Chapter 252: [Sponsored]: A Root Ninja and Itachi

Chapter 252: [Sponsored]: A Root Ninja and Itachi

[This Chapter Is Sponsored by truckKunFan! Everyone, please thank him in the comment!]

Land of Wind.

The yellow sand still filled the sky.

Two figures, wearing straw hats and black cloaks adorned with clouds, trudged through the sandstorm until they finally reached their destination.

Sand Village.

One of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

The home of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast.

The Akatsuki's plan to collect the Tailed Beasts required them to follow a strict order based on the number of tails. Now, among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the weakest, Sand Village, was their first target.

"Sasori."

Deidara pulled a clay bird from his pocket and flung it into the air, where it immediately enlarged.

"This time, leave it to me!"

Standing atop the clay bird, Deidara struck a pose for Sasori: "Sasori, how do you like my art?"

"Don't make me wait too long," Sasori replied coldly.

"Of course! If Akihara Kagura could single-handedly capture Sand Village, so can I!"

Deidara turned to Sasori with a confident smile before soaring into the sky on his clay bird, searching for Sand Village's Jinchuriki.

"What a naive kid..."

Sasori watched the clay bird fly, sighing lightly. This blond kid often spoke ill of Akihara Kagura, not realizing he had always been Kagura's pawn...

No matter how strong Deidara was, there was a significant gap between his abilities and Kagura's.

He hoped this blond kid would realize soon that years of training did not make him a match for Kagura. What started as a childhood grudge could lead to him risking his life, and then Sasori would have to intervene with Kagura...

While Sasori was lost in thought, Sand Village erupted in chaos. It seemed the village's ninja had spotted the intruding Deidara. Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, approved by Konoha, rose into the sky on a wave of sand to confront him!

As a Jinchuriki, Gaara was not easy to deal with. His sand manipulation was precise, and the sky was filled with sand chasing Deidara.

"This..."

Sasori watched, speechless, sighing inwardly. How could Deidara think he could challenge Kagura in such a state?

Though Deidara and Gaara were evenly matched, their battleground was Sand Village. To protect the villagers, Gaara had to hold back, allowing Deidara to exploit openings...

Above Sand Village, a wave of sand grabbed Deidara's arm, ripping it off!

Deidara ignored the loss of his arm, using the detached limb to release clay spiders into the sand...

The next moment, he unleashed more clay birds!

The birds flew towards Gaara, forcing him to envelop himself in a sand sphere!

But...

This was exactly what Deidara had planned!

As Gaara hid inside the sand sphere, thinking he had evaded the clay birds, small spiders emerged from the birds!

Boom!

Explosions echoed from within the sand sphere!

Severely injured, Gaara could no longer maintain the sphere and fell from the sky. Deidara, riding his giant clay bird, swooped down and captured Gaara!

"Shukaku, captured!"

A smile of satisfaction crept onto Deidara's face.

"....."

Sasori was baffled.

This blond kid had gone to great lengths, even losing an arm, to capture Sand Village's Kazekage. What was there to be proud of?

However, Sand Village had not given up.

They sent a falcon to seek aid from their ally, Konoha, while dispatching troops to track Deidara and Sasori. Among them, the puppet master Kankuro was the fastest!

Yet...

This time, Kankuro faced the world's most powerful puppet master!

A cannon emerged from Sasori's Hiruko, firing dozens of rockets that exploded, blasting Kankuro and his puppets away!

"Let's go."

Sasori ended the battle with ease.

"Sasori's art style..." Deidara grinned, watching Sasori handle the fight effortlessly. He then steered his giant clay bird towards the distance.

"Hmph..."

In an oasis in the desert.

Team Seven and Elder Chiyo tracked the trail relentlessly.

A figure wearing a Root ninja cloak and a cat-faced mask followed closely behind them, staying on their trail.

"Is someone following us?"

Uzumaki Naruto felt uneasy.

"..."

Hatake Kakashi, aware of the Root ninja monitoring them, reassured his disciple: "It's probably just your imagination. Let's focus on tracking the Kazekage..."

Suddenly!

Everyone halted!

In their sight, within the oasis forest, stood a figure in a black cloak adorned with red clouds, seemingly waiting for them.

This figure...

Looked extremely familiar.

"Uchiha Itachi..."

Hatake Kakashi's heart tightened.

Everyone stopped, watching Uchiha Itachi warily.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Itachi's eyes opened slightly, revealing crimson eyes: "I've been waiting for you. Sorry, but you can't pass through here."

Even though this Itachi was merely a puppet with a third of his original power, it was enough to block this team!

"Sasuke's brother..."

Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura had long heard of this name.

"The infamous Uchiha Itachi..."

Elder Chiyo sighed, recalling the legends once created by the now-destroyed Uchiha clan: "We still need to be a bit cautious, the Sharingan is not something easy to deal with..."

"Of course, we won't underestimate him..."

Hatake Kakashi adjusted his ninja forehead protector and said in a low voice, "Though Uchiha Itachi was once defeated by Kagura, he has only ever been defeated by Kagura..."

Kakashi's fingers gradually brushed over his transplanted Sharingan. Over the past few years, he had been diligently training this eye, gradually mastering some of its magical uses.

Likewise.

Kakashi also felt a certain side effect.

That is, whenever he used the Sharingan's magical abilities, it would cause a decline in his vision and impose a heavy burden on his brain and body.

"We are not without a chance of winning..."

Elder Chiyo, with her rich experience, took the initiative to teach these juniors: "Since ancient times, there has been a saying about dealing with the Sharingan. One-on-one, flee immediately. Two-on-one, strike the heart. We four can have one person distract him while the others attack from the blind spots of the Sharingan. However, I heard that this Uchiha Itachi is not that simple..."

"Leave this to me."

A voice emerged from within the forest.

Accompanying this voice, a figure wearing an animal mask, dressed in Root ninja uniform, and draped in a Root cloak instantaneously appeared on a tree.

"You continue with the mission to rescue the Kazekage..."

The Root ninja pressed his animal mask tightly and said coldly: "Leave this to me, I will take care of him..."

"Root member..."

Haruno Sakura's expression immediately became serious, frowning tightly: "Why is a Root member following us..."

"Hmm?"

Uzumaki Naruto found the person's speaking style familiar and curiously stroked his chin: "Why does this guy sound so arrogant when he speaks..."

"..."

Hatake Kakashi rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"A Root member?"

Elder Chiyo's expression turned grim.

Although the Root of Konoha had no reputation in the ninja world, the one supporting these Root ninjas behind the scenes was as towering as a giant tree, making people afraid to provoke him!

"He has his own mission..."

After lightly defending the Root ninja, Kakashi asked him another question: "If we leave this guy to you, there won't be any problem, right?"

"Of course."

The Root ninja pressed his mask tightly: "You go do your job, I will do mine, and we'll meet up after completing our respective tasks..."