The Strongest Artist in Naruto

The trio's journey took them across the Lands of Rain, Fire, Iron, and Waves before they finally reached the outer seas of the Land of Lightning. Beneath the clear, azure sky stretched an endless expanse of ocean—a rare and breathtaking sight for shinobi who had spent most of their lives within the confines of the mainland.

The monotony of the long journey left Deidara's thoughts wandering. What lay beyond this vast, endless ocean? Could it be a new continent? Or perhaps it simply circled back to the opposite edge of the shinobi world.

He mused further: was the shinobi world itself a planet? If traveling westward from the westernmost Land of Lightning somehow led directly to the eastern Land of Earth, wouldn't someone have discovered it by now? Yet no one in the shinobi world seemed to question this. Why?

"We're here!" Sasori announced as he came to a halt near a desolate island, consulting a map in his hand. He confirmed the location of the elusive giant turtle.

This was a wild, uninhabited region—so remote that even seafaring merchants avoided it. Perhaps it was for this very reason that rare and exotic creatures could still be found here.

On the mainland, there were once countless mystical beasts and summoning creatures, but their habitats had long been overrun by humans. These days, shinobi relied on summoning techniques to see such beings.

"Waterman, scout the underwater area," Sasori instructed, addressing the blue-clad figure at his side.

"Yes," Waterman replied before seamlessly melting into the water as though becoming one with it.

About half an hour later, Waterman emerged from the sea, squinting against the blinding sunlight as he made his way back to Deidara and Sasori on the beach.

"Well?" Sasori asked.

"I searched a wide area, but I didn't find any sign of the giant turtle," Waterman replied.

"Are you sure the intel is accurate, Sasori?" Deidara questioned, eyeing the crude map skeptically.

"Of course. The information came from a spy of mine in Kumogakure. Kumogakure maintains a secret base out here in the open sea, where each generation of jinchūriki trains. The village has detailed records of this region."

According to the intel, giant turtles with incredibly tough shells, capable of withstanding Tailed Beast Bombs to some extent, were occasionally sighted in these waters during April and May. This information came from records left by a previous Two-Tails jinchūriki."

"Then let's widen our search area. If we still can't find it, we'll stay here for a few days," Deidara suggested.

"With Waterman's abilities and my clay creatures, we should be able to locate it," he added, chewing out a swarm of clay sea snakes and sending them diving into the water.

However, since Deidara's clay creatures were neither autonomous nor intelligent, they couldn't venture far from him. The main search still depended on Waterman.

Days passed, and while they captured plenty of sea turtles, none matched the description of the giant turtle they sought.

Just as they were about to give up, a small black dot appeared on the horizon, shrouded in a misty haze, making it impossible to discern its nature.

"Something's coming. Is it a ship?" Waterman asked, puzzled.

"No way. Who'd steer a ship to such a godforsaken place?" Deidara scoffed.

"But didn't Saaori-sama say Kumogakure has a secret sea base nearby? What if it's their people?"

"Yeah, and have you ever seen a ship with built-in special effects like that?" Deidara shot back, pointing to the hazy mist. Clearly, this was no ordinary vessel.

"Let's go check it out," Deidara suggested eagerly.

"Fine," Sasori nodded. Curiosity was natural when confronted with the unknown, even for shinobi.

With a puff of smoke, Deidara summoned a clay bird and leapt onto its back.

"I'll head over first. You two better keep up!" he called, flying off toward the distant black dot.

"Tch! That brat!" Sasori growled, commanding Hiruko to sprint across the water.

"Hey! Deidara-sama! Sasori-sama! Wait for me!" Waterman shouted, trailing far behind. While he could merge with water, his speed couldn't match the others'.

The vast, flat expanse of the sea created a deceptive sense of proximity to the distant object. Despite flying for quite some time, the black dot barely grew larger in Deidara's view.

It took nearly an hour before the object finally revealed itself—a lush island brimming with life. Towering trees, jagged rocky shores, and creatures of immense size, reminiscent of a prehistoric era, filled the scene.

But why was the island moving?

Wait—could this be Kumogakure's secret sea base, the training ground for jinchūriki?

Deidara suddenly remembered: in the original timeline, Naruto had trained here to master his jinchūriki powers. This island wasn't an island at all—it was a massive turtle, with everything on its back.

He descended on his clay bird and rejoined Sasori.

"Sasori, can you believe it? This massive island is actually a turtle!"

Even Sasori was stunned. From his lower vantage point on the water, he hadn't been able to see the full picture. Now, it was clear: the island wasn't just Kumogakure's secret base—it was a living creature.

Compared to this, even the size of Tailed Beasts paled in comparison.

"Do you think the giant turtle we're looking for is somehow connected to this massive one?" Deidara wondered aloud.

"Let's search around it," Sasori suggested. "But we'll need Waterman for a more thorough sweep."

Deidara nodded, creating another swarm of clay sea snakes to search underwater.

This time, the results came quickly.

"Found them!" Deidara exclaimed. "They're all following the giant turtle—and there are quite a few!"

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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