"This is basically a death sentence…"
Etsuha muttered under his breath.
But the ninja Hero, Edgeshot, clearly had no intention of listening. He left without giving Etsuha any chance to argue. The three remaining Heroes stayed behind, carefully examining the bloodstains in the alley with serious expressions.
Seeing their focus, Etsuha immediately thought about slipping away.
He had only borrowed money to avoid going hungry—not to get dragged into Hero business. But the moment he took a step, one of the Heroes noticed.
"What are you planning to do?"
The female Hero looked at him sharply.
"…Use the bathroom," Etsuha replied without hesitation.
The female Hero blushed slightly, but then, thinking of his age, smiled.
"Alright. I'll go with you."
Etsuha: "…"
In the end, the female Hero stubbornly followed him all the way to the restroom.
This alone refreshed Etsuha's understanding of Pro Heroes. He hadn't expected her to stand guard right outside the door, clearly prepared to stop him from escaping.
Still—
That didn't interfere with his plan.
Sitting inside, Etsuha pulled out the Naruto manga he carried with him.
There was no way he could take revenge on All For One using only his own strength.
His abilities were powerful, yes—but All For One's foundation was terrifying. On top of that, he seemed to possess a certain resistance to mental attacks. At present, no one but All Might could defeat him head-on.
However—
Etsuha had his own methods.
Beyond his personal abilities, there were simply too many "external powers" he could draw upon. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that within Naruto alone, there were countless ways to deal with someone like All For One.
Among them—
One figure stood out the most.
Deidara.
A rogue ninja. A villain.
And a specialist in explosive art.
Deidara's most terrifying ability was his detonating clay—bombs he could mass-produce and deploy at will, each one carrying immense destructive power.
In Etsuha's judgment, Deidara's bombs were fully capable of killing All For One. The chances of success were far from low.
He quickly skimmed through the relevant techniques.
C3 — A massive detonating clay construct dropped from the sky. Its explosive power was enough to obliterate an entire village.
C4: Garuda — A far more insidious weapon.
After consuming a large amount of detonating clay, Deidara would create a giant replica of himself. Inside it were countless microscopic clay spiders—so small they were invisible to the naked eye.
Once the construct detonated, these spiders would disperse into the air.
Anyone who inhaled them—
Would unknowingly become a living bomb.
From the inside out, their body would be destroyed by countless micro-explosions, resulting in total annihilation.
"These two…"
Etsuha narrowed his eyes.
Both were devastating—but C4: Garuda was on an entirely different level.
This was the technique Deidara had prepared specifically to kill Itachi Uchiha. Its lethality was absolute.
"…Do I really want to use almost all the energy I've accumulated just to extract a reduced version of Garuda?"
Etsuha hesitated.
This was the problem.
Even a weakened version of C4 would consume nearly all the energy he had built up over the past six months. Once he used it, he would be completely drained—gaining nothing except the potential defeat of All For One.
And there were other risks.
C4 could not be exposed.
Its damage was controllable—if used carefully, it wouldn't even destroy surrounding buildings. But C3 was a different story. One detonation, and an entire district would be wiped off the map.
If his identity were revealed—
The Hero Association wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him.
He would instantly become a public enemy.
"And that means… no reputation gains either."
Etsuha let out a quiet sigh.
"…Still. Taking down the world's most dangerous villain should be worth the price."
With that decision made—
He began the extraction.
A moment later, a figure appeared before him.
A C4: Garuda construct, slightly taller than Etsuha himself.
In its original form, it would have been as large as a skyscraper—but that scale was impractical. Too difficult to conceal. Too costly in energy.
This reduced version, however, was perfect.
Even so—
The destructive power contained within it was more than enough to terrify anyone.
"…Next, I just need to get it close to All For One."
Etsuha glanced at Garuda, deep in thought.
Its appearance was identical to Deidara—aside from being slightly taller. Without the Akatsuki cloak, it looked almost like a normal person.
Better yet—
Etsuha could control its movements freely.
Before detonation, its behavior and appearance were nearly indistinguishable from a real human.
Perfect for infiltration.
Once everything was ready, Etsuha opened the restroom door.
The female Hero was still standing outside.
"…You're finally done."
She let out a sigh of relief—before her expression suddenly sharpened.
Her gaze locked onto the figure behind Etsuha.
"Who is that?"
Etsuha didn't hesitate.
"Oh, him? That's my middle school classmate. He's into cosplay—goes by the name Deidara."
As he spoke, he subtly controlled Garuda to nod.
"…Cosplay?"
The female Hero frowned slightly, clearly finding something off.
"Social anxiety," Etsuha added casually.
Understanding dawned on her face.
She had heard of people like that—those who struggled to communicate with others. In that context, Deidara's behavior made sense.
Seeing his opportunity, Etsuha acted immediately.
"Thanks for helping me out earlier. Since Deidara's here, I can stay at his place for now. I'll return the money in a few days—I'll come find you again!"
Before she could respond—
He turned and ran off without looking back.