That's right.
This kid looks young, still just a child...
But Akihara Kagura quickly showed his mature side, speaking coldly, "Lord Tsuchikage, your time is running out."
"By the way, just to mention."
"If Captain Kakashi is tortured when he arrives, or even interrogated, I might chop off the heads of these Hidden Rock Village ninjas, rather than just pull out their hair, since those are tales for kids..."
"..."
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki's eyes immediately turned cold!
Akihara Kagura seemed oblivious to Onoki's gaze and leisurely continued, "That young girl who conveyed our message to Lord Tsuchikage is too young; she shouldn't know how adult ninjas talk, so inevitably she spoke more gently. But Lord Tsuchikage is an adult, it's better to make important matters clear..."
"I will bring the person here right away."
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki nodded and continued in a deep voice, "I hope during the hostage exchange, my subordinates will also be unharmed!"
"I can only guarantee they are still alive..."
Akihara Kagura spread his hands, speaking with complete irresponsibility.
Inside the Hidden Rock Village.
After returning, the first thing the Third Tsuchikage Onoki did was summon his son and solemnly issued two orders.
"First, immediately capture Kakashi Hatake who has infiltrated the village!"
"Second, immediately send people to lay down a blockade, heavily guard the periphery of that forest. That kid may be able to use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, but we can't let this group escape right under our nose!"
Due to the strict orders issued by the Tsuchikage Tower, a group of Hidden Rock ninjas went out in full swing. Some went to set up blockades to prevent Akihara Kagura from escaping; others searched the entire village, fearing that Kakashi Hatake might steal some important information.
Kakashi Hatake could only hide in a sorry state, still pondering why these Hidden Rock ninjas got a hold of his whereabouts, wondering if Yao Shidou betrayed him?
Soon.
Due to his unfamiliarity with the environment, Kakashi Hatake was soon surrounded.
Even though Kakashi Hatake fiercely resisted, he couldn't withstand the overwhelming numbers, and the leading Kitsuchi sealed off all his escape routes using Earth Release Ninjutsu.
"Don't kill him!"
"Lord Tsuchikage's order is to capture him alive!"
"Be careful..."
"Don't hurt him..."
"Don't let his hair fall out!"
This chaotic capture operation that alarmed the entire Hidden Rock Village seemed like a farce, even mixed with a little girl's shouting.
"..."
What a mess.
Yet, Kakashi Hatake could no longer escape.
After being captured by the rock ninjas, Kakashi Hatake was not mistreated, nor was he sent to the interrogation room, but was directly brought before the Third Tsuchikage Onoki.
"Aren't you going to interrogate him?"
Kitsuchi stood beside his father, somewhat dissatisfied, "We've finally captured a Jonin from Konoha Village, we should at least get some information from him..."
"That kid has plenty of hostages!"
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki slowly but firmly shook his head, "If he suffers unfair treatment, that kid will kill them..."
This matter...
There's no need to rush.
Once the hostages are exchanged, they have plenty of time to execute the capture plan. The worst outcome would just be rescuing the captured rock ninjas.
If they can capture using the blockade strategy, it would be great, and if not, there's nothing they can do.
"Who would have thought."
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki spoke with a mix of politeness, sarcasm, and self-deprecation as he saw Kakashi Hatake, "Konoha's outstanding young talent came to our Hidden Rock Village as a guest, and we, the hosts, didn't even know..."
"Were I betrayed?"
Kakashi Hatake was still pondering this issue and continued to question, "Or was I discovered?"
"How to say..."
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki rubbed his forehead, somewhat at a loss for words, "The village's vigilance was insufficient, we didn't find your trace..."
"But..."
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki thought of the emotionless youth who demanded they capture Kakashi Hatake and send him over, sighed, and said, "A kid from Konoha captured quite a few of our Hidden Rock ninjas, demanding we hand you over before we realized that Konoha's Kakashi Hatake had infiltrated..."
"..."
Kakashi Hatake was at a loss for words.
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki sighed, feeling that every family had its own troubles: "Though I don't quite understand that kid's logic, it gave us a chance to find you, not sure if this counts as betrayal..."
"That guy..."
Kakashi Hatake massaged his forehead, feeling that the rescue effort was too reckless. They should have at least checked if he was captured first!
Great...
Now they can't hide their identities in the Land of Earth.
This is most likely the doing of Akihara Kagura, though there's a slight chance it isn't. Shouldn't that guy be focused on Yakushi Kabuto and Yakushi Nonou instead?
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki took the lead, paving the way, and spoke in a deep voice, "I hope that kid keeps his word so that we can successfully exchange the hostages."
Outside the Hidden Rock Village.
At the dense forest's edge.
Akihara Kagura sat under a tree, using the Dark Side of the Ninja World to monitor every move in the Hidden Rock Village, waiting for them to hand over Kakashi Hatake.
"Lord Kagura."
Young Karin stood beside him, using the Kagura Heart Eye to observe the surroundings, "Many have appeared a few kilometers away but soon left..."
"They haven't left."
Akihara Kagura gently shook his head, "Perhaps they're afraid of angering us, or maybe they're setting up a wider encirclement, hoping to capture us..."
The entire Hidden Rock Village's ninjas were almost all mobilized.
The Third Tsuchikage Onoki had long contemplated this; if they could capture Akihara Kagura by sheer numbers, all the better, but if not, they could still make an attempt.
After all...
It's a rare opportunity for the rock ninjas.
"What should we do?"
Youthful Karin appeared worried.
"No rush."
Akihara Kagura glanced back at the forest, where Deidara's voice still echoed softly, "The key is, we need to first gag Deidara."
"Huh?"
Karin wondered if something was wrong with Lord Kagura.
At this time, what's the point of gagging Deidara? Would preventing Deidara from speaking avert any crisis?
"Wood Release: Wood Clone."
Akihara Kagura raised his fingers, forming a hand seal, as a wood clone slowly emerged from his body, as if dividing itself.
"Wood Release: Wood Transformation."
Akihara Kagura raised his fingers again, and his original form gradually morphed into Deidara's appearance, "Best to gag more, as there are many mouths on Deidara's body, don't want him causing trouble."
"..."
Karin quickly nodded in agreement.
Though unsure of what trouble Deidara could cause, Lord Kagura changing into Deidara seemed bound to stir up substantial trouble!
After pondering a while, Karin assumed she'd followed Akihara Kagura's train of thought: "Does Lord Kagura intend to hide Deidara, then after rescuing Captain Kakashi, use Deidara to threaten them to clear a path?"
"Not at all..."
Akihara Kagura seemed still unaccustomed to Deidara's form, slowly shrugging his shoulders, adjusting his voice, "We'll let the Tsuchikage escort us... an old man exercising is good for his health."