"With just that level of skill, you can't kill me," Deidara said confidently, not even bothering to dispel his transformation. Holding a kunai in his hand felt rather unfamiliar—it wasn't something he typically used in battle.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Anko Mitarashi engaged him in hand-to-hand combat, but after realizing it was going nowhere, she quickly created some distance. Forming hand seals, she unleashed a series of flat, missile-like flames from her mouth, aiming them at her opponent.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"
"Is that all? I guess you're still holding back because of the 700,000 ryo I gave you last night, huh?"
"Ugh! Shut up, you bastard!" Anko's face turned bright red from the teasing, a mix of anger and embarrassment.
Although she found it disgusting to summon those slimy creatures again, the enemy before her was no ordinary foe. She had no choice but to endure it.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
A searing, straight jet of flames shot toward Deidara, who quickly dodged. But it was just a feint. Anko raised her right hand, and from her sleeve emerged a swarm of dark green snakes with gaping, venomous mouths, hissing as they lunged forward.
"This time, you won't escape! Surrender now!" Anko shouted confidently. Deidara was in a moment of vulnerability—his old strength spent and new strength yet to arise. Unless he was a ninja with exceptional taijutsu skills, dodging at this point would be nearly impossible.
"When you say something like that, you've already lost."
"Let me show you my Clay Serpent Hands!"
Deidara raised his left hand, instantly summoning a swarm of larger, more numerous white clay snakes. These clay serpents quickly overpowered Anko's summoned snakes, crushing them effortlessly without even needing to explode.
"Damn it! Why... why can't I move?" Anko found herself tightly bound by the clay snakes, her body growing weak and limp. With a soft thud, she collapsed to her knees.
"I have a friend who's quite skilled with poisons. I borrowed a little from him and mixed it into these clay snakes. This toxin is absorbed through the skin, causing paralysis and muscle weakness."
"So, what do you think? Pretty effective, right?"
Of course, Deidara had taken the antidote beforehand. Otherwise, he would've poisoned himself as well.
He had been considering this tactic for a while, but his progress in Morphology Optimization hadn't been sufficient to mix poison into his creations until now.
Kneeling on the ground, Anko barely managed to lift her head to look at the mysterious man before her. "What's your relationship with Orochimaru?"
"Let's just say we're collaborators. We've fought before, so I've picked up a few of his tricks."
Deidara's answer surprised Anko. She had assumed he was one of Orochimaru's experiments or subordinates, not an equal partner.
To her, Orochimaru was already one of the top figures in the ninja world. For someone to collaborate with him as an equal, this man must be incredibly dangerous.
Deidara hoisted Anko over his shoulder and asked, "How do I get to the Aburame clan's district?"
Despite her weakened body, Anko's spirit remained unyielding. "Do you really think I'd tell an invader like you?"
"But if you don't tell me, I'll have to ask someone else. If that leads to more casualties, won't you feel guilty?"
"Wouldn't it be better for me to head straight to the Aburame clan? After all, they're all ninja—maybe they'll defeat me right away!"
Anko sighed. This man's twisted logic was infuriating, yet oddly persuasive.
"In the northeastern part of the village, within a forest," she finally relented, revealing the location of the Aburame clan.
As Deidara carried her toward the forest, he asked with interest, "By the way, did you manage to get reimbursed for that one million ryo?"
"If you didn't follow my advice and go by noon today, it's too late now."
Anko let out an annoyed huff. She finally understood why he had insisted she file the reimbursement by noon—it was because they were impostors, invaders.
"Did you or didn't you?"
When Anko didn't respond, Deidara turned to look at her. The clay snake slithered further up her body, its head nearly touching her face.
"I... I did!" Anko stammered, terrified by the grotesque snake head. She hated these slimy, cold-blooded creatures. It was one thing to summon them herself, but when controlled by someone else, they were utterly horrifying.
"Then make it back off!"
Thanks to the chaos engulfing Konoha, Deidara easily reached the Aburame clan's district with Anko's guidance.
"Who's there?"
A ninja wearing dark sunglasses and a high-collared coat, revealing even less of his face than Kakuzu, stepped out from the shadows.
The Aburame clan had noticed Deidara's presence as soon as he entered the forest. Many of the seemingly ordinary insects in the area were actually part of their surveillance network.
"Is that... Anko?" The Aburame ninja recognized the person slung over Deidara's shoulder.
"So, you're an enemy?" The ninja assumed a defensive stance.
"Keisen, be careful!"
"He's strong!" Anko managed to shout weakly, warning him.
The Aburame ninja adjusted his sunglasses. "I'll be careful."
"And by the way, my name is Aburame Chihisa!"
Anko blinked awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm feeling weak and mistook you for someone else."
Chihisa shook his head. "No need to apologize."
"After all, you'll probably mistake me for someone else next time too. Last time, you called me Shimi."
Anko: "I..."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Being mistaken for someone else happens all the time."
"Besides, I'm not chatting with you out of boredom."
"While we've been talking, my Destruction Bugs have already entered the enemy's body. Now, let me show you the Aburame clan's insect-controlling techniques!"
As Chihisa finished speaking, Deidara suddenly felt intense pain within his body, as if countless insects were gnawing at him.
He was no stranger to this sensation—he had fallen victim to a similar technique from another Aburame ninja, Shikun, in the past.
But this time was different. With his Clayification ability, he no longer needed to resort to self-detonation to resolve such issues.
Deidara's entire body transformed into white clay, soft and malleable like a slime. The clay expelled the Destruction Bugs from within, and Deidara reformed himself a few steps away with ease.
"You're with Akatsuki!" Chihisa exclaimed in shock.
After the last battle, even though Konoha had suffered defeat, they had managed to gather intelligence on Deidara, Sasori, and Konan. Chihisa immediately recognized him.
Chihisa's expression grew grim. According to the reports, the man before him was a solid Kage-level opponent—a foe neither he nor the Aburame clan could handle.
"I don't want to cause unnecessary destruction," Deidara said calmly. "I'm simply interested in the Aburame clan's insect-controlling techniques. If you let me study them, we can avoid a disaster."
Chihisa refused firmly. "That's not possible!"
"Then it seems we'll have to fight."
"You control insects, and I can create insects. Let's see whose bugs are superior!"
"C2 Special Type: Destruction Bug Hive!"
A massive white clay egg, about four to five meters tall and ten meters in diameter, appeared on the ground. The egg was riddled with countless tiny holes, from which swarms of clay destruction bugs emerged, quickly filling the entire forest.
"This is my artistic creation, inspired by your clan's destruction bugs. Today, I invite you to witness it firsthand."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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