Chapter 261: Deidara's Confusing Loyalty
Uchiha Akira ignored Tsunade's profound shock. He simply stood there, waiting for the massive, winged Susanoo to dissipate into motes of purple energy around them.
He looked at the still-fleeing, terrified speck that was Sasori.
Then, Akira turned, his expression utterly composed, and instructed his newly acquired rogue ninja.
"Deidara."
The blonde artist, still flying his clay dragon in the distant sky, immediately abandoned his C2 Dragon and darted back towards the Hokage, landing his bird neatly nearby.
"Take us to catch up with the main force. Immediately."
"Yes! Akira-dono!"
Hearing the command, Deidara shouted excitedly. His hands impatiently reached into his jutsu tool bag, where his unique mouth-hands were already working the explosive clay.
He pulled out two lumps of white clay and quickly kneaded them in his palms, shaping them with practiced artistry.
A moment later.
"Hmph!" Deidara threw the shaped clay onto the desert ground with a flourish!
Bang!
A puff of white smoke exploded!
A giant white clay bird—a C1 sculpture, simple and fast—appeared before the three of them!
Deidara, with an expression like he was presenting a valuable treasure, was the first to jump onto the bird's back. He turned, gesturing grandly.
Uchiha Akira wrapped his arm securely around Tsunade's waist. She was still too stunned to protest the physical contact. The two of them lightly tapped their toes on the ground, landing steadily on the bird's broad, clay back.
"Hold on tight, Lady Tsunade! We're about to take off!" Deidara shouted, forming hand seals!
The clay bird flapped its wings violently, its motion stirring up a large cloud of sand, and soared rapidly into the sky!
Dozens of kilometers away, deep in the Land of Wind.
Konoha's main force was rapidly moving through the yellow sand. Their pace was relentless, guided by the Hyūga scouts.
Although they had left the immediate battlefield behind, the atmosphere in the team was still incredibly heavy.
The earth-shattering battle fluctuations from the distance—the sound of the Susanoo: Collapse Orb and the subsequent sonic boom of Akira's pursuit—still made every shinobi's heart pound.
Just then...
"Alert!" The shinobi from the reconnaissance squad at the very rear of the team suddenly let out a sharp, urgent cry!
"Directly behind us! High altitude! An unidentified flying object is rapidly approaching! Moving at extreme speed!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
All the Konoha shinobi instantly stopped. They instinctively drew their kunai and adopted defensive, battle-ready stances!
Nara Shikaku, riding at the front with the command unit, was very puzzled.
Could it be that the enemy, Sasori, has caught up?
No! Impossible! Hokage-sama personally took action. It's impossible for the enemy to have any strength left to pursue!
Then what could it be? Kumo? Iwa?
Under everyone's tense, fearful gaze, the black dot rapidly grew larger, descending from the smoke-filled sky.
It was clearly a giant white bird!
On the back of the giant bird, there seemed to be several figures standing!
"Prepare for the enemy! Prepare for engagement!" A Jōnin team leader shouted the order, his voice tight.
Just at this tense, fearful moment...
A sensory ninja from the Hyūga Clan suddenly let out a startled, then joyful cry.
"Wait! It's Hokage-sama's chakra signature! And Lady Tsunade's!"
"It's Hokage-sama! They're returning!"
What?!
Everyone was stunned.
When the target flew a little closer, they looked closely. Indeed, it was the Godaime Hokage, Uchiha Akira, and the Sannin, Tsunade!
"It's Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama won! He defeated the S-rank rogues!"
"That's great! Unbelievable speed!"
Under the gaze of countless eyes filled with awe, relief, and renewed fanaticism, Deidara controlled the clay bird. He landed it smoothly and steadily right in front of the formation.
Uchiha Akira, still with Tsunade firmly in his arms (a gesture that went unnoticed by the troops), leaped off the bird's back.
Deidara also followed closely, jumping down and standing behind Uchiha Akira with an excited, slightly proud expression.
"Greetings, Hokage-sama! Greetings, Lady Tsunade!"
Nara Shikaku, along with several Jōnin commanders, immediately stepped forward and bowed low.
Uchiha Akira nodded slightly, his expression one of calm victory.
