After defeating the Second Mizukage, Uchiha Chiga had become the center of attention on the battlefield. To the shinobi watching, standing against a Kage was already a legendary feat. But defeating one outright? That placed him far beyond the reach of ordinary men.
Deidara, glaring from a distance, felt his pride sting. He hadn't even displayed his art yet, and already an Uchiha was stealing the spotlight.
Clicking his tongue, he pulled out a lump of clay and fed it into the mouth embedded in his palm. After chewing for a moment, he shaped several small clay birds and released them into the air. They fluttered toward Chiga like a flock of white doves.
But Chiga didn't move. He allowed the birds to land directly on his body.
"Hmph!" Deidara sneered, raising his hand to detonate them.
Nothing happened.
The birds twitched and trembled, their wings stiff as if frozen in place. Deidara's eyes narrowed.
If he were closer, he would have noticed the reason: arcs of purple lightning danced faintly across Chiga's skin, paralyzing the explosive chakra within the clay. Clay bombs, for all their artistry, had one fatal weakness—electricity.
Chiga turned his head and smiled faintly at Deidara. That simple expression cut deeper than any blade. It was the exact same smile Itachi had once given him before crushing his pride.
Rage surged through Deidara. He was about to charge in recklessly when Sasori raised a hand to stop him.
"Don't stop me, Sasori! I'll show that Uchiha the true meaning of art!"
Sasori's voice was calm, but firm. "Have you even realized why your clay failed?"
Deidara froze.
"It must be the distance," he snapped back. "If I get closer—"
"Idiot. Didn't you see the state of your birds? That Uchiha is clearly a Lightning Release shinobi."
Deidara's eyes widened. "What!?"
The truth sank in. Lightning completely countered his explosives. But he wasn't about to back down. Grinding more clay in his palms, he stuffed it into his mouth with determination.
"No matter how strong his lightning is, he won't survive this… hm!"
Before long, he spewed out an enormous clay sculpture, a towering figure in his own likeness. He grinned with pride, gesturing toward it.
"Sasori, watch closely. This is my masterpiece—C4 Karura!"
Sasori's brows furrowed. "That thing is too big. Won't it just get destroyed before it even reaches him?"
"Heh, this art isn't as simple as you think."
The clay giant suddenly burst apart with a dull pop. No grand explosion followed. It looked almost anticlimactic, like a balloon popping in the air.
But unseen to most, countless microscopic clay creatures dispersed into the wind, surging straight into Chiga's body.
Deidara's lips curled into a wicked grin. "No matter how much lightning you use, you can't shock yourself from the inside. Die!"
The smile on his face vanished a moment later.
Chiga remained perfectly unharmed. His body glowed faintly, arcs of purple lightning flashing around him until he looked like a sun wrapped in storm clouds.
Deidara staggered back. "Impossible…"
Sasori muttered, studying the sight. "He's transformed his own body into lightning itself. It resembles the Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique… but this is on another level."
Mei Terumi, watching from afar, clasped her hands against her chest. Her eyes sparkled, admiration written all over her face.
While Deidara stood paralyzed by disbelief, Chiga extended his hand. A surge of suction pulled Deidara forward uncontrollably.
Nagato reacted immediately, using Shinra Tensei to pull Deidara back. For a brief instant, the force halted him mid-air—but only for a second. The suction overpowered Nagato's gravitational pull, dragging Deidara helplessly into Chiga's grasp.
Nagato's eyes widened. His power was twice as strong now compared to when he fought through the Six Paths of Pain. Yet, this Uchiha's ability had overwhelmed it.
How?
And why was Chiga able to use a technique so similar to the Rinnegan's? His eyes showed no sign of dojutsu activation. Was this some unknown secret technique?
Nagato clenched his teeth. Could it be that even the Sage of Six Paths' power was no longer unrivaled?
Meanwhile, Chiga caught Deidara by the throat with ease.
"You've given me quite a few toys today," he said calmly. "How should I thank you?"
Deidara's face darkened with fury. "Toys? You dare call my art toys!? Bastard! I'll show you my ultimate work!"
Tearing open his cloak, he revealed the grotesque mouth on his chest. Shoving a mass of clay into it, he let his body slowly begin to dissolve into energy.
Chiga tilted his head, amused. "What's this? Planning to turn into a cartoon starfish?"
Deidara blinked in confusion. "Cartoon… what?"
With his last conscious thought, he triggered his ultimate art. His body vanished, transforming into a dense, black sphere pulsing with destructive power.
Onoki, locked in battle with the Second Tsuchikage, felt his heart sink. He recognized this jutsu—it was Deidara's suicidal ultimate technique, one that obliterated everything in range.
"This is bad!" Mei Terumi shouted in alarm. "Hokage-sama, we must retreat at once!"
Yet Chiga's face remained calm. He reached out, clasping the deadly orb as though holding a fragile fruit.
"Explosion or not," he said softly, "isn't for you to decide."
The sphere quivered in his grasp, then shuddered violently. Instead of detonating, its darkness unraveled, as if time itself were reversing.
Gasps echoed across the battlefield.
The sphere melted away, and before their astonished eyes, Deidara's half-naked body reformed on the ground, his face pale and blank.
He lay there trembling, his thoughts in chaos. What happened? Didn't I detonate? Who am I… where am I?
Chiga crouched beside him, his expression calm but sharp. Reaching forward, he pinched Deidara's chin lightly.
"Explosions," he said, "aren't toys for children to play with."
"I'll show you, what True Art is"
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