Deeply offended by Deidara's words, Orochimaru was furious.
However, to obtain Haku, Orochimaru suppressed his anger and said coldly, "Deidara, I'm not interested in you anymore. Just hand over that boy with the Ice Release kekkei genkai, and I'll let you go."
Although Haku was always dressed as a girl, Orochimaru, with his vast experience, instantly recognized him as a boy.
Deidara was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Orochimaru, you're a gender-bending pervert, and now you can't even tell the difference between a boy and a girl. Forget it. I'm not giving you an artistic master like Haku!"
Orochimaru's already pale face turned a shade darker. Deidara's sharp tongue was unbearable, even for someone as composed as him.
As Deidara loudly mocked Orochimaru, Haku's soft voice rang out.
"Excuse me, I'm actually a boy."
"What did you say?"
"I said I'm a boy."
Deidara was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected this beautiful girl to be a boy!
This incident highlighted the difference in life experience between Deidara and Orochimaru.
"Is this the price of becoming a great artist?" Deidara wondered.
Shaking his head vigorously, Deidara dismissed his thoughts. The enemy was at hand; he needed to deal with Orochimaru and Sasori first.
Reaching into his pouch filled with clay, Deidara prepared his jutsu. He had a mouth on his palm that could ingest ordinary clay, mixing it with chakra to create explosive clay!
"Explosion Release: C1!"
Dozens of white clay birds flew out of the mouth on Deidara's palm, targeting Orochimaru and Sasori.
"How is it? These birds are just my most rudimentary work. But look at their smooth lines and wild style. Don't you find them eye-opening?"
After using the jutsu, Deidara proudly showed off to Haku.
Haku nodded weakly, unsure how to tell Deidara that his designs were childish.
Faced with the oncoming clay birds, Orochimaru snorted, "Child's play."
Quickly forming hand seals, a sharp chill swept forward. The clay birds touched by this cold air froze stiff, their wings unable to flap, falling straight from the sky.
Seeing this, Deidara quickly formed a hand seal, hoping to detonate the clay birds before they fell to cause some trouble.
"Explode!" Deidara shouted.
But because Orochimaru's chill had damaged the clay birds, they lost their explosive ability. Deidara couldn't detonate them.
"Damn it!"
Knowing his opponents were formidable, Deidara gave up on the distraction, focusing on escaping the giant eagle puppet.
While Orochimaru and Sasori pursued Deidara and Haku, a Konoha escort team arrived in Land of Waves.
The team leader was Kakashi, and his subordinates were Naruto, Sasuke, and Yota.
Due to Naruto and Sasuke's unique circumstances, Yusuke had initially wanted Itachi or Kabuto to be their supervising jonin.
However, Itachi was now the Vice-Director of the Konoha Military Police Force, and Kabuto was the Vice-Director of the Konoha Research Institute.
Although they held vice-director positions, their age and experience meant they were nominally Yusuke's subordinates. In reality, Yusuke had entrusted the management of both organizations to them; only the title remained.
Itachi and Kabuto were already busy and couldn't supervise genin.
They were escorting Tazuna, a famous bridge builder in Land of Waves. Besides escorting him, the mission required protecting him until the bridge connecting Land of Waves to the mainland was completed.
The bridge was nearing completion. However, due to Gato's pursuit, Tazuna fled Land of Waves and requested Konoha's protection.
"I thought this escort mission would involve ninja battles, but there haven't been any enemies. So boring!"
Naruto put his hands behind his head, looking bored. He was clearly dissatisfied with the lack of fighting.
Sasuke chuckled, "This mission is handled by our Team 7. Those bandits are cautious and wouldn't dare to cause trouble."
Minato had already reunited with Naruto. Under Minato's guidance, Naruto excelled, becoming a top student alongside Sasuke and Yota, graduating as some of the strongest in recent years.
"Don't be careless until the mission's over. Of course, it's best if nothing happens," Kakashi, at the front of the team, said.
Kakashi's Sharingan had been replaced with a normal eye. Konoha's "Copy Ninja" Kakashi was gone, replaced by the new "White Fang of Konoha."
Kakashi now focused on taijutsu and the techniques of the Hatake clan. Although not yet at his father's level, he had achieved impressive feats in recent years, inheriting the title of "White Fang."
Despite his perpetually sleepy expression, Kakashi's observation skills surpassed most. Noticing Tazuna's anxiety, Kakashi sensed the mission wasn't so simple.
He'd tried probing Tazuna, but he evaded his questions.
"We're almost at our destination. The mission ends when Tazuna completes the bridge. I can't relax yet," Kakashi thought.
Soon, Kakashi's team reached the bridge with Tazuna.
"The bridge is almost finished. It should be completed within a month," Kakashi asked Tazuna, looking at the sizable bridge.
Tazuna's expression was resolute, "Yes, it's almost done. It represents the hopes of Land of Waves's people. I'll complete it no matter the obstacles."
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