Deidara and the Art of Explosions
"Multiple Genjutsu, huh? You're really something. To use Genjutsu to such an extent, dispelling one layer of Genjutsu with each simulated battle, entering the next layer of Genjutsu world, and then simulating the next layer of battle. When it finally ended, all the Genjutsu had been dispelled, but I was definitely under the Genjutsu, making me feel like I wasn't under Genjutsu. In fact, you cast multiple Genjutsu on me from the moment I appeared. Every time I emerged from one battle, I entered the next Genjutsu to continue fighting you, and then emerged from the Genjutsu again, repeating this cycle. When the last Genjutsu: Release, I had already emerged from the Genjutsu world, but Kakashi and the others had probably already engaged you in battle." Issui said with relief.
"Bang..."
Itachi's body suddenly turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared. It was a Shadow Clone. In fact, Itachi had never fought with Issui. Issui was just trapped by Itachi's Genjutsu.
"Sigh, it seems I still haven't broken free from the fighting style of that world. Unlike the straightforward battles of the strong in that world, the ninjas of this world prefer all sorts of fighting methods, never giving up until they achieve their goal, and achieving true victory through deception and trickery. Itachi also knows that his fight with me won't be immediately decided, and his main task is to buy time, so he used Genjutsu to trap me in place while he went to stop Kakashi and the others. It seems that Itachi's strength hasn't improved in the past two years. His Hand Seals seem to be faster than before, and his Genjutsu casting is more perfect. While I'm improving, my opponent is improving too."
Kakashi and his group of four were moving quickly when suddenly a surge of energy emanated from around them.
"This is the end..." Itachi suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi and the others and said.
"How could this be? You weren't..." Kakashi stopped in his tracks, exclaiming in surprise. Wasn't it Issui who was fighting him? How could he have caught up so quickly? Issui was defeated by him? Impossible, that kid's strength was even greater than his own; he couldn't have died so easily. Then, Issui let Itachi go? Impossible, he wouldn't make it that obvious. So what exactly happened?
"Don't worry, he's just spacing out in my Genjutsu world. You should worry about your own safety..." Itachi said expressionlessly.
After leaving Itachi's world, Issui was filled with shame. He hadn't expected to fall for Genjutsu. He had been too careless. He thought he had grown a lot, but in the end, he was no different from before. All he had gained was his physical abilities; his intelligence hadn't increased much. No matter how much power he had, it was useless if he couldn't unleash it.
Itachi's multiple Genjutsu are truly amazing. One after another, he even incorporates reality and mimics energy fluctuations. He truly deserves to be called a master of Genjutsu.
Sigh, let's keep chasing him for now. But even if we catch up, there might be no way to undo the damage. Itachi has already achieved his goal of stalling for time, and it seems that Gaara's fate of having his Tailed Beast extracted is inevitable.
When the Issui found Kakashi and the others, Yura a sacrifice for Itachi's Shapeshifting Technique, was lying dead on the ground.
"You've come..." Kakashi said.
"Yeah, we got trapped by his Genjutsu. Honestly, we were careless. Are you guys alright?" Issui asked.
"It's alright, let's hurry up, we've already been delayed enough..." Kakashi said.
"Good..."
"Have you finished the battle?" Pain asked Itachi and Kisame.
"Um..."
"Let's continue, everyone..."
On the morning of March 8th.
After Issui and the others arrived at Land of Rivers, Guy also arrived. The next step was to break the seal on the base. Team Guy decisively accepted the task, and finally, the seal was broken, allowing light to enter the entire cave and making the originally dark cave somewhat bright.
"Hey, you guys are too late. It seems he's already finished..." Deidara said, looking at the group that walked in.
Following Deidara's finger, everyone saw Gaara lying on the ground, quietly and motionless.
"Gaara!" Naruto saw Gaara and anxiously wanted to rush forward to rescue him. He leaned forward, ready to run over.
"Naruto, calm down!" Kakashi quickly grabbed Naruto's arm to stop him from acting impulsively.
"Crane..."
Deidara stretched out his left hand and inserted it into his clay bag. Some clay entered the beak on his palm, and instantly, a giant white bird appeared before him, using its beak to lift Gaara up.
"Brother Sasori, let's go..." Deidara said.
"No, you go first, I want to catch up with some old friends..." Scorpion said calmly, looking at the old woman Chiyo at the cave entrance.
"Alright, I'm off then. You'd better finish this battle quickly..." Deidara jumped, landing on the giant bird's back, and piloted it away...
"Gaara..." Naruto watched as Deidara took Gaara's body away, and he hurriedly chased after him.