His gaze swept over the crowd and landed specifically on Hyūga Tokuma, Uchiha Shunichi, and Iwa.
At this moment, Iwa's injuries had been hastily stabilized under the initial treatment of the Medical Ninja. He had been awakened from his concussion-induced coma.
He stood with Shunichi and Tokuma, and all three of them looked somewhat grim, their faces bruised and their pride battered.
They looked at Deidara, who was standing casually behind Uchiha Akira, with incredibly complex, warring emotions.
There was anger (he had just tried to kill them).
There was unwillingness (they had been defeated so easily).
But more than anything, there was a profound sense of powerlessness.
The three of them, working together—three Elite Jōnin—were toyed with by Deidara like children. They were directly taken out by a wave of his explosions. They were defeated completely.
This was the most crushing defeat they had ever experienced since becoming Jōnin!
Uchiha Akira pointed to Deidara behind him and announced to the assembled army.
"Deidara."
"From today onwards, he is a comrade of Konoha."
As his words fell...
Everyone in the army was dumbfounded. The silence returned.
Nara Shikaku had a blank look on his face. He looked at Deidara, who had an air of "I'm a good person now" about him, and countless, dizzying question marks flashed through his mind.
Comrade?
Are you kidding me, Hokage-sama?!
Isn't this the enemy who just used Shunichi and the others as targets to violently blow up a minute ago? How long has it been? How did he suddenly become a comrade?!
Although he had a million questions, Nara Shikaku was the ultimate strategist. He was wise enough to know when to shut up.
The decisions of Hokage-sama only needed to be carried out.
The other Konoha shinobi were equally bewildered, but no one dared to question the pronouncement of their God of Shinobi.
Just then...
Deidara also noticed the intense, focused gazes of Shunichi and the other two.
He scratched his head, a slightly awkward, almost embarrassed expression appearing on his face. He quickly walked over to the three Jōnin.
Deidara's action instantly tensed up Shunichi and the other two. They subconsciously took half a step back, their hands ready for a fight.
They still thought this psychopath was coming to cause trouble, to gloat.
However, Deidara's next words made them widen their eyes in shock.
"Uh... I'm really sorry about earlier! Hm!"
Deidara bowed slightly to the three of them, a surprisingly sincere gesture.
"Was I a bit too intense just now? I get carried away by my art! I'm really sorry for injuring you guys! It wasn't personal!"
"Akira-dono said that from now on we are comrades, and comrades should get along well!"
Shunichi: "..."
Tokuma: "..."
Iwa: "..."
The three Jōnin looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.
The change in atmosphere, the sheer contrast in personality, was too fast!
One second ago, he was clamoring to blow them up with his C2 Dragon, and now he's running over to apologize for his intensity? And calling the Hokage "Akira-dono" as if they were old buddies?
What in the world is going on?
Looking at Deidara's seemingly incredibly sincere face, the three felt their worldview was severely impacted. The chaos of their defeat was compounded by the chaos of his apology.
However, since the other party had taken the initiative to apologize—and he was someone the Hokage had personally brought back—they naturally couldn't refuse to give face.
Uchiha Shunichi took a deep breath, suppressing the awkwardness and the sting of defeat in his heart. He forced a stiff, unnatural smile.
"No... it's fine. We accept your apology."
"In battle, injuries are unavoidable. We should have been faster."
Hyūga Tokuma also nodded stiffly, his arms still aching from the concussions of the blasts.
"That's right. We were simply not skilled enough to counter your range."
Iwa, the Earth Release specialist, was even more straightforward. He looked directly at Deidara and said in a booming, impressed voice.
"Your explosion Ninjutsu... it is indeed very powerful. A true force of nature."
Hearing the words of the three Jōnin, especially the last, genuine compliment.
The apologetic, contrite look on Deidara's face instantly vanished. It was replaced by a look of immense, artistic pride and pure, bubbling joy!
He clapped Iwa on the shoulder, thankfully not with an exploding clay hand, and burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHA! I KNEW IT! I KNEW you guys had good taste! Hm!"
"That's right! Explosion is art! The instantaneous burst of destructive beauty is the ultimate aesthetic! Now that's a compliment!"
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