konoha:I'm the God of ninja world

"Where is Niutou?" Guren asked with a frown.

"When the explosion happened, Niutou used his body to protect me," Yukimaru said, looking a little embarrassed. "He said I'm the key to completing your mission, so I must be protected..."

Guren's eyes flickered. She couldn't understand why Niutou treated her so well.

Quickly assessing the situation, she looked toward the lake. "Let's go. Gyuto is dead, and the equipment to control the Tailed Beast is destroyed. There's no reason to stay here any longer."

At the Center of the Lake

The clay bomb Deidara had just thrown exploded right next to the Three Tails' head. The sudden blast stunned the already vulnerable beast.

On the shore, masked figures Tobi and Sasori watched silently.

"As expected," Tobi said. "To deal with something this big, we need a master of mass destruction like Deidara-senpai. One hit and it's over. Perfect!"

Sasori nodded. His puppets were badly damaged in the last fight against the Leaf ninja. Despite crafting replacements, his strength still hadn't returned to its former peak. A one-on-one with the Three Tails? He wouldn't stand a chance.

Back on the lake, Deidara formed several large clay birds. Four of them flew down and latched onto the turtle-like beast, lifting it out of the water and flying northwest with speed.

Landing on the shore, Deidara said coolly, "Let's go. If this beast wakes up, we'll be in trouble."

"Long live Deidara-senpai!" Tobi cheered. "I always knew you were amazing! Much better than Sasori-senpai with his boring puppets!"

Sasori turned his head sharply. "Tobi! When we get back, I'm turning you into a puppet. Then I'll finally see what's under that mask of yours."

High above, Deidara sighed. Tobi was such a troublemaker. If this kept up, he'd offend every member of Akatsuki in no time.

"Enough," Deidara said. "Let's hurry. If we're delayed, I'll have to drop another bomb, and that'll bring even more trouble."

Tobi and Sasori nodded and leapt onto the birds, following Deidara into the sky.

Meanwhile

Morkel and Naruto were still on the move when Morkel suddenly frowned. "The Three Tails is moving."

Naruto blinked. "Isn't that normal? It's a Tailed Beast. It'd be weird if it didn't move."

Morkel shook his head. "The Three Tails is a mud turtle. Even in water, it shouldn't be moving this fast. It feels like… someone's flying with it."

Just then, they ran into Guren and Yukimaru returning from the lake. Both sides sized each other up before continuing on their paths.

Then Naruto turned around abruptly. "Hey, I know that kid! From the mist!"

Guren took a closer look. Bright red and yellow hair. A handsome face. Could these two be Morkel and Naruto—the ones Kabuto and Gyuto mentioned?

Her energy surged. She had failed the Three Tails mission, but if she could capture Morkel and Naruto, Lord Orochimaru would surely reward her.

Without hesitation, she formed a pink crystal blade on her forearm.

Yukimaru saw the motion and quickly grabbed her wrist, shaking his head gently.

But Guren shook him off. She wasn't going to miss this opportunity.

Whoosh!

The crystal blade slashed out!

Morkel had seen it coming. He wasn't reacting because he wanted to observe how this Crystal Style technique worked. But now—

Clang!

A red crystal blade formed around Morkel's wrist and clashed with Guren's blade.

Crack…!

Hers shattered instantly.

Guren was stunned. He used Crystal Style too? And his technique was far stronger!

Yukimaru sighed. He'd warned her, and now she'd paid the price.

Morkel didn't hesitate. With a swift movement, he sliced her in half.

Afterwards, out of pity, Morkel used an Earth Style technique to create a tomb and even crafted a beautiful crystal headstone for the fallen Crystal user.

He had no idea the tombstone would be stolen later, leaving Guren with not even a grave marker.

After finishing the burial, Morkel turned to Yukimaru. "Have you found your home?"

Yukimaru stared at the tombstone and nodded. "Yes. It's death."

Morkel nodded thoughtfully. "Want me to build you a grave, too? I can even add a camellia if you want."

Yukimaru smiled gently. "That would be nice. I like camellias. Can you seal one in crystal for me?"

Morkel agreed.

Before dying, Yukimaru asked, "Where is your final destination?"

That question caught Morkel off guard. After a pause, he answered, "I don't know. Maybe I never looked back. Maybe I'm destined to always move forward. Like now—I'm heading for the Three Tails."

"The big turtle with three tails?" Yukimaru asked. "I saw it. A weirdo on a flying bird took it that way."

