# Chapter 33: Infiltration
"This is..."
A sand ninja stationed at the middle section of the fortified wall grew alert. Before long, he could make out the clothing of the three figures in the distance.
"Black windbreaker, red cloud pattern... could it be..."
The sand ninja's eyes widened.
"We must notify Captain Yura immediately."
Yura was the head responsible for the village's defense; otherwise, with just his Jonin status, he wouldn't qualify to participate in the Sand Ninja high-level meetings.
Just as the sand ninja who spotted Su Xiao's group was about to turn and alert the main force, he noticed someone standing behind him, which brought a look of joy to his face.
"Captain Yura, the Akatsuki members you warned us about earlier..."
"I know."
Yura's voice was low.
"Don't worry, this will be over soon. Gather the troops and have them guard the Heaven's Gate."
The so-called Heaven's Gate was the only entrance through the fortified walls surrounding Sunagakure. It was no more than five meters wide but dozens of meters high, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Yura looked at the three figures within the wind and sand, his gaze calm—so calm it was chilling.
"But, Captain Yura, shouldn't we notify the other units? With just us..."
"It's fine."
Yura gestured for that sand ninja to gather the troops, and the ninja had no choice but to comply.
...
Sss~
A wisp of purple smoke drifted up from the direction of Heaven's Gate. Su Xiao, within the wind and sand, noticed that trace of purple smoke.
"Scorpion, it seems your pawn is doing well. He's already cleared the way for us."
"Hmm. We can enter directly. The timing is perfect."
It was now sunset. The desert was a hazy yellow, and the golden sunlight at the horizon made the surrounding sand look like gold.
The three headed straight for Heaven's Gate. A sand ninja stood before it, his green Jonin vest stained with blood.
Scorpion, concealed within Hiruko, stepped forward.
"You've worked hard, Yura. Do you remember me now?"
Scorpion's voice, hidden inside Hiruko, was low and hoarse—intentionally so.
"Yes, Lord Scorpion."
Yura knelt on one knee before Scorpion, his eyes filled with admiration.
"It seems the curse technique worked well. Orochimaru is pretty good at this sort of thing."
Deidara studied Yura, scrutinizing his gaze. Overall, Yura seemed fine for now.
"If his memories have returned, then he's a loyal subordinate. Let's go."
The three walked into Heaven's Gate. Inside, there was still a pungent smell, and around them lay the bodies of sand ninjas.
Heaven's Gate was about ten meters long. After reaching the other end, Sunagakure appeared before them. It had a distinct desert style—most buildings were low, and the entire village was a dusty yellow.
After stepping out of Heaven's Gate, Su Xiao noticed that it wasn't entirely built by the sand ninjas. The village was naturally surrounded by mountains, and the sand ninjas had carved the circular fortified walls into the mountains, with Heaven's Gate being an excavation project.
"So, let's make our move, White Night."
Deidara tossed out two palm-sized clay birds, formed hand seals, and white smoke rose as the clay birds grew to about three meters in wingspan.
Su Xiao jumped onto the back of one clay bird, and the Spider Empress appeared in his hand.
Deidara leaped onto the other clay bird.
"For a village, the best attack position is from above, hmm."
Deidara turned sideways to look at Scorpion.
"What do you think, Brother Scorpion? This artistic design, hmm."
Scorpion glanced at the new-style clay bird under Deidara's feet. Clearly, it didn't meet his aesthetic standards.
"Don't keep me waiting too long, Deidara."
Deidara chuckled lightly but didn't reply.
"Let's clear the guards first."
Su Xiao stomped on the clay bird beneath him, and Deidara manipulated both clay birds to take flight.
"You take the left, I'll take the right. Clear the watchtowers first."
Su Xiao looked down. On the high rooftops of Sunagakure, he spotted some ninjas. They weren't very strong—mostly Genin or Chunin.
"Fine. The right side is yours."
Sunagakure was split in two between Su Xiao and Deidara as they began clearing the guards.
