Because the meteor was still burning as it fell, its size couldn't compare to Uchiha Madara's Tengai Shinsei. When it hit the ground, it was only slightly larger than a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The mushroom cloud that followed didn't cover nearly as wide an area as the twin meteors of Tengai Shinsei either.
However, the heat and shockwave from the meteor's explosion were far more destructive—its power didn't fall short at all compared to a full-powered Tailed Beast Bomb.
When the mushroom cloud finally faded, the mountain where Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara had been hiding was completely obliterated.
Their hiding place—larger than the surrounding peaks—was only partially destroyed, leaving half of it still standing.
In the middle of the mountain range now sat a massive impact crater.
All that remained were scattered rocks, scorched earth, and some magma fragments left from the meteor.
"Art. That—that is art!"
The tremor had only just settled. Protected by layers of rock and metal spheres, Deidara wasn't injured. He climbed out from a black orb, quickly molded a clay bird, and soared into the sky, gazing down at the aftermath with wild, fanatical glee.
He looked like he might blow himself up on the spot just to compete with Kenjiro.
"Idiot. Get down here already."
Sasori's irritated voice echoed from below.
"Not bad. You both made it out in one piece."
At that moment, a voice chimed in, familiar to the two of them.
Kenjiro had reappeared above Deidara, seemingly out of nowhere.
Hearing that voice, Deidara's expression lit up with joy. He looked up and asked out of nowhere.
"Hey, do you also think true art is a fleeting moment?"
"You mean explosions?"
Unlike those who didn't get it—or just scoffed—Kenjiro nodded seriously.
"Explosions really are beautiful. It's a powerful kind of beauty. The stronger the explosion, the more beautiful it becomes. The reason Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki are so terrifying… is exactly because of those overwhelming Tailed Beast Bombs."
"Right?! Right?!"
Deidara shouted with excitement.
"See, Sasori, someone finally gets it! My art is finally recognized!"
"Idiot. He's the enemy..." Sasori scolded, but he still held firm to his own definition of art.
"Besides, eternal beauty is the real art."
"Wrong! It's the beauty of a single, fleeting moment!"
"No! It's eternal beauty!"
"…"
The two of them immediately got into an argument—one yelling from the sky, the other from the ground.
Kenjiro didn't interrupt. Arms crossed, he watched with amusement.
"Tch. I'm done talking."
Eventually, Deidara—only sixteen years old—lost patience and ended the argument.
He turned his head and huffed, then looked back at Kenjiro with enthusiasm.
"Hey, since you get art so well, wanna join our group?"
He rarely found someone who shared his passion—he really wanted to rope Kenjiro in.
"Oh? What kind of group are you?" Kenjiro asked with a playful smile.
"We're—"
Deidara had just started when Sasori's sharp voice cut in.
"Shut up! Deidara, do you have a death wish?"
Hearing that, Deidara stopped himself mid-sentence, like he suddenly remembered something important.
Still, he leaned closer and said quietly.
"Join us, and I'll tell you."
"I'll pass on joining." Kenjiro said as he looked toward Sasori.
"But being friends? Sure. I already gave you both a little 'hello' gift. As a return favor, can you give me your puppet techniques—and the method for making human puppets?"
"So that's why you came?" Sasori replied, voice low, though secretly he felt a bit pleased.
This guy… he actually understood art.
Though a bit too wishy-washy. Clearly he liked Sasori's eternal art, yet gave Deidara's explosive art such high praise.
"Yeah." Kenjiro nodded casually.
"Hey, why do you want Sasori's puppet stuff? That junk's not even real art. You should learn Explosion Release from me—hmm!" Deidara started.
Before he could finish, Sasori spoke up:
"Fine. I'll give it to you."
"...?"
Beneath his mask, a question mark basically popped up on Kenjiro's forehead.
That easy?
From how serious Sasori looked, he thought for sure they'd be throwing hands.
Then it hit him.