He pointed northwest.

In the Sky

As they flew, Tobi grumbled to Sasori, "There's space on Deidara-senpai's birds, but he won't let us ride. So mean!"

Sasori agreed. "He didn't even let me ride. So disrespectful!"

"You see? I can endure being mistreated," Tobi huffed. "But how can you tolerate it, Senior?"

"I can't!" Sasori shouted.

Then he yelled up at Deidara. "Hey! I can't walk anymore! Let me ride a bird too!"

Deidara chuckled. "I thought you were about to say something serious."

But he tossed a clay bird down anyway. Sasori climbed aboard and soared upward.

Tobi called out too. "What about me, Deidara-senpai?!"

"Go away," Deidara replied bluntly and flew off.

Suddenly, a giant wooden dragon appeared in front of them!

Deidara's face changed instantly.

He had barely seen Morkel's full power in their last battle, but this was something else entirely. A huge wooden construct? He turned to flee immediately.

"Ye—Morkel is coming!" he shouted to his companions.

"So what?" Sasori said. "We're three against one!"

"Yeah!" Tobi added. "Why run?"

Deidara muttered, "I think he means we can't escape…"

Tobi still didn't understand the fear. "Is he really that scary?"

Just then—

Boom!

A massive wooden man nearly the size of the Three Tails erupted from the forest. Vines surged from the ground like snakes, wrapping around the beast mid-air!

Deidara couldn't even dodge in time. Three Tails was ensnared!

Tobi cried out, "Oh no! Three Tails is being taken!"

Deidara sighed. "And we might be next…"

The giant wooden man extended a hand. A mysterious black "Yin" seal appeared on its palm. The stunned Three Tails regained consciousness—and immediately began to panic.

A massive suction force emerged.

Whoosh!

Three Tails was pulled into the tree man's grasp.

High above, Naruto watched in awe. "Tailed Beasts are terrifying up close…"

Then he looked at Morkel—who had captured the beast so effortlessly.

"You!"

Morkel clapped his hands.

A Sage mask formed on his face.

"Sage Art: Tailed Beast Torii!"

Wham!

Massive wooden torii gates dropped from the sky, pinning the Three Tails to the earth!

Morkel began chanting and forming complex seals.

After several seconds—

"Seal!" he roared.

A massive "Seal" mark glowed on his palm.

The Three Tails vanished—sucked into the seal!

Naruto blinked. "What did you just do?"

Morkel, now holding his right arm, replied, "Sealed it. Best way to stop the Akatsuki from getting it is to seal it myself."

He glanced at his arm. "Three Tails will keep the monster in my left hand company."

In the sky, Tobi gasped. "He sealed it!"

"We saw it, Tobi," Deidara snapped.

Then Deidara turned serious. "Sasori, Tobi. You should fall back now."

"You're not thinking…" Sasori began.

"I am," Deidara replied. "I'm showing him my ultimate art."

"You're going to self-destruct?" Sasori asked. "Then it's goodbye…"

Deidara smiled. "My art will be remembered. That's all that matters."

He pulled open his cloak, revealing a mouth on his chest. Feeding it explosive clay, his body began to turn transparent.

Tobi and Sasori fled on a clay bird as fast as possible.

Below, Morkel and Naruto observed from afar.

"That guy's chakra… it's like Kakashi's…" Morkel muttered.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

Morkel shook his head. "Nothing. Let's get out of here."

Using Flying Thunder God, Morkel teleported both of them hundreds of kilometers away.

Then—

Boom!

A white light lit up the sky like a second sun.

"Patrick Star?!" Morkel muttered as the blast took on a bizarre shape.

BOOM!!!

A second explosion tore through the land. The shockwave reached them despite the distance.

Morkel stood still. "That… was some real art."

But Deidara had forgotten—Morkel could teleport.

And even though he warned Sasori and Tobi, he didn't give them nearly enough time to escape. A 10-kilometer blast? Only space-time ninjutsu could save them.

In the Charred Forest

A swirling space-time vortex opened.

Tobi and Sasori appeared.

Sasori stared at the wasteland. "Deidara… what insane power."

They had often argued over their artistic visions, but Sasori still respected Deidara deeply.

"Thanks to you, Tobi," he added. "Without your technique, we'd both be gone."

Tobi scratched his head. "Don't say that, Sasori-senpai. I believe you could've made it out even without me."

---