Chapter 284:
"Arghhh, things have been so boring lately."
Hanabi had been in a terrible mood recently. After Sasori's death, the ring he left behind had been handed over to Tobi by Pain.
Losing to someone like that idiot Tobi—Hanabi just couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Well, technically, he was a senior member before you…"
"No way. I have to get an official member's ring!" Hanabi turned to Future Boruto. "Boruto, do you have any ideas?"
"Yeah." Future Boruto nodded. "There is one way..."
"What is it?"
Hanabi asked eagerly.
"You just have to kill a current Akatsuki member."
"…Yeah, no thanks." Hanabi shook her head. "Still, I'm seriously bored. Who knows what everyone else is up to..."
"Hidan and Kakuzu went to the Land of Fire to complete a black market mission. Tobi and Zetsu are in the Land of Lightning gathering intel on the Eight Tails. As for Uchiha Itachi and Kisame, no clue." Future Boruto explained. "Also, our mission from the organization is to bring Uchiha Sasuke back alive."
"Huh? Uchiha... Sasuke?"
Hanabi looked at Future Boruto in confusion. Since he had taken her away three years ago, she wasn't familiar with many people from the Hidden Leaf.
"The Nine-Tails jinchūriki has been chasing after Uchiha Sasuke. So if we bring Sasuke to the Akatsuki, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki will come to us willingly. That's probably Pain's strategy," Future Boruto said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"No." Future Boruto shook his head. "To ensure mission success, Deidara will be coming with us. With him around, we can move much faster."
...
After he believed he had killed Orochimaru, Sasuke set out on a journey to find Uchiha Itachi, taking Karin, Jūgo, and Suigetsu along.
"Come out."
While waiting for his teammates to return from restocking supplies in the nearby town, Sasuke suddenly turned toward a small forest behind him.
Future Boruto and Hanabi emerged from the woods.
"So that's Uchiha Sasuke?" Hanabi looked at the boy in front of her. "As expected of Itachi's younger brother—they really do look alike."
At the mention of Uchiha Itachi's name, Sasuke shot Hanabi a terrifying glare, making her instinctively hide behind Future Boruto.
"Perfect timing. I couldn't locate Itachi, but you all just came right to me..."
Halfway through his sentence, Sasuke looked up toward the sky.
"Eat my giant bird!"
The clay bird that had been carrying Future Boruto and Hanabi dove toward Sasuke and detonated with a violent explosion.
Deidara leapt down from his own clay bird and landed in front of Future Boruto and Hanabi, striking a pose like he was their leader.
As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Sasuke appeared, protected by a massive snake.
"Three people, huh? And one of them's from the Hyūga clan..."
Sasuke muttered to himself, his Three Tomoe Sharingan locking onto the three before him.
"You're not bad… but that's all. I still can't believe Orochimaru got taken down by a brat like you."
Deidara sneered at Sasuke.
"Sharingan. Guess that confirms it—he really is Itachi's brother," Future Boruto added from behind Deidara.
"So in other words, killing Orochimaru was only possible because of his Uchiha blood… Hmph, just a little punk relying on his lineage to act tough."
Deidara mocked Sasuke relentlessly, but in the next second, he got a taste of his own medicine. The moment his words fell, Sasuke drew his Kusanagi sword and flash-stepped directly in front of Deidara.
"That speed!"
Hanabi, standing in the back, exclaimed in surprise.
Deidara was briefly caught off guard, but Sasuke didn't target him. Instead, he attacked the weakest among them—Hanabi.
"One down, just like that..."
But Sasuke's overconfidence backfired. His razor-sharp Kusanagi sword was caught mid-swing—clutched firmly in Future Boruto's right hand.
"Your Body Flicker is fast, but not fast enough."
Golden chakra flared up around Future Boruto's right hand, protecting it from being cut by Sasuke's blade.
Only then did Hanabi snap out of it and quickly take two steps back.
"Hey! You're not the only one allowed to act cool!"
Deidara plunged both hands into his ninja pouch. The mouths on his palms started munching on clay, crafting bombs using C1-level chakra. He flung them toward Sasuke to test his movements.
"You two, stand back!"
The clay bombs landed and transformed into spiders, crawling toward Sasuke.
"Hrah!"
At the moment of detonation, Sasuke used Wind Release to blow the spiders away.
Some of the spiders landed in the trees; others near Future Boruto and Hanabi.
Explosions rang out. Protected by the Nine-Tails' chakra, Boruto and Hanabi were hit by the shockwaves but remained unharmed.
At the same time, Sasuke flash-stepped to the top of Deidara's head, swinging his Kusanagi sword downward.
"Deidara! Above you!"
Hanabi, still shielded by Future Boruto's Nine-Tails chakra, shouted a warning.
Reacting just in time, Deidara tossed a clay spider upward.
"Take this!"
The explosion engulfed both Deidara and Sasuke.
Deidara burst out of the smoke and slid to a stop beside Future Boruto and Hanabi.
"This guy is fast. Guess I'll have to use the C2 bomb..." Deidara pressed his hands together and weaved hand seals, then thrust both hands toward the ground. "Time to witness my latest explosive art! C2 Dragon!"
A massive clay dragon formed in front of Uchiha Sasuke.
Deidara jumped onto the dragon's head and performed hand signs.
The C2 Dragon lifted him into the sky.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Sasuke fired a beam of lightning from his Kusanagi sword at the airborne C2 Dragon, but the creature easily dodged it.
"Not bad chakra shape transformation. Bet Kakashi taught you that," Deidara called down from atop the C2 Dragon.
"Since you've had your turn, now it's mine! This one packs way more punch than the last—no matter how tough your defense is, this will blow you to the heavens!"