In Konoha, they wiped out the Sarutobi clan at the start.

A mushroom cloud of flames slowly rose, and in an instant, the intense firelight illuminated almost the entire village.

Then, an even more astonishing scene unfolded: as the firelight dissipated, a massive sand jutsu appeared out of nowhere above Sunagakure, almost obscuring most of the village.

This was created by Gaara using almost all of his chakra to protect Sunagakure.

Although Gaara protected Sunagakure, it was precisely because of this that Deidara seized the opportunity and used the pre-prepared Clay Explosion Clay: Twin-Winged Bird attack, forcing Gaara to use the sand containing the exploding clay that crushed Deidara's arm to defend himself.

The result was obvious. With his chakra severely depleted, Gaara was hit. His Sand Armor failed to completely defend against the explosion of the explosive clay, and he was struck squarely by the blast, leaving him in critical condition.

At this moment, the Sunagakure ninjas, led by Maki, who had been watching from below, finally realized what was happening.

They began providing support for Gaara in the air with giant crossbow bolts covered in explosive tags.

The result was that it only created a slight annoyance for Deidara.

After Gaara used his last bit of strength to move the Sand Release technique used to block C3 No. 18 clay bomb out of the village.

Deidara successfully captured Gaara and flew rapidly towards the direction of the Narrow Pass.

"It was truly a visually stunning spectacle."

Seeing Deidara flying towards him like a clay owl, Qianye spread his Purple Cloud Wings, flapped his wings, and soared into the sky.

"Oh, Brother Qianye."

Deidara was startled when a dark figure suddenly appeared in the sky above the opposite side of the narrow passage, but he breathed a sigh of relief after recognizing it as Chiya.

The two people were suspended in the sky above a narrow slit.

Chiya praised, "Well done, Deidara! Especially that giant clay bomb, it was quite artistic. But you were careless; you lost an arm. I'll get Kakuzu to fix it for you later."

Deidara blushed slightly. "Please excuse my poor appearance, Brother Qianye. What are those purple wings on your back?"

Qianye said "Oh," pointed to the Purple Cloud Wings behind him, and said in a serious tone, "You mean this? It's just a secret technique that I developed casually when I was bored these past few years."

"Alright, it's time to go. After another group, the Sand Village people will catch up."

As Qianye spoke, he led Deidara and flew towards the edge of the First Line of Sky.

Finally, it landed in front of the scorpion.

Scorpion glanced at Purple Cloud Wing with a hint of curiosity, but ultimately said nothing. He then turned his gaze to Deidara, flicked his Hiruko tail across Deidara, and scolded, "You're so slow. I told you not to keep me waiting too long."

Deidara narrowly dodged the attack and chuckled, "You can't blame me for this. This Kazekage kid is indeed quite formidable. You can ask Brother Chiya if you don't believe me."

Chiya chimed in, "I can attest to that. Compared to three years ago, Gaara has indeed become much stronger, and he certainly deserves the title of Kazekage."

Since Qianye has said so, Xie naturally can't say anything more. He clicked his tongue and said, "Let's go. I've already set up the traps for the aftermath. The leader must be getting impatient."

As they spoke, the three put on wind chime hats and slowly made their way toward the stronghold of the River Country.

Not long after the three left, a rumbling sound came from the direction of Sunagakure behind them.

Immediately afterwards, Chiya sensed a messenger hawk darting out from Sunagakure and flying towards Konoha.

Kankuro also left Sunagakure at the same time, breaking away from the Sunagakure pursuit team and chasing after them alone.

Chiya stopped and turned to look in the direction of Sunagakure.

"What's wrong, Brother Qianye?" Seeing Qianye suddenly stop, Deidara and Sasori stopped in their tracks and turned to look.

Qianye shook his head. "It's nothing. I just sensed that an interesting person is following me."

Deidara gave an "Oh," and asked with interest, "That's really interesting. They actually dared to chase after us? Don't they have a death wish?"

"Who is it?" Scorpion looked at Chiya.

"One of your juniors, the older brother of the One-Tailed Jinchuriki, Kankuro, seems to have inherited three of your puppets," Chiya chuckled.

"That's interesting. I never expected to meet such a cute junior." Hearing this, Sasori immediately became interested. "Chiya, Deidara, you guys go ahead. I want to have some fun with this cute junior."

"Then I wish you a pleasant time." Upon hearing this, Chiya did not stop her. With a flap of her wings, she flew rapidly towards the Land of Rivers and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the spot where Chiya had disappeared, Deidara's face turned deathly pale. He sighed, "As expected of Brother Chiya, a secret technique he casually developed is faster than my Clay Bird. Hmm."

"Then, Brother Sasori, you should hurry up and catch up too." Deidara said, jumping onto the clay bird and quickly chasing after the direction where Chiya disappeared.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Kakashi received Tsunade's summons and went to the Hokage's office.

"That's the situation." Tsunade sat behind her desk, her brows furrowed. "Sunagakure was attacked by a mysterious figure suspected to be a member of Akatsuki, and the Kazekage was kidnapped. Because we have more information about Akatsuki, Sunagakure has officially requested our assistance. What are your thoughts?"

After a moment's hesitation, Kakashi scratched his head and said, "Three years ago, Sunagakure and Konoha signed an alliance agreement, and Sunagakure also sent people to help Konoha ninjas when Sasuke defected. We have no reason to sit idly by, and besides, what if Naruto finds out about this..."

"That's why I only notified you to come," Tsunade said with a headache. "I understand that we are both Jinchuriki and have had similar experiences since childhood. But this enemy is no ordinary one. Will it cause losses to Konoha? As Hokage, I cannot sacrifice Konoha's ninjas for the sake of Sunagakure."

"I can go there myself," Kakashi said decisively.

"Right now, there really isn't anyone more suitable than you," Tsunade sighed softly. "But you've fought against the Akatsuki before, so you should know the strength of their members. Based on the footprints left at the scene, besides the Akatsuki member who kidnapped Gaara, there were two other Akatsuki members who were there to help him."

"So, your Team 7 is likely to face three Akatsuki members simultaneously. Are you confident?"

At this point, Tsunade pinched her forehead in exasperation, thinking to herself, "If only my little man were back, I wouldn't be like this, wandering aimlessly."

Kakashi fell into a brief silence, though he really wanted to save Gaara.

However, in a one-on-one situation against a member of Akatsuki, he had no confidence whatsoever.

Not to mention the other two Akatsuki members whose strength is unknown.

If we go there rashly, we might very well get killed.

That's not even the worst part. If they were to run into that guy Fujiwara Chiya, there's a real possibility that they'd all be wiped out on the spot.

Just as the group was at a loss, a clear, childlike voice suddenly rang in their ears. Qianxia pushed open the office door and walked in, "Since we're not confident, let me join the reinforcement team too."

P.S.: Third update. Please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets!