Deidara, however, was completely unharmed. He simply opened the mouth on his hand.
It spat another glob of clay into the air, which was instantly molded into the shape of a giant bird. With a flip, Deidara landed back on its back. The clay bird carved an arc through the sky, narrowly avoiding a Lightning Release jutsu from a Cloud shinobi below.
Just then, Yugito spat out another fireball. This time, Deidara was prepared, flinging a bomb directly from the mouth on his hand.
"Heh!"
Boom!
The bomb blew Yugito's fireball to smithereens. After the flames dispersed, the Fire Rat Ball emerged once more, continuing its relentless pursuit of Deidara. But the giant bird was far faster than the fiery projectile. It was agile, twisting and turning through the air, leaving the Fire Rat Ball far behind.
While piloting his bird through the clouds, Deidara reached into his pouch and began chewing on more clay. He then molded it into the shape of a humanoid doll.
"Let me show you true art! Un!"
After infusing C3 Number Eighteen with his chakra, Deidara dropped it. In mid-air, the clay doll expanded instantly, swelling into a colossal sculpture. A massive amount of chakra surged from it as it descended.
Down in the Cloud Village outpost, C's sensory abilities detected the immense chakra reaction. His voice trembled as he shouted, "Take cover!"
A fanatical grin spread across Deidara's face.
"Heh!"
A tiny glimmer of light condensed.
BOOM!
C3 Number Eighteen erupted in a cataclysmic explosion. Raging flames devoured everything in the vicinity, and a powerful shockwave swept across the landscape. Even Yugito, in her Tailed Beast form, was sent flying by the blast despite her incredible speed.
In the sky, Deidara panted slightly as he watched the explosion, a satisfied smile on his face. "Art is an explosion! Un!"
Yugito pushed herself to her feet. Thanks to her speed, she had only been caught by the shockwave and wasn't seriously injured. But the entire outpost had been completely leveled by Deidara's bomb. The Cloud shinobi who were too slow or too close to the epicenter had almost all been annihilated. Those who weren't killed instantly lay on the ground, groaning in agony.
Yugito's eyes widened in fury, but the Cloud Village had no aerial combat capabilities. Only her Fire Rat Ball could pose a threat to Deidara in the sky. Fortunately, after using C3 Number Eighteen, Deidara's chakra was severely depleted, and his clay bird's flight speed had noticeably decreased.
From the ground, Yugito continuously spat fireballs that exploded in the air, transforming into Fire Rat Balls that chased after Deidara. In response, Deidara tossed down smaller bombs to detonate them prematurely. At the same time, he released small clay birds that rained down on the surviving Cloud shinobi.
C, a jonin of the Cloud, finally noticed that Deidara was using the same hand signs every time. "He's using Earth Release hand signs!" she yelled to her comrades who could still fight. "Use Lightning Release to disrupt his explosions!"
As Deidara launched another small bird, it happened to fly near C.
Lightning Release: Lightning Spear!
A thin bolt of light pierced the small bird. Instead of exploding, it simply fell to the ground and shattered.
Deidara spat in frustration from above and hurriedly pulled his giant bird back, preparing to retreat. His chakra was nearly gone, and the bird was flying much slower, making it difficult to dodge some of the Fire Rat Balls.
BOOM!
Finally, a Fire Rat Ball struck the bird, drastically reducing its speed. It began to crumble, shedding pieces of clay as it faltered in the sky. Deidara stuffed some of his remaining clay into his own mouth while the mouths on his hands chewed the rest. The hands spat out clay that Deidara quickly molded into white spiders, which descended from the sky. They didn't reach the ground, however, exploding in mid-air.
Using the smoke as cover, Deidara spat out a larger clump of clay that expanded and took his form—a clone. He, meanwhile, transformed into a piece of clay himself, merging with part of the giant bird as it disintegrated and fell. The real Deidara struggled to fly away on what was left of his creation, but the bird's gradual collapse was making it difficult.
On the ground, Yugito saw the clay bird slowing down. In her cat demon form, she opened her massive jaws. A Tailed Beast Bomb was already gathering within. The very air seemed to solidify as a sphere of dense, ink-black chakra formed.
WHOOSH!
Yugito's hatred for Deidara was absolute. She fired the Tailed Beast Bomb without hesitation.
BOOM!
A massive fireball erupted in the sky. A mushroom cloud rose as a powerful shockwave and clouds of dust spread in every direction.
Yugito let out a long breath, a sliver of relief washing over her. She was certain Deidara had been vaporized.
The battle at the Cloud outpost was finally over. But even though she had eliminated Deidara, Yugito felt no joy. He was just one man, yet the Cloud Village's losses were staggering.
Forty-seven shinobi were dead. The bodies of more than twenty couldn't even be found. Thirty more were injured, a third of whom were permanently disabled. The entire outpost had been obliterated.
Samui and her team arrived late, after the fighting had ceased. They had never witnessed such a horrific scene. The outpost was gone, and more than half their forces were casualties. This was the most devastating day for the Cloud Village since the invasion began. Some shinobi were so thoroughly annihilated that not even a trace of them remained. If it hadn't been for C's sensory perception in identifying Deidara's Earth Release signs, the consequences would have been even more dire.
