For Uchiha Itachi, still fighting through the Substitution Technique, keeping pace with Naruto was difficult. Kenya, however, was already moving far faster.
By the time he neared the destination, he still hadn't seen Team 7.
"Guy," Kenya ordered, his tone calm, "take your students and guard the perimeter. Don't let Akatsuki escape. I'll go in alone."
He knew what awaited inside. Better that Might Guy didn't see.
Guy didn't argue. He simply nodded.
"I understand, Master Shinobi."
Separated from Guy's team, Kenya advanced. Within minutes he reached the cavern's entrance, only to find it sealed by an enormous salt rock covered in charms.
Expressionless, he placed his hand on Kyōka Suigetsu's hilt and lightly flexed his fingers.
Shing!
The blade slid free for but an instant—too quick for anyone below Kage-level to even perceive.
—Crack!
The rock split cleanly down the center. The fissure spread upward and downward like lightning until the massive barrier fell apart in two neat halves.
Boom—!
Dust billowed into the air as the broken halves crashed to the ground. Through the settling haze came the sound of a balloon bursting—white smoke dispersing as Nagato withdrew the Gedo Statue.
Within, the figures of Akatsuki dissolved one by one from the Magic Lantern Technique, their final gazes lingering on Kenya before fading away.
"Tch. That was fast. Even the boss's sealing formation can't hold him," Deidara muttered.
"You shouldn't have been so arrogant, drawing attention here in the first place," Sasori's voice came coldly from within Hiruko.
Without the Gedo Statue's support, the two fell from midair. Along with them was Gaara, limp and lifeless, his heart stilled.
Clatter!
Deidara and Sasori landed.
Clatter!
Two seconds later came a third sound.
Their faces paled.
Uchiha Kenya, who had been standing at the cave entrance, was suddenly gone.
Step… step…
Footsteps echoed behind them.
They turned sharply.
Kenya stood there, already cradling Gaara's body before it even touched the ground.
"Th-this guy…" Deidara swallowed hard.
"I understand why Kisame lost so quickly," Sasori admitted gravely.
Kenya ignored them, speaking softly to himself as if they weren't even there. He gently laid Gaara down.
With two fingers raised, the Hōgyoku emerged, glowing as its light enveloped Gaara's broken form.
"What's he doing?!" Deidara snapped. "Gaara's dead!"
But Sasori's instincts screamed otherwise.
"When a tailed beast is torn from its host, Jinchūriki dies because their souls are fused. The forceful separation fatally tears the soul apart…"
Kenya's smile was faint, mocking.
"But what happens… if another soul is used to mend the wound?"
Within seconds, the glow dimmed. A soft groan escaped Gaara's lips.
"…Impossible!" Deidara's eyes widened.
Even Sasori couldn't mask his shock.
Gaara blinked weakly, his gaze falling on Kenya.
"…Teacher…"
"Don't strain yourself. Your soul was just repaired—you'll need time to adapt," Kenya said calmly. Then he rose, turning his gaze to the art duo.
"Well then, Akatsuki. Will you run? Go on—turn your backs to me. Try it. You know as well as I do… you're not my target tonight."
Deidara's temper flared instantly.
"You bastard!"
He reached for his clay—but froze. His hands wouldn't move. The mouths in his palms hung open, still.
Why… can't I… resist?
The sensation chilled him. It was the same suffocating helplessness Ōnoki had described, standing before Uchiha Madara sixty years ago.
"Deidara. Retreat."
Sasori's voice was curt, decisive. Even from within Hiruko, he could measure the gap between them. Resistance was suicide.
"Tch…" Deidara grit his teeth. "Fine."
With a puff of clay, a great white dove unfurled from his palm. The two leapt onto its back and soared out of the cave.
"Teacher! Why let them go?!" Gaara shouted hoarsely, half-propped on the ground.
"Because," Kenya replied, drawing Kyōka Suigetsu, "there's someone else worth my attention."
He slashed toward the cavern's ceiling.
BOOM!!!
The sword pressure tore upward, ripping a gaping hole through the mountain. Sunlight poured into the cave, golden beams flooding the darkness. Yet the cavern itself did not collapse—testament to Kenya's precise control.
Gaara turned, eyes widening.
From the fractured ceiling, a figure drifted down like a phantom: dressed in black, a spiral mask concealing his face.
The masked man of Akatsuki had arrived.