Chapter 37: A New Technique, Izayoi's Greeting

"Brother Sasori, we've been searching for three days now, and we still haven't found that mining village. Are you sure your intel is accurate?"

At this moment, the artistic duo was unaware that they were being watched.

After circling in the sky a few times and still finding nothing, Deidara couldn't help but come down to complain.

"The intel was provided by Zetsu, so it shouldn't be wrong. Recently, a Black Hoe Family has emerged in the Land of Rivers, specializing in selling various minerals on the Black Market," Sasori of the Red Sand's voice sounded heavy and hoarse. "That family must have a vast mineral source. Once we find them, we won't have to deal with Kakuzu's attitude anymore, and we won't need to go around completing missions."

"Alright, I'll accompany you for a few more days then," Deidara said helplessly.

After saying this, Deidara took Sasori of the Red Sand and flew into the sky, preparing to search a different area.

As they were flying, a small shadow suddenly enveloped them, shielding them from the sunlight above.

Looking up, they saw a figure with a dazzling golden light behind them, making it impossible to see their face.

"A flying ninja?!" Deidara exclaimed. "Did the old man send someone to bring me back?"

The most famous flying ninja technique was the Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique from the Hidden Rock Village.

Sasori of the Red Sand seemed to have noticed something and quickly urged, "He's not from the Rock Village, Deidara. Land quickly."

At the same time, his mouth opened into a rectangular shape, shooting ultra-dense Poison Needles at the figure in the sky, like a barrage.

The Poison Needles were incredibly fast. Before Deidara could react, they were about to engulf the figure from below.

But in the next second, the hundreds of Poison Needles seemed to hit an invisible wall, all bouncing back.

The rain of needles poured down towards the ground.

Seeing this, Deidara quickly controlled the white bird to descend while flicking his sleeve, releasing several paper-sized White Bird Bombs that fluttered their wings and flew into the sky.

"Explode!" Deidara formed the Boar Seal with his other hand and shouted.

Boom—

Several overlapping explosions rang out, and the dazzling flames bloomed in the sky like fireworks.

Unfortunately, it was still daytime, so the fireworks lacked some of their beauty.

The wind dispersed the smoke in the sky, and Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand, now out of the shadow's range, finally got a clear view of the figure.

It was a man about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a black full-body robe and a pure white mask that matched his hair color, with no eye holes. He exuded an aura of mystery.

This person was naturally Izayoi, who had used the Transformation Technique.

Looking down at Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand, Izayoi murmured, "Let's start with a greeting."

After saying this, he raised his right hand, palm facing the sky.

A wisp of Chakra Aura condensed and then dissipated.

"Never mind, this technique isn't fully developed yet. It wouldn't be impressive enough as a greeting."

"Let's try a new technique! With my current Chakra reserves, I should be able to pull it off..."

Izayoi formed the Boar Seal with both hands, and a blue Chakra Aura immediately surged from his body.

An invisible current of air rose upwards, causing his long white hair to flutter continuously.

Izayoi maintained this hand seal for over half a minute, during which his Chakra Aura never dissipated.

Seeing this, Deidara, who had already landed on a slope, spoke up, "What is he doing?"

"He must be performing a Technique. Be careful. Any ninja capable of flying on their own is no ordinary opponent," Sasori of the Red Sand said gravely as he pulled out a scroll from his body, preparing to unleash his Puppet Army.

But soon, his movements came to a halt.

Beside him, Deidara, who was looking up at the sky, opened his mouth wide, his expression one of utter shock.

In the sky, Izayoi was waving at them, calling out as he approached, "If you survive, let's be friends." After saying this, he flew away.

It was now noon, and the sun hung high in the sky like a giant fireball.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the fireball seemed to be descending, moving closer to Deidara and Sasori.

"What... what is that?"

The scene shifted to Team 8 and the convoy, who were taking a detour and climbing a high slope. They all stopped in unison.

They all looked toward the sky where the art duo was, their expressions equally stunned.

Some of the more timid ordinary people were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.

"A... a shooting star?!"

"No, that's... a meteor!!"

Indeed, the massive fireball was a meteor, hurtling down at high speed, its friction with the atmosphere creating flames, turning it into a blazing fireball.

Kurenai Yuhi murmured as she watched the direction of the meteor's descent, "Is it a coincidence? It must be a coincidence!"

After all, how could there possibly be a Technique in this world that could summon a meteor?

But she didn't notice that behind her, Hinata was looking up at the meteor in the sky with a look of admiration.

"Deidara, run!"

The scene returned to the art duo, where Sasori of the Red Sand urgently shouted.

"So... so cool..."

However, Deidara stood rooted to the spot, staring dumbfounded at the meteor in the sky, as if he could already see the magnificent scene of the meteor's impact: "This is true art!"

"Idiot!"

Sasori of the Red Sand cursed angrily, a massive iron tail extending from his back, wrapping around Deidara and leaping down from the slope.

At the same time, he pulled out a scroll from his body, releasing the trump card stored within.

With a puff, the white mist dissipated.

A Human Puppet appeared beside Sasori of the Red Sand, dressed in a black full-length robe, its skin made of human flesh, but its bones and internal organs reinforced with puppet materials.

This Human Puppet was none other than the Third Kazekage.

Connecting with the Human Puppet via Chakra Threads, the Third Kazekage spread its arms, and countless black iron sand immediately surged from its sleeves, forming a massive triangular prism in the air below.

Sasori of the Red Sand landed on the triangular prism with Deidara, then manipulated the Third Kazekage to use Magnet Release to shoot the prism toward another mountain. Using Chakra Threads, he pulled the Third Kazekage along, flying around the mountain wall, aiming to reach the other side of the mountain.

However, the meteor's descent was too fast; there simply wasn't enough time.

Thus, Sasori of the Red Sand had no choice but to change his plan, directing the Third Kazekage to shoot the prism diagonally downward, blasting a man-made cave into the mountain.

Sasori of the Red Sand descended into the area with Deidara and the Third Kazekage. First, he manipulated the Iron Sand to form a solid wall, sealing off the cave entrance.

Then, he created a massive amount of Iron Sand, layer upon layer, enveloping them to form a large black sphere.

Boom————

Almost the moment the black sphere took shape, a deafening explosion echoed through the mountains.

The sound of a meteor crashing into the earth, amplified by the overlapping echoes of the valley, instantly penetrated the Iron Sand wall, robbing Sasori, Deidara, and even all the animals in the area of their hearing.

The terrifying high-temperature shockwave also killed a vast number of creatures and plants, instantly obliterating the mountain at the impact site. The shockwave violently struck the surrounding mountains, shattering their walls.

Even from a distance of over ten to twenty kilometers, Team Eight and the convoy on the slope could hear the explosion and see a massive mushroom cloud rising in the distance.

Despite the mountains acting as barriers, they could still feel the ground beneath their feet trembling slightly.

They were standing on the slope, meaning the mountain itself was shaking faintly.

This alone demonstrated the sheer magnitude of the fireball's destructive power.

(End of Chapter)