After hearing Sasuke's introduction, Tsunade couldn't help but click her tongue inwardly. Abnormal—there was no other word for it.
The ocular ninjutsu Sasuke had awakened was akin to a legendary martial divine art. By comparison, decades of her own accumulation and arduous training had yielded only a single such pinnacle technique. Yet Sasuke now possessed two, perhaps even three. It was utterly unreasonable.
As expected of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
A trace of fervent obsession flashed through Orochimaru's eyes as he looked at Sasuke, as though gazing upon a peerless treasure.
However, that look vanished the moment Naruto's sharp gaze fell upon him. Orochimaru immediately suppressed his thoughts.
Sasuke's ability was undeniably tempting, but the person standing beside him was far more terrifying. In Orochimaru's estimation, Naruto had already reached a level that could rival Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara.
Naruto, meanwhile, felt genuine joy for Sasuke. With his current strength, Sasuke had taken a decisive step forward. His foundation was far more solid than it had ever been in the original course of history.
Yakumo Kurama, standing nearby, was equally astonished. With abilities of this level, even her Genjutsu space might no longer be able to restrain Sasuke.
So this is the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan…
It was indeed frighteningly powerful. Still, her Bloodline Limit was nothing to scoff at either. That realization ignited a surge of motivation deep within Yakumo's heart.
Sasuke unconsciously clenched his fists.
At last, he possessed the power to seek revenge against Uchiha Itachi. Even though he already knew the truth behind everything, forgiveness was impossible.
The clan would never forgive him either.
…
While things were progressing smoothly on Naruto's side, trouble had found Gaara.
After the fall of the Wind Country's royal family, Gaara had invited Ebizo out of retirement to temporarily oversee the affairs of the Land of Wind.
At present, Gaara's alignment with Umbrella had left both Chiyo and Ebizo at a loss for words. His prestige had soared to unprecedented heights.
He had gathered numerous talented individuals under his banner, and most of the ninja clans were now connected to the Seven Colors Trading Company.
With the decisive defeat of the Ninja Allied Forces, Umbrella's strength stood unrivaled in the ninja world. Its influence was rapidly expanding, and under such pressure, Chiyo and Ebizo chose not to interfere.
Moreover, through Gaara's deliberate disclosures, they had already glimpsed the terrifying might hidden beneath Umbrella's surface—only the tip of the iceberg.
Since resistance was futile, they decided it was better to accept reality.
The Land of Wind was barren by nature, and Naruto had paid an enormous price to transform it.
Every day brought visible change.
Thanks to oil resources, the Land of Wind still possessed considerable wealth—though the lion's share naturally went to Naruto. Even so, Umbrella's automobiles were quickly embraced by the wealthy elite.
Carriages were rapidly phased out. In industrialized regions, cars became increasingly common. After Umbrella had effectively subdued the Five Great Nations, resistance still existed—but it came from civilians rather than ninja. Smaller villages simply did not dare provoke Umbrella.
Naruto did not indiscriminately suppress the nobility. Instead, he safeguarded their basic rights—some were brought into the system, others were suppressed.
They were forced to accept the new order. Those who refused had long since joined the remnants loyal to the old monarchy in death.
Thus, the Industrial Revolution swept across the land, beginning with large-scale road construction.
Flush with resources, Naruto directly deployed Earth Release ninja to lay foundations. Cement was then spread across the surface.
With precise chakra control, Earth Release users flattened the cement, and Fire Release ninja rapidly dried it.
In no time at all, a brand-new cement road was completed.
The sheer speed of construction left even those from Naruto's previous life's Flower Country stunned beyond belief.
As a desert nation, the Land of Wind faced greater challenges in road building. Gaara personally supervised the repairs and construction.
With the combined efforts of ninja and civilians, asphalt roads rapidly spread across the land.
And then—
Two uninvited guests arrived.
Deidara, tasked with capturing the One-Tail, and Obito, disguised as Tobi.
Deidara did not act recklessly. After observing Gaara's movements for several days, he finally chose the perfect moment to strike.
Only a few hundred people were present at the site; the rest were scattered across construction zones.
It was the ideal opportunity.
"Hahaha! Lord Deidara has arrived!"
"Art… is an explosion!!"
Riding atop his clay bird, Deidara burst into wild laughter.
Two grotesque mouths opened in the centers of his palms.
Special clay was fed into them, chewed, and transformed into explosive constructs—each capable of producing devastating blasts.
The attack had begun.
Deidara continuously scattered C1 explosives, and a dense rain of clay bombs fell from the sky, triggering violent detonations across the construction site.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"
Sunagakure reacted instantly. Shinobi moved to evacuate civilians, while Gaara activated Magnet Release, lifting himself into the air. With a sweep of his hand, massive quantities of sand surged upward, forming layers of defense that intercepted the falling C1 bombs.
Seeing his primary target finally emerge, Deidara burst into excited laughter. He urged the clay bird forward, rapidly closing the distance to Gaara.
Moments later, Deidara formed hand seals and summoned a C2 Dragon, leaping onto its back. At the same time, he sent the clay bird charging straight toward Gaara.
A violent explosion erupted as the bird detonated.
Smoke swallowed Gaara's figure completely.
When the dust finally cleared, Deidara's eyes narrowed. What remained in his vision was not a broken body, but a massive sphere of compacted sand.
"Tch. So you're not going down that easily."
Deidara had no intention of ending the fight so simply.
He controlled the C2 Dragon to unleash a barrage of clay bombs. Explosions thundered one after another, shaking the ground, yet every strike was firmly blocked by Gaara's sand defenses.
"Oh? You've got some skill," Deidara sneered. "But can you block what comes next?"
The dragon opened its enormous jaws, and in an instant, hundreds of landmine-type explosives poured out like a torrent.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
A chain of violent explosions engulfed Gaara once more. Thick smoke and flying sand filled the air, obscuring everything.
Deidara spread his arms wide, white clay continuously dropping from the mouths in his palms. The clay rapidly took shape, forming humanoid constructs that rushed toward Gaara.
Gaara manipulated his sand to intercept them—but the clay figures flowed like liquid, slipping through gaps in the defense.
A flash of light erupted.
Gaara's brows furrowed—
Bang!!!
The explosion sent sparks scattering as smoke billowed outward. Gaara was blasted backward, his body skidding across the ground and carving deep furrows into the earth before he finally stabilized himself.
Fine grains of sand drifted down around his face as he looked up.
He had relied on Sand Armor at the last moment to mitigate the blast.
Seeing that Gaara was still standing, Deidara laughed even harder. To him, this battle was nothing more than a live experiment. He continued detonating different types of clay explosives, testing their effects one after another.
"C2 Dragon — Guided Missile!"
The C2 series was Deidara's most frequently used technique—far more powerful than C1. The dragon could fire bombs with precision, while its body itself functioned as a massive explosive launcher.
A pig-shaped clay bomb shot from the dragon's mouth and detonated violently upon impact.
This technique was terrifyingly destructive. Even in the original course of history, Sasuke had been forced to activate the Curse Mark (Heaven) just to block it—and even then, he couldn't endure repeated hits.
Gaara raised walls of sand to defend, but each successful block came at a heavy cost.
His chakra was being rapidly consumed.
And Deidara showed no signs of stopping.
...
TN:
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