122. Misfortunes never come singly, and neither does the Dawn.

Akatsuki is an organization in the world of Naruto, originally founded by three orphans with the noble goal of bringing peace to their nation. As a young group full of ideals and ambition, they nearly sparked a revolution that could have changed everything.

Yet, the human heart is the most unpredictable and fickle of all. Some rejected their philosophy, leading to inevitable conflicts. The leader was even forced into a duel with his second-in-command. Unsurprisingly, the brave, cheerful, and optimistic leader perished, and the more radical second-in-command seized control.

His mindset had already shifted, and with the instigation of certain schemers, many things suddenly changed. Though the organization’s ultimate goal of peace remained, their methods grew extreme, and Akatsuki transformed into a malevolent force.

Despite being universally hated and seemingly unstoppable, Akatsuki was not large in number—only about a dozen members, each a master in their own right. They operated mostly in pairs, each member paired with a partner to execute missions with seamless cooperation and mutual support.

Deidara was no exception. His partner was Sasori, a puppeteer who had even turned his own body into a puppet—a true fanatic. Together, they formed a duo of madness and obsession, emblematic of the two dominant archetypes in the Naruto world.

A few minutes earlier, while Suye’s original self was casually chatting with Harry at the Osborn Group building, his clone was training hand-to-hand combat with Hinata. Witnessing the formidable strength of the toad boss, Hinata’s determination to grow stronger intensified. She didn’t ask to contribute significantly in future battles alongside Suye; she only wished not to hold him back.

“Brother Ye, please train me as hard as you can. I promise I won’t disappoint you.”

With those words, Suye felt reassured. The initial, most intense training would be done by his original self, but the clone could handle the rest.

So, while the Avengers celebrated their victory, Hinata was already sparring with Suye’s clone, prompting Neji to roll his eyes from the sidelines.

“I wish I could get some one-on-one tutoring from Brother Ye after class!”

For a moment, Neji found himself resenting his own gender. If only he were a girl, perhaps he too could have enjoyed the view from the toad boss’s head. If only he were a girl, maybe he could have earned Brother Ye’s favor. Alas, fate had other plans.

Hinata and Suye’s clone were naturally using chakra in their training, which caught the attention of Deidara, who was circling overhead after the recent battle. Deidara was searching for the tailed beast. Akatsuki knew the Nine-Tails was sealed inside Suye’s body but didn’t know how to find him. The appearance of the toad boss pointed them in the right direction.

In New York, the only one capable of summoning the toad boss of Mount Myoboku through summoning jutsu had to be Suye.

Thus, Deidara took to the skies atop a giant bird made of clay, searching.

Deidara’s power was the ability to mold clay into various highly destructive weapons, specializing in bombs. His motto was: “Explosion is art.”

Soon, Deidara spotted Hinata and Suye’s clone and, with a reverence for art, hurled a clay bomb as a probe.

Unexpectedly, the bomb obliterated Suye’s clone.

When Suye’s original self arrived nearby, Deidara was muttering to himself as if afflicted by madness.

“You’re supposed to be a Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, yet you’re so fragile? The Nine-Tails too? Could it have been blown away by my explosion? That can’t be right!”

The clone had sacrificed itself to save Hinata, a coincidence unknown to Deidara. Being unhinged, Deidara refused to accept such a ridiculous outcome.

“No way, absolutely no way! That guy must have used some ninjutsu, like the substitution jutsu. The one who got blown up was just a decoy!”

Clapping his hands, Deidara looked up just as Suye came speeding toward him. His confusion and worry melted into joy.

“Haha, I knew you couldn’t die. Where were you hiding? I didn’t even notice when you used the substitution jutsu.”

Suye said nothing, scanning the area from his glider.

“Where’s your partner? Come out and join us. Maybe we can talk things over.”

Compared to Deidara’s obsessive pursuit of art, his partner Sasori was also stubborn but at least communicative—and in the original story, had even been defeated in a war of words.

Perhaps borrowing some lines from the original could help persuade him. Maybe they could even add a fierce warrior to the Great Wall’s defenders.

But Deidara grew furious.

“You’re facing Deidara himself now. Whether I have a partner or not, you’re dead today. Just give up the tail beast quietly.”

As he spoke, a mouth on Deidara’s right hand suddenly spat out a mass of white clay. Without further movement, the clay transformed into a small bird and flew straight toward Suye.

Dealing with such a single-minded, explosion-obsessed artist, Suye met the attack head-on, determined to show him that explosions are not art.

True art is the human body!

“Shadow Clone Transformation Technique!”

With a shout, clouds of mist exploded around Suye, each forming a white bird resembling the one Deidara had just sent out.

The flock of birds swirled around Deidara, so dense that his original clay bird could scarcely take flight.

Suye leapt off his glider, transforming into a bird himself, blending seamlessly into the circling swarm.

Deidara scanned his surroundings, about to blast the bird cluster with another clay bomb when one bird suddenly morphed into a humanoid form right before him, delivering a lightning-quick punch to Deidara’s abdomen.

In that instant, Deidara felt as if a dump truck had slammed into his waist, his entire spine buckling violently.

Before he could react, the mouth on his arm that spat special clay, along with his entire arm, was torn off at the shoulder.

In mere moments, Deidara was half disabled.

Meanwhile, his partner Sasori lurked in the nearby shadows, preparing to strike a fatal blow.

At the moment Deidara’s arm was severed, Sasori was lying on the ground, looking up at the sky like a dog wearing clothes.