Ch.53 Inner Circle Member

"Akatsuki? Never heard of it. If you're some wandering shinobi group, don't bother me. Instead, let me show you what real art is! Hm!"

As he spoke, Deidara began molding a lump of explosive clay.

In just a moment, a lifelike clay spider was formed in his hands.

"Such a boring thing," Uchiha Shinji paused and then added, "If I win, you will join us."

"You dare belittle my art!"

Deidara was furious and threw the clay spider.

Boom!

The violent explosion instantly engulfed Uchiha Shinji and his companions, collapsing half of the temple.

Standing amidst the rubble, Deidara laughed wildly: "Such weaklings, daring to belittle my art! What a joke of an organization! Hm!"

Suddenly, a mysterious voice echoed: "Is this your so-called art? It's just as boring as I thought!"

Deidara froze, as if struck by lightning, and his sharp gaze scanned his surroundings.

Though he was only twelve years old, just barely of shinobi academy graduate age, his strength had already reached the level of a Jonin. In terms of destructive power and mobility, he surpassed many elite Jonin.

Thus, he immediately sensed something was wrong, and his face showed undisguised shock: "I'm under a genjutsu?"

At that moment, Uchiha Shinji's figure appeared before him.

The temple, which had just been destroyed in the explosion, started to rebuild itself brick by brick before Deidara's eyes. In the blink of an eye, everything was restored, as if the explosion had never happened.

Now, Deidara was certain he was trapped in a genjutsu, but his face still showed disbelief: "When did I fall into this genjutsu?"

Uchiha Shinji calmly replied: "The moment you looked into my eyes, you lost."

Deidara stared at Uchiha Shinji, focusing on the eerie glow from the red eyes beneath his mask, and he suddenly understood: "Sharingan!? You're from the Uchiha Clan? Hm!"

As Deidara looked at him in shock, Uchiha Shinji had a sudden idea. In an instant, a brilliant light appeared behind him, so bright that Deidara couldn't look directly at it and had to shield his eyes with his hands.

Uchiha Shinji then said, "You and your art are worthless. Want to see something truly dazzling? Join us!"

As he spoke, Uchiha Shinji continued to exert his Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu.

The clay in Deidara's hands turned to ash, and even the clay in his pouch suffered the same fate.

Seeing this, Deidara was stunned.

For Deidara, art was his ninja way, and explosions were justice!

But now, in the face of Uchiha Shinji's Sharingan, the explosions he took pride in were nothing more than trivial tricks that could be easily undone.

Even the clay in his hands was now beyond his control. Everything he had — his beliefs, his art — had become laughable.

"Could this really be the true form of art? No, there's no art more beautiful than explosions! Damn it!"

He stared at his hands in agony.

Seeing that Deidara was wavering, Uchiha Shinji said, "Only by joining us will you witness even greater things!"

"Fine!"

hough Deidara was reluctant, he accepted the terms of the bet.

As he nodded, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. When he regained his senses, the temple was still the same. Uchiha Shinji and his companions were still there, standing in the same positions as before.

Looking down, he saw that the clay spider, which should have exploded and destroyed the temple, was still in his hands. Everything was as it had been, as if he had only dozed off for a moment.

Looking back at Uchiha Shinji and his companions, Deidara suddenly felt different. Even the red cloud cloaks they wore, which he had initially dismissed, now exuded an air of mystery and artistry.

Uchiha Shinji said, "From now on, you are an inner circle member of Akatsuki."

"Inner circle?"

Deidara was stunned for a moment.

Not just him, even Haku and Karin, standing behind Uchiha Shinji, were surprised.

Uchiha Shinji continued, "Soon, someone from the outer circle will come to recruit you. You will join them and monitor their every move."

Deidara was displeased: "Hey, I don't want to hang around with a bunch of weaklings! Hm!"

Still calm, Uchiha Shinji replied, "The outer circle members may not be as strong as you, but they are not weaklings. You'll understand after spending time with them."

"Hmph!"

Deidara pouted, clearly unhappy.

Uchiha Shinji ignored Deidara's attitude: "Some of the outer circle members have been acting strangely lately. Be cautious while infiltrating them, and do not reveal your identity as an inner circle member."

Deidara asked, "How will I contact you?"

Inwardly, Uchiha Shinji cursed: "Contact a ghost, maybe!" But outwardly, he casually replied, "Don't worry, I'll contact you."

"Well, okay then!"

Deidara sat back down but kept sneaking glances at Uchiha Shinji.

Without saying more, Uchiha Shinji turned and led Haku and Karin out of the temple.

Once outside, Haku asked, "Master, just now..."

Before Haku could finish, Uchiha Shinji shook his head, signaling him to remain silent.

Haku immediately understood and fell quiet.

Turning to Karin, Uchiha Shinji asked, "Was the chakra you sensed earlier him?"

Karin shook her head: "I'm not sure. That strange feeling I had earlier is now gone."

Uchiha Shinji fell into deep thought.

With the trail gone cold, staying any longer could risk running into the real Akatsuki members coming to recruit Deidara.

If that happened, things could go very badly.

Noticing Uchiha Shinji's hesitation, Karin apologized: "Leader, I'm sorry. I might have misjudged earlier. It's happened to me before."

Uchiha Shinji waved her off: "You're only seven years old. It's normal to make mistakes. Don't worry about it."

Hearing this, Karin felt slightly less guilty.

Glancing at the sky, Uchiha Shinji said, "Alright, we've lingered long enough. Let's head back!"

Staying away from their apartment for too long wasn't safe either. Even though they all possessed unique abilities like bloodline limits, or in some cases, sage-like bodies, they were still under close watch by the village. There was always a chance that ANBU could unexpectedly inspect their residence.

Whoosh.

In an instant, the three disappeared into the forest.

Meanwhile, not far away in a nearby bush, a shadowy figure cautiously peeked out. His face, though battered, was filled with fear: "So they can track chakra... It was worth it to give up half my flesh and all the chakra I'd absorbed, or else I'd have been caught!"

The shadowy figure glanced back at the temple and mused: "Akatsuki? Could the one controlling this world's Lamp be the leader of that organization? I need to get this information back!"