Chapter 279: Defeating Deidara
Not far from the blast zone, Naruto stood hidden among the trees.
He had used Flying Thunder God before Deidara's C3 detonated, escaping the explosion without taking any damage.
The moment the smoke began to clear, Naruto prepared to resume the pursuit.
Then Asuramaru spoke.
"The one flying away is a Shadow Clone."
Naruto stopped.
"The real body went to the right."
Asuramaru's Perception had never lost track of Deidara.
"Deal with him first."
Naruto immediately formed a hand seal.
Poof!
A Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
The clone rushed after the giant clay eagle while Naruto turned toward the right.
"I'll leave the directions to you, Asuramaru."
"Go straight."
Naruto accelerated through the forest.
Meanwhile, Deidara was already fleeing at full speed.
His Shadow Clone remained aboard the giant clay eagle, deliberately circling through the surrounding area to draw Naruto away.
The real Deidara leapt from branch to branch without stopping.
He clicked his tongue.
"That Nine Tails Jinchūriki is ridiculous, hm."
He had expected Naruto to be strong.
He had not expected Flying Thunder God to make escaping this difficult.
His remaining Explosive Clay was nearly gone.
His left arm was already missing.
And now he had been forced to abandon even his clay eagle to create a distraction.
Deidara glanced back.
"I wonder how Sasori danna is doing."
He pushed off another branch.
"For now, I can only hope you survive."
Whoosh!
Several sharp sounds suddenly came from behind him.
Deidara reacted immediately.
He twisted around.
Several three pronged kunai were flying toward him.
His expression stiffened.
Then he gave a bitter smile.
"So he found me after all."
Deidara jumped sideways.
The first kunai passed him.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Flash!
Golden light erupted directly in front of him.
Naruto appeared.
Deidara's eyes widened.
Naruto's fist drove into his abdomen.
Bang!
Air burst from Deidara's lungs.
His body folded around the blow.
Naruto opened his fist into a palm.
With a second impact, he sent Deidara flying backward through the forest.
Branches snapped beneath him.
Deidara crashed across the ground before rolling to a stop.
Pain tore through his abdomen.
But his mind remained sharp.
Explosive Clay was nearly exhausted.
Naruto was faster than he could possibly outrun.
And if Naruto had wanted him dead just now, that punch could easily have been a sword through his throat instead.
There was only one reason to leave him alive.
Information.
Naruto wanted Akatsuki intelligence.
Deidara slowly stood.
His expression changed.
If escape was impossible, then there was only one thing left to do.
He grabbed the front of his Akatsuki cloak and tore it open.
The black fabric decorated with red clouds fell away.
A strange mouth was revealed on his chest, held shut by stitching.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
What Deidara failed to notice was the mark already written across his abdomen.
Four clear characters.
Asuramaru.
Inside Ryūjin Jakka, Asuramaru stared at it.
His eye twitched.
"This habit of writing my name all over people…"
Naruto ignored him for the moment.
Deidara ripped apart the threads sealing the mouth on his chest.
It opened.
His face became almost ecstatic.
"This is my ultimate art."
Naruto's expression sharpened.
Deidara reached for the last of his Explosive Clay.
"I will turn myself into an explosion."
His grin widened.
"A masterpiece greater than anything I have ever created."
"The blast will erase everything around me."
His eyes locked onto Naruto.
"Even Flying Thunder God will not save you once you are caught inside it."
He lifted the clay toward the mouth on his chest.
"Die while witnessing the culmination of my art!"
The mouth opened wider.
"My art is"
Flash!
Naruto appeared directly in front of him.
Ryūjin Jakka left its sheath.
Slash!
Deidara's remaining right arm flew through the air.
Blood sprayed.
His clay fell uselessly to the ground.
Deidara froze.
The pain reached him a heartbeat later.
"Gah!"
Ryūjin Jakka stopped against his neck.
Deidara's pupils contracted.
He stared at Naruto in disbelief.
"There were no kunai near me…"
His breathing became ragged.
"How did you appear here?"
Naruto's crimson slit pupils remained fixed on him.
"I marked you."
Deidara froze.
Naruto continued.
"When I punched you earlier."
Realization struck immediately.
Deidara looked down toward his abdomen.
"Asuramaru…"
The Flying Thunder God formula.
"So that was when…"
His shoulders dropped.
Both arms were gone.
His Explosive Clay was useless.
His chakra reserves had already been consumed heavily.
And Naruto could teleport directly to his body whenever he pleased.
There was no longer any possibility of escape.
Deidara laughed bitterly.
"So this is it, hm."
Naruto's killing intent remained strong.
Part of him wanted to end Deidara immediately.
Gaara was dead because of the Akatsuki.
Because of people like him.
But Naruto forced himself to think.
Killing Deidara would not bring Gaara back.
A living Akatsuki prisoner was more valuable than a corpse.
Naruto raised his left hand.
