"That guy..."
Deidara watched as Akihara Kagura flew into the sky, his pupils widening involuntarily, then he quickly turned to look at the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han!
"He's mocking me again, right?"
"Yes."
Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han, nodded seriously.
Because no matter how you look at it, anyone would consider Akihara Kagura's praise as a vocal mockery of Deidara.
Of course.
The most astonishing thing is still Akihara Kagura's natural talent for learning.
Especially the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, who had studied Earth Release Jutsu for the longest time. When he saw Akihara Kagura lift off from the ground, his surprise was barely concealed!
"This is..."
"Earth Release: Super Lightweight Rock Jutsu."
Akihara Kagura floated in the air, looking at Onoki's incredulous face, and praised, "The Tsuchikage's jutsu feels pretty good to use."
"..."
The Third Tsuchikage was a bit lost for words, secretly a little irritated, but could only awkwardly praise, "This jutsu is not something someone your age should be able to master."
"I just learned this jutsu."
Akihara Kagura, unafraid to show his capabilities, casually said, "Recently, my neck has been hurting, and I find it hard to look up when speaking, so I had to find a way to fly up here to chat with the Tsuchikage."
"The new generation of Konoha... is really outstanding..."
Onoki's fingers twitched slightly; he needed to find a way to keep this Konoha genius in front of him, or else The Hidden Rock Village might face big trouble in the future!
"Speaking of which..."
It seemed Akihara Kagura understood Onoki's mind, hinting, "The Tsuchikage's flying ability is nice, but it's still not as fast as our Konoha Village's Flying Thunder God Technique; I travel much faster with it..."
"..."
The movement of Onoki froze.
Onoki himself had commanded in The Hidden Rock Village to [abandon missions when facing the Yellow Flash], so he knew well how troublesome a Flying Thunder God User could be!
This kid...
Is even more troublesome than I imagined!
If this kid is a Flying Thunder God User, it won't be so easy to catch or kill him!
Akihara Kagura seemed unfazed by the power of the Third Tsuchikage, and even a bit dismissive, "Tsuchikage, are you... came empty-handed?"
"What do you mean by empty-handed..."
Onoki frowned, looking at this little fellow somewhat peculiarly, "Do I need to bring gifts for you Konoha brat?"
"Not impossible."
Akihara Kagura's casual remark choked the Third Tsuchikage before he continued, "The point is, about our negotiation... Tsuchikage, the people you want are below, where are mine?"
"Kakashi Hatake?"
Onoki appeared bewildered, feeling a bit embarrassed, as they still did not have Kakashi Hatake as a hostage.
"Haven't you captured him yet?"
It seemed Akihara Kagura could see through Onoki's mind, frowning as he continued, "If you haven't captured him yet, then stop wasting time here; go catch him quickly and then come here to exchange hostages!"
"You brat..."
Onoki hesitated, looking at Akihara Kagura opposite him, feeling something was off: "Are you... a Konoha ninja?"
If Kakashi Hatake hadn't been captured by The Hidden Rock Village, shouldn't the Konoha Ninja be relieved? Why are they urging The Hidden Rock Village to capture him...
"Of course, I'm a Konoha ninja."
Akihara Kagura frowned slightly, puzzled by the peculiar nature of the question, "Why else would I want to save Captain Kakashi?"
"..."
Onoki found the Konoha kid's method of rescuing someone a bit strange, as a proper rescue should involve sneaking into The Hidden Rock Village!
"Stop dawdling, go capture him quickly!"
Akihara Kagura saw Onoki's inaction and urged him repeatedly.
"..."
Onoki still found himself a bit clueless; he'd lived nearly seventy years, seen every situation, even met Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
But...
This old man learned something new today again.
"Still not going..."
Akihara Kagura frowned at the short elder still hovering in the air, "Is the Tsuchikage planning to rescue by force?"
Onoki supported his waist as he slowly said, "Catching a Flying Thunder God User is no easy task, and to make an old man on the verge of retirement fight fiercely, my old back can't take any hassle..."
"That's good then."
Akihara Kagura slowly nodded and continued, "It's just as well. I don't want any more trouble. I've already expended a lot of Chakra capturing the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and don't want to engage in another battle with the Tsuchikage."
"..."
Onoki couldn't quite grasp the truth behind those words.
This kid wanting to capture Deidara, Han, and a group of Dark Department ninjas from hidden Rock Village, in theory, isn't so easy, but to blatantly point out his own weakness before the enemy...
This kid...
Isn't trying to deceive me, is he?
Onoki was quietly wrestling with this thought.
No matter if the kid was lying or not, the safety of the ninjas below from The Hidden Rock Village must be guaranteed first, capturing Kakashi Hatake to exchange hostages with this kid.
At that point...
Then act to capture them!
Onoki stared at Akihara Kagura, sensing something wrong with this kid's mind, not a hint of crisis awareness.