"Sasori-danna! Did you see it? That explosion just now! Unbelievably shocking! This... this is the ultimate art I've been chasing! It's too beautiful! Too magnificent!"
Perched atop his clay-sculpted bird, Deidara flailed his arms and shouted like a madman.
"Yes. I saw it. Stay sharp. Whatever that was, it's not something we can handle." A rare note of caution and dread leaked into Sasori's voice.
He knew all too well that if an explosion of that magnitude landed on his head, no puppet, no matter how advanced, could withstand it. Even the Substitution Jutsu wouldn't save him from such a massive blast radius.
One would die. It was a certain, absolute death.
Evidently, the "Art Duo," having just rushed over from Amegakure, happened to witness the moment of the nuclear detonation. They didn't just see it; they felt the violent tremors of the earth and the powerful atmospheric shockwave radiating from the epicenter.
Aided by the high-speed flight of the clay bird, the two soon hovered over the ruins of Iwagakure. Since the initial blast had only recently concluded, the ambient temperature remained lethal, preventing them from descending.
However, looking down at the staggering crater at the center and the surrounding landscape, which had been completely leveled, Deidara, an expert in demolitions, quickly deduced that the yield of this bomb far exceeded his own self-destruction.
"Was it that guy Allen's doing?" Sasori asked, his tone laced with uncertainty.
Deidara nodded slowly. "Looks like it. I can't believe he actually wiped Iwagakure, one of the Five Great Nations, right off the map. That lunatic is even more arrogant than our Akatsuki. No wonder he dared to spout those world-shaking theories. I just wonder how many times he can unleash an explosion of that caliber."
"Report to the leader immediately. At this stage, things have moved beyond our pay grade," Sasori decided decisively.
Had he not seen the spectacular vista of the nuclear mushroom cloud, he might have attempted a tentative strike. But now? He wanted to stay as far away from a hazard like Allen as possible. Ideally, they would never meet for the rest of their lives.
…
Simultaneously, Black Zetsu and Obito appeared less than two thousand meters from ground zero, feeling the lingering heat and radiation in the air.
A full minute passed before Obito finally spoke. "What exactly happened here? What did that young man do?"
"He dropped an oval-shaped object. It detonated roughly five hundred meters above the ground. I can't find the words to describe that feeling. If I hadn't moved fast enough, you likely wouldn't be seeing me right now," Black Zetsu explained, a hint of lingering fear in his voice.
Clearly, for the first time since his birth, he had looked death in the face. The brilliant white light produced at the moment of ignition surely reached temperatures exceeding a hundred million degrees Celsius, an absolute dead zone for all life.
"So you're saying... he possesses some kind of terrifying weapon that can easily destroy a Great Nation, or even our Akatsuki?" Obito's expression turned grim to the extreme.
"Don't be so tense. In my view, he isn't necessarily our enemy; he might even become an ally. At least, during the initial stages of capturing and extracting the Tailed Beasts. Besides, a weapon that terrifying, whatever it is, cannot possibly be used frequently," Black Zetsu analyzed seriously.
"You want to use him to deal with the other four nations?" Obito instantly grasped the other's intent.
It was inevitable. Ever since Madara Uchiha died of old age, they were the only ones in the world who knew of the "Eye of the Moon" plan, they were its overseers. Despite their private agendas, they had to collaborate; otherwise, their inner desires would never be realized.
"Exactly! I'm sure the Lands of Lightning, Fire, Wind, and Water will be struck by a profound fear once they learn of Iwagakure's fate. They will move heaven and earth to uncover intel on him and that weapon. This means that with a little manipulation, we can turn them against each other, leading to a cycle of mutual destruction. Once the current balance is shattered, we can seize the opportunity to collect the Tailed Beasts and put the Eye of the Moon plan on the right track," Black Zetsu plotted with a sinister edge.
As a schemer who had lived for millennia, his specialty was never frontal combat, but hiding in the shadows to exploit human weakness, fanning the flames of anger, hatred, and negative emotions.
"But what about Nagato? He still wants to recruit this Allen guy into the Akatsuki," Obito countered, rubbing his chin.
"Simple! Just tell him the truth. If he still insists on his idea, let him try it himself. We can use the opportunity to figure out exactly what that weapon is and how many he has left," Black Zetsu replied with a cold laugh.
"Fine. We'll do it your way."
The words had barely left his mouth when Obito vanished with a Body Flicker from the wasteland that used to be Iwagakure.
…
On the other side, Allen finally regrouped with his team.
The moment they met, Sasuke rushed forward, asking excitedly, "Was that explosion your doing? What kind of Ninjutsu was that? Can you teach me? I'll pay any price!"
"Ninjsu?" Allen couldn't help but laugh. "No, that wasn't Ninjutsu. It's a product of science and technology. Its complexity is far beyond the limits of your imagination; even I am merely a user."
"Science and technology?"
"Sasuke-kun" stared with wide eyes, seemingly unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Yes. If you want the ability to manufacture it, you'd have to give up all thoughts of fighting and killing right now. Focus entirely on studying mathematics, physics, and other specialized subjects. Perhaps in a few decades, you'd be able to barely construct a primitive prototype," Allen answered nonchalantly.
After all, while the Naruto world's tech tree was a bit skewed, its foundation was decent; fast-forwarding to the electrical age wouldn't be a huge issue. Combined with chakra and Ninjutsu, they might actually create a shinobi-version of a nuclear weapon. Of course, they'd need to find radioactive materials first.
"Decades? Forget it then," Sasuke shook his head in disappointment.
He was never a patient person. Since learning the truth behind the clan massacre, he had craved immediate power, power to confront his older brother and ask him what he was thinking, why he was manipulated by the Konoha elders, and why he personally murdered their parents.
Sometimes, the thing that truly shatters a person isn't a lie, but the truth, the cold, cruel truth.
Allen understood Sasuke's thoughts perfectly and offered a cryptic consolation. "Don't be in such a hurry. Orochimaru is an excellent teacher. If you study diligently under his guidance, it will only take two or three years to gain the strength to defeat, or even kill, Itachi."
"Really?" Sasuke was clearly skeptical.
"Of course it's true. However... that's assuming you aren't consumed by him first, becoming nothing more than a pathetic vessel for his reincarnation..."
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