Deidara leaped, landing on a branch of a nearby tree.
But just as he found his footing, countless figures, poised for action, shot out from all directions.
In the blink of an eye, they surrounded him.
"Not Otogakure, but Konoha Ninja?"
Deidara turned to survey his surroundings, immediately recognizing the Uzumaki symbol.
"It seems you're also here to deal with Orochimaru because of his invasion, hmm."
Considering Orochimaru's past actions,
Deidara quickly figured out why Konoha Ninja would appear here.
"Who are you, and why would you commit such a heinous act of massacring a Village?"
The surrounding Ninja parted, and Hashirama, his expression grim, led Tobirama and others forward.
They were indeed here to eliminate the Hidden Sound Village.
But they only intended to eliminate the Otogakure Ninja, not the defenseless common villagers!
Let alone such a cruel slaughter, where people were blown to pieces, their limbs shattered!
Facing Hashirama's accusation, Deidara merely put his hands behind his back, expressionless.
Tobirama, meanwhile, frowned, scrutinizing Deidara's attire.
"A black cloak with red clouds... You're a member of that mysterious organization called Akatsuki!"
"It seems after Orochimaru exposed the Hidden Sound Village, you've also come to hunt down this former traitor!"
Jiraiya had already informed Hashirama and Tobirama about the Akatsuki.
He had also made them aware that there was a terrifying organization in the Ninja World attempting to collect Ninjutsu, secret techniques, and even Tailed Beasts!
"Akatsuki Organization!"
"You're trying to gather all the Tailed Beasts; are you planning to reignite a war?"
Hashirama was well aware of the terrifying destructive power of Tailed Beasts on the battlefield.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have distributed the Tailed Beasts to other Villages during his lifetime to maintain mutual checks and balances.
"I don't know anything about war or not war, but you're not my mission target, so don't bother me, hmm."
Deidara's hands, which were behind his back, had already crafted a new clay giant bird.
He then jumped onto it again, preparing to leave.
"Since you won't speak, then I can only apologize."
Hashirama, apologizing first before acting, clapped his hands together directly in front of his chest.
Several vine branches emerged from the ground, intertwining to form a giant wooden hand that reached for Deidara, who was trying to fly away.
Chapter 169: As if I don't have a Gundam too
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't give up!"
The moment Hashirama attacked,
Deidara, who had been prepared, immediately jumped off the clay giant bird, dodging the wooden hand's grasp.
At the same time, the golden-red Nine-Tailed Chakra flared up on his body again.
He also reached into his waist pouches to retrieve clay, quickly molding it in front of him.
"This is!?" Hashirama's face was ashen.
"Nine-Tailed Chakra!" Tobirama also frowned deeply, his voice filled with certainty.
The familiar golden-red Chakra emanating from Deidara's body.
Hashirama and Tobirama recognized it almost instantly.
And both their hearts sank to the bottom, a single thought emerging in their minds:
Four Stars Village, no, it should be Feng Xu, he's allied with the Akatsuki Organization!
Or perhaps, the mastermind behind this Akatsuki Organization might also be Feng Xu!
However, what they couldn't understand was why Feng Xu would collect Tailed Beasts to incite war?
Could it be that his hatred for Hiruzen Sarutobi and others extended to the Village?
So he planned to use this method to retaliate against Konoha?
Tobirama's brain worked at high speed, trying to fathom Feng Xu's intentions.
On the other side, Hashirama, with a grim expression, had completely given up on Feng Xu, no longer expecting him to inherit the will of fire.
Just as the two were in shock and a mental storm,
Deidara, who had finished making the explosive clay, suddenly spread his hands outwards.
He threw dense clay spiders and clay birds towards the surrounding Konoha Ninja.
Then, with one hand, he formed a Ninja hand sign in front of him.
"Hmph!"
Accompanied by this sharp shout,
The clay spiders and clay birds that had flown in front of the Ninja all burst forth with dazzling light!
Then they exploded violently, forming brilliant miniature suns.
Enveloping an area of several hundred meters around them.
Rumble!!!
A series of thunderous roars, like summer lightning, echoed.
Flying earth and rock, and smoke and dust, instantly covered an area of several hundred meters.
"Hahahaha, art is an explosion!"
Deidara, who had crafted another clay giant bird, laughed as he flew into the sky from the smoke and dust.
