Under the searing heat, the giant falcons let out shrill cries. In the instant they turned into smoke, their feathers burst apart like fireworks across the sky.
"Hahaha!"
Deidara tilted his head back, feeling the heatwave scorch his face and singe his hair. Gritting his teeth, he sneered, "What a bunch of idiots!"
But insults aside—
With the amount of clay he had left, he couldn't create another large bird.
The only thing waiting for him now… was being smashed into pulp.
At that moment—
At the edge of the aerial explosion, a massive figure wrapped in blazing flames shot out like lightning, charging straight toward him.
"You brat—did you really think it was over?!"
Yozuki Hayabusa roared, his expression twisted.
He tore off his burning cloak.
Behind him, his two teammates were scorched black, their hair curled and charred—barely recognizable.
As for their mount—
The remaining falcon had lost half its feathers.
Only by flying at high speed and using the airflow had it managed to extinguish the flames on its body.
Hayabusa had underestimated the explosion.
Even with Lightning Release interference—
At that altitude, the clay bird's destructive force still exceeded expectations.
At the moment of detonation, they had sacrificed the other two falcons as shields—
Barely escaping with injuries.
But now—
Deidara had lost his mount.
In their eyes—
He was prey.
"Tch… persistent bastards."
Deidara sneered.
If he'd had enough clay prepared—
These guys would've been blown to pieces already.
Which was exactly why—
He longed for a place where he could pursue his art freely.
A platform that wouldn't restrict him—
One that would support him completely.
Clearly—
These three weren't it.
"Hey—your turn!!"
Deidara roared downward, veins bulging in his neck.
He hadn't jumped from the sky recklessly—
He had backup.
—
On the ground—
Two Iwagakure shinobi in brown armor and red underclothes arrived instantly beneath him.
Without hesitation, they formed hand seals and slammed their palms onto the earth:
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!!!"
RUMBLE—
The ground trembled violently.
A massive wall over a hundred meters tall erupted upward like a rising cliff.
Using the wall as a buffer—
Deidara tossed out a clay owl mid-air, grabbed its talons, flipped his body, and glided—
Reducing his falling momentum—
Before landing steadily atop the rising wall.
Seeing he was safe—
The two Iwa jōnin immediately released the jutsu, letting the wall sink back into the earth.
Perfect timing.
Deidara avoided the incoming falcon strike.
RUMBLE—
The wall receded.
Deidara regrouped with the two shinobi.
"You brat!"
The Iwa jōnin, Tsuchiki, slapped Deidara on the backside and barked, "You've caused trouble again!!"
He was the squad leader responsible for secretly monitoring Deidara.
Broad and sturdy, with a build similar to Akatsuchi.
"Hey, that's not fair, Tsuchiki-senpai!" Deidara protested, clutching his sore backside. "They came to capture me!"
"If you hadn't blown up Kuromoku, none of this would've happened!"
Tsuchiki stared at the three battered strangers landing ahead and said grimly:
"From their techniques—they're likely the Cloud ninja who infiltrated the village."
"Cloud ninja?" Deidara frowned. "I didn't blow up anything from their village—why are they after me?"
Tsuchiki scoffed.
"You have a kekkei genkai. Of course they want to take you back and slice you up for experiments."
Deidara sucked in a sharp breath.
"No need to worry. This is Iwagakure—reinforcements are already on the way!"
Looking at the injured Cloud ninja—
Tsuchiki couldn't help but glance at Deidara and praise:
"Not bad. Holding your own against a squad of Cloud jōnin by yourself."
He patted Deidara's backside again.
Deidara quickly dodged.
Everything about Tsuchiki was fine—
Except that habit.
Deidara snorted.
"If that damn old man hadn't confiscated my clay, I'd blow the entire Cloud Village to the sky!!"
Tsuchiki fell silent.
Give you that much clay—
Cloud Village might survive…
But Iwa definitely wouldn't.
—
Suddenly—
Another Iwa jōnin spoke in a low voice:
"Captain Tsuchiki… something's wrong. Their reinforcements arrived first."
"What?!"
Tsuchiki's face darkened.
The three turned back-to-back, scanning their surroundings.
On the uneven yellow slopes—
Besides the Falcon Squad in front—
Three more disguised shinobi appeared behind them.
The Thunder Squad.
The Cloud had sent two full jōnin teams just to capture Deidara.
Their leader, Rewai, drew his straight blade and sneered at Hayabusa:
"Heh. Three jōnin couldn't handle one kid? That's embarrassing."
Hayabusa clenched his teeth.
"Cut the crap. Iwa reinforcements are coming—no time to waste!"
In an instant—
Both Cloud squads surrounded Deidara and the Iwa shinobi.
They had spared no expense for this mission.
"Damn it…"
Tsuchiki glared at the six Cloud jōnin closing in, then turned to Deidara.
"Can you still fight?"
"…Not much clay left," Deidara admitted. "That damn old man…"
Tsuchiki said firmly:
"Cursing the Tsuchikage won't help now. We'll hold them off—you run!"
"…."
Deidara fell silent.
—
Far away, on a hillside—
"Perfect. Time for the Akatsuki to make their entrance."
Gen patted Orochimaru's shoulder.
Orochimaru asked, "Should we wait a bit longer?"
Gen shook his head.
"No need. Let's give Iwa a helping hand."
Then he added:
"Snake-san, pass a message to Itachi."
Orochimaru's expression stiffened.
A moment later—
Her sharp voice rang across the entire battlefield:
"Itachi-san, what are you waiting for?!"
—
Behind a rock formation, about a hundred meters away—
Uchiha Itachi's expression darkened instantly.
He had planned to slack off—
Wait until the fight ended and just collect a head.
Looking down—
He spotted a small snake in the cracks between rocks.
So that's how he was found.
"What the hell was that voice?!"
Deidara looked around, startled, trying to locate its source.
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