At this moment.
Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi finally noticed Deidara riding his great white bird, hovering in the sky directly above them. Those white explosive birds from earlier were clearly Deidara's doing.
Terumi Mei covered her mouth and nose with her arm, quickly retreating from the smoke produced by the explosions, looking somewhat disheveled.
"Deidara?!"
Terumi Mei also spotted Deidara appearing in the sky, and her expression darkened.
According to battlefield intelligence from some time ago, the one fighting Deidara should have been Kisame Hoshigaki. If Deidara was here, then what about Kisame Hoshigaki?
A bad feeling rose in Terumi Mei's heart. Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi beside her had thought of the same thing, and expressions of delight appeared on their faces.
If they could take down one of the Hidden Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, it would not only crush the Mist's morale but also deprive them of a crucial fighting force. That would be extremely favorable for the course of the battle!
Just as both sides assumed Kisame Hoshigaki had met with misfortune, a somewhat battered dark figure came leaping swiftly from nearby. In just a few blinks, he appeared at Terumi Mei's side.
"Kisame Hoshigaki?"
Terumi Mei looked at Kisame, who had appeared beside her — battered and disheveled, but apparently not seriously injured. She was startled for a moment, then spoke with surprise.
"Mizukage-sama, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop that guy."
Kisame's tone carried no small amount of helplessness. Deidara's ability to move freely through the air was a significant counter to a ninja of his type.
If Deidara wanted to leave, Kisame simply couldn't stop him!
"The enemy has the ability to fly — it's certainly difficult to deal with."
Terumi Mei turned back around, her gaze heavy as she looked ahead. There was no blame in her words toward Kisame.
Seeing that Kisame Hoshigaki hadn't died, Kitsuchi's eyes flashed with disappointment. He had assumed the guy was already dead.
"Are you alright, Deidara?"
Kitsuchi looked up at Deidara in the sky, his tone carrying a hint of concern.
"I'm perfectly fine."
"This huge battlefield is the perfect place for me to unleash my art!"
Sitting cross-legged atop his white bird, Deidara's eyes held a faint trace of madness.
From the edge of the battlefield all the way to the center, releasing clay bombs the entire way, Deidara had come to realize that the art he pursued was best suited for a place like this!
He was nothing like that guy Sasori. Art was never about eternal beauty — only the beauty produced in a single instant was true art!
Hearing the somewhat unhinged words in Deidara's voice, Kitsuchi's gaze flickered with helplessness. He had known for a long time that Deidara had issues with his personality.
Because of that, he had seriously clashed with the old man, and had even defected from his village in the end.
"The beauty of the instant…"
Deidara murmured those words softly, his eyes gleaming faintly. Then he abruptly lowered his head, looking down toward Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi below.
"Hey, you two! Gather all the ninja and have them converge toward the center of the battlefield. I've got an ultimate work of art here!"
Deidara shouted down loudly to Kitsuchi.
Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi both froze, clearly not understanding what Deidara was trying to do.
"Deidara, what do you mean by that?"
Suspicion colored Akatsuchi's expression. To be honest, she had never really trusted Deidara from the very beginning.
"Do as Deidara says. Order all squads to converge on the center of the battlefield."
After a brief hesitation, Kitsuchi immediately issued the order to Akatsuchi. Seeing that Akatsuchi still hadn't moved and seemed about to argue, Kitsuchi's expression turned serious:
"We have no way to retreat now. With the current state of the battlefield, 'defeat' is only a matter of time. In that case, we might as well trust Deidara once."
"Fine!" Akatsuchi gritted her teeth, cast a cautious glance at Terumi Mei and Kisame Hoshigaki not far away, then took several steps back and swiftly departed.
Terumi Mei and Kisame Hoshigaki naturally noticed Akatsuchi suddenly leaving. Though puzzled, it was clear the other side wouldn't be giving them any answers.
The two sides' vanguard forces crossed paths in the air. After a moment of silence, the fighting resumed.
All manner of Earth Release and Water Release jutsu flew back and forth, colliding continuously. Deidara in the sky also rained down a barrage of various clay bombs, blasting away indiscriminately at Terumi Mei and the others!
Boom boom boom!
The rumbling grew louder and louder, surge after surge reaching toward the sky.
Unfortunately, with Deidara providing suppression from above, even though Akatsuchi had left as a helper, Terumi Mei and Kisame Hoshigaki still couldn't take down the other side in a short time!
Against an opponent like Deidara, in a large-scale battle, he was simply too annoying!
Terumi Mei didn't dare let Deidara leave this area at all. His clay bombs were troublesome enough for jounin — let alone for the genin and chunin. If Deidara entered another section of the battlefield, it would be a death sentence for them.
As time passed!
Terumi Mei suddenly noticed more and more Stone ninja beginning to gather toward this central battlefield.
The result was that large numbers of Mist ninja also converged here in turn — after all, their opponents had all left their positions, so naturally they followed in pursuit!
"What on earth is going on?"
Terumi Mei leapt into midair and performed a swift turn, landing on the ground to dodge Deidara and Kitsuchi's jutsu attacks. Her face showed a grave expression.
Swoosh!!
Several sounds of cutting air came from behind. Ao, Chojuro, and the others arrived with a few leaps, appearing at Terumi Mei and Kisame Hoshigaki's side.
"What happened, Ao?"
Seeing Ao, Terumi Mei quickly asked.
"I'm sorry, Mizukage-sama. I haven't figured out what these Stone ninja are planning either."
"But from what we've observed, all the Stone ninja have started converging in this direction, so our people followed right behind."
"It seems the enemy is carrying out some kind of plan — gathering everyone here."
Ao wiped some ash from his face, speaking with a solemn expression.
Hearing Ao's analysis, Terumi Mei nodded. Her own judgment matched his — the enemy was clearly deliberately gathering everyone in one place.
But what was the purpose?
Right now, not only were their Hidden Mist forces gathered here, but the Hidden Stone forces had also assembled in full. If something truly happened, no one would be able to escape!
As both sides' ninja gradually converged toward the center of the battlefield, the clashes and fighting between them began to slowly diminish.
[
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