In the end, Deidara and Jiraiya switched directions. Jiraiya headed back to the village for reinforcements, while Deidara made his way to the Land of Hot Water to confront the Evil God.
As for the Sage's brothers, per the Sage of Six Paths' explicit instructions, they remained stationed at the barrier to prevent more ancient deities from breaking through.
This left the Death God and the Evil God to be dealt with by Deidara and his allies.
Knowing the strength of their opponents, Deidara, for once, decided to be cautious. As he rushed toward the Land of Hot Water, he began chewing on clay.
By the time he arrived, an enhanced version of the Death Wings, crafted using Perfect Clay, was ready.
Roar!
The dragon's roar and the sound of its wings cutting through the air drew the attention of everyone in the Land of Hot Water. They looked up to the sky and saw a massive beast emerging from the clouds. From a distance, its sheer size made it impossible to discern its full form, as if it filled the entire heavens.
"It's Deidara!"
On the ground, Hidan looked utterly battered. His body was covered in the black tendrils of Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear, and it was unclear how many times his body had been torn apart and stitched back together.
Although they had successfully sealed all of the Evil God's followers earlier, now that they were facing the real Evil God, they found themselves utterly powerless.
The gap in strength was simply too vast.
"Hehehe, so you're the anomaly of fate?"
"I suppose I should thank you for my escape. So, let me grant you a painful death as a reward!"
The Evil God's appearance was not beastly but humanoid. His entire body was pitch black, with his skeletal structure starkly outlined in white.
Other than his distinct facial features, his state was identical to Hidan's after activating Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood.
After all, the Evil God was the source of Hidan's power. One could even say Hidan resembled the Evil God, not the other way around.
The Evil God wielded a long, blood-red scythe, pointing it arrogantly at Deidara in the sky.
"You all should step back. I wouldn't want you to get caught in the explosion," Deidara warned the people on the ground. The Evil God's brief rampage had already caused significant casualties.
Ōnoki flew up to join Deidara, standing beside him.
"This old man will stay and help you."
"My Dust Release can still deal significant damage to the Evil God."
Deidara nodded, not declining the offer. What he truly valued wasn't Ōnoki's Dust Release but his mastery of the Light/Heavy-Weight Rock Technique, which provided incredible mobility.
"Old man, be careful not to die."
"Otherwise, Kurotsuchi will never let me hear the end of it."
Ōnoki shot him a defiant glare. "You too. I don't want to see my precious granddaughter heartbroken."
"Hmph!" The two exchanged a smirk before simultaneously launching an attack on the Evil God below.
"Earth Release: Falling Clay!"
"C3 Special Type: Asura Path!"
The Evil God dodged effortlessly, displaying extraordinary taijutsu. He raised his scythe, which suddenly grew to an enormous size, and slashed diagonally at the Asura Path that had just landed.
"Why!"
"Why!"
"This flimsy, pathetic texture disgusts me! I want the feeling of slicing through flesh, of blood splattering everywhere!"
"This thing of yours is an insult to me!"
After slicing the Asura Path in half, the Evil God didn't appear pleased. Instead, he gripped his scythe and erupted in a furious outburst, as if genuinely offended.
This sense of insult quickly turned to rage. The Evil God stomped on the remains of the Asura Path, leaping high into the air. His scythe grew even larger, swinging down like a blood-red crescent moon to cleave the massive dragon in two.
But the C4 Death Wings was far more durable than the Asura Path. When the Evil God's scythe struck, it left only a shallow wound. Instead, the clay trapped the scythe, leaving the Evil God momentarily stuck.
"Clay Myriad Snake Hands!"
Seizing the opportunity, Deidara extended his right hand, unleashing countless white clay snakes. They arced through the air, rapidly encircling the Evil God.
Boom!
A massive explosion lit up the sky. Yet, when the smoke cleared, the Evil God emerged unscathed. He stepped on his scythe and advanced toward the two atop the dragon.
Deidara had anticipated this. He knew such an attack wouldn't work, and his real trump card was only now coming into play.
"Heavy-Weight Rock Technique!"
The dragon's claws, enhanced with increased weight, struck with immense force. Though made of clay, the sharp talons gleamed like metal under the sunlight.
"You think this will work? You can't even hit me!" the Evil God taunted.
A large form had its advantages, but so did a smaller one. The Evil God showcased the benefits of his size, dodging the attack with ease. If it had been the Yamata no Orochi from last time, there was no way it could have avoided such a strike.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
Ōnoki spat out a long earth dragon from his mouth, lightly tapping it with his hand.
Enhanced by the Light-Weight Rock Technique, the earth dragon twisted and turned in midair, adapting to its newfound agility. Then, like an arrow loosed from a bow, it shot straight at the Evil God's chest.
"Do you really think this will work?"
The Evil God was sent flying but laughed arrogantly mid-air.
"What about this?"
The Death Wings' head turned, its belly contracting slightly before releasing a continuous stream of scorching flames.
"Ah! It burns!"
Bathed in the flames, the Evil God screamed in pain. However, his black-and-white state seemed to grant him extraordinary defenses or perhaps resistance to various techniques.
The high-temperature Dragon Breath left no visible effect.
Wait!
Deidara felt a strange, sticky sensation beneath his feet. Looking down, he realized the Death Wings was melting, as if it too was being burned by the high-temperature flames.
High-temperature flames?
Could the Evil God curse even non-living entities?
Deidara was shocked and quickly ceased the Dragon Breath. Sure enough, as the flames stopped, the Death Wings also stopped melting.
"Hehehe, you noticed?"
The Evil God retrieved his scythe and landed steadily on the ground.
He looked up at Deidara and sneered, "Anything I attack, whether alive or not, will be affected by my synchronized curse."
"Come on! Come on! Hit me with more flames!"
"Melt me completely!"
As the Evil God laughed maniacally, Deidara felt a headache coming on. He wasn't sure if Kakuzu and Hidan had retreated to a safe distance yet.
Sometimes, having explosions that are too powerful isn't necessarily a good thing.
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