Seeing the change on Gaara, Sasori frowned. He could feel the intense chakra emitting from Gaara, so dense it made it a little suffocating.
"So what if you got some extra additions, let's see how you handle this" Deidara scowled as the clay dragon dove down and dropped several clay bombs from its mouth.
Deidara flew close by, forming clay birds that dove down from the side to surround Gaara.
Gaara looked up at the falling bombs and opened his mouth.
Sasori felt chakra gather at a single concentrated point, and immediately yelled.
"Deidara, fly higher!" He roared as he charged at Gaara
Deidara didn't understand the situation, but followed Sasori's instructions as soon as he heard them.
Sasori appeared next to Gaara with blades in his hand, targeting Gaara's neck, however, Gaara raised one arm up, striking at the incoming Sasori with his claw that exceeded the size of his head.
The blade made his arm budge a little, however, it couldn't cut through at all.
The next moment, Deidara saw a black object fly through the sky, and when it appeared in the center of all the clay bombs, it expanded.
*Boom*
The beast bomb expanded rapidly, swallowing the clay bombs with ease as explosions rang out around it. Then, it detonated in the air.
The shockwave alone cause the clay bird Deidara was flying on to get blown back, while the clay dragon was swallowed by the massive explosion that occurred.
The sight before Deidara was a terrifying one, but staring at it, his eyes shone brighter than it ever did.
"Beautiful..." He muttered
'This is it, the type of destructive force I desire to achieve with my explosions, the power, the ringing of my ears, every bit of it was beautiful' He gulped, desiring such an artistic power for himself.
*Boom*
However, he then saw a red figure below that was sent flying back. Sasori failed to stop Gaara from releasing the beast bomb, and as a result, he was knocked away with a swing of his arm.
"Senpai, I'm coming!" He yelled as he dove down
Sasori's calculative eyes stared at Gaara as he stabilised himself, not letting that monster out of his sight. Gaara's current physicality is beyond what he can handle at close quarters now, so he gave up close combat entirely.
"You can't run" Gaara said as he clasped his hands together
The sand beneath him began to move, and two hands soared up with him in it.
*Boom*
Clay balls dropped down on the hand, blowing the fingers to bits, allowing Sasori to escape the situation.
"Wind style, air bullet" Gaara said as he opened his beast like jaws.
*Boom*
Though it was called air bullets, each one that he shot out were more like cannon shots, and with it's speed, it reached the clay bird almost instantly, blowing holes after holes into its wings.
"Gah, what the!" Deidara didn't even realise what happened when those holes formed, and the clay bird began falling.
He quickly gathered more clay, and created a smaller bird that he grabbed onto, and had him fly up as the large bird crashed into the ground.
"I thought he can only use sand, what is this!" Deidara exlaimed
"The one tail sealed in him is proficient in both earth and wing style" Sasori replied
"Tch, great, as if that monster needs more in his arsenal" Deidara clicked his tongue and said
Sasori was in agreement, as is, they might not be able to capture Gaara, which is a major concern.
'We waited too long and allowed him to develop, it was our oversight' He thought
He gazed at Gaara, then at the village behind him. It took a second, but then clicked, Gaara, despite having such an overwhelming advantage, never actually chased after them.
"Deidara, do as I say, create as many clay bombs of moderate size as you can...and aim it at the village behind" He said
Deidara thought for a bit, then a cruel smile appeared on his face
"Got it, senpai" He said
Gaara suddenly had a bad premonition, he quickly formed more air bullets that he shot at them, whilst also controlling the sand to shoot up spikes at them.
He didn't know what they were planning, but the look in their eyes carried extreme coldness and cruelty, he knew they would so something drastic.
Sasori evaded the spikes and air bullets, though Deidara wasn't as skilled in evasion. The air bullet destroyed the clay bird he held onto, and the spikes shot up at him.
*Whoosh*
Right before he was struck, he felt something pull his entire body. He looked down, seeing strands of blue chakra strings wrapped around his body, pulling him towards Sasori.
"Thanks, senpai, now it's my turn" He smiled
Dozens of clay birds formed as he threw out clay. Gaara narrowed his eyes, and formed a sand wall, but the next moment, the birds flew right past the walls, causing his pupils to shrink.
The birds didn't look like they were targeting him whatsoever, no, it was...the village!
He hurriedly controlled the sand below to rise up from the village, and formed a roof high above the village, just in time to block the birds that rained down on him.
However, after blocking the first wave, Deidara had created even more, which made his expression darken.
Since they couldn't win against him outright, they had turned to targeting the village. He looked down, Kankuro was still trapped within the barrier which only made his tense heart even tighter.
