Deidara stared at Zeldris in disbelief.
What the hell is going on?!
Why won't my clay explode?!
His face twisted with confusion as he instinctively raised his hand again, shouting, "Katsu!"
Still, nothing happened.
The clay bird gripped in Zeldris's hand remained inert—completely unaffected.
A chill ran down Deidara's spine.
No way... Lightning Release?
That would be the logical explanation. Lightning Release chakra interferes with his clay, rendering it useless. But Deidara had been watching Zeldris carefully. The man hadn't used any magic—or chakra—for that matter. No signs of lightning-style jutsu, no energy fluctuations. He'd simply grabbed the clay.
Which meant...
He didn't use Lightning Release at all!
Deidara stood frozen. This defied everything he knew about his art.
Zeldris gave the useless clay a lazy toss and smirked.
"What's wrong? That was the big 'art' you wanted to show me?"
Then, with a mocking smile:
"Kids really shouldn't play with mud."
"...?!"
Play… mud?
The words hit Deidara like a slap.
This bastard… My masterpiece… My explosive clay, reduced to mere mud in his eyes?!
His hands clenched into fists, trembling with rage.
"You bastard! How dare you insult my art!" Deidara snarled. "Looks like I'll have to show you the true meaning of it!"
As he spoke, both his hands dove into his pouch, fingers working furiously.
A moment later, something large began forming—emerging from the mouths on his palms. A massive pigeon-shaped clay bomb, bigger than his own head.
He held it up, eyes burning with determination.
Zeldris raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"I already told you. Mud means nothing to me."
Watching from the side, Scorpion and Uchiha Itachi tensed slightly. They both recognized the scale of the clay bomb Deidara just formed—it wasn't something to take lightly.
Deidara ignored Zeldris's words. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he hurled the clay bird through the air—straight toward his opponent.
But his real plan wasn't the obvious one.
As the pigeon bomb soared toward Zeldris, one of Deidara's hands subtly shifted behind his back. A split second later, several small clay centipedes emerged silently from his palm, slithering into the ground and burrowing their way toward Zeldris's position.
Let's see you block this from two angles, Deidara thought grimly.
The pigeon bomb reached Zeldris, who calmly raised his hand again, ready to absorb it like before.
But before he could—
"Katsu!" Deidara barked the command, forming a quick one-handed seal.
BOOM!
The bomb detonated right in front of Zeldris, sending a shockwave of heat and smoke in every direction.
This time, Zeldris didn't dodge.
He hadn't even had time to absorb the attack.
Smoke billowed out, obscuring him entirely from sight.
Deidara's heart raced.
If that didn't finish him, then—
The ground behind the smoke burst open. The clay centipedes erupted from beneath, charging directly into the blast zone!
Watching from a distance, Scorpion's eyes widened.
"Damn… He didn't have time to absorb it…"
Even Itachi's Sharingan was of no help—the smoke was too thick to make out Zeldris's condition. But both of them could sense it.
The chakra in those centipedes was massive—far more than the pigeon bomb.
Deidara watched, grin spreading across his face.
He's finished.
"My art… is an explosion," he whispered. "And if you die beneath it—consider yourself lucky."
Then, with a wicked smile, he formed the final hand sign.
"Katsu"
BOOM!!!
The centipedes expanded in a flash of light—and detonated all at once.
The explosion ripped through the building, fire and pressure flattening the entire top floor.
The roof was the first to go, blasted apart by the sheer force. Shockwaves tore outward like a wave, breaking windows, warping metal, and sending debris flying in every direction.
Itachi and Scorpion barely managed to leap out of the blast radius in time.
From afar, the destruction was overwhelming. This blast was on an entirely different level—dozens of times stronger than anything Deidara had used earlier.
As the fire raged and the smoke rose into the sky, both Scorpion and Itachi stood frozen, watching.
Even with Sharingan, even with all their experience… they weren't sure if anyone could survive that.
