The End of Art
"How was my Secret Technique? It wasn't too bad, was it?" Issui said, watching Deidara retreat rapidly.
"Hmph, only my art is perfect! I'll show you my explosive art, Detonating Clay —a grasshopper!!!" Deidara, though somewhat frightened, calmly released the clay he had already prepared. Some things won't yield results without trying. Art is the source of truth. On this path of art, life and such are no longer important. Every technique has its strengths and weaknesses; you must find its flaws and make it understand that only the fleeting beauty of the explosion is true art.
A large number of tiny white grasshoppers hopped and skipped toward Issui at an extremely fast speed. If it weren't for their explosive abilities, they would be no different from ordinary grasshoppers.
"Drink!!" Deidara immediately detonated all the clay grasshoppers as the swarm of grasshoppers rushed towards Issui.
"Boom..." A huge explosion suddenly erupted in the forest, and the airflow compressed by the explosion swept outwards...
As Issui clay grasshopper rushed to his side, Yishui once again entered the Sumeru Space.
The smoke from the explosion once again filled the entire battle area. Deidara stared intently at Issui's location, wanting to observe the characteristics of Issui's spatial abilities. Without understanding the enemy's situation, it would be impossible to effectively deal with various emergencies. Issui's Secret Technique must have their flaws. Escape and fear would not solve any problems; only through calm observation and analysis could victory be achieved on the battlefield.
Time flowed slowly on the water, and the smoke from the explosion gradually thinned. Suddenly, at a certain moment, space seemed to distort, fluctuating incessantly...
"?" Deidara's left eye was fixed on the area of spatial fluctuation. Issui's figure gradually solidified. It seemed that in just an instant, Issui's entire body appeared in the area after the explosion. The distorted space around him also solidified and closed up, as if nothing had just happened.
"So, do you think your explosion art will still be effective against me this time?" Issui said calmly, looking at Deidara who was staring intently at him. His spatial ability was an extremely overpowered cheat code; it would be a joke if a mere explosion could harm him.
Deidara frowned, carefully considering everything that had happened before and after Issui dodged his exploding clay grasshopper. The instant his clay grasshopper exploded, Ikki immediately entered another dimension and left this world, seemingly without any passage of time. In other words, he didn't need any preparation time to enter that dimension. After he emerged from that dimension, space distorted, and it took him about three seconds to reappear in this world. This meant that it took him three seconds to leave that world and enter this one. If that was the case, then there was a way to counter this special Ninjutsu. Three seconds, that's all—three seconds was the key to victory.
Deidara reached into his clay bag with both hands at the same time. Hmph, he didn't bring enough clay for battle this time. After fighting the One-Tail Jinchuriki last time, he hadn't had his clay replenished in time, and he only had enough for one or two more uses. If he failed in these one or two attempts, he would have to run away. He would give it a try, and the outcome would be decided in the next round.
Issui at the composed Deidara, Yishui couldn't calm down either. Although he knew perfectly well that Deidara's strength was no match for his own, he understood that one should never underestimate any enemy, especially one who remained clear-headed even in a crisis. Such underestimation often led to his own peril. After all, Deidara wasn't some low-intelligence boss from a game; he was a real human being in this world, a person with a brain, not some anime character that could be arbitrarily created.
"Come on, let me see if your spatial Secret Technique is really that powerful..." Deidara pulled his hands out of the clay bag and threw out another bunch of white grasshoppers made of clay.
"Tch, the same old trick, no big deal..." Issui thought Deidara would pull out some amazing move, but it's still the same old thing. How boring. Tch, don't embarrass yourself with these childish tricks anymore.
"Drink!"
The moment the clay grasshoppers reached the vicinity of the Issui, Deidara detonated them again, and another massive explosion rang out...
Issui had no choice but to enter the Sumeru Space again. He didn't believe that Deidara's clay was inexhaustible; his supplies were probably almost gone. This probing attack was probably intentional, but what exactly he was planning was unknown. Was he exploiting the flaws in his Sumeru World to launch an attack? Pshaw! All paper tigers would be exposed in the face of absolute power. He would just go along with his wishes and see how he would respond.
The instant the Issui disappeared, a flash of excitement and madness appeared in Deidara's eyes. He reached into the clay bag with both hands, took out all the clay, and began to chew it.
