The place was now empty. By the time the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was recalled by Pain, the vast cave felt desolate once more.
Only four people remained in the hideout: Sasori, Deidara, Logan, and Pain.
Faint noises seeped through the boulder barrier. Deidara cracked his knuckles and said, "One, two... quite a few of them, huh?"
Logan stared at the thick, sealed entrance reinforced with barriers. The four of them could clearly sense the Chakra signatures, strong and weak alike.
His gaze pierced through the stagnant air as if he could see right through the walls.
He remembered that it would be Team 7 and Team Guy arriving.
'Naruto and the others.' Logan thought to himself.
He hadn't expected them to come so close, 'After their training, they must have grown stronger.'
Even with his knowledge of the original story, he couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity, as he wanted to see for himself just how much that loudmouthed blond kid had changed.
But nostalgia and the harsh reality of their opposing sides couldn't coexist. Logan took a deep breath, pushing aside his wandering thoughts. Pain still had 'tea' to give him, after all.
Sasori glanced back at Logan and Pain behind him with an indifferent expression. Deciding it was best not to interfere, he moved to stand beside Deidara, "There are eight people in total. The hideout's barrier should split them up for us… Hmph. In the end, we still have to clean up the mess. What a pain."
Though his words weren't directed at anyone in particular, the implication was obvious. Pain heard it but gave no reaction.
"Don't complain, Sasori-danna." Deidara said, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "This just means another chance for my art to evolve. Leave the Kyubi to me."
Sasori glanced at Deidara's severed arm, "Don't get greedy, Deidara."
"Relax, relax."
After the fierce battle with the Ichibi and completing the sealing process, they were now immediately facing Elite Ninja from Konoha, even preparing to capture the Nine-Tails.
Despite the grueling sequence of events, the two Akatsuki's members didn't seem the least bit fazed. They remained as arrogant and confident as ever.
Sasori might have grumbled about the hassle, but his actions spoke otherwise. Perhaps they weren't ignorant of their opponents' strength, they just didn't care.
Pain had merely mentioned the presence of the Kyubi's Jinchuriki outside, hinting at capturing him, and Deidara was already on board.
After all, Akatsuki had the power to do as they pleased.
While Sasori and Deidara prepared to deal with the pursuers, Pain turned to Logan and gestured for him to follow.
"Come with me." Pain said in an unreadable tone, turned around and led the way.
It seemed they were moving to a different location for a more detailed interrogation about his 'disappearance'. Logan steadied himself, 'What was supposed to come would always come.'
…
"This is the Five-Seal Barrier. It requires five people to simultaneously remove the talismans in five different locations to break it. A strong attack will be useless for a while." Outside the hideout, Kakashi explained smoothly, playing the role of the guide.
"Kakashi, I'll take Lee and the others to find the talismans. The break-in task will be left to you." Guy volunteered and distributed the radio.
Kakashi nodded, and Naruto on the side also said firmly: "No problem!"
Guy and his team dispersed. Naruto stepped forward, placing his hand on the glowing talisman embedded in the massive boulder blocking their path. He focused intently, waiting.
'Beyond this was the Akatsuki's hideout, the organization where Sasuke's brother Itachi belongs, the group of bastards who had kidnapped Gaara...' Naruto's heart pounded, but he suppressed his nerves. The images Neji had described with his Byakugan flashed through his mind...
At the same time, Kakashi's eye was filled with solemnity and expectation.
Soon, Team Guy's voices crackled through the radios.
"Found it."
"Me too!"
"Then let's get ready..."
A synchronized countdown began. At the same moment, the five of them tore off the talismans from their respective locations.
The effect was immediate, and the unmovable boulder trembled and began to rise.
"Focus." Kakashi said in a deep voice, signaling the team.
In an instant, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Chiyo rushed in, covering each other as they charged into the hideout.
As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, the sight inside left Team 7 stunned.
…
The barrier of the hideout was breached. The heavy rumbling of the rising boulder let sunlight pour in, as if dispelling the gloom.
But in doing so, it exposed the darkness lurking beneath, forcing them to confront the true face of evil.
Logan paused as he heard the commotion behind him. The ground beneath his feet was gradually illuminated by the sunlight as the boulder lifted, until his entire body was bathed in its faint warmth.
'They're here.' Logan didn't turn around or look back. He simply followed Pain, moving further away.
Naruto's eyes widened. His gaze first landed on Gaara's lifeless body on the ground. Instinctively, he scanned the two Akatsuki's members at the forefront. Their appearances, attire, and distinct features matched the intelligence. Then, he caught sight of two more figures in the distance.
They were leaving. One was a shadowy figure, rippling with shifting colors as if lacking a solid form, while the other… looked vaguely familiar.
Naruto should have shouted something immediately, but the sight of that retreating figure, which is so out of place in this hostile environment, yet so hauntingly familiar, left him momentarily stunned.
"Who are those two over there?" Kakashi suddenly called out loudly.
But no one responded. It was as if they hadn't heard. The two figures continued walking away, their distance kept growing.
"Hey, hey, what's with the yelling? Don't you see us standing here?"
Deidara was unhappy. He stepped forward to draw their attention, opened his arms and gestured, "Whatever you want to do, you've got to get through me and Sasori-danna first!"
Then, as if struck by a thought, he glanced at Kakashi and whispered to Sasori, "The one yelling first… is that the Kyubi? Why doesn't he look like it?"
Sasori thought about it and nodded slightly, "Itachi likes to act all mysterious. It's entirely possible that he made a mistake."
"Tch, it seems we'll have to figure it out ourselves." Deidara immediately expressed his disdain for Itachi.
In that brief delay, the two figures they were so curious about had already vanished into the deeper passageways.
Kakashi wanted to chase after them immediately, but the two dangerous Akatsuki's members blocking their path forced him to stay cautious.
'Is it Hattori? Then who is the other one...?'
Among Team 7, Chiyo, who had been standing quietly in the corner, trembled slightly, "Godaime..."
She looked at Gaara, who was completely silent on the ground. Throughout the journey, she had remained calm and composed, effortlessly guiding the younger Konoha's Ninja. But now, a trace of anger finally surfaced on her aged face.
Naruto snapped out of his daze, turned his attention to Gaara, and said angrily: "Let go of Gaara! What did you do to him?"
"Nothing much. Just took something we needed." After hearing this, Deidara replied dismissively.
"Who were those two who just left? And you..." Kakashi stared at the enemy, his voice was no longer as high as it was at the beginning, but it carried far more weight than before.
"Gaara! Can you hear me? Damn it!"
"Oho, the white-haired guy's calmed down, but the blond one's still the same. It seems that the blond kid really is the impatient one." Deidara observed, analyzing the situation.
"That makes sense."
After being praised by his senior Sasori, Deidara felt a sense of accomplishment. He casually sat down on Gaara's corpse, his arrogance and Chakra flaring dramatically as he faced the Konoha and Sunagakure's Ninja.
"The questions you asked are so boring, of course we are all Akatsuki!"
Naruto's pupils contracted, and the tension in the air spiked instantly. The battle here was about to begin.