The screen shifted scenes once again. A young man wearing the Akatsuki's uniform, with flowing golden hair and only half of one eye visible, appeared on the screen.
A bold, arrogant smile was plastered across his face, as if he held the entire Shinobi World in contempt.
The scene froze, and the screen's voice rang out.
[Deidara, codename "Azure Dragon" in the Akatsuki. Disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. Senior apprentice-brother to the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi. At age nine, he was forced to leave the village and live elsewhere due to his frequent terrorist incidents. At age thirteen, he was defeated by Uchiha Itachi and joined the Akatsuki.]
---
[Iwagakure · Tsuchikage's Office]
The moment Deidara appeared on the screen again, Kurotsuchi immediately jumped up in excitement.
"Yay! Yay! I get to see Deidara-nii again!"
Ōnoki floated over beside Kurotsuchi and reached out to press down on her head, his expression complicated.
"What are you so happy about? This is about how he dies!"
"Ah…" Kurotsuchi stiffened as realization hit, and slumped dejectedly, her shoulders drooping.
She pouted, remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly raised her head again, a gleam of light in her eyes.
"Grandpa, how about we just go tie Deidara-nii up and bring him back? I don't want him to die."
Ōnoki let out a snort: "Hmph. That rebellious disciple—if he wanted to come back, he would have come back long ago. Do you think I haven't tried?"
Hearing that, Kurotsuchi blinked: "Grandpa, you really tried?"
But Ōnoki didn't answer further.
That brat—back then, he'd said he was going to pursue "art" and left without looking back.
[Speaking of Deidara, he's different from the average missing-nin. As a rogue ninja, he isn't actually disliked by the people of Iwagakure.]
[You see, in the Shinobi World, missing-nin are usually hated and hunted by their former villages—take Orochimaru or Itachi, for example. But Deidara is an exception. Iwagakure never showed open hostility toward him, and Ōnoki never sent anyone to pursue him.]
[Not only that—when the Fourth Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi sees him, she even calls him 'big brother' without the slightest bit of resentment.]
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Deidara sat in his chair, listening to the screen's commentary. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Annoying, these people. If they won't let me pursue my art, what's the point of staying in Iwagakure?"
Itachi glanced at him and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. This guy really didn't know how fortunate he was. Let alone himself—even Sasuke in the future probably wouldn't have been able to return to Konoha if Naruto hadn't gone through so much trouble to bring him back.
Being a missing-nin doesn't make you well-liked, let alone welcomed back by your village.
[First of all, his status is special.]
[Before defecting from Iwagakure and joining the Akatsuki, Deidara was, after all, a direct disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki—trained under the same master as Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi.]
[But just look at the performance of these three in actual combat. Deidara's talent and raw strength in Ninjutsu left Kurotsuchi—who later became the Fourth Tsuchikage—in the dust by several miles.]
[And by the rule of 'those with more ability take on more work,' back in Iwagakure, Deidara—at just twelve years old—had already completed 3 S-rank missions, 13 A-rank missions, and 66 B-rank and lower missions. He was absolutely a model worker.]
[For someone who had rendered meritorious service to the village, shed blood for it, and was the Tsuchikage's own apprentice—the people of Iwagakure really had no face to despise him. After all, before hating him, they'd have to ask themselves if they even qualified to do so, right?]
[The second reason is that the circumstances of his defection were different from others.]
[Most of the Akatsuki's missing-nin caused major trouble for their villages before joining up.]
[Take Kisame, for example—he directly killed one of the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Fuguki Suikazan, and was then recruited into the organization by Obito under the guise of Madara.]
[Or take Itachi—he massacred his entire clan, then turned around and, acting on secret orders from the village's higher-ups, went undercover in the Akatsuki.]
[But what about Deidara? He conducted explosion experiments in the village, blew up some things, and was sent to live outside the village—that was his biggest 'crime.']
[And when it came to betraying Iwagakure and joining the Akatsuki, it was actually the Akatsuki who came knocking on his door to recruit him.]
