"This is the third power... Susanoo!"
Immediately, within the hands of Kanon's rose-colored Susanoo, two massive greatswords manifested from pure, condensed chakra.
"Get back!" Kakashi's eyes trembled violently.
Beside him, Naruto was struck dumb. Was this still Kanon? Was this the same girl who used to look after him? Gazing up at the gargantuan Susanoo, Naruto felt as if all strength had drained from his body. He collapsed onto the ground, his pupils shrinking into pinpricks.
Sasori and Deidara finally understood the sheer magnitude of the pain the girl before them was carrying. They watched as the lovely Kanon, the girl who had traveled with them, now shed tears of blood while screaming her agony to the world.
They both frowned deeply. Without realizing it, this girl had become like a younger sister to them.
"My life might be a tragedy from up close, but in the eyes of you bastards, it must be a hilarious comedy!"
"If that's the case, then I'll just destroy all of you!"
BOOM!
The Susanoo swung, its twin blades instantly detonating the surrounding area. Several mountain peaks and a vast expanse of forest were leveled to the ground by that single strike.
Kanon did not hold back this time. She had abandoned all restraint. Perhaps her former self wouldn't have been this frantic, but seeing Kakashi ready to kill her today had pushed her fury to the absolute limit.
The strike landed with absolute finality, turning the lush forest into a desolate wasteland.
Deidara and Sasori stood there, stunned, staring blankly at the flattened horizon. They both knew that Kanon had shielded them from the impact.
Suddenly, Kanon, positioned at the center of the destruction, stumbled. She clutched her eyes and fell to one knee.
"Damn it..." This was the toll of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Behind her, the Susanoo regressed into a skeletal frame before dissolving into nothingness. But the damage was done; everything around them had been razed.
"Deidara-nii, Sasori-nii... I'm leaving the rest to you. I have to go."
For Kanon, a Susanoo of this magnitude remained a heavy burden, severely draining her visual prowess. She covered her bleeding eyes with one hand, looking toward Deidara.
"That strike might not have been enough to kill them..."
"Especially Kakashi. That bastard is as slippery as they come."
After speaking, Kanon buckled, nearly collapsing again.
She had finally done it. She had raised her hand against Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura. For her, this was a moment of psychological evolution.
Gasping for breath, she looked out at the dust-covered ruins of the landscape. She felt no remorse; instead, she felt as if her spirit had reached a new stage of transcendence.
She knew she had been too soft in the past. The plan to destroy Konoha was already in motion. A battle between her and Naruto was inevitable, sooner or later. This was the very reason she had stayed, to see if she could truly strike down her former comrades. The shinobi world was cruel, even if it held beauty.
To achieve her goals and secure her future, that sword had to be swung!
As Kanon was lost in thought, a voice spoke beside her.
"Leave it to us," Deidara said with a light chuckle, helping her up. Sasori produced a cloth and gently wiped the blood from her eyes.
"Thank you..."
"Go on now. Go back and get some rest," Deidara urged.
Kanon nodded slightly. Her three-tomoe Sharingan spun, activating the Flower Realm. She was pulled into the spatial void of the realm and vanished.
"Now then, it's our turn, Master Sasori."
Sure enough, though the Susanoo had leveled the terrain, Kakashi and the other three burst forth from the earth. Sakura and Naruto were visibly shaken.
Had Chiyo and Kakashi not used the Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique to pull them underground at the last second, those blades would have cleaved them in two.
It was a stark gap in combat experience. Even then, Kakashi had relied on Kamui to warp away a massive portion of the shockwave. Now, his left eye had reverted to the three-tomoe Sharingan, and his body swayed as if he might collapse at any moment.
There was no denying it. Kanon had truly intended to kill them. He had hoped to exploit Kanon's reluctance to hurt her friends to find an opening to kill her, but that hope was gone.
"Has she finally made up her mind...?" Kakashi's expression was tinged with regret. Naruto and Sakura remained silent.
That moment was fueled by genuine killing intent. Kanon had truly attacked them. Without Kakashi and Chiyo, they would be dead.
"Thank you, Chiyo-baasama," Sakura whispered.
"Thank Kakashi. He did far more than I did."
Kakashi dropped to one knee, panting. His Kamui had absorbed a significant portion of the destruction caused by the Susanoo's greatswords, which was why Naruto, who was closest to the impact, was relatively unharmed.
If not for Kamui, cold sweat broke out on Kakashi's neck, all four of them would have perished under that god-like strike.