Chakra gathered at his fingertips.
He pressed them against Deidara's chest.
"Four Symbols Seal!"
Sealing patterns spread across Deidara's body.
His chakra circulation immediately became restricted.
Deidara's expression darkened.
Naruto withdrew his hand.
"You cannot use your chakra now."
Ryūjin Jakka remained at his neck for another moment.
Then Naruto slowly lowered it.
"I really do want to kill you."
Deidara looked at him.
Naruto's eyes held no hesitation about that.
"But even if I do…"
His voice became quieter.
"Gaara will still be dead."
Naruto sheathed Ryūjin Jakka.
His anger remained.
But beneath it was something heavier.
Grief.
He stood there silently.
Then something changed.
Naruto's attention drifted toward the sword at his waist.
For a moment, the forest seemed distant.
He could feel something.
A presence.
Ryūjin Jakka.
The sword no longer felt like a silent weapon hanging beside him.
Naruto sensed fire.
An enormous flame.
Ancient.
Violent.
Burning without end.
It flickered within the depths of the sword, almost like a living soul trying to speak to him.
Naruto concentrated.
The voice was there.
Faint.
Distant.
He could almost hear it.
But the words remained beyond his reach.
Inside the sword, Asuramaru noticed immediately.
His expression changed.
Ryūjin Jakka was responding to Naruto.
"Is it beginning to awaken?"
He looked toward Naruto carefully.
But another problem came to mind.
Even Shikai alone produced terrifying heat.
Could Naruto's current body withstand that power?
The system answered.
[Ding! Demon Power may temporarily protect the Sword Master from Ryūjin Jakka's temperature.]
[With Uzumaki Naruto's current physical condition, protection can be maintained for a maximum of five minutes.]
Asuramaru sighed.
"Of course you have a solution ready."
Outside, Naruto finally spoke.
"Asuramaru."
"What?"
Naruto rested one hand on the sword.
"I can feel something inside Ryūjin Jakka."
His expression became distant.
"It is like fire."
"Like the sword is trying to tell me something."
"But I cannot understand it."
Asuramaru did not hide the truth.
"That is the sword itself."
Naruto listened carefully.
"When you truly hear its voice…"
"When you understand what it is telling you…"
"And when you learn its name…"
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You will be able to draw out its true power."
Naruto looked down at Ryūjin Jakka.
"So that is what this feeling is."
The faint call remained.
So close.
Yet still impossible to understand.
Naruto stared at the sword for several seconds.
Then Asuramaru interrupted his thoughts.
"The battle at the cave is over."
Naruto immediately looked up.
"What happened?"
"No one on your side died."
Naruto visibly relaxed.
Asuramaru continued.
"And were you not chasing Deidara because you wanted Gaara's body back?"
Naruto's expression changed.
"Right."
He turned toward Deidara.
"You're coming with me."
Deidara sighed.
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
Naruto placed one hand on his shoulder.
Flash!
Both disappeared.
The next instant, Naruto and Deidara appeared on an open plain.
The giant clay eagle had already crashed nearby.
Naruto's Shadow Clone stood beside it.
Its head had been torn open.
Gaara's body had already been pulled free.
Naruto stopped.
The Shadow Clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Gaara lay motionless on the ground.
No breathing.
No heartbeat.
No chakra.
Naruto slowly approached him.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
Memories returned.
Gaara covered in sand.
Gaara laughing while consumed by Shukaku's influence.
Gaara accepting Naruto's hand inside Asuramaru's mental world.
The two of them understanding each other through memories neither had ever wanted to relive.
Gaara becoming his friend.
Gaara becoming Kazekage.
Naruto knelt beside him.
His mouth opened.
No words came out.
Tears gathered in his eyes.
Then slowly rolled down his cheeks.
Inside Ryūjin Jakka, the system notification sounded again.
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Sword Master Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Gained 30000 emotion points.]
Asuramaru said nothing.
This was not a moment that needed interruption.
Several metres away, Deidara also remained silent.
For once, there was no comment about art.
No provocation.
No mocking smile.
He merely watched Naruto grieve.
His own thoughts drifted toward Sasori.
The battle back at the cave should have ended by now.
Deidara looked toward the distant forest.
Hopefully Sasori danna escaped.
Footsteps approached.
Naruto did not move.
Figures emerged from the trees.
Kakashi.
Might Guy.
Sakura.
Lady Chiyo.
Neji.
Lee.
Tenten.
The others.
They stopped when they saw the scene before them.
Gaara lying dead on the plain.
Naruto kneeling beside him with tears on his face.
And Deidara standing nearby with both arms gone and his chakra sealed.
No one spoke.
The silence itself said enough.
Deidara looked across the arriving group.
He noticed Sasori was absent.
Something in his expression changed.
He already suspected the answer.
Still, he asked.
"Konoha Shinobi…"
His voice was quieter than before.
"What happened to Sasori danna?"
....