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NBB Chapter 72: You’ll Regret This... Probably
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 23:39:20 +0000 UTC'Damn it, is my reputation really that bad?'
At dusk, Kitagawa Gen moved swiftly through the Land of Earth, accompanied by Kakashi and Jiraiya.
Infiltrating the territory wasn’t particularly difficult—especially with someone like Kitagawa Gen among them.
All he needed was to place a Flying Thunder God seal on a merchant wagon or even on passing travelers. As long as the distance wasn't too great, he could teleport them right in!
But Gen was in a sour mood, still brooding over having spent half the day reading with Kakashi.
Was there really no trust left between sensei and student?
At least he had the foresight to slip away using a shadow clone while Kakashi went to the bathroom...
'And seriously, why did I yell out something as dramatic as 'You’ll regret this!'?'
He pressed his lips together, suddenly recalling that outburst. Even he found it laughable.
But the moment he remembered that Kakashi was most likely the Sixth Hokage in the future, the humor drained from his face.
“All right, focus on the mission.”
Kakashi lightly patted Gen’s back and spoke in a low voice.
“We can relax once we’re back. Right now we’re deep in the Land of Earth. This isn’t like the Land of Rain—we need to be even more cautious.”
“He’s right. Now’s not the time to let our guard down.”
Jiraiya nodded in agreement.
“Back in Kirigakure, we had Zabuza to guide us. Everything was straightforward then. But this time, we’re on our own.”
“I get it. Don’t worry.”
Gen responded seriously. He truly didn’t dare be careless—he understood how critical this mission was.
If he remembered correctly, the ones sent to recruit Deidara were three people: Uchiha Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori.
But he hadn’t forgotten that after Deidara slashed his forehead protector and put on the Akatsuki cloak, Pain and a whole bunch of others showed up!
Even if he reasonably suspected the animators were just being lazy and reused the same background, he still knew better than to take anything lightly.
Especially now that his own mission had deviated from the original, he was concerned there might be unexpected complications.
At the very least, he needed to consider whether his small frame could survive a Dust Release attack.
That’s why he’d been planting Flying Thunder God marks all along the way—and even took time to inspect them again when he snuck off.
Whether it was for an emergency escape or a strategic retreat, it was a sound precaution.
“It’s just up ahead.”
As they continued forward, it wasn’t long before they spotted a crumbling temple in the distance. Jiraiya pulled out a scroll, compared it to the scene before them, and nodded.
“Looks like the intel from the Anbu was reliable this time. Kakashi, how does this compare to what you gathered before?”
Kakashi paused for a moment, then shook his head.
“Hard to say. Back then, I was mostly focused on taking out enemies—we didn’t really get involved in the intel division’s work.”
“Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, rather than discussing that, maybe we should think about who might be living in a place like this,” Gen whispered as a quiet reminder.
“A mysterious organization hiding out in a remote area like this must have some specific goal or objective, so—”
“I have a pretty good idea,” Jiraiya cut in with a grin, pulling out a scroll and arching his brow at the two of them.
“You really think I went out just to have fun? I disguised myself as a merchant and gathered intel around the Land of Earth’s borders. Learned something quite interesting.”
“Actually, I looked into it too.”
Kakashi shrugged. Noticing Gen’s suspicious look, he chuckled.
“Don’t give me that look—it’s basic ninja protocol."
"I heard from local merchants that there’ve been frequent explosions in this area recently."
"At first, people thought something serious had happened, but in the end, it was always brushed aside…”
“In Iwagakure, there’s a guy who’s always conducting dangerous experiments—he’s earned the public’s wrath.”
Jiraiya glanced at Kakashi and smoothly continued.
“He’s also participated in several terrifying missions, so eventually he was sent to live in isolation outside the village."
"His specialty? Blowing things up. And apparently, he has quite a unique identity.”
“Hm, rumor has it that guy is the Third Tsuchikage’s disciple—Deidara.”
Kakashi nodded solemnly as he spoke, clearly puzzled by the mysterious organization’s behavior.
And he wasn’t the only one—Jiraiya looked equally confused.
Didn’t Danzo’s intel state that Iwagakure was one of Akatsuki’s clients?
So why had the Akatsuki come all the way here? Were they targeting him?
Only Kitagawa Gen rolled his eyes. So he wasn’t the only one sneaking off after all.
“All right, now that we’ve got a rough idea of the situation, let’s pick up the pace.”
Jiraiya clapped his hands together, then turned to Gen and spoke in a low voice.
“Gen, are all your Flying Thunder God marks still intact?”
“Don’t worry, I went and double-checked them thoroughly around noon. Everything’s fine.”
