His voice wasn't quiet.
Naturally, everyone nearby heard it clearly.
Kitsuchi and the others from Iwagakure immediately had their faces darken.
Recruiting someone right in front of us from Iwagakure?
"Brother Kitsuchi, we can't tolerate this! Should we… attack now?"
At that moment, the bespectacled "strategist" leaned over again, narrowing his eyes as if brimming with wisdom.
"If we delay any longer, morale may collapse."
"As the ancients said, in warfare the first charge is strong, the second weaker, the third exhausted. If we wait too long, something unexpected might happen."
Unexpected?
Exhaustion?
Hearing those words, Kitsuchi instinctively glanced back at the two thousand Iwagakure shinobi behind him.
Sure enough—
The murderous aura they had when they first arrived had weakened considerably.
He nodded and took a deep breath before raising his hand.
"Full assault!"
"Show no mercy!"
He hadn't brought so many elite Iwagakure shinobi just to retrieve the Tsuchikage and a hundred captives.
More importantly—
They intended to bite a chunk out of Konoha.
Meanwhile, Ōnoki remained silent as he watched Deidara.
This troublesome disciple of his could stay anywhere—
As long as he didn't cause chaos.
But then again…
Thinking about Deidara's personality, maybe this wasn't such a bad outcome?
"If… someone like Uchiha Kai can keep him in check…"
"Then even if I die someday, Deidara might not become a rogue ninja."
Yes.
That had always been Ōnoki's greatest concern.
In terms of talent and strength, aside from himself, no one in Iwagakure could truly match Deidara.
Yet the boy never got along with anyone in the village.
For years, Ōnoki had worried about Deidara's future.
His conclusion had always been the same.
Sooner or later—
Deidara would become a rogue ninja.
But now…
If Uchiha Kai was here…
Maybe things would be different.
"I…"
Deidara himself was stunned.
Hearing someone offer to accept him—
That was something he hadn't felt since he was forced out of the village at nine years old.
"Join Konoha. I'll show you a different kind of art."
Kai grinned.
With Spore Deity, although the effect wasn't as absolute as Kotoamatsukami, its influence seeped into the mind gradually.
"Charge! Kill!"
"Break through Konoha and rescue the old man!"
"Hey, Kumogakure! What are you waiting for? At this rate it'll be dark before you move!"
Suddenly, thunderous shouts erupted outside the Forest of Death.
Two thousand Iwagakure shinobi—
Moved.
Their battle cries shook the air.
The sudden development stunned Ōnoki.
He wanted to stop them, but against two thousand elite shinobi, unless he killed them himself—
He couldn't stop the charge.
"They finally made a move?"
Uchiha Kai glanced at the advancing Iwagakure forces.
Then at the dazed Deidara beside him.
"Let me show you some explosive art."
As he spoke, he tossed the small clay figure in his palm.
Buzz—
The moment the clay doll touched the air, its entire body turned crimson.
Cracks spread across its surface like a spiderweb.
Its body rapidly expanded—
Until it stood nearly ten meters tall.
Even then, violent chakra continued pouring from the cracks, scorching the air with waves of heat.
"Huh? What's that little thing…?"
Even with a powerful enemy approaching, Hashirama Senju remained squatting nearby, casually looking around like a bored villager.
But when he saw the object Kai threw out—
His eyes suddenly lit up.
"Hm… that feels strangely familiar…"
Deidara, however, snapped out of his daze the moment he saw the clone.
The destructive aura radiating from that body—
He knew it too well.
But…
"Clay clones shouldn't have this much energy…"
Tilting his head, Deidara stared with wide eyes.
And then—
He witnessed something that would shock him for the rest of his life.
Kai flicked his finger.
Instantly, the chakra aura surrounding the clay clone surged dramatically.
Faint sounds like thunder and roaring beasts echoed within it.
Crackle—!
The massive red figure stood before the two thousand Iwagakure shinobi like a lone warrior guarding a gate.
The next moment—
It vanished.
Only a streak of lightning remained where it had stood.
Thirty meters away, the lightning shadow bent sharply, leaving a second afterimage.
Fifty meters away, another turn—
A third lightning shadow remained.
Phase Rush.
Three directional bursts, leaving behind shadows that could be returned to—or detonated.
"Huh? Everyone, be careful!"
Seeing the terrifying speed, Kitsuchi immediately tensed and shouted.
That thing was enormous—
So how could it move so fast?
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
But before his warning finished—
The crimson giant had already rushed straight into the ranks of the Iwagakure army.
Its landing alone created a circular shockwave that blasted over a dozen shinobi away.
"You dare charge into an army formation? You're courting death!"
Kitsuchi actually relaxed when he saw that.
Even a Kage-level fighter would struggle to survive surrounded by two thousand elite shinobi.
"Everyone, form seals with me!"
"Earth Release—Rigid—"
But before their hand seals finished—
The clay clone moved.
It raised both arms.
Dark palms aimed outward in every direction.
Then—
It began spinning.
Like a massive top rotating at incredible speed.
And then—
A Tailed Beast Bomb formed in its palm.
Instant Tailed Beast Bomb.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One after another—
The bombs fired instantly.
No charging.
No delay.
The red figure blurred into motion.
Basketball-sized black spheres of destruction sprayed out like machine-gun fire from its palms.
DADADADADA!!!
In the blink of an eye—
More than a dozen Tailed Beast Bombs rained down.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Its body was still wrapped in a crimson Tailed Beast Cloak.
Lightning roared again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Phase Rush activated once more.
Moving in a brutal zigzag pattern through the two thousand Iwagakure shinobi.
Everywhere it passed—
Dozens of shinobi hurriedly raised layer after layer of Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
But against Tailed Beast Bombs—
Those walls were nothing more than paper.
They shattered instantly.
BOOM!
Broken stone and debris blasted everywhere.
Some shinobi standing too close were struck head-on.
"NO!!!"
Kitsuchi's eyes widened in fury.
Too fast!
The strange red figure moved so quickly it was beyond anything human reaction could match.
He watched helplessly as one of his comrades was struck by two consecutive Tailed Beast Bombs.
The man's Hardening Technique shattered with a crack.
His body exploded into a cloud of blood.
"Sp—spread out! Spread out! Now!"
An elite jōnin's scream cut off mid-sentence.
A Tailed Beast Bomb had grazed his skull—
Blowing half his head away.
His body staggered once—
Then collapsed into the blood-soaked ground.
Chaos.
Complete chaos.
At that moment—
The allied shinobi army was being slaughtered without mercy.
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