He was clearly very pleased with his recent masterpiece.
However, the next second, his smugness froze on his face.
He saw the smoke below dissipating at an extremely fast rate.
A giant wooden, fanged demon mask shield appeared before Deidara's eyes.
Wood Release: Hōbi no Jutsu!
"What the hell is this thing?"
As Deidara just asked, the wooden demon mask shield below clattered open.
Revealing Hashirama and the Ninja standing inside, looking up, completely unharmed.
"It actually blocked my fusion art with Hefeng!"
"Orochimaru's puppet comedy this time is no worse than Master Sasori's art!"
Earlier, when Deidara and Sasori were hunting Orochimaru, they had seen Orochimaru's immature Edo Tensei.
Compared to Hashirama this time, the Third Kazekage from before was simply not on the same level!
"But the strength is just right, enough to test how explosive my current art is, hmm!"
As he spoke, the clay giant bird beneath Deidara's feet ascended again, and the mouth on his palm began to chew clay once more.
But before he could throw his next wave of explosive clay,
He, as well as Hashirama, Tobirama, and the others below,
were attracted by eight white snakes rapidly approaching from a distance, and a puppet with Nine-Tailed Chakra floating in the sky.
Although they were called eight white snakes, five of their heads had already been cut off by the puppets, leaving only constantly bleeding necks.
And the remaining three heads were also precarious, being repeatedly struck in the same spot on their necks by the puppets.
"This is Orochimaru's Eight-Headed Serpent Technique!"
"And the one chasing it... is another Ninja who has obtained Nine-Tailed Chakra!"
Tobirama, seeing the situation in the distance, was immediately both shocked and enraged.
"This is outrageous! How many people has Feng Xu given this dangerous power to?"
Tobirama, who had been ganged up on by Kin-Gin, who also possessed Nine-Tailed Chakra, was well aware of the Nine-Tailed Chakra's power.
He felt a sense of panic regarding Feng Xu's reckless distribution of freely controllable Nine-Tailed Chakra.
Hashirama, beside him, also had a serious expression, stepping forward to the very front.
"Tobirama, don't overthink it. Leave this to me."
"You take the others and search for and rescue any innocent villagers who might have survived here."
"It just so happens that our target for this trip, Orochimaru, has also appeared here."
"I will personally capture him and the young man from the Akatsuki Organization and bring them back."
"The Yamanaka Clan boys will extract the information we need from their minds."
Compared to racking his brain to guess the truth of the matter,
Hashirama felt it was better to just capture them all and examine their memories.
Even if he turned out to be wrong, he would simply prostrate himself in apology and offer compensation!
Moreover, he was now eager to know whether the Nine-Tailed Chakra was indeed given by Feng Xu.
Although all clues pointed to Feng Xu, he still held a glimmer of hope.
After all, the Village under Hiruzen Sarutobi's control had indeed wronged the Fourth's son.
And that directly led to everything happening now.
Unless absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to act against the Fourth's son again; he wanted to guide him back to the right path.
"I understand, Big Brother."
Tobirama, understanding that Hashirama intended to fight with all his might, knew that he and the other Ninja would only be a burden.
So he nodded decisively and commanded the Ninja,
"Everyone, get away from this battlefield and spread out to conduct search and rescue."
"If anyone finds Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu's whereabouts, report immediately!"
Tobirama hadn't noticed earlier, but now he realized that Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu were not here!
Watching Tobirama and the others quickly disappear into the distance,
Hashirama refocused his gaze, clapped his hands together forcefully in front of his chest.
A massive amount of Chakra surged out as if it were limitless.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Rumble!
The ground shook, cracking inch by inch, and rising upwards.
Giant trees and vines broke through the earth, intertwining and weaving together.
Finally, they formed a giant wooden dragon over ten meters long.
On the dragon's head, Hashirama stood with his arms crossed, facing the wind.
"Impressive! This terrifying Wood Release really makes it seem like the God of Shinobi has been resurrected!"
Deidara, standing on the clay giant bird in the sky, looked at the imposing wooden dragon below, unable to help but feel a sense of awe.
Then he looked at the giant eight-headed white snake that was rapidly approaching.
"And Orochimaru, who is being hunted by Master Sasori, my art will not lose to yours, even in terms of size!"
Deidara, indicating that he also had a Gundam, reached into his waist pouches on both sides, pulled out clay, and began to devour it.