"What, no more tricks?"
Sasuke looked at Deidara with a mocking gaze, his Sharingan gleaming faintly with amusement.
"You… damn bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
Deidara, visibly enraged, lost his usual composure.
"Sasuke, that's enough! Stop provoking him—this guy's dangerous!" Kakashi warned, stepping forward.
That last jutsu had made cold sweat run down his back. Who knew what other deadly tricks Deidara had up his sleeve?
"Yamato, restrain him!"
"Got it!"
Yamato formed hand seals, and thick wooden vines surged forward, wrapping around Deidara.
But Deidara wasn't about to go down quietly.
"Konoha shinobi, don't even think about catching me!"
He flung his hands out, releasing two massive clay serpents that intercepted Yamato's Wood Style.
Boom!
A violent explosion shattered the wooden restraints. Deidara stumbled to the ground, legs weak from chakra exhaustion.
"These annoying bastards keep looking down on my art… again and again!"
Panting, Deidara assessed the situation.
"Two of them use Lightning Style. Even my C4 might be useless. And I've got barely any chakra or clay left."
Desperation setting in, he quickly released two clay flying cranes from his palm. The birds flapped rapidly toward the trio as Deidara activated Earth Style: Mole Hiding Technique, burrowing underground to escape.
"Hmph, such a boring trick," Sasuke scoffed.
With a spark of lightning, Chidori Current surged around him like a net, instantly disintegrating the clay birds.
Then, placing his hands on the ground, Sasuke poured chakra into the earth.
Rumble!
The ground erupted, launching Deidara out of his tunnel like a catapult. He hit the dirt hard, stunned.
"Trying to escape with something that cheap? You're underestimating my eyes," Sasuke said coldly. His Sharingan glinted with killing intent.
Deidara froze as if a monstrous shadow loomed over him—trapped like a helpless insect before the predator's gaze.
"Since you're with the Akatsuki… you must know where Uchiha Itachi is."
Sasuke took a step forward, lightning crackling around his body.
"Tell me. Or I'll tear the answer out of you."
Deidara lowered his head.
"Heh… Are all you Uchiha this arrogant? That smug, cold expression… Just like your brother's."
He suddenly looked deranged.
"I hate that look the most!"
Sasuke didn't even flinch.
Deidara's eye twitched.
"Fine then… You want to deny my art? Let me show you what real art looks like!"
With that, he ripped open his shirt—revealing a grotesque mouth on his chest.
"No! What is he doing?!" Kakashi shouted.
"Sasuke, stop him now!" Yamato added, alarmed.
Deidara stuffed a lump of clay into the chest-mouth. As it consumed the explosive, his skin turned translucent, veins going black as chakra surged unnaturally through his body.
A black sphere formed in his chest, pulsing ominously.
"This… this is my ultimate art!"
"I'm going to blow myself up—take everything within ten kilometers with me!"
"Hahaha! Be afraid. Despair. Cry… Then witness true art!"
Deidara laughed maniacally, already beginning the detonation.
Kakashi and Yamato broke out in cold sweat.
"Ten kilometers… We can't outrun that!" Yamato panicked.
But Sasuke didn't waste time.
"Your art will be forgotten, Deidara."
In a flash, he teleported in front of Deidara, grabbed the forming black sphere—
"I'll be right back."
—then disappeared instantly.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Kakashi blinked. "He actually learned it…?"
On a secluded island far from the mainland—
Sasuke appeared, dropping Deidara's body on the sand.
"Fade away with your 'art,' Deidara."
Without a backward glance, he vanished again with Flying Thunder God.
"No… No! My ultimate art should have stunned the world!" Deidara howled in despair.
BOOM!!!
A blinding white light engulfed the island.
A towering pillar of light rose into the sky, vaporizing everything around.
Back near Yugakure…
"Hmph. Finally dealt with. If Obito had shown up, it would've gotten messy."
Sasuke frowned. He had used several marked coordinates to safely redirect parts of the blast.
Despite Deidara reaching Kage-level, his explosives were ineffective against Sasuke.
But going all-out would've revealed too many secrets—and Obito was always watching.
"Kamui… That's going to be a problem."
Unless he could physically mark Obito with a Flying Thunder God seal, it would be hard to land a clean hit.
Sasuke needs to master more space-time jutsu…
Whoosh!
Sasuke returned to Kakashi and Yamato.
"You okay?" Kakashi asked.
"I teleported the explosion to an uninhabited island."
He sighed. "Deidara… was insane. Would've been easier if we'd gotten intel on Itachi out of him."
The others nodded, still unsettled.
"Honestly, provoking him like that… you kinda brought that on yourself," Yamato muttered.
"But those Akatsuki guys… terrifying."
"If that self-destruction succeeded, he could've wiped out five Hidden Villages," Yamato added.
Kakashi nodded. "They're all S-class missing-nin for a reason."
"This mission's pay is good, but damn… it's not easy."
"If not for Sasuke, we'd be dead," he admitted.
At that moment, a group of elite Yugakure ninja arrived.
"What's the situation? Is the bomber captured?" the squad leader asked.
Kakashi waved him down. "It's over. Bring Lord Daimyo—he can come safely now."
"Right away!"
The local ninja practically bowed with relief. After what they'd seen, they had no doubts who saved their lives.
Soon, Daimyo Nakamura Daichi arrived, flanked by his guards.
Kakashi briefly explained the situation.
"The Akatsuki… Earth Country's S-class rogue ninja," Daichi mused. Then he bowed slightly.
"Thank you, all of you. If not for you, Yugakure would be a crater right now."
He smiled warmly. "Come—I've prepared a banquet. Please allow me to host you."
Kakashi and Yamato tried to decline but gave in to Daichi's overwhelming enthusiasm.
Later, Nakamura Daichi returned with a large wooden box filled with ryo.
"This is your reward. 1.5 billion ryo. Please, accept it."
"Thank you, Lord Daimyo." Kakashi sealed it into a scroll with practiced ease.
Daichi clapped again.
Another guard approached, carrying a second box.
"This is a personal gift for young Sasuke. Your actions saved our village. Please accept it."
Sasuke raised a brow, then nodded. "Thanks."
Inside the box were valuables and treasures—likely worth another 400 to 500 million ryo.
Sasuke needed funds anyway. This came at the perfect time.
Daichi smiled to himself.
If he could build a relationship with someone of Sasuke's potential, it was well worth the expense.
Even if this attack was repelled… who knew what threat might come next?
As night fell, the Konoha trio prepared to leave. Outside the village, Sasuke was about to teleport them—
When a black vortex swirled open, and a man in a mask stepped out.
"Well, well. Not bad, Sasuke. I didn't expect the Fourth Hokage's jutsu to be passed down."
"You even handled Deidara perfectly."
Obito stood in front of them, slowly clapping.