'I need to stay calm'
He raised a large segment of sand that started to encase the entire village from above.
"Don't look away" Sasori's voice sounded beside him
*Bang*
Gaara swung his claw at him, whilst creating a wave of sand in the process at where he struck, but Sasori leapt up and grabbed onto a clay bird that flew him higher.
"Tsk" Gaara continued to form the barrier of sand above the village
[Gaara, this consumes too much chakra, you won't last long if you maintain it] Shukaku said
'That is why I will finish them off before I run out' Gaara replied coldly
[That's not the only issue Gaara, there's also the poison, although I have forcibly stabilised it, once you use up more chakra, I won't be able to stop the poison] Shukaku said, but it only hardened Gaara's resolve
Deidara continued to rain down clay bombs on the sand barrier Gaara had formed which wore down on his chakra even more.
"His turtle shell is tough" Deidara scowled
"Keep it up, he's poisoned as well, so he won't last long" Sasori replied
Deidara nodded, and created larger clay bombs.
*Boom*
Through the sand dome created by Gaara, a large figure burst through.
"The one tail!" A smaller version of Shukaku came at them from the dome at an explosive speed.
"He's chosen to go all out, keep raining bombs on the dome to waste his chakra, I'll hold him off of you" Sasori said
"Yes, senpai, be careful" He said to Sasori before flying over the dome
*Boom*
Right when he did, a massive figure landed right in front of Sasori. Black eyes that were so hollow one cannot see the depth, and a golden diamond pupil in the center that stared into his soul.
*Graaaah*
Gaara let out a deafening roar that made Deidara tremble despite being so far away.
Pillars of sand rose from the ground beneath Sasori's feet.
'He's using everything he has, he wants to finish this fast' Sasori thought as he evaded each pillar
*Bang*
Right when he leapt past a rising pillar, a massive figure burst through the pillar, bashing into him.
Spikes protruded from Gaara's shoulders, slamming into Sasori.
"Senpai!" Deidara's scream echoed upon witnessing this, his face turning pale
"Keep bombing the done!" Sasori shouted
On the final moment, he grabbed the spike, barely avoiding being pierced by the, but he was slammed through a pillar before he pulled himself away.
He looked down...his right hand and shoulder had cracks running through them.
'It's damaged, annoying'
*Shing*
Black patterns began appearing on the sand around Gaara, and the patterns emitted a faint blue glow that created a powerful force that pulled him towards it.
'Magnetic control!' Sasori thought
His mind raced
Spikes formed around Gaara once more as he ran at Sasori, who was being pulled in by the magnetic field created by the seal marks on Shukaku's body.
'I can't hide it anymore' He waved his hand, and the force that pulled him towards Gaara halted
*Whoosh*
*Bang*
Before Gaara made it to Sasori, he was stopped by a wave of black sand like substance. It was heavy and dense, many times that of sand.
Gaara's pupils shrunk as he stared at the black sand, and the figure that had appeared behind Sasori. A puppet draped in a long grey coat, with fur around the collar, its deep blue hair contrasted the golden sand around.
"Th-The third-sama!" Gaara exclaimed in shock
It was said that the third Kazekage, who was known for his magnetic control and iron sand, had gone missing, but seeing this puppet and black sand, Gaara realised what had happened.
"I didn't think I'd have to bring this out to deal with you, but I would never have expected that you can even use the Ichibi's magnetic field" Sasori said
Gaara's eyes narrowed as he condensed the surrounding sand to wash towards Sasori, wanting to drown him in sand.
However, with a wave of his hand, the iron sand surged around him, easily blocking the flow of sand.
*Boom*
Gaara trembled as he felt a massive shock strike the dome he created. He looked up at Deidara, and was about to shoot an air bullet at him to stop him, but iron sand surged towards him.
The mix of iron and yellow sand swirled, but with the density and weight of the iron sand, Gaara found himself unable to conjure large attacks like before.
*Boom*
He could hear the sound of the dome slowly collapsing under the constant barrage from Deidara.
[Gaara, leave! We can't win this] Shukaku yelled
'If I leave, then the village will be done for' Gaara replied
Shukaku wanted to argue, but the determination that Gaara held isn't something he can get through to with mere words.
Soon, a deep sigh exited from Shukaku
[Crazy b*stard...fine! We will go all out then! One last gift for them, it's live or die!] Shukaku roared
Gaara felt an intense surge in chakra, so much that his body ached, but he understood Shukaku's intentions.
Yes, one final gamble!
