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However, the most likely outcome of this matter was that Konoha would turn around and retaliate against the Hidden Grass Village, while the Hidden Rock Village would merely grunt a few meaningless complaints and let it go.
Then, both sides would drop the issue, and the Hidden Grass Village would become a sacrificial pawn in the power struggle between the two major shinobi villages.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the outcome.
At the very least, Kazuki believed that such an outcome was the most reasonable.
Ōnoki wouldn't dare to recklessly lose his temper and cause trouble, and similarly, Kazuki wouldn't go insane over such a matter and start targeting the Hidden Rock Village.
But sometimes, accidents occur when least expected.
Just like now.
"Elder, someone is following us. They're from the Hidden Rock Village."
After Kazuki had declared his intention to intercept and kill the Hidden Grass envoy delegation, he led his team toward the border between the Hidden Grass and Hidden Rock villages upon leaving the Hidden Rock Village.
Their pace wasn't particularly fast, but neither was it slow. He needed to wait for the ANBU to gather sufficient intelligence so that he could take immediate action upon arriving at the Hidden Grass Village.
Arriving too early wouldn't be of much use.
Therefore, Kazuki wasn't in a hurry to rush. Their speed was slightly slower, anyway. Unless the Hidden Rock Village intended to declare war on Konoha, Ōnoki wouldn't dare send anyone to intercept and kill him.
For someone of Kazuki's rank and status, unless he was carrying out some clandestine mission, any normal diplomatic engagement meant that if the Hidden Rock Village dared to take action, it would be equivalent to declaring war on Konoha.
This was also the main reason why Ōnoki, despite being furious and grinding his teeth in anger, had refrained from taking action against Kazuki.
But Kazuki hadn't expected that even after leaving the Hidden Rock Village far behind, someone from the Hidden Rock Village would still be following them.
Were they sent by Ōnoki? Probably not.
"Capture them and bring them here."
Kazuki didn't overthink it. Since someone from the Hidden Rock Village was following them, he might as well let them follow all the way.
If you're delivering people right into my hands, wouldn't it be a shame not to accept Ōnoki's "arrangement"?
After all, you're the one breaking the rules first. If things escalate, I'm not afraid of any tricks you might pull.
When representing a village on a diplomatic mission to another country or village, it's reasonable and mutually understood that you'll be monitored while within the host village.
But after leaving the village, if you still send people to follow from a distance, that's the Hidden Rock Village's mistake.
Even if Kazuki directly killed the followers or captured them, Ōnoki would have no grounds for complaint.
"Yes."
Shisui and Itachi exchanged a glance. Shisui signaled for Itachi to stay behind with the others to protect Kazuki, while he would handle the rear and capture the pursuers.
Just two Hidden Rock shinobi? Unless Ōnoki himself showed up, Shisui was confident he could capture them.
"No need to stop. Continue advancing."
Kazuki trusted Shisui's abilities. He had no intention of waiting around or sending additional support. Instead, he led the team onward toward the border.
"Idiot, you idiot! Hurry up! If we keep dawdling like this, they'll have already crossed the border!"
"You're the one who wanted to see him and dragged me along. Now you're blaming me for being slow?"
Kurotsuchi really wanted to smash Deidara's skull in.
Deidara was a disciple carefully trained by Ōnoki. In Ōnoki's eyes, Deidara had the potential to become the Tsuchikage.
This disciple was highly talented and quite powerful.
However, Ōnoki had made a critical error in educating Deidara: Deidara was arrogant, emotionally unstable, and loved comparing himself to others.
After repeatedly hearing about Kazuki's exploits from Ōnoki, Deidara developed a desire to challenge Kazuki and prove himself.
Kazuki was Konoha's genius, who had achieved a high position at a young age.
Deidara was the Hidden Rock Village's genius and the prized student of Tsuchikage Ōnoki. If Kazuki could do it, so could he.
With this mindset, Deidara had been waiting for Kazuki's arrival.
But when Kazuki finally came to the Hidden Rock Village, he turned around and left in less than an hour.
When Deidara received the news, he was dumbfounded.
"I've been waiting to challenge you, and you just run away?"
In a fit of anger, Deidara secretly left the village and gave chase. To his surprise, the mischievous Kurotsuchi had followed him.
What Deidara found most unbearable was that even though Kurotsuchi had followed him of her own accord, she was now blaming him for it.
"I really want to punch you right now!!"
Deidara was nearly driven to internal injury by Kurotsuchi's words.