But before clearing the guards, Su Xiao had one more thing to do. He took out two special-grade alchemy bombs and fused them into the clay bird.
The clay bird's body stiffened for a few seconds before returning to normal.
Su Xiao nodded to Deidara in the distance, and Deidara released his control over the clay bird.
Su Xiao pressed his hand against the clay bird's back, attempting to manipulate the alchemy bombs inside. The clay bird, which had been starting to descend, gradually stabilized.
He manipulated the clay bird to fly left, and the bird beneath him immediately turned left.
This was a technique Su Xiao and Deidara had developed in their spare time. He could now control this clay bird's flight, but only for a limited time.
Deidara had infused chakra into this clay bird. Once that chakra was depleted, the bird would go out of control.
Su Xiao could control the clay bird for about an hour, after which it would explode due to a lack of chakra to stabilize it. Fortunately, an hour was enough.
Being able to control the clay bird independently was much more convenient. Deidara would need to fight later, and Su Xiao could keep sniping without issue, but he also needed to find an opportunity to get close to the Jinchuriki and subdue him.
More importantly, Su Xiao needed to take the chance to absorb the chakra inside the tailed beast to upgrade his Azure Steel Shadow—that was his ultimate goal.
The clay bird flew to a high altitude. Su Xiao activated the "Optical Infrared Detection Scope 8x (Active)" and pulled a black iron tube from his storage space.
This was a suppressor for his sniper rifle. Although the Spider Empress had a built-in silencer, it wasn't perfect, and the gunshot could still be heard.
He attached the suppressor to the barrel. It was noticeably thicker than the barrel itself. Su Xiao didn't usually equip this—the Spider Empress's bullets had too much kinetic energy, which would damage this externally mounted suppressor.
This suppressor cost Su Xiao 2,000 Paradise Coins to have a craftsman in Reincarnation Paradise make it. It would be ruined after a few dozen shots, losing its sound-dampening function.
Now wasn't the time to be stingy with Paradise Coins. He was attacking Sunagakure, after all.
Whew~
The "Optical Infrared Detection Scope 8x" extended from the Spider Empress. Su Xiao pressed his eye to the scope, aligning the crosshairs with a sand ninja below.
He held his breath and pulled the trigger.
Pfft.
A faint gunshot rang out. The bullet left the muzzle, and through the scope, that Chunin's head exploded.
He adjusted the barrel and searched for the next target.
On the other side, Deidara had also begun clearing the watchtowers. He dropped spider-shaped clay bombs from high above.
Boom, boom~
A few muffled explosions sounded. Compared to Su Xiao's method of clearing guards, Deidara's approach was a bit noisier.
These were special clay bombs. Although they still made noise, the explosions were much quieter—though their power was also reduced.
A sand ninja with his face blown open crawled up from the ground, his mouth wide open as he tried to scream.
"Not good."
Just as Deidara was about to throw another bomb, a bullet flew toward that sand ninja's head.
With a crack, blood splattered, and the sand ninja collapsed.
"Not bad."
Deidara looked up at Su Xiao in the sky and nodded to him.
...
At the edge of Sunagakure, the scene of Su Xiao and Deidara clearing the watchtowers fell into Yura's eyes.
"As expected of Lord Scorpion's companions. This fighting style..."
Yura was clearly shocked by Su Xiao's long-range sniping. It was like a silent assassin.
"That Deidara..."
Scorpion was somewhat displeased. Deidara had almost made a mistake earlier.
Five minutes later, the watchtowers on Sunagakure's high ground were completely cleared. Infiltration was possible.
Deidara controlled the clay bird to dive downward. After reaching a certain height, he jumped onto a circular rooftop—this was the Kazekage Building.
"Infiltration successful. Excellent."
Just as Deidara landed, a gust of wind and sand blew past.
Whoosh~
A bullet flew over. The gust of wind and sand was scattered, revealing a figure that stumbled two steps before steadying itself.
"Oh? Found out, huh."
Deidara looked at the figure ahead. It was the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Gaara. There was a sand barrier Gaara had set up in the air, making him hard to detect.