He opened his mouth, and a condensed ball of chakra formed.
Sasori gathered the iron sand to surround Gaara so the beast bomb could be contained, but his hand stiffened when he realised that the size of the bomb didn't stop growing at all.
No, it kept growing!
"Crazy! Deidara, retreat!" Sasori yelled
Deidara turned around and saw the massive beast bomb. He felt his heart jump to his throat, the sheer size made his legs weaken, almost falling off the bird.
Earlier, one bomb the size of a basketball had expanded into the size of a large house, causing an explosion that he stared at in awe, but this one? This is beyond that! Way the f**k beyond!
Deidara turned around, and Sasori controlled the iron sand to serve as a wave that carried him further away.
Neither tried to stop the bomb from forming either, if they attacked Gaara now, the beast bomb would set off right away, taking all of them out!
This is the first time Sasori had felt fear in many years, the all out beast bomb of a desperate tailed beast.
*Psht*
When Deidara thought he could fly away safely, a ball of sand shot up, piercing the wing of the bird.
!!!!!!!
He looked back as the bird below him fell, Gaara's look of contempt as he continued to fuel the beast bomb.
Sasori looked back, and seeing Deidara fall behind made his mind blank. If he fell here, he isn't getting up again...he's going to die.
'Die...Deidara is going to die?' This sentence echoed in his head as more voices slowly rang.
[Senpai, check out this trick, tada, a flower!]
[Senpai, your art is so wonderful, come on, let's combine our art!]
[Whoah! Senpai, you're so strong, hahaha, we got them!]
[Lo~ve~, sen~pai~ <3]
He heard Deidara's words echo slowly in his mind, his bright cheerful smile as he made a clay flower for him.
"no..." He muttered
Without thinking anymore, he stopped running, and headed back to where Deidara fell. Using the iron sand, he formed a hand that caught Deidara, and was about to pull him over when he saw it.
The beast bomb had stopped growing, meaning...it's complete.
He pulled Deidara to himself and summoned all the iron sand he could muster with the puppet to dorm a dome around the two of them.
["TAKE THIS! OUR FINAL GIFT"] Shukaku and Gaara's voice both echoed across the desert as he released the beast bomb on them.
The massive orb that eclipsed even a mansion crashed down upon the iron sand dome.
"Pfft" Sasori pressed Deidara below him, and used his chakra to fortify the iron sand, causing a backlash upon contact with the beast bomb.
"S-Senpai!" Deidara shouted
Sasori placed a finger over Deidara's lips
"After this ends...capture the beast, and fly away as soon as possible" He said
*Crackle*
Cracks formed on Sasori's face, which made Deidara's heart sink.
The explosion outside tore apart the iron sand structure, eating through it as if it was paper.
*Boom*
Deidara watched as the iron dome was breached, and an intense wave of chakra washed over them.
He grabbed Sasori's collar
"Move! Get out before you die!" He yelled
But Sasori's emotionless face revealed a faint smile as he shook his head.
"GAAAH!"
Sasori and Deidara's screams rang, but it was completely overshadowed by the explosion that detonated above them.
The desert shook, sandstorms formed from the shockwave, and the dome that covered the village slowly collapsed on itself.
Gaara watched the explosion go off, the sand covering his body slid down, slowly blown away by the shockwave.
His heavy eyes could hardly maintain itself as an empty feeling overcame him. Every bit of chakra he had was used up, and his consciousness slowly dissipated.
Standing tall...he fell unconscious.
The explosion was devastating, tearing a massive hole through the desert, with no rocks remaining intact inside the radius.
Near the edge of the explosion, there was a faint mixture of black and yellow sand...
*Whoosh*
Sand slid down into the crater, and as it slid, two figures were slowly revealed.
Deidara was below Sasori, who covered him with his body. Cracks covered the entirety of Sasori's body, while scorch marks were seared over Deidara's. Sasori's back was collapsed, revealing a hollow interior, while his cracked face had half crumbled.
Deidara's eyes trembled, intense pain invaded his body when he tried to move.
"Hah!" He coughed, spitting out sand as he gradually regained consciousness.
"S-Senpai..." He muttered as his blurry eyes adjusted
When his eyes fully opened, he saw the state of Sasori's body, and his heart twisted in pain. His eyes, though already dried from the desert heat and sand, had begun to moisten up again.
"Sasori senpai! Senpai!" He yelled
*Creak*
Sasori twitched, his head bobbed down, staring into Deidara's eyes
"Shut up" He mouthed out
Deidara almost jumped
"S-Sasori senpai, you're alive!"
