bathed in thousands of rays of light behind him, making him appear incredibly divine.
Under the glow of the sunset and the scarlet, eerie allure of the Sharingan, Itachi coolly stated, "You lost."
At this sight, Deidara was dumbfounded, and he couldn't help but think: This, is art!
However, in the next second, Deidara snapped back to reality, a look of unwillingness in his eyes. How could he betray the art he believed in.
"Hey, you lost, aren't you supposed to come with us?" Kisame reminded him.
"Tch! I never said I would join you if I lost."
Deidara turned his face away, refusing to look at the radiant Itachi, afraid he might spontaneously combust. The other party was just too much of a show-off.
"What! You bastard..."
Just as Kisame was about to draw Samehada, he saw Deidara turn around and start packing his things, saying, "Let's make this clear beforehand, I will not give up my pursuit of art."
"Hmph, ignorant brat, you understand nothing of true art."
"Old man, do you want to argue again? I'm not afraid of you!"
Seeing this, Kisame had no choice but to leave this place of contention and walk to Itachi's side, whispering, "It seems the organization won't be so quiet anymore."
Itachi said nothing. He turned around and walked into the distance, bathed in the afterglow...
"Damn! Still showing off in front of me!"
...
Meanwhile, Hidan in the Land of Hot Water wasn't as fortunate as Deidara.
"Damn it! You almost punched my intestines out!"
Although the words were alarming, the speaker's tone was nonchalant.
In a dark alley somewhere, a monster covered in black threads was battling a young man with a slicked-back hairstyle – it was Kakuzu and Hidan.
However, no matter what ninjutsu Kakuzu used, even if his black threads pierced Hidan's body, the latter only felt a symbolic pain before cursing.
Blood still flowed from his pierced chest, but he just wouldn't die.
On the other hand, because Kakuzu initially didn't understand Hidan's ability, one of the masks on his back was damaged, which meant Kakuzu had to kill Hidan.
*Squelch!*
Another black thread pierced Hidan's thigh as he couldn't dodge in time, causing him to slump to the ground. However, Kakuzu dared not get close. If he were to have his blood stolen, another of his hearts would be destroyed, which was not worth it.
"Enough! Let this end here."
Tobi, who had been watching, finally spoke. He had already figured out Hidan's ability; it could indeed be called immortality, but that was all.
His other combat abilities were mediocre, with no outstanding aspects. He was being beaten by an old man like Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was unwilling, but he had no choice but to retract his black threads. In the Akatsuki, he feared only two people: Nagato and Tobi.
Kakuzu felt that both of them possessed the power to destroy all his Earth Grudge Fear techniques. He couldn't afford to offend them!
"You want to fight, you want to stop, did you ask my opinion?" Hidan, relying on his immortality, spoke without any politeness.
"Kakuzu, dismantle him and bring him back for some proper training."
"Yes!"
This was perhaps the first time Kakuzu willingly obeyed Tobi's command. His emerald eyes stared at Hidan's sturdy physique, and the black threads on his body writhed like tentacles, instantly entangling Hidan's entire body...