Right. Sasori had already turned his real body into a human puppet.
"Then I appreciate it."
Getting what he wanted without a fight? Kenjiro was more than happy.
Originally, he planned to kill Sasori, loot his corpse, and maybe even turn him into a soldier for his endless puppet army.
But while admiring the explosion earlier, he took a quick look at Sasori's talent traits—and decided against it.
[Puppet Master (Purple)]
[Kage-level Aptitude (Purple)]
[Chakra Control (Purple)]
In a world where, without connections to the Ōtsutsuki clan, reaching beyond Kage-level is nearly impossible—where even if you did, it cost your life—purple-level talents are the highest a "genius" can realistically reach.
And "purple" corresponds to Kage-level.
Kage-level fighters were already rare in this era.
Someone like Sasori, with three purple traits, was even rarer.
By comparison, Deidara only had two: [Explosion Release (Purple)] and [Kage-level Aptitude (Purple)]
No one is born a Puppet Master. At best, they start as a genius (Blue-level), just like Kenjiro did.
Sasori had clearly modified himself into a human puppet, rewrote his fate, and turned his Puppet Genius (Blue) into Puppet Master (Purple).
Killing someone like that? Wasteful.
He should be farmed, like Uchiha Sasuke was.
Once Kenjiro finished evolving his Rinnegan, he'd need to upgrade his Ōtsutsuki bloodline again—which would take a mountain of points.
Each purple trait, when broken down, gives a random four-digit number of points.
Since they didn't die from the "welcome gift", he figured he'd spare them.
Push them too hard, and Deidara might bust out C4: Karura or even C0 Self-Destruct. Either one could be a serious threat.
But neither of them had surpassed Kage-level yet.
And below that tier, battles were all about intel.
As a transmigrator, Kenjiro knew everything about them.
They, on the other hand, knew nothing about him.
That probably explained why Sasori gave in so easily.
Normally, if some random stranger demanded his puppet techniques and human puppet method, Sasori would either kill them with poison needles or smash them flat and leave their corpse in the wilderness.
"Here you go."
Sasori took out three scrolls, wrapped them in his iron tail, and flung them up toward Deidara.
Not toward Kenjiro—he was too high up.
But before Deidara could descend and catch them, Kenjiro simply raised his hand.
An invisible pull stopped the scrolls mid-air and slowly floated them toward him.
"That's… Banshō Ten'in?!"
Both Deidara and Sasori's real body reacted at once, eyes wide with shock.
Deidara, dumb as ever, blurted out.
"Boss?!"
'You idiot!'
Sasori could only sigh internally.
"Banshō Ten'in, huh?" Kenjiro looked amused.
"Nice name for a technique. So your boss uses gravity powers too?"
"Crap!"
Deidara immediately slapped a hand over his mouth—accidentally achieving a personal face-slap combo.
The scrolls didn't fly straight to Kenjiro. They hovered a dozen meters away.
With a flick of his finger, one scroll unfurled in midair.
No poison or traps inside. Using the far-sight ability of his Tenseigan, Kenjiro scanned it briefly and nodded.
He summoned the scrolls into his hand.
Then he looked down at Deidara and Sasori, waved, and said.
"Thanks for the gift. Till next time, my friends."
With that, Kenjiro flew off.
Sasori—who had been bracing himself in case Kenjiro suddenly turned hostile—let out a long breath of relief as he disappeared into the sky.
Seeing him fly, drop meteors, and now use gravity powers, Sasori was convinced—this guy was his natural counter.
If it weren't for Deidara being here, he'd have run the moment the dust cleared.
Then, seeing that gravity ability—the same one their leader used—he recalled how even his poison needles had been deflected earlier…
At that point, he was completely sure. they couldn't win.
Fortunately, their opponent had no killing intent.
But still, being ambushed, nearly destroyed, and robbed on the roadside like this?
Yeah... this was the most humiliating "friendly meeting" of his life.
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