Chapter 530: Bomb Duo

Su Xiao arrived near a wild camp. From the pile of extinguished charcoal, it could be seen that Sasori and Deidara had stayed here for at least two days.

Ninjas didn't just have surface glory; when executing missions, they could be described as sleeping in the open.

"Any missions recently?" Su Xiao asked.

"There is a rather troublesome mission: intercept and kill the Daimyō of the Land of Rivers."

Sasori was somewhat dissatisfied; he hated missions like this where one had to wait for the target to appear.

The Akatsuki organization could be described as lawless. Every ninja village had regulations that one must not assassinate the Daimyō of other countries. Daimyō of medium-sized countries like the Land of Rivers were naturally included. Moreover, the Land of Rivers bordered the Land of Fire and separated the Land of Wind; ordinary ninja villages didn't dare to touch the Land of Rivers.

The Akatsuki organization didn't care about these things. As long as there was a commission, they dared to accept it. They didn't care which country's Daimyō it was; as long as the price was sufficient, they would even dare to assassinate the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.

Nagato dared to challenge Konoha Village alone, let alone assassinate the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.

"Just waiting here?"

"Yes. According to the spy's information, the Daimyō of the Land of Rivers will pass through here. We have already waited for two days."

It seemed the Akatsuki organization wasn't completely lawless, otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen the method of interception in the wild.

"You will be responsible for dragging down the guards when the time comes."

"I can perform ultra-long-range sniping; there is no need to get close, reducing the risk of exposure."

"Hmm?"

Sasori looked at Su Xiao, his eyes filled with confusion.

"You'll understand when the time comes. If the guards aren't strong, I can resolve the enemy from a kilometer away."

Su Xiao relit the fire and took out some food to roast.

"A kilometer... That's fine. I hope no accidents occur."

Sasori also wanted to understand Su Xiao's abilities, after all, the three of them would have to cooperate in the future.

*Whoosh~*

The sound of wind breaking came from above. A white giant bird with a wingspan of about three meters flew toward the vicinity. This giant bird looked like it was molded from white clay; it was Deidara, who had gone out to collect clay.

The giant bird swooped down, and a short, blond-haired youth jumped off the bird.

The blond youth had a short braid, his left eye was blocked by the hanging blond hair, and he wore an Iwagakure forehead protector. There was a scratch in the center of the forehead protector; this was the mark of a rogue ninja from Iwagakure.

Deidara, who had been collecting clay, was back. Although Deidara was currently an S-rank rogue ninja, he was only 19 years old. To be precise, if it followed the development of the original plot, Deidara would die at the age of 19~

"Isn't this that newcomer, hmm."

Deidara walked up and looked Su Xiao up and down. He would add an "hmm" when he spoke, seemingly emphasizing and confirming something.

"Yes, he will be acting with us from now on."

Sasori raised his eyes to look at Deidara. Although the two were teammates, their philosophies didn't match—no, it should be said their understanding of art was different.

Sasori pursued eternal art, while Deidara pursued instantaneous art—the moment of the explosion.

"I am Deidara."

Deidara greeted Su Xiao. If it weren't during a battle, Deidara could be considered a simple, straightforward youth. The reason he became a rogue ninja was mostly because of his clay explosion ability, but one point couldn't be denied: there was a cruel component to Deidara's personality.

"Bai Ye."

Su Xiao nodded at Deidara.

Deidara's nose twitched, and he squinted at Su Xiao.

"You have the smell of gunpowder on you... No, it's a very strange smell. A bomb?"

Bubu Wang looked at Deidara; that gaze seemed to be looking at one of his own kind~

"A bomb."

Su Xiao raised his arm, and white spiders crawled out from his sleeves. Sasori, beside him, was somewhat surprised, while Deidara leaped backward.

"Do you know that old man Ōnoki?"

Deidara stared vigilantly at Su Xiao. Su Xiao's alchemy bombs and clay bombs were simply too similar.