[So when he became a missing-nin, he didn't kill a single person. He just publicly announced that he was done and went to hang out with the Akatsuki. Since he didn't kill anyone, didn't cause any substantial major losses, and even later dropped his bombs in other villages like Sunagakure—why would the people of Iwagakure have any reason to hate him to the bone?]
---
[Land of Wind · Sunagakure]
The villagers of Sunagakure immediately erupted in curses!
"That damned Deidara! Why does he have to bomb our village?!"
"Exactly! He's got the nerve to drop bombs on Sunagakure—if he's so tough, why doesn't he try that on Konoha?!"
Chiyo sat in the Kazekage's office, looking at the screen. She let out a cold snort but said nothing.
On the other hand, Rasa's face was dark and grim: "Deidara… we'll settle this score sooner or later."
---
[Iwagakure · Tsuchikage's Office]
After hearing the screen's commentary, Ōnoki was immediately filled with satisfaction.
Come to think of it, he was actually quite successful in educating his disciples.
Not inferior to that guy Hiruzen at all.
No, wait—he was actually far better than Hiruzen.
His disciple had never tried to kill him.
[At most, they just cursed him as a silly boy in their hearts for following others just because they said a few nice words. Besides, Iwagakure had a close relationship with the Akatsuki—they were once their biggest employer. The Fourth Raikage even accused Iwagakure of hiring the Akatsuki on multiple occasions.]
[And Ōnoki, being as straightforward as he was, openly admitted it. He even thought the Akatsuki were cheap and effective—pay a low price and get satisfying results. Everyone who used them said they were great.]
[This cooperative relationship blurred the lines between enemy and ally to some extent. Iwagakure probably couldn't even be bothered to seriously post a wanted notice for him.]
The leaders of other villages gritted their teeth in frustration… Ōnoki's heart was pitch black. He'd been in such close contact with the Akatsuki all this time!
And now he's reaping what he sowed, isn't he?
Serves him right that two of his Tailed Beasts were now targets.
[Finally, the last reason is that Deidara's personality itself is quite likable.]
[Deidara is a straightforward guy, obsessed with his art, and has a bit of a goofy streak—it's hard to truly hate him.]
[In fact, when the Akatsuki members learned of his death, Kisame said he always thought Deidara was pretty strong and actually liked him quite a bit.]
[Even Nagato felt it was a real pity about Deidara. He probably quietly mourned for him for a while too—it has to be said, Deidara truly had personal charm.]
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Listening to the screen's narration, Deidara instantly burst out laughing, tears almost coming out.
"Hahahaha! Kisame… you bastard, I never would have guessed…" He turned to look at Kisame. "You actually think that highly of me?"
Kisame didn't deny it. He just flashed a grin full of sharp teeth: "You guy are indeed not bad; very much to my taste."
Then Deidara turned to look at Tendō Pain, his tone carrying a hint of emotion: "Leader, thank you so much… you actually mourned for me."
Pain's expression remained impassive: "I mourn for everyone who dies."
"Hehehe…" Deidara couldn't stop his silly grin.
Suddenly, he whipped his head around to look at Obito in the corner. His tone shifted instantly—accusatory and displeased.
"Tobi! You've really let me down. I was so good to you, and you didn't even grieve for my death?"
Obito sat in the corner, his face twitching beneath the mask. He took a deep breath and replied in that exaggerated tone: "Oh my, Deidara-senpai, how could I not be sad? I would be devastated!"
"Liar! I bet you didn't even shed a single tear!"
"I'm wearing a mask, you just can't see it."
"Then take off your mask and let me see!"
"…No."
Deidara gritted his teeth in frustration and muttered: "I knew it—you heartless bastard."
Hidan, sitting nearby, snickered gleefully and leaned over: "Deidara, when you die, I'll pray to Lord Jashin for you."
Deidara shot him a glare: "You'll be dead before I am!"
*****
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