Sasori's creaking body trembled, then he sat back.
"Do I look alive to you?" He asked as his cloak slid down, revealing a sleek inhuman interior, one that resembled a puppet.
It was only now that Deidara saw what laid below, a puppet body with circle on his chest, written with the kanji word "Scorpion" on it.
"S-Senpai was a puppet this whole time?" Deidara asked
"Questions for later, take out one of my scrolls and summon a puppet for me" He said
"Right away" Deidara nodded as he summoned one of Sasori's puppet.
It was no features on it whatsoever, but it had a cylindrical hole on the chest. After he summoned it, the circle on Sasori's chest turned, and popped out, flying towards the featureless puppet.
When it flew into the hole on the puppet's chest, red hair grew on the puppet's head, and a facial structure formed.
"Woah! Senpai can clone himself!" He exclaimed
"Close, but it's just changing puppet bodies" Sasori replied as he stored away his broken body.
In the distance, he saw the third Kazekage's puppet body, which had numerous cracks running through it.
He stored the puppet away, then turned to Deidara.
"How are you" he asked
"I-I'm fine" Deidara replied, but then he started coughing heavily, even coughing out blood, which made Sasori clench his fists tightly.
"Stay here...I'll go capture the Ichibi" He said
"R-Right, be careful senpai" Deidara nodded weakly.
Sasori exited the pit and scanned the land around, soon landing his sights on a figure in the distance.
His pupils shrunk
'He's still standing!' He brandished a new pair of blades and approached with caution, but as he got closer, he soon realised that Gaara was not moving.
By the time he was just a few meters away, he understood, Gaara...is no longer conscious.
Standing tall where he was, even without conscious, he still exerted a suppressive aura, the dignity of a ruler, the Kage of Sunagakure.
"Truly, you have grown so strong we would have failed to capture you if not for your ties to this land, Sunagakure would have risen to a new standing under your rule" Sasori spoke with pure respect, as Gaara had stood his ground until the very end.
He reached out his hand and grabbed Gaara, who put up no resistance. Poison had seemed across his entire body, and he could feel a faint trace of chakra that barely kept him alive, seemingly supplied for the remaining reserve of Shukaku.
"Deidara, can you create a bird" He landed down in the pit and asked Deidara, whose face was paler than before.
Deidara made a hand sign, but after a bit, he coughed out blood as his body wobbled.
"Don't push yourself" Sasori said, his voice carrying a rare trace of care in them
"S-Sorry senpai...I was just a burden throughout that battle" He muttered
The reason Sasori was caught in the final beast bomb was because of him, and now, he couldn't even muster the strength to create a clay bird.
"It's fine" Sasori replied as he summoned two puppets. One picked up Deidara, and the other picked up Gaara.
"We should be able to make it back by the end of the day" He said calmly
As he spoke, he already began controlling the puppets to follow him. After he finished speaking, he slowly turned back to Deidara.
"Deidara...you did well" He said quietly
"Huh? What was that, senpai?" Deidara asked, Sasori had spoken too quietly for him to hear just now.
"Nothing" Sasori shook his head and said
"Okay"
As they were leaving, Sasori slowly became more at ease with Gaara captured. However, right when they were about to leave the area of Sunagakure, and into the open desert, he felt something that made his mind blank.
*Shatter*
"Hah..." His head turned back, but his body kept moving...
In the far distance, his eyes barely made out what happened.
Standing outside the village, the purple barrier had chattered, with a figure holding a blue chain in hand. His entire face was purple, coughing out blood, yet he held on through sheer will.
'H-How did he break out!'
Kankuro stared at the figures that disappeared from view
In his other hand, he held a kunai
"I'll leave it to you now..." He muttered as he threw the kunai
After he threw it, his body wobbled, slowly falling back.
*Poof*
Before it happened, a hand reached out and caught him mid fall.
"How'd you land yourself in this situation, Kankuro?" A casual voice sounded in his ears
There were many things he wanted to say right now, but he didn't have enough time.
"G-Gaara, they got him" He said weakly
Standing before him, was a blonde boy in a white lab coat. On his head was a pair of safety glasses, along with strange coloured liquid splattered on his coat.
"The Akatsuki huh? I didn't think they'd be able to get him with how much he grew" Naruto sighed
"Well, let's get you patched up first" He said as he teleported along with Kankuro.
*Whoosh*
He appeared in the hospital office, and when he appeared, a lot of stumbling sound rang as the person at the desk scrambled up from the chair.
"I wasn't sleeping!" She yelled when she heard someone enter
"Chill Sakura, I just need you to treat this guy real quick" Naruto said as he tossed Kankuro over to her.
