Since Sasori was surrounded by several opponents, Gaara and his men had the advantage. They simply needed to accumulate small gains, gradually cornering him into revealing his trump card.
On Deidara's side, there were no surprises. He still didn't understand the power of a sniper rifle and assumed he was safe if he flew high enough. Normally, that might be true—but his opponents were Hyūga Clan snipers wielding the Byakugan. Hiding in the clouds? Useless. Even if he hid behind an iron plate, they'd still find him. Deidara was only fooling himself.
Puff! Puff! Bullets tore through his massive clay bird. However, given its high altitude, the rounds lost much of their kinetic energy, preventing any explosive effect.
Click! "Katsu!" Deidara formed a seal and shouted.
But nothing happened.
"What? Failed to detonate? No, something went wrong..." His scattered mini-clay spiders should have caused an explosion large enough to engulf the entire forest. Yet there wasn't even a single spark—let alone a blast.
Deidara scowled. He was stranded in the sky. His usual air superiority, which let him dominate ground-bound shinobi, was now useless.
"This won't work… I'll just rush down. Hmph."
His unstable clay bird, already riddled with holes, briefly ascended before nosediving like a fighter jet spiraling out of control. It plunged straight into the barrage of gunfire.
The closer he got to the ground, the deadlier the bullets became. Before the clay bird could even explode, it shattered midair.
But that was enough.
Click!
Deidara, wrapped in clay, narrowed his pupils slightly, his expression filled with excitement.
Boom!
The fragmented bird erupted in an enormous explosion. Knowing it would be destroyed, Deidara had packed additional high-powered bombs inside. The moment it broke apart, those bombs triggered, maximizing the destruction.
His target? Hyūga Chinano's sniper team.
The explosion wasn't particularly loud, nor did it generate extreme heat. But the sheer intensity of the flames was overwhelming. Fire spread in all directions, swallowing everything in its path.
"Heh, finally got them," Deidara sneered. "I told you, true art is an explosion! Guns? Just cheap tricks!"
Descending from the sky, he laughed wildly, his voice carrying over the battlefield. He looked toward the distant medical squad led by a purple-haired kunoichi, as if expecting praise for his work.
"Hmph. Lord Chinano won't be defeated so easily by the likes of you." The kunoichi, spoke coldly while rapidly forming hand seals.
A summoning technique activated in an instant.
Puff!
A huge cloud of smoke erupted, revealing a massive reptilian creature. Though its shape was obscured, it resembled a chameleon.
Deidara frowned. "What? You think this thing can take me down?"
The chameleon flicked out a long, water-like tongue, spitting it toward him with a splurt!
Too slow. Even Deidara's old aunt could dodge something like this.
But the moment he evaded the attack, the entire medical team vanished—no, they blended into the surroundings.
A faint blue light shimmered through the fire.
From within the inferno, a massive, rotating blue energy dome slowly unraveled.
"Kaiten (Heavenly Spin)!"
Hyūga Chinano stood at the center, panting. The explosion had been blocked by her Kaiten, but the wide-range defense had drained a considerable amount of chakra.
"You all fall back! Sniper team, retreat to a safe distance and provide cover! I'll hold him off!"
Despite her exhaustion, Chinano's command was firm.
The team obeyed immediately, leaving her to face Deidara alone.
While their battle had just begun, another fight was reaching its climax.
Kisame Hoshigaki wasn't called the Tailless Tailed Beast for nothing. His immense chakra reserves, combined with Samehada's ability to absorb an opponent's chakra, made him a terrifying adversary. The more ninjutsu his opponents used, the stronger he became.
Against a Jinchūriki overflowing with chakra? This was Kisame's ideal battle. He fought effortlessly, absorbing chakra while keeping his opponent at bay.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi faced the Fourth Raikage, A.
For a close-combat master like A, genjutsu was a nightmare. Physical attacks were useless if he couldn't even land a hit. If he relied on ninjutsu, Itachi could easily drain his chakra from a distance. The result? A was fighting with his hands tied, something he had never experienced before.
Frustrated, A activated his Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor) and charged forward with a Raijin Bakudan (Thunder Bomb)—but the illusionary onslaught was relentless.
Just as A hesitated for a split second, Itachi's form flickered before him like a ghost. Their eyes met.
Itachi's Sharingan spun.
"Oh no—!"
Too late.
"Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)."
Reality fractured. A felt the world twist around him. Space and time warped, distorting his senses.
When he came to, he was nailed to a cross.
His limbs were outstretched, pinned down, rendering him immobile.
"This is the world of Tsukuyomi," Itachi's calm voice echoed. "Here, I am in control. No matter how much time passes in this realm, only an instant will pass in reality."
The blood-red moon cast an eerie glow over the landscape. Silhouettes of Itachi surrounded him, their forms shifting within the crimson mist.
A clenched his teeth. He had underestimated Itachi's illusions.
But he was the Raikage. He would never yield. Cloud shinobi did not surrender. They either won—or died in battle.
Itachi, however, was uninterested in his defiance. His only concern was Sasuke. He had already learned about his younger brother's current situation and found it both amusing and frustrating.
Sasuke, you fool… Physical training is pointless. The Sharingan's power is everything.
Itachi intended to use A as a lesson.
Sasuke must understand—the Uchiha's strength lies in the Sharingan, not in reckless taijutsu or pointless ninjutsu.
With that thought, his clones began their work.
A dozen Itachis struck A simultaneously, their blows non-lethal but agonizingly painful.
This was only the beginning. If A didn't lose his mind from this, then the lesson wouldn't be complete.
But then—something unexpected happened.
The Tsukuyomi world was Itachi's domain. He was the absolute ruler here. Nothing could happen without his will.
Yet…
A massive, vertical pupil manifested within the crimson moon. It resembled the eye of a dragon—an ancient gaze that seemed to pierce through all things.
Then, the blood-red moon shattered.
A colossal dragon burst forth, its form stretching across the entire Tsukuyomi world. It locked eyes with Itachi, its gaze filled with an unfathomable presence.
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