Footsteps echoed as Shisui, Itachi, and Yaoyue returned.
Itachi frowned slightly. "Were you attacked?"
Yugito erupted in fury. "What are you doing here? Did you come to watch the show?"
"You should remember that you were the one who told us to stand by," Itachi replied coldly.
"You only show up after I've taken care of the enemy. I really don't understand why the Raikage would cooperate with you," Yugito said, her voice seething with anger.
Itachi's expression remained impassive. "You only eliminated one member. There are more."
"What do you mean!?"
As the tension between them reached its peak, Shisui stepped in to mediate. "We've gathered enough information. Yaoyue will remain here to stand guard while we pursue the others."
Yugito's anger subsided slightly. "Who are we up against?"
"They're an organization called the Akatsuki," Shisui explained. "They take on all sorts of bounty and war-related missions. Their members are mysterious and their strength is immeasurable."
…
A young man with blond hair burst out from the soil. He was a safe distance from the Cloud outpost. Deidara glanced around before pulling himself completely out of the ground.
"That was close. So that's a Tailed Beast Bomb? Such a brilliant flash, un. No, explosions are the most beautiful art, un!"
He hadn't expected the Two-Tails jinchuriki to return so soon. Feipu was completely unreliable, un. Deidara checked his clay supply; it was almost completely gone. He decided to rest and regroup.
After getting his bearings, Deidara headed for his rendezvous point with Sasori. Before long, he spotted Sasori at the base of a cliff.
"Master Sasori, how did things go on your end? Un!"
Deidara noticed that Sasori wasn't inside his Hiruko puppet. It seemed Master Sasori had lost quite a few puppets as well.
Sasori saw Deidara approach, but he was busy reloading the hidden weapons in his Third Kazekage puppet and didn't even look up. "I don't like to be kept waiting," he said, his tone laced with annoyance.
"On the way back, I ran into Yugito defending the outpost," Deidara said apologetically. "I couldn't take them all out, so it took some time, un."
Sasori nodded slightly. "I encountered her as well. She's incredibly fast in her Tailed Beast form, so I retreated. A pity to lose so much high-quality material."
"Feipu is so useless! If only he could have held Yugito back a little longer! Un!" Deidara felt his artistic performance had been imperfect. He knew he could have done better.
Sasori, however, was unconcerned. "If a jinchuriki was that easy to delay, they wouldn't be a jinchuriki. Feipu provided plenty of intelligence, which is good enough."
"Master Sasori, when's our next attack? Un!" Deidara had enjoyed himself immensely. The power of his new clay bombs was extremely satisfying, and he was already looking forward to the next assault.
Sasori unhurriedly took out more parts and began repairing his puppets. "The Cloud will be on high alert now," he said slowly. "Attacking at this time won't be effective. We'll wait a couple of days. If we get new intelligence from Feipu, the mission will go more smoothly. I lost a lot of puppets, but I brought enough spare parts. It will take me three or four days."
Hearing this, Deidara sat down cross-legged. "I used a lot of clay this time, too. I think I can still adjust the ratio of this new clay, un."
The Cloud had suffered heavy losses. Their force of over a hundred shinobi was cut in half, with many more wounded. Their outpost was destroyed. They began tending to their wounded and searching for a new location to establish a base.
On another island, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Killer B, received the news and immediately gathered his forces to head toward Jinren Island. If he wasn't afraid his own contingent would be attacked in his absence, he would have gone to investigate himself.
With the Cloud's advance force crippled, their invasion had stalled. The Hidden Mist breathed a collective sigh of relief. Through days of reconnaissance and the intelligence brought back by Ao, Mei Terumi had discovered that the Akatsuki's combat strength was terrifying. Each member was a formidable opponent on their own.
Although the Hidden Mist and the Hidden Sand were far apart, she had heard of the infamous Sasori of the Red Sand. Deidara, though young, had never hidden his talents. It was well-known that he was a prodigy from the Hidden Stone, but no one expected him to join the Akatsuki. Feipu had said this was just the Akatsuki's advance team and that more members were coming. If they were all as powerful as Sasori and Deidara, the Mist might just survive this crisis.
Now that the Cloud's momentum was broken, Mei began to reconsider a certain plan. The conditions hadn't been right before, but with the Cloud advance force crippled, it was the perfect opportunity to take a risk. A cold light glinted in Mei Terumi's eyes. *I will make you invaders pay the price!*
In the following days, the Cloud forces recuperated and remained quiet, perhaps waiting for their main fleet from the sea. The Hidden Mist also seemed to be recovering its strength. The number of Mist shinobi lurking near the Cloud outpost decreased, and their harassment tactics became less frequent. This, however, only made the Cloud more vigilant, fearing another one of the Mist's schemes.
