People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

"Thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama. My injuries are not serious."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's amiable face turned somewhat serious: "Itachi, I am now inviting you, in the name of the Hokage, to become an Anbu ninja directly under my command."

Itachi looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in surprise. He had thought he would at most be promoted to Chunin, but he did not expect to join the Anbu.

For Itachi, a member of the Uchiha clan, joining the Anbu was of extraordinary significance. It should be noted that since the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, established the Anbu, no Uchiha ninja had been able to join it.

More importantly, the ninjas monitoring the Uchiha clan were almost all ANBU ninjas.

But after thinking about it carefully, Itachi also understood some things.

The fact that I was able to join the Anbu certainly wasn't because the Third Hokage trusted me.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is certainly aware of the resentment within the Uchiha clan.

The first reason for joining the Anbu was to appease the Uchiha clan internally, and the second was to obtain intelligence on the Uchiha clan's internal movements.

Itachi sighed silently. It seemed that having him join the Anbu would build a bridge between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership, but in reality, it was just another form of surveillance.

The Uchiha clan's situation in Konoha is becoming increasingly difficult.

Chapter 186 Deidara

Unlike Itachi's current predicament, Yosuke's newly established organization also showed little promise.

Because Yosuke, Osamu, and Gyutaro don't value money, the organization's operating funds are almost zero.

They wanted to recruit talented wandering ninjas, but when the wandering ninjas discovered that the organization was penniless, they all declined to join.

Five years after Yosuke, Osamu, and Gyutaro parted ways, the three reunited at a temporary base.

The more confident the three of them were when they left, the more disheartened they are now.

Yosuke smiled wryly and said, "It seems we're about the same; we haven't recruited a single member."

"Those ninjas are such snobs. As soon as they heard that our organization had no funds, they all refused," Zhi said angrily.

Gyutaro scratched his cheek and said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, they don't not need to eat like us."

Yosuke sighed: "Forget it, let's put recruiting members aside for now. Have you collected any ninjutsu?"

Osamu and Gyutaro took out all the ninjutsu scrolls they had collected; there seemed to be quite a lot of them.

Yosuke smiled with satisfaction; at least one of the tasks had been completed.

However, when Yosuke opened the ninjutsu scrolls, he found that they were all low-level ninjutsu, with only a few B-rank scrolls, no A-rank scrolls, let alone S-rank scrolls, and a large part of them were duplicates.

Yosuke's back hunched over slightly.

Gyutaro explained awkwardly, "We also wanted to collect those advanced ninjutsu, but advanced ninjutsu are rare in small ninja villages, and they are all well-preserved. I have already done my best to find these."

Osamu said somewhat dejectedly, "I originally wanted to go to Iwagakure, one of the five great ninja villages, to collect ninjutsu, but as soon as I entered Iwagakure, I was discovered by an old man named Onoki. He looks quite frail, but he fights very unreasonably. Moreover, the technique he used, called the Particle Style: Detachment Technique, destroyed my entire arm."

Yosuke looked at Osamu as if he were a warrior: "I think I told you not to go to the Five Great Ninja Villages to collect ninjutsu. Each of the Five Great Ninja Villages has several Kage-level experts. It would be very dangerous for you to go alone."

Osamu thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Did you say that, Yosuke-sama? No, right?"

Yosuke wasn't sure if he had actually said it: "I have, right? You should know, Gyutaro, right?"

Gyutaro shook his head and said, "I'm sure Yosuke-sama didn't say that."

...

Yosuke promptly apologized, "I'm sorry, that was my fault. Next time, don't go to the Five Great Ninja Villages to collect ninjutsu alone. Going alone is too dangerous."

After saying that, Yosuke felt very tired. Five years had passed, and he hadn't accomplished anything.

Osamu suddenly said, "However, Lord Yosuke, I have discovered a promising talent in Tsuchikage Village, named Deidara."

"Oh? Have you had any contact with him?"

Osamu shook his head: "I didn't have a chance to get close to him at the time, but he seemed like a brat. When I was fighting Onoki, he used some weird explosive clay and threw it at me and Onoki indiscriminately."

Onoki was furious and wanted to teach that brat a lesson, but he hurt his back, which is why I was able to escape.

After a moment's thought, Yosuke decided, "I've made up my mind. The three of us will act together, and our target is that brat! We absolutely have to recruit him into our organization!"

A raging fire ignited in Yosuke's eyes.

Osamu whispered to Gyutaro, "We don't think we've ever seen Yosuke-sama so spirited before."

Gyutaro agreed, "Indeed, but I'm more worried about that brat. I wonder how long he can hold out against such a determined Yosuke-sama."

Yosuke, along with Osamu and Gyutaro, set off for the Land of Earth.

Iwagakure, the village of the Land of Earth, is surrounded by rocky mountains, forming a natural barrier that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Yosuke uses the demon crow to find Deidara, based on Osamu's description of him.

Before long, the demon crow noticed what was happening and landed on Yosuke's shoulder.

Having received the memories of the demon crow, Yosuke said to Osamu and Gyutaro, "Found it, let's go."

