"Aaaaaaah!!!"
Deidara was grabbed by the throat by a merciless iron hand and dragged into the depths of the forest.
Meanwhile, Sasori, who had leapt in the opposite direction while evading Isobu's Tailed Beast Bomb, landed steadily and immediately scanned the surrounding area.
He intended to locate Deidara's position.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find him at all.
"Hm?"
Sasori narrowed his eyes.
"Did that idiot get blown away?"
He muttered emotionlessly before turning his attention back toward the colossal figure towering above the lake.
The Three-Tails, Isobu.
Isobu: Two against one?
Isobu: One against one?
Isobu: I'm not afraid of you!
Isobu: I'm the Three-Tails, Isobu!!!
The giant turtle opened its mouth again.
Dense chakra rapidly gathered.
Another Tailed Beast Bomb was forming.
Seeing this, Sasori immediately understood that retreating wasn't an option.
He could only fight head-on.
"Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets."
A scroll unfolded in front of him.
With a burst of smoke, one hundred human puppets appeared around the battlefield.
Ordinary puppet masters relied on chakra threads extending from their fingers.
Sasori was different.
As the genius puppet master who had transformed his own body into a Human Puppet, he could manipulate all one hundred puppets simultaneously without conventional limitations.
Years ago, he had used this very technique to conquer an entire nation.
One hundred puppets.
Plus Sasori himself.
A total of one hundred and one combat units.
They charged toward Isobu simultaneously.
Isobu showed no fear whatsoever.
Its answer remained simple.
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
Sasori: Hiruko Tail Needle Barrage!
Isobu: Tailed Beast Bomb!
Sasori: Hiruko Needle Eight Waves!
Isobu: Tailed Beast Bomb!
Sasori: Puppet Technique Thousand Hands Manipulation Force!
Isobu: Tailed Beast Bomb! Tailed Beast Bomb! Tailed Beast Bomb!
Explosions echoed across the lake.
The battlefield shook continuously.
Isobu's appearance resembled a giant turtle, but its defensive power was terrifying.
Its shell could withstand enormous punishment.
Meanwhile, despite Sasori's exquisite control and deadly poisons, most of his attacks lacked the overwhelming destructive force required to break through a Tailed Beast's defenses.
For once, technique was being crushed by raw power.
Isobu had effectively transformed itself into a mobile Tailed Beast Bomb launcher.
Although every Tailed Beast specialized in different abilities, their chakra reserves were undeniably monstrous.
Far beyond what ordinary shinobi could hope to match.
While Sasori struggled against Isobu, Deidara finally managed to crawl out of the mud where he had been dragged.
Covered from head to toe in dirt, he scrambled upright.
The moment he raised his head
A human face filled his entire field of vision.
"Aaaaaah!!!!"
Startled, Deidara instinctively threw several clay bombs forward.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Before they could detonate, however, Chinatsu casually raised a hand.
Crack!
Lightning Release chakra flashed.
Every explosive instantly became inert.
"Am I really that scary?"
Chinatsu tilted her head.
"Though I guess grabbing someone from behind does make for a pretty good horror story."
Lightning danced around her fingertips.
Deidara immediately became alert.
His explosive clay had a fatal weakness.
Lightning Release.
Very few people knew that.
Unfortunately for him, Chinatsu possessed knowledge from another world.
Against Deidara specifically, exploiting that weakness was almost unfair.
"Who are you?!"
Deidara shouted.
Chinatsu blinked.
"Huh?"
"Why does that question sound so familiar?"
She scratched her head.
Seeing her confused expression only made Deidara more wary.
Regardless of her identity, one thing was obvious.
The girl standing before him was extremely dangerous.
Deidara retreated half a step.
Then he immediately began kneading clay.
"C2!"
"Dragon!"
A massive white clay dragon appeared.
Its wings spread wide as it attempted to break through the surrounding forest and ascend into the sky.
However
The nearby trees suddenly moved.
Roots erupted from the ground.
Branches twisted together.
The forest itself came alive.
The dragon's limbs and wings were instantly restrained.
Deidara froze.
His gaze slowly shifted toward Chinatsu.
Then he finally noticed the crimson eyes beneath her sunglasses.
Sharingan.
"What's your relationship with Itachi Uchiha?!"
"Oh, him?"
Chinatsu thought briefly.
"He stabbed me once."
"A while later I paid him back."
"Fair exchange."
"Actually, now that I think about it, the expression on his face was pretty funny "
She suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
"Why am I chatting with you?"
"Sorry."
"I'm not planning to use Talk-no-Jutsu on you."
Chinatsu shook her head.
She truly didn't have time.
First, Isobu was still fighting Sasori.
Second, she desperately wanted to leave the humid Land of Water.
Most importantly, she had never intended to persuade Deidara.
His personality was far too straightforward.
Deidara loved explosions.
He worshipped fleeting beauty.
After losing to Itachi, he joined Akatsuki.
Over time he developed genuine attachment to the organization.
Among Akatsuki's members, Deidara's loyalty was actually surprisingly high.
Because of that, persuasion was inefficient.
From the beginning, Chinatsu had prepared another method.
"Kotoamatsukami."
Her eyes instantly transformed.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan appeared.
Before Deidara could react, the technique activated.
Deidara possessed almost no resistance against such a subtle and overwhelming genjutsu.
The illusion took hold immediately.
Meanwhile, Chinatsu felt a slight sting in her eyes.
She covered them instinctively.
"Ouch."
"It still hurts a little."
She muttered softly.
Compared to before obtaining her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, however, this backlash was almost negligible.
After a few moments, Deidara's eyes regained focus.
The modification was complete.
Chinatsu hadn't completely rewritten his personality.
That would only create problems.
Instead, she had subtly adjusted his loyalties and perceptions.
His memories remained intact.
His artistic ideals remained intact.
Only the direction of his trust had changed.
"Stay here."
"I'll go deal with your former partner."
Chinatsu vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Moments later she arrived back at the lakeside battlefield.
The situation had not improved.
Isobu remained energetic.
Sasori looked considerably worse.
Broken puppet fragments littered the battlefield.
Without overwhelming firepower, fighting a fully active Tailed Beast was incredibly difficult.
Even Sasori was beginning to consider defensive options.
Then
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"Deidara?"
Sasori spoke immediately.
"You're finally back."
"I'll cover you with the remaining puppets."
"Take advantage of the opening and deal with the Three-Tails."
A brief pause followed.
Then Sasori frowned.
"Hm?"
"Why do you seem shorter?"
He slowly turned his head.
Halfway through the motion, he realized something was wrong.
The angle of the hand.
The height difference.
Although Deidara wasn't particularly tall, the person behind him was noticeably shorter.
Sasori's analytical mind immediately reached a conclusion.
Not Deidara.
Enemy.
His arm instantly transformed into a blade and slashed backward.
Chinatsu effortlessly leaned aside and avoided the strike.
However, after hearing Sasori's comment
"You seem shorter"
Her expression twitched slightly.
"..."
"..."
Of all the things to notice first, why was it my height?!
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