Just as Deidara was laughing wildly, the scene before him suddenly shifted. A wave of dizziness struck him, but it was far more than just disorientation. The very fabric of space itself seemed to warp. The trees and the night sky folded together unnaturally, flames merged with decayed earth, and Hyuga Chinano, whom he had just seen engulfed by the explosion, now stood before him, wreathed in fire.
Chaos. Surreal. Fractured. Those were the only words Deidara could use to describe this bizarre sensation.
From the flames, Chinano emerged, the firelight casting long shadows across her cold, indifferent face—eerily reminiscent of how the setting sun once illuminated Uchiha Itachi.
"Foolish man… fall into the illusion..." Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight, echoing words spoken by Itachi himself. That comparison alone made Deidara, a man who prided himself on his art, boil with rage.
Driven by anger, Deidara forcefully broke free from the illusion. After all, Hyuga Chinano was no Itachi. Her expertise in the Sharingan was not nearly as refined—it consumed too much chakra, limiting her ability to maintain it for long periods. By sheer chance, Deidara managed to snap out of it.
"Damn it... Damn it!" he seethed, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably. Losing to genjutsu again? Unacceptable. He had already suffered defeat at the hands of Sharingan once—twice now, the result was the same.
Sasori, however, paid no attention to his partner's tantrum. His goal remained clear: locate the One-Tail Jinchūriki and uncover the technique used by Gekkō Hayate. Unfortunately, he too was met with resistance.
Standing before him was a red-haired woman, dressed in pajamas, rolling up her sleeves with a determined look.
At first, Sasori dismissed her as just another ignorant villager throwing away her life. He had no interest in dealing with such people and intended to bypass her entirely.
But Karin had no intention of letting him through.
With a swift motion, she clenched her fists and took a stance, as though preparing to throw someone over her shoulder. However, she never made physical contact.
Yet, inexplicably, Sasori's body was suddenly suspended in midair before being violently slammed into the ground, leaving a crater in his wake.
Despite not having mastered perfect Sage Mode, Karin had learned how to harness natural energy.
Lying in the pit, Sasori's neck twisted unnaturally, his old, puppet-like face contorting as he fired a barrage of high-density poison needles from his mouth. The needles shot toward Karin at lightning speed.
But she was prepared.
A dense, invisible wall of air formed around her, deflecting every single needle. This was not Sage Mode, but a fusion of chakra and natural energy, tightly compressed to create an impenetrable defense.
"Hah..." Karin exhaled sharply before thrusting her palms forward, sending the deflected poison needles straight back at Sasori.
"Gatling Ripple!" She shouted, forming her fingers into the shape of a pistol. From them, a flurry of chakra-infused bubbles burst forth, each one about as painful as a flick.
Individually, they were harmless.
But en masse?
A relentless swarm of these bubbles crashed into Sasori, rubbing against every joint and crevice of his puppet body. Though he felt no pain, he could tell—this was not an attack to be ignored.
In response, his left arm transformed into a machine gun, its barrel loaded with multiple cylinders filled with poisoned needles. With a deafening whir, he sprayed them in every direction, shredding through the chakra bubbles that surrounded him.
Freed from Karin's assault, his scorpion-like tail lashed out, venomous stinger poised to strike.
Then—
Bang!
His attack landed, but Karin remained unmoved. The stinger had left only a faint white mark on her body—nothing more.
"Iron Block (Tekkai)!" Karin declared proudly, grinning.
This was a technique she had learned from Zixu—a method of accelerating blood flow and muscle movement to harden the body like iron. Originally, Zixu had intended to teach her Armament Haki, but given the difficulty, he started with the basics. Whether she succeeded or not was entirely up to her.
Sasori narrowed his eyes, struck by surprise. A second strike. A third. The stinger hit again and again.
Clang! Clang!
Still, nothing.
Karin was completely unscathed.
Realizing the situation, Sasori made a quick decision—this wasn't a fight worth continuing. The One-Tail Jinchūriki could wait for another time.
Because behind Karin, an entire group of villagers had arrived, armed with an assortment of firearms and makeshift weapons, their expressions resolute.
And that's what unsettled Sasori the most.
These people weren't acting like ordinary villagers. In other missions, civilians usually stayed out of the way, unconcerned with the battles between shinobi. Their mentality was simple: whoever won ruled them—it made no difference.
But these villagers?
They were fighting tooth and nail, even though most of them were not even trained ninjas.
He didn't understand it. Why? Why were they so desperate?
Of course, Sasori had no way of knowing that this village was entirely self-built. It wasn't just a place they lived in—it was a symbol of everything they had worked for. Here, they received free education, welfare benefits, and even retirement pensions—things they never had before. For themselves, for their families, and for future generations, they couldn't allow two rogue outsiders to ruin it.
Sasori wasn't about to stick around and figure it out. If the weapons in their hands were anything like the ones Aburame Hatsuizumi had demonstrated, he didn't want to test them firsthand.
Without hesitation, he retreated to his original position.
Meanwhile, Deidara was still throwing bombs like a madman, unleashing waves of clay snakes and birds in every direction. On the other side, Hyuga Chinano dodged with precision, occasionally raising her pistol to fire retaliatory shots.
The sky was filled with fire and explosions, a chaotic display of destruction. But there was no time to admire the spectacle.
"Enough, Deidara! Retreat! The mission failed—we'll regroup later!" Sasori snapped.
But Deidara wasn't listening. He was still consumed by his fury, raining down explosives indiscriminately.
Sasori groaned in frustration. From beneath his cloak, mechanical legs extended and grabbed Deidara, yanking him off the battlefield. Even as they escaped, Deidara flailed, still tossing clay bombs like a madman.
Only when the two had disappeared into the distance did Chinano and Karin finally lower their guard.
They turned their attention to the gathered villagers, ensuring everyone was safe before beginning the process of rebuilding what had been damaged.
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