Clay rained from the sky.
Deidara hurled explosive constructs in waves, each detonation tearing at the ground. The masked man dodged swiftly, never touching the earth for long, using wind chakra to float and flip between blasts.
"You're not ordinary," Deidara muttered. "ANBU? A merc?"
Still no answer.
The masked figure jumped forward, chakra pulsing in his palm. Deidara barely swerved in time—a burst of air pressure nicked his shoulder, ripping fabric clean.
"Got some sting to you," Deidara hissed. "But you're still outnumbered."
The air twisted.
From behind, a swirl of space distorted into a spiral.
A masked figure appeared—Tobi—emerging beside Gaara's unconscious form like a ghost.
"Yo," he said casually. "Just dropping in. We're done here, right?"
Deidara turned. "Tobi?! What are you—"
"We can't let the Jinchūriki die. I'm extracting him now."
"No—" the masked man lunged.
But Tobi vanished in an instant—Gaara with him.
The masked figure landed hard, clenching his fists. His chakra flared, barely controlled. He'd failed.
Deidara hovered above, slightly out of breath but smirking. "Well, that was fun. See you around, mask boy."
He threw a clay bomb downward. The masked figure raised his arm, creating a dense wind barrier that absorbed the explosion—but the smoke covered Deidara's retreat.
When the dust cleared, the sky was empty.
The figure exhaled slowly, gaze dropping to the cracked earth.
Footsteps.
Team 7 arrived on the scene—Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke, panting from their long sprint.
"There he is!" Sakura shouted.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That cloak... he's not one of us."
Kakashi stepped forward. "Who are you? Did you take Gaara?"
The masked figure said nothing. His head tilted slightly as if judging their strength.
"Answer me," Kakashi said again, drawing a kunai.
Still no reply.
The masked man took a slow step back. "I didn't come to fight you."
"Then don't run," Sasuke challenged, Sharingan glowing.
"I'm not running. I'm leaving."
Without warning, he released a blast of wind in all directions, forcing the team back just long enough to disappear.
By the time the dust settled, he was gone.
"What was that?" Sakura asked, stunned.
Kakashi looked at the sky. "Whoever he was… he wasn't with Akatsuki."
Sasuke's fist clenched. "But he wasn't with us either."