----
The so-called "small dragon" was actually as big as a seven or eight-year-old child. Its bulky form looked a little clumsy, but thanks to the initial thrust from the large clay dragon and its own weight, the mini-dragon moved at a speed that completely defied its appearance.
Meanwhile, Sasuke's vision was momentarily obscured by the early explosion of Deidara's clay mines, preventing him from spotting the incoming mini-dragon in time.
By the time he sensed it, the dragon was already glowing with an imminent explosion.
Too late for Lightning Release!
Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly, his legs instinctively pushing off the ground in a desperate attempt to escape the blast radius.
BOOM!
And yet, Sasuke emerged unscathed.
Not because he cheated, but because Kakashi did.
At the last possible moment, Kakashi warped the clay bomb into Naruto's trash dump in the Kamui dimension.
Far away, Obito didn't even flinch.
He'd seen Tailed Beast Bombs explode before this was child's play.
Until that blond brat was dead, he was pretending Kamui space didn't exist.
"Was that… space-time ninjutsu?"
Though disappointed that his explosion failed, Deidara wasn't completely discouraged.
At the very least, he'd forced them to reveal one of their trump cards.
"Looks like that technique isn't easy to use… Hn."
"Are you okay, Sasuke?"
Kakashi clutched his eye, breathing heavily the Mangekyō Sharingan's strain was catching up to him.
"…"
Sasuke hesitated, glancing at Kakashi's fatigued expression before awkwardly muttering,
"…Thanks. Are you okay?"
Kakashi smiled reassuringly.
"I'm fine. But I can't use that technique too many times."
Then, his voice lowered slightly.
"I should probably just warp his head off instead…"
Sasuke immediately cut him off.
"No. I'll take care of him my way. You should rest."
Without waiting for a response, Sasuke sheathed his Lightning Blade, retrieved two massive shuriken from a scroll, and hurled them forward.
"Hah! And what exactly is that supposed to do?"
With an unimpressed scoff, Deidara had his clay dragon slightly tilt to dodge the giant shuriken.
He even took the extra precaution of checking whether they had wires attached they didn't.
Satisfied, he began forming seals.
"Let's send down another round!"
His dragon opened its mouth to release another mini-dragon.
"YAHOO!"
Without warning, Fū swooped in from above, catching the two massive shuriken Sasuke had just thrown.
She twisted her body back, gathering momentum, and hurled them straight back at Deidara.
"When did she—?!"
Deidara's eyes widened at the whistling sound of the incoming shuriken.
Panicking, he twisted sharply, barely dodging the first one.
But the second shuriken?
Direct hit.
It pierced cleanly through his right shoulder, pinning him flat onto the clay dragon's back.
Fū was stronger than she looked.
With Deidara immobilized, Sasuke saw his chance.
Biting his thumb, he flashed through hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive snake burst onto the battlefield—Aoda's sibling, Seiryū.
Over the past few years, Seiryū had grown massively, almost rivalling Manda's size.
Sasuke barely acknowledged the summon, simply gesturing toward Deidara's position.
"Throw me."
Seiryū coiled back, its tail flicking Sasuke skyward like a whip.
Sasuke shot through the air, rocketing straight for Deidara's dragon.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Electricity crackled around Sasuke's palm, extending into a lightning blade several meters long.
At the last second, Deidara managed to tear his foot free from the shuriken's looped handle.
But—
Too late.
The Chidori Spear sliced directly through the clay dragon, cutting it clean in half.
Not only that—
The mini-dragon Deidara had just launched was also severed in the attack.
"AGH!"
Blood splattered midair as Deidara's right arm, along with the embedded shuriken, was severed completely.
Had he not retracted his leg fast enough, he would've lost that too.
With no other option, Deidara kicked off the crumbling dragon, creating as much distance as possible.
"Tch. I missed the vitals."
Sasuke hovered below, unable to see exactly where Deidara had landed.
Seiryū slithered rapidly beneath him, preparing to catch Sasuke's fall.
But—
Fū got there first.
She swooped in from behind, slipping her arms under Sasuke's and keeping them airborne.
"Wanna keep going?" she asked with a grin.
Sasuke hesitated.
"…Yeah."
Fū beamed.
"Then let's fly!"
This was her first time fighting alongside someone like this and she was having a blast.
---
Meanwhile, Deidara was freefalling, losing blood fast.
Less than twenty meters separated them.
Then—
Deidara grinned.
He stopped falling.
His body expanded unnaturally.
One second later he had swollen into a giant, bloated sphere.
"Something's wrong!"
Sasuke's hand sparked with Chidori Spear, immediately lashing out toward Deidara's growing body.
Too late.
BOOM!
Deidara's entire body detonated, erupting in a blinding inferno.
A massive shockwave ripped through the sky, engulfing Sasuke and Fū completely.
"SASUKE-DONO!"
Seiryū's voice echoed in panic.
"Shit!"
Kakashi immediately rushed toward the explosion.
Emerging from the clay rubble, Deidara smirked smugly.
The thing that exploded wasn't him.
It was a clay clone.
His real body had hidden inside the remaining half of the dragon, buried under debris.
"Hah! You see that, brat?!"
"This is my art!"
"The fleeting beauty of an explosion!"
Kakashi's expression darkened as he kept his gaze fixed on the billowing smoke.
"He swapped with a clone the instant he lost his arm…"
"That was a smart move."
"But right now… I care more about whether Sasuke survived."
"Ow… That freaking hurt…"
A muffled groan came from above the smoke.
The instant Deidara's clone detonated, Fū instinctively entered Tailed Beast Transformation: Version 2.
She shielded Sasuke with her back, tanking the explosion head-on.
The resulting blast sent them both flying backwards, but her chakra cloak absorbed the worst of the damage.
Deidara landed, biting off a chunk of clay with his remaining left hand.
"Tsk. Guess I gotta make more."
"Fine then. Let's see how long you can keep that up, hm!"
He started kneading another C2 bomb, preparing for the next round of battle.
This wasn't over yet.
----
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