As for the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, that was Deidara's master. If Deidara hadn't defected from Iwagakure, he might have become the Fourth Tsuchikage.

Compared to Deidara, the talent of Ōnoki's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, was far too inferior. If Deidara had continued to develop in Iwagakure, there would be no role for Kurotsuchi as the Fourth Tsuchikage.

Ōnoki was very strict when teaching Deidara. The lawless Deidara feared one person, and that was the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki.

"Never met him."

Su Xiao held a white spider formed by an alchemy bomb. A few seconds later, Deidara's brows locked tightly.

"This is..."

Walking up slowly, Deidara didn't touch the alchemy bomb, but vaguely discovered something.

"This is another type of bomb. It looks similar to a clay bomb, but the texture is very different."

Deidara relaxed his vigilance; he had previously thought Su Xiao was related to Iwagakure.

"How do you manufacture this thing?"

Seeing the alchemy bomb in Su Xiao's hand, Deidara was clearly interested in this thing.

"65% gunpowder, 25% rare soft metal..."

Su Xiao briefly introduced the components of the alchemy bomb to Deidara.

"Metal? Can bombs also be fused with metal?"

"They can, but it requires energy to harmonize, and the properties of the metal must be soft and unstable. This can increase the explosive power."

"Hmm, that makes a lot of sense, but clay is a better choice. This type of metal is too hard to find and not convenient to replenish."

Su Xiao and Deidara discussed their insights regarding bombs for a while, but neither revealed their core knowledge.

Sasori glanced at the two and secretly decided that he would have to be careful when executing missions in the future. Having one bomb fanatic in the squad was dangerous enough; now there was another.

"Here, for you."

Su Xiao tossed out an intermediate alchemy bomb. Deidara hesitated for a moment before catching it. Now that the two were very close, Su Xiao couldn't possibly detonate the bomb.

"What is the use of this thing?"

Deidara squeezed the alchemy bomb, very interested in it.

"You can also control it after infusing it with spiritual energy."

"Oh?"

Deidara seemed somewhat skeptical; others couldn't control his clay bombs.

The alchemy bomb changed shape in Deidara's hand, turning into a snake one moment and a small bird the next.

"Controlling it is more energy-efficient."

Deidara's eyes were burning as he looked at Su Xiao. The meaning seemed to be that he wanted to blow Su Xiao half to death and then force the recipe for the alchemy bomb out of him.

Su Xiao looked at the white bird flying in mid-air. This was a bird made of alchemy bombs; he had tried many methods, but it still couldn't fly.

"How did you do it?"

"What?"

"Make it fly."

Deidara smiled and said nothing. Su Xiao didn't pursue the question. After all, it was their first time meeting; it was unlikely they would exchange knowledge about bombs. There was no mutual trust, and perhaps there would be a possibility of exchange after cooperating for a period of time.

"They're coming. The Daimyō of the Land of Rivers will pass through here in half an hour."

Sasori's low and hoarse voice drifted over, interrupting the discussion between Su Xiao and Deidara.

Although Su Xiao and Deidara were meeting for the first time, and their temperaments were different, there were no signs of hostility.

"Show me your long-range sniping ability. I'm quite curious."

Su Xiao nodded and looked around, searching for a high point.

"What are you looking for?" Deidara asked.

"A commanding height."

"A commanding height? You mean a high place?"

"Yes."

Deidara reached into a pocket at his waist, which contained specially treated clay. The mouth in his palm bit off a piece of clay and chewed slowly.

After chewing for a few seconds, the mouth in Deidara's palm spat out a clay mud doll in the shape of a small bird.

He performed hand seals, and with a *bang*, white smoke rose. The palm-sized clay bird turned into a giant bird with a wingspan of five meters.

Deidara jumped onto the giant bird, and the giant bird flew up a bit.

"There is no place nearby higher than flying up." ===== CHAPTER 531 =====