In the distance, the remaining two moved.
"What is it, Master Sasori?" Deidara noticed Sasori nudging him.
"Deidara, give me the body. It seems the Jinchuriki wants to take it back."
"So it seems."
Kakashi, still kneeling, observed the two, analyzing their identities.
"It seems the one on the left is the one who broke into the Sand with Kanon and abducted the Kazekage."
"Kanon is already gone."
"Then the one on the right is the puppeteer who poisoned Kankuro... Chiyo-baasama's grandson, Sasori?"
Suddenly, Deidara called out to Sasori.
"Master."
"Hm?"
"I think what I'm about to say might make you angry."
"I'm taking the Jinchuriki."
Sasori's voice flared with irritation. "We agreed on one target each."
"Don't push your luck, Deidara."
"But as an artist, if I don't seek out stronger stimulation, my senses will eventually grow dull!"
"I've heard the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is incredibly powerful. He is the perfect subject for my art."
Sasori looked at Deidara with disdain.
"What did you say? You call those explosions of yours 'art'?"
"Art is something that is preserved perfectly into the distant future. Eternal beauty, that is art!"
"Eternal beauty? We are both creators, and I respect you, but art should be the beauty of a single, brilliant moment that vanishes in a flash!"
"What was that?" Sasori's expression remained flat. "Deidara, it seems you still don't understand the meaning of true art."
"I think you're the one who doesn't understand."
The two actually began to bicker about art right in front of Kakashi's group. It made Naruto's blood boil. Kanon was gone, and these two were treating them like they didn't even exist.
"You bastards..."
"No, eternal beauty is true art!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Fleeting beauty is art!"
"Stop messing around!" Naruto screamed, hurling a Fuma Shuriken at the pair.
The weapon was effortlessly deflected by Sasori's Hiruko shell. He didn't even bother looking at Naruto.
"Are you trying to make me angry?" Sasori barked at Deidara.
"That's why I said it would probably make you mad!"
"You should know what happens when I get angry."
"What of it, Deidara?"
Deidara smirked, looking at the mouth on his right palm as it spat out a small clay bird.
"To me, art is..."
"An EXPLOSION!"
He tossed the clay into the air.
"Katsu!"
Instantly, a plume of white smoke erupted—a smoke screen!
A giant clay bird emerged from the haze. Deidara hopped onto its back and looked down at Sasori with a grin. "This is completely different from your shocking little puppet plays, Master Sasori."
The giant bird snatched up Gaara's body in its beak and prepared to take flight. At that moment, Sasori launched an attack at Deidara, but in the blink of an eye, Deidara was already airborne.
"See ya, Master Sasori!" Deidara looked tauntingly at Naruto as the bird swallowed Gaara's corpse and flew into the distance.
As expected, Naruto took the bait and chased after him.
"That bastard Deidara... always so selfish," Sasori muttered, his expression darkening.
Ultimately, Kakashi went to follow Naruto, leaving Sasori to Sakura and Chiyo.
Watching Deidara soar through the sky, Kakashi's expression tightened with tension. Deidara looked down at the two of them, his face calm.
"Does a guy like me really require the personal attention of the famous 'Copy Ninja' Kakashi?"
Deidara chuckled. "If you ask me, Master Sasori is much stronger than I am."
"Perhaps."
"Even though our views on art are worlds apart."
"Do you really think a little girl and an old hag can handle Master Sasori?" Deidara mocked.
Kakashi glared up at him. If possible, he didn't want to fight alone; he wanted to pincer him with Naruto. After all, Deidara and Kanon were the ones who had defeated a Kage. Naruto might not be able to handle this alone.
But Naruto, his face etched with fury, looked at Kakashi and said firmly, "Sensei, go help Sakura!"
"I'm the one who's going to save Gaara!!!"
Naruto leaped toward Deidara's giant bird.
Despite the power behind the jump, Deidara easily maneuvered the bird out of the way. He flipped his hand, tossing explosive clay at Naruto, but Kakashi seized the opening and threw a shuriken, intercepting the clay mid-air.
"Katsu!"
A massive explosion bloomed in the sky. Within the smoke, shuriken seemed to reflect back. Kakashi drew a kunai, expertly parrying the shuriken flying toward him with a single, precise strike.
Seeing his initial assault fail, the corner of Deidara's mouth quirked up.
"If it were that easy to take you down, this wouldn't be worth the effort."
Gazing at Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan, Deidara began kneading clay in his palms.
A grand battle was about to begin.