Deidara did not live inside Iwagakure Village, but outside of it.

When Yosuke and his two companions arrived at their destination, a boy with deep golden hair, his left eye covered by his hair, which hung down to his face and then fell naturally down the back, with a short braid tied at the end, was sculpting clay.

Yosuke stepped forward and praised, "You sculpted it very well."

"Of course! This is art I poured my heart and soul into creating!" Deidara said with a fanatical expression.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Deidara asked in confusion, "Who are you?!"

Upon seeing Osamu's appearance, Deidara exclaimed excitedly, "Wait! You look like the guy who invaded Iwagakure last time!"

Deidara picked up the clay bird he had just sculpted and threw it at Osamu.

Yosuke caught the clay bird with lightning speed and said in a gentle voice, "We're not here to fight you."

Then Deidara completely ignored Yosuke's explanation: "Art is an explosion! Drink!"

The clay bird in Yosuke's hand rapidly expanded and then exploded violently.

In an instant, dust billowed up, and the figures of Yosuke and his two companions disappeared into the dust.

Deidara arrogantly declared, "To die by my art is your honor!"

As the dust settled, Osamu and Gyutaro stood unharmed, while Yosuke, who was holding the clay bird, only had his hands slightly charred.

"It seems that my clumsy attempt at practice won't work on you. How about this?!"

Deidara opened his palms, revealing mouths in his palms, grabbed a handful of clay and chewed it. A moment later, two lifelike clay spiders appeared in his palms.

"Look, what do you think? These lines, refined through countless trials, pursuing a two-dimensional, distorted form—that's true art. But my art goes beyond that. My works are fluid. When they have a shape, they are merely simple objects. Through an explosion, their existence is sublimated, and only then do they truly become works of art for the first time. I can only experience art in that moment of sublimation. Yes! Art is an explosion!"

Deidara launched into a lengthy discourse, to which Gyutaro offered only one assessment.

"Ugh, so verbose..."

Yosuke didn't mind, after all, it was a fact that Osamu had entered Iwagakure, and Deidara's counterattack was understandable. He continued to speak amicably, "I've said before that we're not here to fight you. We mean no harm, so can you let me finish what I have to say?"

"Annihilate me in art!" Deidara flung two clay spiders at Yosuke and his companions.

"drink!"

With a loud shout from Deidara, the clay owl exploded instantly, the force of which was several times greater than that of the previous clay bird.

Chapter 187 Storage

Seeing the powerful explosion, Deidara nodded in satisfaction: "Now he should die from my art..."

However, before Deidara could finish speaking, Yosuke and the other two burst out of the dust and instantly arrived beside Deidara.

Deidara was startled and immediately retreated to distance himself from Yosuke and the other two.

Taking this opportunity, Yosuke explained, "We would like to invite you to join our organization."

"^? What kind of messed-up organization is this? Who would join an organization whose name has absolutely no artistic merit?!" Deidara retorted mercilessly.

Yang Jie's forehead veins bulged as he gritted his teeth and said, "As long as you join, anything is negotiable!"

Ji and Gyutaro sighed in disbelief, realizing that Yosuke-sama was determined to recruit this brat into the organization this time.

"Tch, I don't want to!" Deidara grabbed another handful of clay with both hands and began chewing it through the mouth in his palms.

Gyutaro suggested, "Yosuke-sama, let me do it."

Yosuke sighed and said, "Now I finally understand why this guy is such a brat. But since I'm the one who wants to recruit him into the organization, let me make the move."

Yosuke said to Deidara, "If I win, you will have to join the organization."

Deidara, brimming with fighting spirit, declared: "Don't underestimate me, don't underestimate art! My ninjutsu is a sublime art that surpasses all others!"

Come and experience art!

Deidara threw a centipede-shaped piece of clay from his palm toward Yosuke.

At the very moment the clay centipede approached Yang Jie.

"drink!"

The clay centipede exploded instantly.

Yosuke had already jumped up to avoid the explosion and landed steadily on the ground.

However, a sudden change occurred. A giant centipede suddenly emerged from the ground beneath Yosuke's feet, binding Yosuke to the spot.

Deidara scoffed, "You've got such a big mouth, is this all you've got? It's over!"

"Blood Domain!"

The ground beneath Yosuke's feet was covered in blood, and within the blood domain, ropes woven from blood were wrapped around the clay centipede, forcibly tearing it from Yosuke's body.

Then, Yosuke entered the form of the Demon King, blood wings appeared on his back, his hair turned as red as blood, and he hovered in mid-air, looking down at Deidara below.

Seeing that Yosuke had entered his Demon King form, Osamu was very surprised: "It's just fighting a little brat, does Lord Yosuke have to be so serious?"

Gyutaro guessed uncertainly, "Perhaps... Lord Yosuke also wants to showcase his art?"

Deidara stared incredulously at Yosuke's posture. The domain woven from crimson blood hovered in the air like a demon king, its strange beauty revealed to Deidara under the sunlight.

At that moment, Deidara was mesmerized, captivated by this strange beauty.

"So beautiful...this...is art!"