Gen nodded, but the moment he said that, Kakashi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Noon? Weren’t you reading with me? Wait a sec… did you sneak off while I was in the bathroom?!”
“Kakashi-sensei, you already figured it out—so why are you even asking?”
“But you—!”
“Isn’t this just basic ninja protocol? Right, Kakashi-sensei?”
“…”
Kakashi really hadn’t expected that boomerang to come back so fast. He could only sigh in silence at the glaring gaps in Konoha’s current education system.
Maybe… it was time to go back and push for a hard reset on the curriculum.
...
Just as the three picked up speed and approached the temple—
“Feel the art! Hah!”
Deidara hurled a string of clay spiders into the air. As Uchiha Itachi leapt backward, Deidara let out a loud shout.
[Boom—!]
A deafening explosion rocked the area. The blast from the clay bombs blew a massive hole in the temple wall!
But Itachi had reacted swiftly—he wasn’t caught in the blast.
However, the moment he landed, a clay centipede burst from the ground and instantly wrapped itself around him.
“Tch.”
Seeing this, Deidara couldn’t help but laugh.
“All that tough talk, and this is the best you can do?”
As he spoke, he raised a single hand, fingers poised to detonate the chakra-infused clay.
“Well then, this is the end. Hm!”
But Uchiha Itachi’s scarlet Sharingan locked onto him, and he spoke in a quiet, unsettling voice.
“You should really take a good look at yourself right now.”
“Huh?”
Deidara blinked in confusion—but a moment later, an ominous feeling swept over him. His mind clouded for a split second, then snapped back into clarity.
“Wh-what…?”
It was then that he finally noticed—
The clay centipede that should have been wrapped around Itachi… was instead coiled tightly around his own body.
If he had detonated it just now...
“Man, that was close. You almost blew yourself up.”
Kisame, who had been casually watching from the side, couldn’t resist a jab.
Even Sasori, who usually kept silent, gave a slow shake of his head.
“As expected… this guy really does look like he’s destined for an early grave.”
“Genjutsu? When did that happen…”
Deidara was still in shock. He hadn’t even realized it had happened. Kakuzu, on the other hand, had a mocking look on his face.
“From the very beginning. The moment you looked into Itachi’s Sharingan, you were already caught in the illusion.”
“Genjutsu…”
Deidara turned his head. Just then, a ray of sunlight poured through the hole in the temple wall he had blasted open, falling directly onto Uchiha Itachi.
The golden light, paired with the crimson Sharingan, created a moment so striking that even Deidara found himself dazed.
For a split second, it was as if he had glimpsed the very thing he had always yearned for.
'So beautiful…'
He couldn’t help but murmur inwardly.
'So… this is art?'
[Whoosh—]
But before he could fully process the thought, a kunai cut through the air with a sharp whistle, flying straight toward Uchiha Itachi with deadly precision!
“Hm?”
Itachi had assumed the battle was already over, but his brow twitched slightly at the sound.
He turned his head slightly, ready to dodge—only to catch a glimpse of a seal etched onto the kunai’s surface, illuminated by the sunlight.
“That’s—”
In that instant, he understood exactly what was happening. His eyes immediately shifted into Mangekyō form, and a surge of red chakra erupted around him!
At the same moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere, a short blade crackling with violet lightning already slashing forward.
[Boom—!]
A thunderous roar split the air. Purple lightning flared violently as a deep crack split open across the temple floor.
Amid the eruption of chakra, a nearby Buddha statue was sliced cleanly in two.
“What the hell just happened?”
Deidara was full of questions. The golden light from earlier had vanished, replaced by smoke and debris. Uchiha Itachi—who had been standing tall and aloof moments ago—was now tumbling awkwardly to one side.
The scene he’d just witnessed, the one that felt like true art, the one on the verge of etching itself into his soul… had been shattered in an instant.
Deidara raised both arms to shield himself from the shrapnel and dust, while desperately scanning for the figure responsible.
“Now this… this is art!”
Recalling that fleeting flash of motion—the elegance of the strike, the explosion that followed—this, he thought, this might be what he’d been chasing all along.
“But… where did he go?”
He looked around in confusion. The figure was nowhere to be seen.
It was Kisame, who had been watching with a cheerful grin, whose expression had now darkened significantly.
“This is bad…”
He had seen that move before—back when it was used to strike Uchiha Obito.
If that blade had landed on him instead…
He wouldn't be standing here talking.
“What was that just now?”
Sasori’s voice remained as low and emotionless as ever, but something shifted in his tone. In his mind, Kakuzu’s earlier warning echoed faintly.
Uchiha Itachi, panting slightly, made his way back to them. The three of them remained on alert, gazes locked on the direction the attack had come from—outside the temple.