"Shut up, idiot! If we keep this up, we really won't catch up!! You idiot."
So annoying! How did this deadweight end up following me? I hid myself so carefully—how did she even notice?
Deidara couldn't figure it out.
Kurotsuchi giggled mischievously.
She knew Deidara was eager to challenge Kazuki. When Kazuki arrived at the Hidden Rock Village, Deidara had been excited for days.
But then the news came: Uchiha Kazuki had argued with Grandpa Tsuchikage, disagreed with him, and left the Hidden Rock Village immediately.
Hearing this, Deidara was stunned.
He refused to accept that the person he wanted to challenge had just run away.
From that moment, Kurotsuchi knew her senior brother would stir up trouble, so she secretly kept an eye on him.
Sure enough, Deidara disguised himself and left the Hidden Rock Village. Kurotsuchi gleefully followed.
Although she was eventually discovered, Deidara didn't dare abandon her—because she would report him.
"Two children?"
Just as Deidara kept urging Kurotsuchi to move faster, and Kurotsuchi willfully continued to infuriate him, Shisui's astonished voice interrupted their argument.
"Who's there?!"
Deidara and Kurotsuchi were shocked. The two hadn't expected someone to be hiding so close to them.
"Why are you two following us? What business do you have?"
Shisui emerged from behind a concealed rock, looking down at Deidara and Kurotsuchi.
"You're Uchiha Shisui, right?"
After carefully examining the other's face, Deidara exclaimed excitedly:
"You're Uchiha Shisui, aren't you? Where's Uchiha Kazuki? I want to challenge him!!!"
"..."
Kurotsuchi raised her hand to cover her face. She found this utterly embarrassing.
"..."
Shisui patted his head, looking at Deidara as if he were an idiot.
Seems like a misunderstanding.
But the elder's order was to capture them and bring them back.
Shisui activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
"What? You want to fight me too? Then I'll defeat you first and then challenge Uchiha Kazuki!"
Deidara proudly raised his head, staring directly into Shisui's eyes.
The moment Shisui activated his Sharingan, Deidara realized Shisui was about to make a move.
This suited Deidara's intentions perfectly. He wanted to prove to Ōnoki that he was second to none.
Is this the new generation genius of the Hidden Rock Village, Ōnoki's disciple?
He seems like an idiot.
Shisui didn't know what to say. It seemed like Ōnoki's disciple had a few screws loose. "Little buddy, you've already fallen for it."
Who taught you to fight an Uchiha by staring directly into their Sharingan?
Ōnoki couldn't have been so negligent, right?
Itachi's genjutsu talent was exceptional, but let's not forget: in the original story, Itachi was taught by Shisui.
When it came to genjutsu, Shisui was no less skilled than Itachi—if anything, he was stronger.
The fate of Deidara and Kurotsuchi was sealed the moment Shisui activated his Sharingan.
Especially since the two of them, like a pair of fools, stared directly into Shisui's Sharingan.
If Ōnoki ever learned the details of this incident, he'd likely cough up three liters of blood in fury.
"I'm afraid I've taught two fools."
"Elder, Shisui has returned."
Itachi, who was responsible for scouting the surroundings, approached Kazuki. Kazuki stopped:
"Let's rest for a while. We'll wait for Shisui to arrive."
The group had only stopped for a short while when Shisui arrived, carrying two people.
"Elder, these two weren't sent by the Hidden Rock Village. They followed us on their own."
"This is... Deidara and Kurotsuchi?"
Looking at the two people Shisui placed on the ground, Kazuki asked doubtfully, "Have you interrogated them?"
"Yes, I've interrogated them."
Shisui's expression was somewhat awkward. He glanced at the two on the ground, a hint of pity in his eyes:
"Deidara is Tsuchikage Ōnoki's disciple. The kid has a rather high opinion of himself. Because the Tsuchikage often used you as a benchmark for comparison, he wanted to challenge you. But we left the Hidden Rock Village directly, so he followed us."
"And the Tsuchikage's granddaughter secretly followed him at the same time."
Shisui recounted what had just happened.
"Cough cough!!"
Many people on the scene coughed awkwardly. Even Itachi looked at the two lying on the ground and felt they weren't quite right in the head. Who in their right mind would stare directly into an Uchiha's Sharingan?
Especially when that Uchiha was Shisui, a top-tier genjutsu specialist.
"Hahaha... It seems Ōnoki isn't a very good teacher."
After hearing Shisui's account, Kazuki burst out laughing.
When Ōnoki found out about this, he'd probably be furious.