Chapter 581 - 582: The Shinobi World Is Becoming More and More Dangerous

Chapter 581: Chapter 582: The Shinobi World Is Becoming More and More Dangerous

Deidara’s clay clones were, in some respects, even harder to distinguish from the original than ordinary Shadow Clones.

This was because, whether it was his real body or his clay clones, the chakra fluctuations within them were far more violent than those of ordinary shinobi. This extremely volatile chakra naturally concealed the finer details of their chakra fluctuations, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake through experience alone.

Earlier, even Kagami had misjudged one and nearly been fooled by Deidara.

One had to understand that Kagami, while controlling his Fire Release clone, not only possessed a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan with extraordinary perceptive abilities but also had extensive experience identifying various types of clone techniques.

Yet despite all that, he had still been deceived. This demonstrated just how convincingly Deidara’s clay clones could imitate the real thing in virtually every aspect.

At that moment, Deidara’s clay clone retreated while asking, "Hey, hey! I don’t have any grudges against your Kamigami! Why are you picking a fight with me?"

Standing within his Susanoo, Kagami replied coldly, "Drop the act. Do you really think the same trick will work on me twice?"

With that, Kagami lightly snapped his fingers.

Whoosh...

In an instant, countless golden flames erupted all around them without the slightest warning!

This was the seal-less Blaze Release kekkei genkai technique Kagami had developed not long ago—Hell’s Golden Lotus.

Once activated, it could instantly create a sea of flames within a thirty-meter radius centered on Kagami.

Caught within Hell’s Golden Lotus, Deidara’s remarkably lifelike clay clone immediately melted and deformed. Its internal structure was destroyed, stripping it of its ability to explode and reducing it to a useless lump of soft clay.

Elsewhere...

Hidden underground, the real Deidara emerged from the earth, poking his head out and staring in a daze at Kagami, who stood beneath his golden Susanoo, bathed in a sea of golden flames like a God of Fire!

"Can burning really be this beautiful?"

Immediately afterward, Deidara covered his eyes and shouted angrily, "No! How could I become fascinated by someone else’s art?! Explosions are the ultimate art!"

Despite saying that, however, Deidara couldn’t help peeking through the gaps between his fingers at Kagami in the distance.

"This overwhelming power... As expected of Homura from Kamigami! Damn it! Just you wait! One day, I’ll make you witness my ultimate art!"

Having made up his mind, Deidara immediately ducked back into the underground tunnel and hurriedly activated the Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique, fleeing into the distance in a miserable state.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield.

"I’ll spare you this time. Consider it repayment for letting me obtain your cellular tissue. But if I ever run into you again... Hmph!"

Sensing Deidara’s chakra gradually fading into the distance, Kagami made no attempt to pursue him. He merely snorted before extinguishing the surrounding golden flames and dismissing the Susanoo above him.

For him, collecting Deidara’s cellular tissue had been the highest-priority objective. Everything else was secondary.

Besides, if Deidara were pushed too far, that madman really might blow himself up. With his genjutsu unable to completely counter the other party, Kagami had no intention of taking such an unnecessary risk.

After all, in the shinobi world, even the strongest could suffer an unexpected defeat through carelessness. Thus, composure and caution would forever remain a shinobi’s most valuable qualities.

...

A few days later.

Having escaped beyond the borders of the Land of Fire, Deidara crawled out from underground. As he brushed the dust off his body, he sighed in admiration.

"Kamigami really is formidable! In that case, Akatsuki, which is said to be on the same level as them, probably isn’t easy to mess with either! I’d better steer clear of those troublesome guys from now on, hmm!"

Just then, three figures wearing black cloaks adorned with red clouds and bamboo hats approached from the opposite direction.

They were none other than three members of Akatsuki: Uchiha Shinichi, Kakuzu, and Sasori.

As Shinichi removed his bamboo hat, revealing the Sharingan in his eyes, he spoke lazily.

"Hey, you’re Deidara from Iwagakure, right? You bastard, you’ve really made us search everywhere for you! Join our Akatsu—"

Before Shinichi could finish speaking, Deidara suddenly began swelling rapidly, as though he were about to burst.

"Huh?!"

Shinichi, Kakuzu, and Sasori were all startled, completely caught off guard.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

In an instant, a tremendous explosion reverberated throughout the surrounding area. Accompanied by the sweeping shockwave, the entire landscape was thrown into chaos, looking as though it had just been struck by a Category 5 hurricane.

Only after a long while did the smoke from the explosion gradually disperse.

Shinichi was kneeling on one knee, breathing heavily as he dismissed his Susanoo, which had been battered and somewhat deformed by the explosion.

He cursed furiously, "Is there something wrong with this bastard’s head?! Why the hell did he blow himself up the moment we met?! Fuck! I hadn’t even finished talking!"

Crawling out of the shattered remains of Hiruko, Sasori said coldly, "Stop complaining and hurry up and look for Kakuzu. Hopefully, he’s still alive..."

Shinichi glanced around and muttered, "He’s probably been blown to pieces. How the hell are we supposed to find him?"

Sasori also looked thoroughly irritated and somewhat puzzled.

"The intelligence only said that Deidara was a little obsessed with explosions. It never said he was impossible to communicate with! How did things turn out like this?"

Crack...

At that moment, a crack appeared in the ground.

Immediately afterward, a thoroughly disheveled Kakuzu crawled out from underground.

At this moment, Kakuzu’s Akatsuki cloak had been reduced to a few tattered scraps of fabric, barely hanging from his body.

Of the four masks on his back, three had been completely shattered. Only the brown mask representing Earth Release chakra had escaped complete destruction, but upon closer inspection, even its surface was covered in countless tiny cracks.

Shinichi was somewhat surprised. "Huh? You’re still alive after that?"

Kakuzu’s face darkened as he snarled viciously, "That bastard’s heart is mine!"

Sasori nodded. "There’s no need to recruit a madman like that into the organization. We’d be better off getting rid of him."

Meanwhile, in the distance.

Having once again escaped by using the self-destruction of a clay clone, Deidara emerged from underground and muttered helplessly, "What’s going on? Why have I been so unlucky lately? I keep running into one troublesome bastard after another!"

Considering that the explosion of his clay clone might not have been enough to eliminate those three Akatsuki members, Deidara hurriedly molded a clay bird.

Originally, he had been quite confident in the explosive power of his clay clones. However, his previous encounter with Homura of Kamigami had dealt him a tremendous blow, leaving him rather jumpy and easily frightened.

After jumping onto the clay bird and soaring high into the sky, he still didn’t forget to scan his surroundings, remaining vigilant against any sudden attacks.

Only after he had flown far away from the area where the confrontation had taken place did he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Tch! The shinobi world really is becoming more and more dangerous these days. I’d better head back to the village and lie low for a while, hmm!"

After pondering for a moment, Deidara decided to stop wandering around and immediately return to Iwagakure...