Naruto finally regained his senses, only to notice Deidara kneeling on the ground.
'What's going on?'
Naruto exchanged a glance with Itachi, silently asking for an explanation.
Through his Observation Haki, Naruto could feel the fanaticism emanating from Deidara. However, his earlier thoughts about avoiding an explosion had left him too distracted to pay attention to Deidara's behavior.
Itachi replied coolly, "Deidara wants to be your dog."
Blunt as it sounded, it summed up Deidara's intentions perfectly.
Hearing this, Naruto didn't think much of it. He had intentionally caused the explosion to subdue Deidara, and the outcome was exactly as he desired. There was no need to dwell further.
"According to our agreement, you still need to apologize to Kisame." Naruto said after a moment of thought.
"No problem."
After Deidara stood up, he bowed deeply to Kisame and said, "I'm sorry!"
"It's fine."
Kisame waved it off. He wasn't concerned about Deidara's apology, and what touched him was that Naruto still cared about him. This made him feel both grateful and loyal.
'As expected, there is nothing wrong with following Naruto-kun. Even with new additions to the team, Naruto didn't forget about his older subordinates!'
"Naruto-kun, now that Kisame has forgiven me, does this mean I can follow you?"
Deidara looked at Naruto nervously.
After all, he had been quite disrespectful to Naruto earlier. If Naruto decided to treat him coldly, Deidara wouldn't have any grounds to object.
In fact, he wouldn't even consider objecting. All he wanted was to follow Naruto and pick up a few tricks, and he'd be content with that.
Naruto, however, didn't dwell on the matter like Deidara did. After giving Deidara a beating earlier, his anger had already subsided, and he had no intention of making things difficult for him anymore.
Naruto nodded slightly and said, "Following me is fine, but there's one condition: you must obey me and never betray me."
"No problem!"
Hearing there's a condition, Deidara was initially nervous, but he quickly realized it was a simple demand. Obedience and loyalty were basic principles of following someone, so he agreed without hesitation.
"Something's not right. We need to leave!"
Suddenly, Naruto's expression changed, and he sped off toward the east.
The others didn't ask questions and immediately followed him.
After retreating for more than 100 kilometers, Naruto finally came to a halt.
"Naruto-kun, is something wrong?"
Kisame inquired.
Naruto hesitated briefly before replying, "I sensed someone approaching earlier. The explosion likely attracted the attention of the Sungakure's Shinobi."
"Oh, I thought it was something serious. Isn't it just Sungakure's Shinobi?"
Deidara dismissed the concern lightly, and after deactivating his explosive clay dragon, he placed the unconscious Sasori on the ground and continued, "My mission this time is to capture Gaara. If any Sungakure's shinobi stand in my way, I'll just kill them."
Itachi said coldly, "Do you think we intercepted you here just because you were disrespectful to Naruto-kun? More importantly, Gaara is also one of Naruto's subordinates."
"What?"
Deidara and Kisame exclaimed in unison.
Kisame didn't know about this at all.
Deidara, on the other hand, was utterly shocked that Naruto had even managed to subdue the new Kazekage.
Naruto corrected him with a faint smile, "Gaara is my brother."
Thud!
Deidara immediately dropped to his knees, panic evident in his voice as he repeatedly apologized, "Naruto-kun, I truly didn't know Gaara was your brother! If I had known, I'd never have accepted this mission."
If Gaara were just Naruto's subordinate, Deidara might've been surprised but not too bothered. However, if Gaara was Naruto's brother, then his earlier arrogant remarks crossed a dangerous line.
Provoking the brother of his boss was practically a death wish!
Naruto waved his hand and said, "You didn't know, so it's not your fault. I won't hold it against you."
In fact, even if Deidara hadn't taken this mission, Naruto would have. To maintain his cover and prevent Nagato from growing suspicious, Naruto planned to bring Gaara to the Akatsuki himself.
Of course, Naruto didn't intend for Gaara to have the Biju extracted from him. Instead, Naruto would have Gaara follow his lead, which is joining the Akatsuki voluntarily and taking poison to gain Nagato's trust. There was no real risk to Gaara, as Orochimaru could easily provide an antidote.
Once Gaara takes the poison, Nagato will feel that he has the Ichibi under control and can take action whenever he wants, leaving Naruto the time he needed to locate Nagato's base and plan a full-scale assault.
"Thank you for your understanding, Naruto-kun."
Deidara breathed a sigh of relief and stood up from the ground, not daring to say another word. He was really afraid that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make.
After dealing with Deidara, Naruto's gaze fell on Sasori, or rather, on Hiruko.
"Itachi, what did you do to him earlier?" Naruto asked.
Itachi replied, "Naruto-kun, I used Tsukuyomi."
"Why would… Sigh…!"
Naruto couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "Looks like we'll be waiting for a while again."
Being trapped in Tsukuyomi caused mental injuries, and Rapid Healing wouldn't help. The only hope was that Sasori's mental fortitude would allow him to recover sooner.
However, this wait lasted for three days.
At noon on the third day, Deidara knocked on Naruto's door, "Naruto-kun, Sasori is awake and is waiting on the first floor now!"
Bang!
Naruto bolted out of his room and rushed to the first floor of the villa, where he saw Hiruko lying on the ground.
Through his Observation Haki, Naruto noticed that Sasori's mental state was stable, and he couldn't help but said happily, "Finally, he's awake."
Waiting had been tedious, but at long last, progress was made.
After a total of thirteen days, Naruto's patience had been completely worn thin. So without delay, he cut to the chase, "Sasori, submit to me!"
"Why should I? Who are you?" Sasori retorted coldly.
"I am Uzumaki Naruto, and my strength is reason enough." Naruto replied, his eyes gleaming.
Then, he added with a persuasive tone, "My art is on a whole other level. Joining me is the best choice you could make, I'd be glad to have you as part of this family!"
Deidara chimed in enthusiastically, "That's right! Naruto-kun's art is unparalleled!"
"Family, huh?"
Sasori fell silent, his expression conflicted. Family was something he deeply valued, yet it was also something he feared losing.
After a moment of silence, Sasori said in a low voice, "I can't agree to this!"
To Sasori, Naruto's position as the Akatsuki's second-in-command and his attempt to recruit members independently seemed like blatant defiance of Nagato.
What's more, Deidara's behavior clearly showed he had already been won over. But while Deidara's art revolved around explosions, Sasori valued the permanence of puppetry.
No matter how convincing Naruto's words were, they couldn't sway him. Sasori was already a Missing-nin with no place to call home, and he wasn't willing to risk his position in the Akatsuki for someone he'd just met.
"Are you an idiot?" Deidara couldn't help but get impatient, "Kisame, Itachi, Hidan, Kakuzu, and I have all pledged allegiance to Naruto-kun. What are you holding out for? Just agree already!"
Despite their artistic differences, Deidara had spent enough time with Sasori to genuinely care about him.
Over the past three days, Deidara had analyzed the situation. With Naruto's power, he was certain that Naruto could either unify the Akatsuki as its new leader or successfully break away. Continuing to follow Pain would be foolish, and Deidara didn't want Sasori to make the wrong choice.
But Deidara's words left Sasori utterly dumbfounded.
"They all submitted? How is this possible..."