Akatsuki, an organization in Naruto, was initially founded by three orphans seeking peace for their homeland.
It began as a youthful group with noble ideals, nearly igniting a revolution.
But human nature is fickle, and some opposed their vision.
Inevitably, conflict arose, and the leader was forced into a duel with his second-in-command.
The first leader, brave and optimistic, lost his life, and the more radical second-in-command took over.
His outlook, already warped, was further manipulated, leading the group down a dark path.
Though the goal of peace remained, their methods turned extreme, transforming Akatsuki into a feared and evil organization.
Despite their notoriety, Akatsuki consisted of only a dozen elite members, each a master in their own right.
They often operated in pairs, with partners complementing each other during missions.
Deidara, naturally, wasn't an exception. His partner was Sasori, a puppet master who even turned his own body into a puppet—a true madman.
Together, they were the perfect storm: a madman and a lunatic.
And in the world of Naruto, these types of characters make up the backbone of its most formidable figures.
...
A few moments earlier, while Su Ye's main body was chatting with Harry at Osborn Tower, his clone had been training with Hinata.
Hinata, inspired by the mighty Boss Toad, was eager to grow stronger—not to stand out in battle but to avoid becoming a burden.
"Brother Ye, please push me as hard as you can. I won't let you down," she declared.
Hearing her determination, Su Ye felt reassured. Training her seriously? That was the main body's job. Sparring? The clone could handle that.
While the Avengers were celebrating their victory, Hinata and Su Ye's clone had already begun training, much to Neji's chagrin.
"I wish I could get Brother Ye's personal coaching too!" Neji thought, briefly lamenting his gender.
"If I were a girl, I could've stood atop Boss Toad, enjoying the view. If I were a girl, I'd have Brother Ye's favor…"
Too bad—he was born the wrong gender.
Meanwhile, as Hinata and Su Ye's clone sparred, their chakra usage inadvertently caught Deidara's attention as he circled the skies.
Deidara had come looking for a Tailed Beast. Akatsuki knew the Nine-Tails was sealed within Su Ye, but locating him was a challenge.
Boss Toad's earlier appearance provided a clue. In New York, only Su Ye could summon a creature from Mount Myoboku.
Deidara, riding his clay bird, scoured the city for signs of chakra.
His ability allowed him to mold explosive clay into various weapons, with bombs being his specialty. To him, explosions were the ultimate art form.
Spotting the chakra fluctuations from Hinata and Su Ye's clone, he decided to test the waters, dropping a clay bomb.
Unexpectedly, the blast obliterated Su Ye's clone.
When Su Ye's main body arrived at the scene, Deidara was muttering to himself, seemingly frustrated.
"You, a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and yet so fragile? Did my explosion take out the Nine-Tails too? No way…"
Su Ye's clone had sacrificed itself to save Hinata, but Deidara remained clueless, refusing to believe such an absurd outcome.
"Impossible! He must've used a substitution jutsu!" Deidara reasoned, convinced that his art hadn't failed.
At that moment, Su Ye's real body approached on his glider. Deidara's anxious expression quickly shifted to one of glee.
"Haha! I knew you couldn't be dead. Where were you hiding? I didn't even notice when you used substitution!"
Su Ye ignored him, scanning the area.
"Where's your partner? Tell him to come out. Maybe we can have a talk."
Compared to Deidara, whose obsession with explosions bordered on madness, Sasori was at least more rational.
Perhaps some original dialogue could persuade him to switch sides, adding a formidable member to the Long Wall Guardians.
But Deidara wasn't having it.
"You're facing Deidara, the great artist! Partner or not, you're dead today. Now, hand over the Nine-Tails!"
He flicked his wrist, and the mouth on his right hand spat out a lump of clay. In an instant, it shaped itself into a small bird, flying straight at Su Ye.
Against someone this fixated on explosions, Su Ye knew there was only one way forward: confront him head-on.
"Shadow Clone Transformation Jutsu!"
With a loud shout from Su Ye, clusters of air mist suddenly exploded around him with a "bang, bang, bang," and from each mist appeared a small white bird, looking similar to the ones Deidara had just thrown out.
Once these small birds appeared, they immediately began circling around Deidara, forming such a large flock that even his original small bird couldn't fly out.
At this moment, Su Ye had also left his glider, transforming into a small bird and blending in with the circling flock.
Deidara looked around and was about to use a clay bomb to blow apart the flock of birds around him when a small bird in front of him suddenly transformed into a human figure, delivering a lightning-fast punch directly to Deidara's abdomen.
In that instant, Deidara felt as if his waist had been slammed by a dump truck, with his entire lumbar disc bulging uncontrollably.
Before he could react, the hand with a mouth capable of spitting special clay was torn off entirely, shoulder and all.
In almost an instant, Deidara was rendered half-crippled.
Meanwhile, Deidara's partner, Sasori, was lurking in the darkness not far away, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to Su Ye.
When Sasori saw Deidara's arm being severed, he was lying on the ground like a dog in clothes, looking up at the sky.