Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the ground.
The massive Rasengan struck Deidara, piercing through the clay Katsuyu and leaving a giant funnel-shaped crater in the earth.
"Deidara!" Hidan shouted in alarm.
Kakuzu and Orochimaru also narrowed their eyes, scrutinizing the scene. Could it be that the brat had finally met his end?
"Hmm? That guy should be dead, right?"
"Then why haven't the creatures he summoned disappeared yet?" Kurama questioned suspiciously.
"Cough! Cough!"
Deidara emerged from the dust, looking somewhat disheveled. Relief from narrowly escaping death was evident on his face, but so was a sense of exhilaration at having met a worthy opponent.
"Minato Namikaze, you are truly a dangerous adversary. I almost died just now."
"You even managed to leave a Flying Thunder God mark on my clay Katsuyu. You must have planted it when your Rasengan struck it. Truly impossible to guard against."
This was the closest Deidara had come to death since his transmigration. Although he could technically be revived through Edo Tensei, and an Edo Tensei body was arguably more powerful and convenient, staying alive was still preferable. After all, how could he enjoy the pleasures of life in an undead body?
"Impossible! We clearly hit you just now! Was that only a clone?" Kurama exclaimed in shock.
"No! That was definitely his real body! You can't fool my sensory abilities!" Kurama immediately contradicted its own assumption.
Deidara rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There's no point in keeping it a secret. This ability just happened to work out in my favor. If you had attacked differently, I really would have died."
"First off, you already know my body can turn into clay, right?" Deidara said, waving his now clay-like right hand.
"There's a concept called elementalization, though you might not fully understand it."
"In simple terms, I disassembled my body into nano-sized clay bombs during your Wind Release attack. Once the attack ended, I reassembled myself to return to my original form," Deidara explained.
This was why he considered his survival a stroke of luck. If the attack had been Fire Release, Lightning Release, or something like Naruto's future Rasenshuriken capable of microscopic destruction, he would have been killed even in his nano-bomb state.
But Wind Release was different. It lacked the ability to attack on a microscopic level.
For example, a hurricane can destroy houses, trees, and rocks, but fine grains of sand remain unaffected no matter how strong the wind blows. However, if exposed to extreme heat, the sand could be melted or even vaporized.
Deidara had been researching C4: Karura, and while the final product wasn't complete, he had made some progress.
"Fascinating. Deidara truly possesses impressive creativity," Orochimaru remarked, licking his lips again—a habit that always seemed unsettling.
"Why don't you go bite him too?" Hidan teased.
Orochimaru gave a subtle smile. "My instincts tell me that's not a wise idea."
On the battlefield, Minato realized that his failed Flying Thunder God sneak attack meant he had no choice but to fully unleash the Nine-Tails' power. The enemy wouldn't give him a second chance for a surprise attack.
"Leave it to me!" Kurama said eagerly, clearly dissatisfied with the restrained combat so far.
Drip!
A massive Tailed Beast Ball began forming once again. Deidara smiled in satisfaction—finally, he would collect the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball.
C3 Special Type: Gluttonous Toad!
A large, pot-bellied clay toad appeared on the battlefield, swallowing the incoming Tailed Beast Ball in one gulp.
Sacrifice!
Explosion Mastery Level 3 Unlocked!
"What just happened? Where did my Tailed Beast Ball go?" Kurama asked in confusion.
"Thanks for the Tailed Beast Ball, Kurama," Deidara replied with a grin.
"Hmph!"
"Don't think that just because you neutralized one of my Tailed Beast Balls with some strange method, it's over!"
"I can make as many of these as I want!" Kurama began charging another Tailed Beast Ball.
"Ha!"
The Clay Hydra slithered forward, and a powerful explosion neutralized Kurama's second Tailed Beast Ball.
The Flesh Colossus' tentacles took advantage of the chaos, reaching out to grab Kurama.
Whoosh!
Minato teleported using the Flying Thunder God Technique, moving the Nine-Tails to a spot near the Flesh Colossus' left side. Kurama immediately launched another Tailed Beast Ball.
Boom!
The Gluttonous Toad, positioned not far away, leaped over and swallowed the Tailed Beast Ball once again.
Boom!
Its belly swelled violently, almost bursting from the explosion. The toad quickly opened its mouth, releasing the high-temperature blast and shockwave.
The power of the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball exceeded Deidara's expectations. Even the Gluttonous Toad, designed specifically to consume Tailed Beast Balls, nearly failed to contain it.
"So this is the purpose of that toad?"
"Ouch! I didn't realize my Tailed Beast Ball was this powerful!" Kurama cried out in pain, scorched by its own attack. Unlike Minato's Edo Tensei body, Kurama's Tailed Beast Mode was essentially its true form.
"Kurama, let me take over," Minato said as he regained control. He unleashed a powerful Wind Release technique:
"Tailed Beast: Infinite Breakthrough!"
A violent gale erupted from the Nine-Tails' mouth, instantly suppressing the high-temperature shockwave emitted by the Gluttonous Toad. The Nine-Tails' tails extended, reaching for the toad.
The strength of a perfect Jinchūriki lay in their ability to combine versatile ninjutsu with the raw power of a Tailed Beast, allowing them to handle a variety of situations effectively.
The Flesh Colossus' tentacles once again tangled with the Nine-Tails' tails as its main body rapidly closed the distance. Meanwhile, Deidara ascended on a Clay Bird, gaining altitude.
Minato's sharp instincts sensed danger. "Kurama, the enemy has already achieved their goal of collecting Tailed Beast Balls. I fear they intend to detonate this massive creature directly!"
"Consecutive Tailed Beast Balls!" Kurama, sharing Minato's unease, launched three Tailed Beast Balls in quick succession at the Flesh Colossus.
Boom!
The Gluttonous Toad swallowed one, using the resulting explosion to neutralize the second. Meanwhile, the clay Katsuyu crawled over and sacrificed itself to counter the third.
"They blocked all of them?" Kurama was stunned and began charging another Tailed Beast Ball.
But Deidara wouldn't give it the chance. A muffled explosion echoed from within the Flesh Colossus—not a Volcanic Eruption, but a smaller blast. Several circular openings appeared on its surface, releasing shockwaves that acted as propulsion, rapidly accelerating it toward the Nine-Tails.
"This is bad! Kurama, retreat now!" Minato shouted.
"Can't you teleport us away with the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"I used it too recently; I need more time to prepare."
The Flesh Colossus made its final leap, descending like a mountain to crush the Nine-Tails. Its massive body blotted out the sky, plunging the world into darkness as if heralding the apocalypse.
Deidara raised two fingers to his chest, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
The thrill of defeating a formidable enemy was like drinking a cold glass of water on a scorching summer day.
"Minato Namikaze, thank you for the wonderful battle!"
"Art is an explosion!"
"Ha!"
On the plains, a second sun rose once again.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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