Explosive Art and the Dance of Bullets
"Ka!" Deidara shouted as a massive clay spider shot toward Hyuga Chinano, lunging like a facehugger.
However, before it could get within fifty meters of her, the spider suddenly detonated. Chinano, unfazed, smoothly drew her intricately designed firearms, her movements fluid like a dancer weaving through gunfire. Each pull of the trigger precisely eliminated a clay spider, her bullets meeting their targets with ruthless efficiency. As her gunfire continued, the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Tsk, interesting. So, your weapons explode too, huh? I guess you could call it art, but it doesn't quite have the impact of my bombs. Inferior, hmm~" Deidara mused, the mouths on his palms endlessly chewing and spitting out fresh clay bombs.
"Brother Sasori, this one's interesting. I'll handle her. You go capture the One-Tail Jinchūriki. Yeah, that's it," Deidara said, though his tone carried a hint of excitement. As much as he enjoyed the fight, he never lost sight of their mission.
With that, he dropped his playful attitude and summoned a massive clay bird, soaring into the sky. He preferred aerial combat—staying high above, out of reach of his enemies, raining destruction from above. Most ninja had short reach, unable to counter him with ninjutsu or shuriken. It was a battle of different dimensions. If things went south, he could simply retreat.
"Tsk…" Sasori sighed in mild irritation, dropping what was left of Gekko Hayate—now reduced to a mere head. He pulled a scroll from his back, releasing a puppet that quickly sealed away the remains.
"I'll study you later… The secret to immortality…" he murmured before retrieving the scroll. Then, without hesitation, Sasori's form flickered and disappeared into the darkness.
From a distance, Hyuga Chinano tracked Sasori's movements with her Byakugan (White Eye). She pulled out the sniper rifle slung across her back, locked onto her target without even needing to use the scope, and fired.
Sasori, who had concealed himself completely, suddenly felt a sharp sense of danger. His instincts screamed at him, but the bullet was too fast. In a split second, he curled his body like a mechanical doll, minimizing the impact zone.
Even so, the high-caliber round struck the thick, segmented stinger of his tail, sending him spiraling backward through the air. The force of the impact caused him to crash into the ground, rolling several times before finally regaining control.
Glancing down, he examined the damage. "Tch. Looks like I'll need to replace the part again," he muttered.
Deidara, watching the whole thing, released his clay bird without a word, sending it on a suicide dive toward Chinano. As the bird plummeted, Deidara leaped from the sky, unwilling to be an easy target.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion erupted, sending dust, debris, and fire into the sky, illuminating the battlefield with an eerie glow. Silence followed in the aftermath.
Then, piercing through the smoke like a comet tearing through the night sky, a single bullet shot straight toward Deidara's head.
Deidara reacted instantly. He spat out two small clay figures from the mouths on his hands—one chubby, one thin. They weren't his usual precise creations, but in the chaos of battle, he had no time to craft anything better.
The bullet tore through the first figure, and before it could reach him, Deidara triggered an explosion in the second, using the reverse thrust to propel himself away from danger. While airborne, he flicked several clay birds in the direction of the sniper shot, covering his retreat.
Hyuga Chinano narrowed her eyes. She knew this opponent wouldn't be easy. She focused entirely on him, leaving Sasori to the approaching Aburame Hatsuizumi.
"A weapon with only piercing power and no explosive force? That's not art at all. True art… is pure explosion!" Deidara chattered to himself, clearly enjoying the battle.
Emerging from the smoke, Chinano was mostly unharmed, though the explosion had burned parts of her clothing, and the ends of her smooth, black-blue hair were singed. She didn't seem to care.
Realizing that her sniper rifle was no longer ideal at this range, she sealed it away in a scroll and pulled out two rifles resembling AKs. Without hesitation, she spat to the side and opened fire.
Deidara, suspecting these bullets carried the same power as the previous sniper round, didn't even attempt to dodge. Instead, he dived straight into the earth, disappearing as though he had plunged into water.
The bullets only grazed the tips of his golden hair before he vanished completely.
Normally, this would force an opponent to stay on high alert, expecting an attack from below. Anxiety would eventually lead to mistakes—and that's when Deidara would strike.
But Chinano had the Byakugan (White Eye). She could see everything underground.
Beneath her feet, Deidara was busy crafting a swarm of Nendo Mukade (Clay Centipedes), which slithered forward through the earth, homing in on her chakra signature.
Though he couldn't see her directly, he could sense her presence through her chakra. His sneak attack was almost certain to succeed.
However, a sudden chill ran down Deidara's spine. It felt as though someone had completely seen through him. His chakra-sensing ability locked onto a single, eerie presence—one blood-red eye staring directly at him.
The last time he had encountered such an eye, it had been the Sharingan. But this was different. This red eye was something purer, something terrifying.
"Tch. I won't fail a second time in the same way. Art will never lose! Hmm!" Deidara snarled, revealing his left eye from under its cover—a high-tech device enhancing his vision.
Beneath the ground, his Nendo Mukade (Clay Centipedes) burst upward, breaking through the soil like jagged blades. In an instant, they wrapped around Hyuga Chinano, binding her limbs and restricting her movement.
Only her calm, unreadable expression remained visible.
Deidara emerged from underground, dusting off his clothes. With a snap of his fingers, the centipedes exploded—fire and heat engulfing Chinano in a dazzling burst of flames.
"Art will never lose! Do you understand?! Art… is about explosion! Hmm!"
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