"Bishop!"
"Don't give them that thing!"
Seeing the greed in Deidara's eyes, Sasori immediately jumped in front of Naruto, shielding him like a loyal guard dog. He didn't even want Deidara to look at the Grayl Stone a second longer.
Now that the bishop had it, it was only a matter of time before it was handed over to the Mechanicus.
How could he let a damn heretic touch it!?
After all, the Grayl Stone could be used to develop entirely new technologies. If either church got their hands on it, they'd crush the other without breaking a sweat.
"You two, follow me."
"I'll give each of you a piece of Grayl Stone once the mission is complete."
Naruto weighed the stone in his hand, teasing it a little before storing it away again.
Although the fox had refined it into a spirit stone, Naruto felt this thing still had hidden powers that hadn't been tapped into yet.
Using it to bring Little Dick (Deidara) over to his side? Worth it.
Of course, he didn't want either cult getting too strong. That would be annoying.
So, Naruto decided: give both Sasori and Deidara a few pieces. Let them play.
They probably couldn't cause any major damage with just a few.
And hey, it was a good way to earn Big Bro's trust.
Great deal!
"No problem!"
"Have you considered joining our Society of Scientific Truth instead?"
Deidara rolled his eyes dramatically, throwing out a proposal that would've made the first-generation leader, Haruno Sakura, faint on the spot.
Sasori was so furious he immediately fired a chakra cannon at him, intending to end Deidara's nonsense once and for all.
But Deidara calmly pulled out a scientific ninja shield and blocked the attack with practiced ease. The way he moved… clearly this wasn't their first scuffle.
It showed just how often these two fought on the regular.
"Let's go find Gaara first."
"I've got a way to extract the tailed beast without killing him."
With that, Naruto threw on his Akatsuki robe.
After all, a mission's a mission. And if someone said he'd die if he didn't wear it? Might as well be safe than sorry.
Sasori looked conflicted for a second.
Following this plan felt a bit like betraying the Mechanicus…
But then again, their bishop was leading the mission, and there was the Grayl Stone involved. Who could say no to that?
As for Deidara, he didn't care.
He just wanted the shiny thing, and maybe poach a few Mechanicus members while he was at it. Just to annoy them.
Naruto then opened a portal of light, leading them straight to the outskirts of New Sand Village.
---
Hidden Sand Village
The guards monitoring the area spotted someone in a red cloud-black robe near the Ten Thousand Insect Puppet and immediately sounded the alarm.
"Holy Son!!"
"Oh no!!"
"That justice cult found us again!"
Gaara and Kankuro were mid-discussion when a panicked subordinate burst into the room.
"Damn it!"
"It's them again!"
Big guy Kanjiurang punched a hole in the iron table, muttering curses under his breath.
Not long ago, the Mechanicus had started planning to break away from the Wind Country and become an independent state.
And now this mysterious organization just had to show up and rain on their parade!
Gaara folded his arms and thought for a while before calmly speaking.
"Relax."
"Sasori-senpai is undercover in Akatsuki."
"Let me contact him first and get more intel."
He pulled out a communicator from his waist — it looked suspiciously like a bulky flip phone — and quickly dialed Sasori's number.
Beep. Beep. Beep—
Beep. Beep. Beep—
Naruto, still thinking about how to avoid bumping into Mechanicus patrols, suddenly heard the communicator ringing.
Wait.
That wasn't his communicator.
He turned around slowly and glared at Sasori and Deidara.
Seriously?
You're on a mission to capture a tailed beast and you didn't put your phone on silent!?
"Whose phone is ringing?" he asked flatly.
Deidara yawned, casually placing his hands behind his head.
"Pfft—That lame ringtone? Has to be that Mechanicus junk."
"Our Society of Scientific Truth has way more advanced tech."
He then pulled out a sleek, silver device — like a futuristic pager.
Naruto stared.
Suddenly, his own communicator felt like a potato.
"We have loads of cool stuff at the Society," Deidara added smugly.
"You could—"
"Don't need it."
Naruto cut him off instantly.
He was a member of the Society, remember?
He'd just ask Bro Ying for a couple new gadgets later.
Sasori finally picked up the call. Gaara's voice burst out immediately:
"Senior Sasori!"
"Has our plan been exposed?!"
"Damn it! The Wind Country Daimyo actually contacted Akatsuki!"
Naruto: ...
He had imagined plenty of reactions from Gaara — betrayal, anger, even shock.
But this?
Why was Gaara acting like some evil mastermind?
Wasn't he supposed to be the holy son?
And why did it sound like the Mechanicus was plotting some major scheme?
Sasori glanced at Naruto, then looked at Deidara, who was practically leaning in with his ear to the phone.
After hesitating for a second, he pulled Naruto aside and whispered:
"The Mechanicus plans to secede from the Wind Country."
He looked a bit sheepish saying it.
But Naruto thought it was great news.
As long as these guys stopped trying to turn everyone into robot cyborgs in the name of "mechanical ascension," it might actually be good for the world.
"That way we can welcome more people into the church," Naruto replied calmly.
But Sasori thought Naruto didn't understand, so he added another line — one that made Naruto instantly worry for humanity.
"…with prosthetic limbs."
"Never mind."
"Just give me the communicator."
Naruto sighed.
He now fully understood: the Mechanicus couldn't be saved.
Only Akatsuki could keep them in check.
…Which started with him joining Akatsuki.
"Gaara, it's me."
Gaara, still trying to come up with countermeasures, suddenly heard a familiar voice through the communicator.
"So many roads…"
"You're back!?"
"Wonderful!"
"The Mechanicus is saved!!"
Gaara's voice instantly changed. He sounded more excited than an old man winning the lottery.
Naruto froze for three seconds on the spot.
Controlling the urge to strangle the boy through the communicator, he tried to keep calm.
"I'm here to extract the tailed beast from your body," he said bluntly.
No lies. No sugar-coating. Straight to the point.
To any Jinchūriki, those words sounded like:
I've sharpened the knife. Now give me your neck.
But Naruto had a plan. He'd explain it properly and calm Gaara down.
"WHAT!?"
"That's awesome!"
"I've been wanting a new body for ages!"
Gaara's voice exploded with joy on the other end.
Ever since Sasori joined the Mechanicus, puppet transformation tech had improved dramatically. For Gaara, giving up his physical body was a dream come true.
"Wait!"
"That's not what I meant!"
"I've got a way to revive you afterwards!"
"Nope! I'm coming to you right now!"
Gaara didn't even let Naruto finish. He hung up after yelling a few lines, leaving Naruto standing there with the communicator in his hand.
Speechless.
Rough.
This kid… could you let me explain first?!
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
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