"Haha... Hmph... This time I'll definitely give you a breakthrough..." Deidara said in a low, broken voice as he chewed on the clay.
"..."
As the smoke from the explosion gradually dissipated, the space where the explosion had occurred was distorted, and Issui gradually emerged from it, their initially blurry and distorted forms becoming clearer...
"This is the moment, the C4 of art!!"
After making out the Issui, Deidara spat out the clay he had just chewed. In an instant, an enormous Deidara appeared in the forest, standing tall and blocking out all the light filtering through...
"What, so that's how it is..." Issui's face showed a slight surprise. He hadn't expected that he had mastered his spatial Secret Technique to such a degree. Indeed, entering the Sumeru World from the real world required no preparation time, but entering the real world from the Sumeru World required a period of adjustment to integrate into the space. This period lasted three seconds, during which he couldn't react at all, and of course, the enemy couldn't harm him either. However, the moment he fully entered this world, if the enemy launched a swift attack, then...
"Haha, I admit you're pretty good, but I'll show you what true art is! Unleash your most beautiful moment in sublimation... Hah!!!" Deidara, seeing his goal about to be achieved, grinned with delight, clasped his hands together, and swiftly detonated his masterpiece, C4—Garuda!!! In an instant, he stepped onto a giant clay bird he had left on the ground and soared into the sky...
"!!!!!!"
The colossal clay Deidara vanished into the heavens and earth in an instant, just as the figure of Issui solidified...
Issui finally understood Deidara's battle plan: to exploit the time difference created by his entry into the real world, condense his most powerful technique— C4 Karura —and then annihilate himself! Unfortunately, despite his meticulous planning, he hadn't anticipated that Lightning Release could render his clay ineffective. This was destined to be a failure. Even the most beautiful art has its end; cause and effect are cyclical, and nothing can escape the constraints of nature. Lightning counters clay!
Deidara, seeing Ikki standing there Issui, assumed he was frightened by his technique. Good, then, so he could properly witness the most beautiful moment of art—the birth of a sublime life!
"Eye of Heaven - Frost, Chen-Yin-Si-Xu, Ice Soul Seal!!!"
Issui's hands quickly Hand Seals. Since things had developed to this point, if Deidara's move didn't work, he would probably resort to self-destruction. That would be bad, as the area within a ten-kilometer radius would be completely destroyed. Kakashi and the others should be within that area as well. Now, the only option was to Soul Seal. Having Xiao Di as a subordinate wouldn't be bad, and he could also be used as a spy in Akatsuki.
The bodies of the small animals in the forest were rapidly dissipating, eventually turning into dust and disappearing completely, but nothing happened to the Issui beneath Deidara...
"How could this be..." Deidara's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. How could this be? How could he be unharmed? His artwork hadn't worked?
In the instant Deidara was stunned, a flurry of snowflakes erupted from the body of Issui on the ground and flew towards him. Moreover, his body was rendered immobile, as if his soul had been pulled out of his body by an inexplicable force.
A green figure emerged from Deidara's body, and upon closer inspection, it was exactly the same as Deidara's appearance.
Snowflakes fell onto the green figure, one after another sticking to Deidara's body; the Ice Soul Seal was successful!
"Phew..." Seeing the disastrous situation, Issui slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Today was lucky; he succeeded on the first try. It seems Deidara's luck isn't so good. Next time, it's questionable whether he can use the Ice Soul Seal on him again. He had already prepared for Deidara's self-destruction, but he didn't expect to succeed so easily this time. That's great! From now on, Xiao Di will be his little brother, following him.
After being covered by all the snowflakes, Deidara's soul returned to his body. Then he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with Issui's figure, and he couldn't muster any resistance towards him whatsoever. This... this?
"Come down, Xiao Di. From now on, you are my subordinate. Our battle is over..." Issui waved affectionately to Deidara in the air. Taking Xiao Di as a subordinate is not bad. Having him by your side is like having a heavy-firepower "weapon" at all times, which he can use to his advantage. He can definitely play a very important role on the battlefield. Moreover, he is also a powerful ninja with a very smart and calm mind. He can be considered a capable subordinate.
"Yes..." Deidara sighed helplessly and looked down at Fei. He understood that he was now the subordinate of this kid. This guy could actually manipulate souls; he was truly terrifying. Well, the performance was over. There was no need to fight anymore. After all, Issui was now his superior...