Utakata's gaze shot skyward.
There, he spotted three figures in matching attire riding atop the giant clay bird.
His eyes narrowed with intense focus as he spoke, voice steady and resolute.
"If I'm not mistaken, all of you must be from Akatsuki, right?" Utakata asked firmly.
Deidara lifted an eyebrow, taken aback. He had never expected someone living in seclusion to know so much about the Rain Hidden Village's internal affairs.
"It seems, sir, you know quite a lot," Deidara said with a light chuckle.
Tobi tilted his head, surprise coloring his voice. "If that's true, then you certainly can't be allowed to leave, sir, seeing as you know some secrets."
Utakata's gaze hardened. His suspicion had been confirmed: the Rain Hidden Village had truly become nothing more than a puppet regime.
Without hesitation, Utakata called out his jutsu.
"Bubble Ninjutsu!" he declared, unleashing his technique at once.
There was no hesitation, no restraint in his attack. Utakata saw these intruders as a threat to his home, and he struck immediately.
In an instant, strange foam constructs filled the sky, all surging toward the three figures riding above.
Tobi's eyes bulged and he leapt from the clay bird in alarm.
"Deidara-san, Deidara-san, help…help me!" Tobi cried out, voice quaking.
"What I heard in the intel is true," he gasped, trembling with fear. "Those foam constructs, they're lethal. Anything they touch explodes. You have to dodge, quickly, please dodge!"
Deidara responded with a look of pure disdain.
"Tobi, you fool," Deidara snapped, voice raised. "You've been with me long enough, why can't you act a bit more composed?"
Under Deidara's command, the clay bird rose sharply, ascending toward the sky where the foam attack was converging.
Explosions erupted instantly around them, powerful blasts shaking the very space. Shockwaves rippled through the air until it seemed the world itself flickered and blurred under the pressure.
"Good heavens," Deidara murmured, eyes narrowed. "This guy's strength isn't to be underestimated."
The force of the blasts rivaled that of his own C2 clay bomb, so Deidara approached with caution.
Tobi, still shaken but trying to be clever, added with a grin, "Deidara-san, if you had Ashveil's strength, surely you wouldn't be saying such things, right?"
Deidara's eye twitched. Why did this blasted Tobi always have to jab at him?
"You scoundrel Tobi," Deidara growled, veins throbbing, "if you're so capable, why don't you go handle it yourself!"
Tobi just smirked proudly.
"Did I hit a nerve, Deidara-san?" he teased with triumph.
Deidara ignored him and shaped his hands, sending a volley of clay bombs shooting toward the ground below, aimed at the Six-Tails.
Small clay birds erupted outward, followed by booming blasts that shook the earth. Flames roared upward, scorching heat weakening the air until reality seemed to shimmer and distort.
Smoky plumes quickly filled the space below Deidara's clay bird. When the smoke cleared, Utakata's figure was gone.
"Hahaha! He's done for!" Deidara laughed triumphantly.
But Ashveil watched with a calm, faint smile.
"It's not over," Ashveil reminded, voice steady. "This Six-Tails has entered its half-tailed beast state."
"What?" Deidara paused, uncertainty creeping in.
Suddenly, Utakata reappeared, now enveloped in the red tailed-beast chakra cloak, charging fiercely toward them.
Seeing this, Tobi leapt from the clay bird again, panicked.
"Deidara-san! I told you, you can't be relied upon!" he cried.
Deidara's jaw clenched, anger and frustration rising.
"Shut your mouth, Tobi!"
In desperation, Tobi hurled a shuriken at the approaching Six-Tails. But upon contact, the shuriken dissolved instantly into wisps of smoke, corroded by the cloak's terrifying corrosive power.
"This tailed-beast cloak has corrosive properties!" Deidara called out seriously. "Everyone be careful!"
Before they could react further, Ashveil stepped forward and unleashed a massive Conqueror's Haki-infused palm strike.
The force of the attack was overwhelming.
Boom!
Utakata, still in his half-tailed transformation, was struck full force and sent flying with tremendous violence. His mournful howl echoed as his body hurtled through forests, rivers, and mountains, crushing everything in his path beneath the impact.
Trees snapped like twigs, rivers churned into foam, and entire hillsides were pulverized as Utakata's body finally skidded to a halt in a distant valley.
Those watching on the ground trembled at both the destructive force and the sheer intensity of Ashveil's strike.
Deidara and Tobi stared in stunned silence from above.
Deidara, eyes wide, muttered under his breath, "That's…Ashveil's strength."
Tobi just stared, utterly speechless.
With the danger momentarily quelled, the giant clay bird hovered above the now calmer battlefield.
_____
Read Chapters in advance, Become a supporter 🌷
And join the journey
Patreon.com/Zphyr
Countless chapters await you🥀