Sakura caught him carefully
"You want me to treat him when you toss him so casually? Hah, what a guy" Sakura muttered, relaxing when she realised it was Naruto who walked in
"Less talking, more healing" Naruto replied
"Fine, fine" Sakura said
She placed a hand over Kankuro and a green light coated his body.
"His injuries aren't bad, he's just badly poisoned" She said as she took out a needle and poked the end of his finger.
She then began guiding her chakra through Kankuro's body, towards his fingertip. Soon, black liquid began seeping out along with blood. She repeated this process a few times, clearing out the poison that had spread through his body.
"He's out of the danger zone, so, what happened?" Sakura asked
"The Akatsuki attacked Sunagakure, and Gaara was captured, so I intend to go find him" He replied
"Alone?" Sakura asked
"As if, I'm not as immature as to go find them alone" Naruto replied
"...need I remind you that you always went in alone against them?" Sakura asked with a raised brow
"Yes, but that's different" Naruto replied
"How so?" She asked
"That was when I was young and hot blooded" He crossed his arms and said
"That was last year" Sakura added
"And a year is enough for anyone to grow" He replied proudly
"You haven't matured one bit" Sakura sighed as she shook her head
After Sakura's treatment, Kankuro's complexion gradually returned, regaining colour.
'Let's see which way they went' Whilst waiting for Kankuro's recovery, Naruto took a scroll from Kankuro, the same one that was used to alert him of when the Akatsuki attacked.
He opened the scroll and a map appeared. Two faint red dots appeared on the map, moving rapidly across the land.
'It seems they're about to enter that place' He thought
'...Gaara will survive it, right?' He wondered when he saw where the red dots were heading.
-Sunagakure-
"To think he broke through the barrier" Sasori muttered
"Right when Gaara was finally defeated, now we need to be wary of that nine tails kid" Deidara grumbled
Sasori nodded, he constantly scanned the area, and thankfully, Naruto didn't seem to have caught up as of yet.
"We'll take a detour just in case" Sasori said
"Yes senpai"
Sasori controlled his puppets to take a sharp turn with him, heading in a very different direction from before to ensure they don't get followed.
*Crack*
"What was that sound?" Sasori muttered, when he took a step just now, he seemed to have heard something crack beneath his feet...
The next moment...
*Boom*
A massive explosion went off, sending them tumbling. Deidara's face was planted into the sand due to the impact, and the puppet that carried him was charred black.
Gaara was quite lucky and didn't get harmed, while Sasori took the brunt of it, almost losing his leg had he not reacted fast enough.
"A trap? How can this be" Sasori muttered
He changed directions, but...
*Boom*
Another explosion!
Sasori refused to believe that he would keep stepping on explosions...and he'd be right! Because the next one released poison! He wasn't affected, but Deidara will is definitely susceptible to it!
*Boom*
*Psht*
*Boom*
*Boom*
Explosions after explosions rang in the desert, and Sasori almost lost his mind navigating this place! Why are there so many!
'Which insane maniac planted so many explosives! This place is practically a minefield!'
Deidara had his face stuffed with sand many times, and even Gaara could not escape the fate of being sent flying. On an occasion, they would be extra unlucky, activating chained explosions that knocked them around like ping pong balls...
Deidara was on the verge of tears
"Why are there so many explosives! I like explosions, but not this type" He said with a sniffle
It's not that he didn't appreciate the artistic approach of it, it's simply because they are on a tight schedule, and need to leave quickly, but these explosives are making it extra hard!
"S-Senpai, are you alright?" He asked Sasori
Sasori was completely silent after the first few explosives, and despite his expressionless face, Deidara knew it...he was furious.
"If only I can make a clay bird right now, we won't have to worry about the explosives on the ground" Deidara muttered
His sentence made Sasori pause
'That's right, I can just chakra strings to control puppets, and have them carry us slightly off the ground' He thought
He quickly summoned a few more puppets that he controlled to hold onto them, lifting them just above the ground.
"Great idea senpai" Deidara grinned
"Your words gave me a hint" Sasori replied
Though they floated over the desert at a slower pace than before, it was overall faster than running through the explosives, at least now they're making progress.
At that moment in Konoha, Naruto noticed the explosives stopped going off
"Probably flying now, since that's the case...I'll set them all off then" He said as he snapped his fingers
-Sunagakure-
They had only experienced a few moments of freedom when...
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
"..." They saw explosions start going off everywhere, even far off in the distance! Just how many are there!?
Before they knew it...they were blown sky high...