Seeing that Sasori truly seemed angry, Deidara immediately began explaining himself.
After listening to his explanation, Sasori finally let his killing intent fade.
"Next time, make sure you hear me clearly before you act."
Deidara looked aggrieved. "I thought… an explosion of that level was something Sasori‑san wouldn't even notice…"
A "small" explosion?
Damn it. Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what "small" means? You really just wanted to blow me up along with it, didn't you?!
Sasori was furious, but he couldn't break his cool, composed persona. He replied calmly, "Of course I wouldn't care about your little tricks. It was just… the noise was too loud and sudden. It startled me, that's all."
"Oh! I see! If I'd known that, I shouldn't have used C3 Number Eighteen at all — I should have used C4 Garuda instead!"
Deidara smacked his palm with his fist, full of regret.
C4 Garuda — the technique Deidara had invented specifically to kill Itachi.
It detonated silently, but released countless microscopic clay spiders into the air, covering a vast area.
Any living being that inhaled them would effectively have bombs planted inside every cell of their body.
Through countless tiny internal explosions, it would slowly destroy the target from the inside out, achieving total annihilation.
Oh, so you're that ruthless, Deidara? You really wanted to use that on me?
Fine. Just you wait.
The way Sasori looked at Deidara changed completely.
Deidara, meanwhile, thought Sasori was impressed by his art. He scratched his head shyly, looking strangely innocent.
The whole scene was incredibly bizarre.
"Enough. Let's move the Three‑Tails back. We don't want complications arising from delay."
"Got it! Leave it to me!"
Deidara was still buzzing with excitement after his grand performance.
His only regret was that his stage was too small and there had been no audience to appreciate it.
But then he patted his pouch and his face fell.
"Uh… I accidentally used up all my explosive clay just now. I need to make more."
Sasori sighed in exasperation. "Then hurry up. I'll go make sure the Three‑Tails stays 'asleep' a little longer."
But right at that moment, a figure shot up from the water directly beneath them. Fists covered in thick armor smashed straight toward both their heads!
Deidara had no clay left, and he was standing on water, not solid ground. He took a full punch right to the face, was sent flying backward a long distance, and sank straight into the lake.
Sasori, however, simply flicked his finger. The Third Kazekage puppet instantly appeared before him and blocked the blow.
Immediately, the two sides clashed in fierce combat!
Shinji — who had arrived just in time — saw that Sasori was indeed the one fighting Moxi. Sasori was easy to recognize; after all, he wasn't even human anymore.
And the "assistant" beside him, gathering sand iron to attack… no doubt about it — that was the Third Kazekage. Killed by Sasori and turned into a human puppet.
They called him "the strongest"… but that was just talk, with no basis in reality.
It was just like how people claimed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the strongest. What a joke!
Who actually believed that?
Could Hiruzen defeat the brothers Hashirama and Tobirama? Or Minato and Naruto, father and son?
Not to mention Tsunade with her Strength of a Hundred Seal — one punch from her would send that old skeleton six feet under.
It seemed the only person Hiruzen ever had a chance of beating was Kakashi… and that was only because Kakashi was famous for being an even match for everyone.
But even that was only true if Kakashi hadn't received his legendary power‑up and didn't have both Mangekyō Sharingan.
Otherwise, Kakashi could have summoned Susanoo and blasted Hiruzen's ashes right into the wind!
Everyone knew exactly who was truly strong and who wasn't.
Empty boasting meant nothing.
Shinji didn't jump into the fight immediately.
Although Sasori was powerful, Moxi wasn't someone to be pushed around either. If she got serious, Sasori wouldn't necessarily be able to stop her.
Compared to Sasori, Shinji thought Deidara was the bigger threat.
If that guy decided to self‑detonate… that would be a real headache.
Fortunately, Shinji had no intention of fighting to the death. He only needed to make them give up on capturing the Three‑Tails.
"There you are!"
Deidara struggled back up from the water. The moment he stood on the surface, Shinji spotted him and fired three arrows made of crystallized blood.
They weren't particularly fast, and Deidara — now alert — dodged them easily.
But everything changed the instant Shinji clapped his hands softly.
One of the arrows, which had flown behind Deidara, instantly swapped places with Shinji himself.
Appearing right behind Deidara, Shinji didn't even draw his sword. He just threw a punch, wreathed in faint black sparks.
Black Flash!
THUD!
Deidara — completely unprepared for an attack from behind — took the blow right in the back. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and went flying again.
Damn it! You're just ganging up on me, aren't you?!
After rolling across the water's surface several times, Deidara stood up again, his face twisted with rage.
He was furious now!
The explosive clay birds he had made earlier swooped down to pick him up, letting him regain the high ground.
Even though he had run out of clay, given a little time, he could make more.
"Bastard! I swear you'll pay for this!"
Deidara leaped onto the bird's back, ready to retreat first.
But how could Shinji possibly let him go?
Shinji extended one hand, dropped a small hexagonal blood crystal, and then — PALMS TOGETHER!
CLAP!
Blood still dripping from his mouth, Deidara was already dreaming up ways to get his revenge.
But in the blink of an eye, he found himself back standing on the water's surface… and that detestable man was standing right in front of him.
Black Flash!
Another heavy punch slammed straight into Deidara's face.
THUD!
Deidara flew away once more.
Shinji retracted his fist with a grin. Try running away from me? In your dreams.
[Wicked Game] — Forever God Tier!
While Deidara was getting beaten to a pulp over there, Moxi — now fully enraged — was also crushing Sasori on the other side of the fight.
Mainly because the environment here was terrible for the Third Kazekage puppet to operate in.
And also because Moxi, when she got serious, was absolutely terrifying!
"Tailed Beast Curse Art — Acid Bomb!"
Moxi's face had transformed into that of a slug‑like creature, while behind her, nine different tails writhed and whipped wildly in the wind.
She spat out a large mass of deep‑green liquid.
Sasori commanded the Third Kazekage puppet to form a protective barrier out of sand iron, shielding himself completely.
But what happened next was beyond expectation.
The moment that deep‑green liquid hit the sand‑iron wall… it exploded.
And the splashes of green acid were horrifically corrosive — melting straight through the sand iron as if it were butter!
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