"Naruto..." Kakashi hurriedly chased after him.
"It's been a long time. You've grown old..." Scorpion said to Chiyo with a sigh.
"Yeah, he's an old guy who's about to die..." Chiyo said dismissively.
"Sakura, you stay here and help Chiyo fight that guy. I'm going to chase after Naruto and the others..." Issui knew that this battle could only be fought by Chiyo herself. If he stayed here, he would only hinder the bond between the grandmother and granddaughter. He should just fight Deidara, that explosive madman.
"Okay, I understand, you can go..." Sakura nodded to Issui, agreeing. Although she wasn't confident in him, she also wanted to test the results of her two years of training and see just how powerful she had become.
"Okay, then I'll be going..." Issui nodded and walked outside. Relatively speaking, he preferred fighting Deidara, and he would leave Sasori to Chiyo and Sakura.
Once outside the cave, Issui released Leins. He needed to catch up with Deidara, and walking on the ground wouldn't be enough. Riding Leins from the sky would make the chase much faster.
"Leins, do you see that big white bird in the sky? Chase after it..." Issui said, pointing to the white dot that was gradually shrinking in the sky.
"Okay..." Leins nodded, crouched down and jumped up from the ground, standing in mid-air and running forward.
Having a flying beast is great; it's so much more comfortable this way. Otherwise, chasing it on the ground would be too tiring. They fly on birds while you're chasing them on the ground; it's clearly taking advantage of your lack of a flying vehicle.
Deidara was flying through the air when he suddenly saw a golden shadow approaching him. Looking through the miniature telescope in his left eye, he realized it was that kid from before. He'd heard Itachi say that the kid was quite strong. He decided to fight him and have the giant bird carry this former One-Tail Jinchuriki away to lure the two people on the ground away. That way, he could have a proper fight with that guy.
Deidara inserted his left hand into the clay bag, wriggled around for a while, and created another giant white bird. He jumped onto the bird's back and let another giant bird, carrying One-Tail Jinchuriki, lure the two guys on the ground away.
The giant bird carrying Gaara continued flying in the direction of the river, while Deidara rode another giant bird towards the direction of the Issui.
"Kakashi-sensei, we..." Naruto looked at the two giant birds flying in opposite directions in the sky, feeling a little puzzled. What was he going to do?
"Look behind you, Issui is riding a strange creature flying towards us. That guy probably wants to fight Issui, so he split up two giant birds. The one in front of us is his way of drawing us away..." Kakashi understood a lot in an instant.
"Then... why don't we go after Gaara..." Naruto wasn't interested in these things; he just wanted to rescue Gaara as quickly as possible.
Let's continue pursuing Gaara as planned. With Issui around, we should be fine. Let's keep our goal of rescuing Gaara.
"Okay, I understand..." Naruto nodded and continued chasing after them.
"Leins, stop, he's already here..." Seeing Deidara getting closer and closer, Issui stopped Leins.
"Yo, we meet again. I heard from Itachi that you're quite strong. I'd like to have a match with you..." Deidara stated his purpose directly.
"You must be Deidara... I'd like to have a match with you, but you might not survive today..." Issui said calmly.
"You mean to say that I'm definitely no match for you? It seems you're young, but you're even more arrogant than me..." Deidara curled his lip. He didn't believe Issui's words. No matter how strong you are, you're still just a child. Even if you're a genius, you can't talk such big words.
"We'll find out soon enough. You go first. Just so you know, I have a general idea of your abilities..." Issui said.
"Hmph, since you're looking for death, I won't hold back. I'll show you my art, Detonating Clay — Little Flying Bird..." Deidara reached into the clay bag with his left hand, swallowed some clay with his palm and mouth, chewed it a few times, and then reached out towards the Issui...
Four or five small birds quickly rushed towards the Issui.
"..." Usui did not react at all, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Little Flying Bird.
"Hmph, stunned by my artwork, aren't you? Haha, you'll soon understand what true art is like..." Deidara looked at Issui without flinching, a slight smile playing on his lips, and felt a surge of delight. "Hmph, you'll soon know the beauty of art, a sublimation in a fleeting moment..."
"Drink it! Drink it all!!"
"Boom..."
After the Little Flying Bird flew to Usui's side, it suddenly exploded violently, and the entire surrounding sky shook violently...
The smoke from the explosion gradually dissipated, revealing that there was nothing where Issui had been, and nothing had fallen from the sky. Where was Issui?
"You're fast, aren't you..." Deidara suddenly said to thin air. Not hitting Issui didn't surprise him. If he had actually been hit by his probing attack, he probably wouldn't be as powerful as Itachi had described...