Such an ability was enough to ambush even Kage-level opponents. Although true Kage powerhouses possessed far stronger chakra and battle experience, their physical bodies were not inherently indestructible—certainly not enough to withstand an explosion detonated inside them.
Of course, Kage-level shinobi had countless defensive methods at their disposal. Yet across the entire ninja world, those capable of directly countering Deidara's technique numbered fewer than ten.
Even Lightning Release specialists would be helpless if they failed to detect the ultra-fine explosive particles in advance.
Among those rare few who could counter this move, Gaara happened to be one of them.
The moment the microscopic clay dust drifted toward him, the Magnet Release chakra field surrounding Gaara reacted instantly. The invisible field allowed him to perceive even the most minute disturbances—down to particles far smaller than grains of sand.
Compared to that, Deidara's micro-bombs were impossible to hide.
A faint spark of chakra flickered within the magnetic field.
In the next instant, C4 Karura was rendered completely ineffective.
Deidara's expression changed violently.
"Impossible!" he roared. "How did you detect my C4 Karura?!"
Looking at Deidara's flustered state, Gaara replied coldly, disdain evident in his voice.
"Your Ninjutsu is impressive. Attacks at the microscopic level are nearly impossible to defend against."
He raised his hand slightly.
"But my magnetic field allows me to sense every abnormal change within it. The moment your explosives entered my ten-meter range, I knew."
"It seems you've exhausted your tricks," Gaara continued calmly. "Then stay here."
"Desert Coffin."
In an instant, the desert responded.
Sand surged violently across several kilometers, swallowing the battlefield in a raging tide. Deidara's face finally twisted in alarm.
At this point, he had already abandoned any hope of capturing the One-Tail Jinchūriki.
He wanted to leave.
He had to leave.
He still hadn't taken revenge on Uchiha Itachi.
He wanted that bastard—who had dismissed his art so casually—to witness it with his own eyes.
Deidara turned sharply and shouted,
"Tobi! Run—get out of here!"
No response.
He froze.
Tobi was already gone.
"…That bastard," Deidara muttered darkly. "Since when did he get so fast?"
Black lines crossed his face, yet despite his anger, he let out a breath of relief.
In his mind, Tobi was still that ridiculous, masked fool—annoying, loud, and utterly unserious. Deidara had never considered him strong, only amusing… and someone who appreciated his art.
Gritting his teeth, Deidara quickly molded chakra and summoned a clay flying dragon, leaping onto it to escape.
But how could Gaara allow that?
Mobilizing sand across such a massive area was already pushing his limits. In the past, he could barely control a kilometer's worth of sand. Now, empowered by his mastery and deeper synchronization with Shukaku's chakra, he could freely manipulate sand within nearly three miles—but no further.
With a sharp motion of his hand, Gaara compressed the sand and fired it like a spear.
The chakra-reinforced sand struck the flying dragon midair, disrupting its structure instantly.
The clay construct collapsed, and Deidara was sent plummeting from the sky.
Before he could recover, the sand surged again, forming a tightening ring around him.
"Damn it!"
Deidara summoned another clay dragon and tried to break through from a different angle.
Shot down.
He tried again—this time with a smaller, faster clay bird.
Still shot down.
One blast of sand nearly grazed him directly.
Deidara's face darkened completely.
There was no escape.
As the sand closed in, his expression grew grim.
Only now did he truly realize how badly he had underestimated this Jinchūriki.
Gaara's control over Ninjutsu was terrifying, and his chakra reserves were abnormally vast. After such prolonged combat, he still showed no signs of exhaustion.
There was no doubt about it—Gaara had already drawn upon Ichibi's chakra.
Otherwise, sustaining such large-scale techniques while maintaining perfect precision would have been impossible.
No matter how he analyzed the situation, Deidara could see only one remaining option.
"…Am I really going to use that?" he muttered.
"That was meant for Uchiha Itachi."
After a brief hesitation, Deidara made his decision.
He tore open his Akatsuki cloak, revealing a well-built torso beneath.
What caught the eye immediately, however, were the strange stitches running across his chest—unnatural and unsettling.
Gaara raised his hand once more. Sand lifted into the air, flowing toward Deidara like a rising tide.
At this distance, Gaara could bury him alive in an instant.
Yet he paused.
Staring at Deidara, Gaara asked calmly,
"What exactly is your objective?"
That was what puzzled him most.
They wouldn't have targeted him without reason.
Naruto might know who these people were—but Gaara didn't.
Or rather, almost no one in the ninja world knew the true objective of the Akatsuki.
"Hahaha… want to know?" Deidara laughed wildly, madness flickering in his eyes. "Then ask in your next life! I can't believe I, Deidara, would be defeated by a brat!"
He looked as though he had already accepted death.
Just as he was about to undo the stitched thread across his chest, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Ah—Senior! Are you alright?"
Deidara stiffened.
The familiar, foolish tone… it was Tobi.
He turned his head sharply, eyes widening in disbelief.
"Tobi?! Didn't you run away already? Why are you here?" Deidara shouted. "Great! Now you're going to be buried with me!"
He didn't have time to question how Tobi had appeared so suddenly. In his mind, the answer was simple—some kind of Earth Release technique.
After all, Tobi had always been strange.
Deidara had already made up his mind.
He was about to unleash his ultimate art.
"Buried with you?" Tobi replied cheerfully. "How could that be? I'm here to save you, Senior!"
The carefree voice left Deidara momentarily stunned.
Even at a moment like this, his impression of Tobi hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Senior, no more nonsense," Tobi said quickly. "Don't resist!"
He placed a hand on Deidara's shoulder.
In the next instant, the space around them rippled violently, as though reality itself had been disturbed.
In truth, Obito didn't need Deidara's cooperation to pull him into Kamui, but allowing it made the process faster—and less conspicuous.
The moment the distortion appeared, Gaara sensed danger.
His expression changed instantly.
He clenched his fist.
The sand roared.
A massive torrent surged forward, colliding and compressing upon itself as it shot skyward. The desert trembled as yellow sand exploded into the air and rained down like a storm.
Gaara's face darkened.
In his perception—
They were gone.
Far away, in another part of the desert, two figures emerged.
Deidara staggered slightly, still shaken.
That overwhelming wall of sand… if it had landed, he would have been crushed beyond recognition—no body left behind, not even fragments.
Only after realizing he was truly alive did he finally exhale.
He turned to Tobi abruptly.
"Tobi!" Deidara said, still breathing hard. "Was that a Space-Time Ninjutsu just now? Why didn't you use something like that earlier?! Do you have any idea how close I was to dying?!"
With his back turned, Deidara failed to notice the Sharingan hidden beneath the mask.
To him, it was obvious—Tobi had simply used some powerful Space-Time technique.
Deidara let out a long breath, his tension finally easing.
"As expected of the leader…" he muttered. "The one you chose really does have some strange abilities."
Behind the mask, Obito watched him silently.
He hadn't intended to reveal anything.
But the threat posed by Umbrella was growing too rapidly. The Akatsuki could no longer afford to lose members so easily.
What truly unsettled him, however, was something else.
That One-Tail Jinchūriki had already begun to control a portion of Ichibi's power.
Beneath the spiral mask, Obito's expression was grim.
...
TN:
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