Just moments later…
BOOM!
The entire building erupted in a violent explosion. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to rubble—blown apart as smoke and dust spiraled high into the sky, blanketing the area in a thick haze.
Amid the aftermath, Deidara stood at the edge of the destruction, his eyes gleaming with manic excitement. A wide grin spread across his face as he declared proudly:
"You see?! This is the power of my art!"
His voice echoed through the smoke, confident and triumphant. He chuckled to himself, a trace of mockery in his tone.
"Hmph… I must've overestimated him. Arrogant guy couldn't even survive his own overconfidence."
Shaking his head, Deidara turned to leave, the smile still lingering.
But then—
"Hey…"
A calm voice rang out—soft, yet oddly clear—coming from directly above.
Deidara froze.
Slowly, almost unwillingly, he looked up—and what he saw made his heart skip a beat.
His pupils dilated. His expression twisted into disbelief.
"You…! How the hell are you still alive?!"
Suspended effortlessly in the air, Zeldris floated just above him. His black robe was untouched—not a single burn, not even dust. He looked pristine, as if the explosion had never happened.
Deidara's jaw slackened.
That blast should've vaporized him!
No—wait.
That's not even the craziest part.
Why is he floating?!
Only a handful of people could do that—like the Third Tsuchikage, who used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly. Could this guy be using the same technique?!
Deidara's mind raced.
Just as panic began to rise, Zeldris spoke again—his voice laced with amusement:
"I asked nicely. Could you stop making such a mess?"
He smiled faintly. "Some people are trying to sleep."
The way he said it—calm, casual, completely unfazed—made it seem like the explosion was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Meanwhile, back in Iwagakure—
The ground had trembled from the blast, and a plume of fire still stretched toward the sky.
Onoki, standing on a high platform, narrowed his eyes.
"…It's begun," he muttered.
That explosion—it had Deidara's signature all over it.
But what about the boy… Zeldris?
Could he possibly match Deidara's level?
Despite Deidara's arrogance, his talent was undeniable. Onoki had always regarded him as a potential successor.
Still… if Zeldris was truly as powerful as the rumors claimed, maybe—just maybe—this encounter could humble Deidara a bit.
A small smirk crossed the old man's face.
"Let's see what this Zeldris can do."
Back at the battlefield—
Zeldris hovered in the air, hands behind his back, gazing down at Deidara as if the latter were nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum.
There was a cold flicker of contempt in his eyes.
Deidara, meanwhile, was reeling—his thoughts a tangled mess.
How did he escape the explosion?
Was it a substitution jutsu? No, I didn't see any signs!
Wait… even worse—how did he spot the centipede I buried underground?!
Nothing made sense.
He clenched his fists, frustration mounting.
Not only had his clay refused to explode earlier, but now this guy was flying and somehow saw through his trap?
Zeldris was surrounded by an aura he couldn't explain—a quiet pressure that made everything feel off.
After a moment of hesitation, Deidara shouted:
"How the hell did you find the trap I buried underground?!"
Zeldris descended slowly, landing just a few feet away from him.
He smiled calmly.
"That?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Didn't you see? I looked."
Deidara blinked. "Huh?"
Zeldris's eyes began to glow softly—turning a distinct, mesmerizing shade of violet.
"I mean it literally."
He pointed to his eyes. "I saw it. With these."
Deidara's breath caught in his throat.
Purple eyes…?
His gaze locked onto them—unnatural, luminous, otherworldly.
"W-What kind of dojutsu is that…?"
At that moment, Zeldris said calmly:
"Still struggling? Tch… give it up. You never had a chance against me."
He stepped forward slightly, his presence alone radiating dominance.
"You should just come back with me. It'll save both of us the trouble… and I'll complete my mission cleanly."
Scorpion and Uchiha Itachi arrived silently, standing on either side of him like shadows. Neither spoke—there was no need. The atmosphere had grown tense, thick with unspoken pressure.