…
All the ninja villages were watching the war between the Cloud and the Mist. News that the Cloud's advance force had suffered a major setback spread quickly via the Mist. Outsiders only knew that the Cloud had taken a heavy blow, but the exact number of casualties was unknown. Some speculated that the Mist had hired reinforcements, but no one knew who they were.
At the same time, the Uchiha clan from the Hidden Sound Village collectively vanished. Many began to wonder if the Mist had hired the Uchiha for help. The Hidden Stone and the Hidden Leaf were also closely monitoring the battlefield. The Stone even recalled some of its shinobi, seemingly having plans of their own. The entire shinobi world was in a state of high tension.
Amid this atmosphere, the Fire Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire was a scene of celebration.
"My lord, the central kitchen established by Lord Orochimaru's team has begun operations," a strategist reported.
"And? How is it?" the Daimyo asked eagerly.
"This central kitchen can produce most of the raw ingredients, secret sauces, and semi-prepared dishes for our new culinary line," the strategist explained. "These semi-prepared items are sent to our restaurants, where they only require simple processing according to the instructions to create a variety of gourmet dishes. It's both convenient and economical."
He continued, "This saves us the expense of training chefs, and centralized production lowers costs. We've tasted the food, and while it's slightly inferior to the original, the average person can't tell the difference at all."
"Hahaha, excellent, excellent!" the Daimyo laughed. "This central kitchen idea was truly brilliant. Orochimaru is a genius."
Seeing the Daimyo in high spirits, the strategist asked cautiously, "My lord, I feel our share of the profits is too small. We only receive ten percent, while the rest goes mostly to Orochimaru and the Uchiha."
The Daimyo waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, being able to make money with the Uchiha and Orochimaru is good enough. Who would dare to provoke the Uchiha these days? Besides, Orochimaru's representative said that our share is lower in the first year, but it will increase by ten percent every two years until we reach a fifty-fifty split. One must think long-term."
The Daimyo already had more money than he could spend. The Land of Fire was prosperous, protected by a great ninja village, and its people enjoyed a much higher standard of living than those in smaller nations. What the Daimyo was competing for was prestige. The Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo had been so arrogant at the banquet simply because he had exclusive access to certain delicacies. The Fire Daimyo had lacked that before, but not anymore.
"As soon as the first month's revenue comes in, send a portion to Lord Orochimaru in the Leaf Village. He should be rewarded handsomely."
…
Within the Uchiha compound, Kawasaki's clone remained in seclusion, conserving as much energy as possible. Even Sasuke and Naruto hadn't seen him for a long time. After receiving the battle report from the Land of Water, Kawasaki's Shadow Clone immediately wrote a report on Deidara's activities and sent it via the carrier pigeon Kurotsuchi had left behind.
This was the first time Kawasaki had contacted Ohnoki by pigeon. Before, with Deidara not yet in position, there had been no important intelligence to share. But Kawasaki had inside sources, giving him access to firsthand information. Other villages could only see the Cloud's large-scale troop movements. The Land of Water was across the sea, and sending spies took time, resulting in a significant delay in all their intelligence.
Ohnoki's private carrier pigeon was incredibly fast, delivering the message in less than a day. He untied the scroll from the pigeon's leg, unrolled it with a snap, and began to read the letter inside.
In the letter, Kawasaki explained that Deidara had joined a mercenary group called the Akatsuki and had intervened in the war between the Cloud and the Mist, acting as hired muscle for the Mist. He then detailed how Deidara had annihilated a significant number of Cloud shinobi, dealing a major blow to their offensive.
Kawasaki lavished praise on Deidara, noting he was a teenage prodigy at only fifteen. Ohnoki was pleased to read this; after all, Deidara was his student. Now, his former apprentice was out in the world, crushing his old rivals from the Cloud Village. What could be more delightful?
Furthermore, Kawasaki stated that this intelligence was a free gift. If Ohnoki wanted to find Deidara, the Uchiha clan was willing to help capture him and bring him back. Ohnoki had spent countless days chasing Deidara all over the Land of Earth when he was causing explosions everywhere. Now, he learned the boy had joined a mercenary organization.
Although the Cloud had suffered heavy losses, it was only because they lacked intelligence. If they had figured out that Deidara's explosions were formed with Earth Release hand signs, subduing him would have been simple. Nevertheless, what Deidara had accomplished was already remarkable. Ohnoki had always wanted to bring him back, but the boy was too cunning for ordinary shinobi to catch. Moreover, once Deidara left the Land of Earth, Ohnoki couldn't pursue him across borders.
The Uchiha possessing such detailed information confirmed Ohnoki's suspicion that they were playing a role in the conflict between the Cloud and the Mist. As for their motives, Kawasaki only guaranteed that the Hidden Stone's interests would not be harmed and that they could discuss everything else after Deidara was captured. With such an offer, Ohnoki agreed. He was curious to see what game Uchiha Kawasaki was playing.
…
Land of Water. Jinren Island.
At the base of the cliff, Deidara and Sasori had been resting for three days. Sasori lowered the hand that had been covering his head.
"Let's go, Deidara. It's time to work."
Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet was fully repaired.