Deidara clenched his fists, his teeth grinding in frustration.
"Impossible! I haven't lost yet!" he snapped, voice shaking with a mix of rage and humiliation. "And you expect me to just go back to Iwagakure?! No way in hell!"
His pride was wounded. He had fought for so long—used technique after technique—yet not once had he managed to touch Zeldris, not even graze his clothes. It was infuriating.
Scorpion and Itachi exchanged a glance. Even they were a little caught off guard by Deidara's stubbornness.
But Zeldris remained unmoved, his expression calm and unreadable.
After a moment, he raised a brow, his tone casual yet heavy with intent.
"If that's the case, then tell me—how do I convince you?"
Deidara didn't hesitate.
"Fight me seriously!" he barked. "Stop holding back like this—how is that even a real fight?!"
Zeldris let out a quiet, exasperated sigh and shook his head with a faint smile.
"Still just a child… You really don't understand the gap between us, do you?"
He turned away slightly, as if already losing interest.
"But fine. Since you insist—I'll show you... what real art looks like."
The air changed instantly.
In the blink of an eye, Zeldris vanished, reappearing a hundred meters away. The dust from his movement still lingered as he called out:
"Come, then. I'll take you seriously now."
Deidara's pupils shrank. So fast…!
He bit his lip, glaring at Zeldris.
What the hell does he know about art?!
Without another word, Deidara began shaping his clay, fingers moving quickly. He stuffed a massive chunk of white clay into his mouth and began chewing, his eyes gleaming with mad anticipation.
Zeldris watched with detached curiosity, that same faint smile on his lips—though his eyes remained cold and emotionless.
He knew Deidara was finally ready to go all out.
Moments later, Deidara looked up, mouth still filled with clay. He mumbled through the mush:
"Get ready… This one's gonna be big."
He spat out a stream of white clay—molding it midair. The mass twisted and took form, stretching and expanding until it became a massive dragon made entirely of clay.
The sheer size of it dwarfed anything he'd summoned earlier. The air trembled under its weight.
Scorpion's and Itachi's eyes widened as they stared at the beast.
This lunatic… Scorpion thought grimly. Is he planning to level everything around us?
Compared to the tiny centipedes he'd summoned earlier, the claws of this dragon alone were twice their size—and those things already packed a deadly punch.
If this thing exploded...
The consequences would be catastrophic.
Deidara grinned maniacally, his eyes blazing with thrill.
"If you can stop this—" he shouted, pointing at Zeldris, "—I'll go with you willingly!"
With that, the clay dragon surged into the air, roaring as it hurtled toward Zeldris, stirring up a storm of dust in its wake.
Zeldris didn't flinch.
He simply raised his right arm.
A faint, radiant white light began to gather around his hand, growing brighter with each passing second.
Deidara narrowed his eyes against the glare, confused.
What is that light? Some kind of jutsu?
Even Uchiha Itachi, usually calm and unreadable, looked slightly taken aback. This was the first time he'd seen Zeldris use this ability—and even he couldn't immediately analyze it.
The clay dragon barreled down with thunderous force.
Zeldris smiled slightly—and punched.
Just as everyone expected the collision, a sharp crack pierced the air.
Click!
Spiderweb-like fractures shot through the space where Zeldris's fist met the air. The very atmosphere shattered like glass, crumbling piece by piece.
The dragon collided with the shattered space.
Deidara, realizing the timing, raised his hand and shouted, "Kats—!"
Too late.
A shockwave erupted from Zeldris's fist, rippling outward with impossible force. The ground split apart beneath him, jagged ravines tearing through the earth.
The clay dragon disintegrated.
Not exploded—disintegrated, like brittle ash caught in a whirlwind. It vanished before it could even detonate.
Deidara's eyes widened in horror.
What…?
The next moment, the shockwave hit him like a freight train. His body was flung through the air like a broken doll, crashing across the ground with brutal force.
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