"Is he dead?!"
The winds howled across the desert once more. After the dust cleared from the site of the explosion, Pakura, Kakashi, and the others appeared again. Looking at the scorched blast center, which glimmered faintly like glass, almost everyone thought Deidara was dead.
"Not yet. That was a clone!"
Kakashi said this with certainty after using his Tachi to pry away some fragments. The explosion of the C3 clone had been terrifying, but the remnants at the scene still revealed some clues.
"My Black Blade has already been given to Sasuke. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had a chance."
Kakashi furrowed his brows. He had never intended to let Deidara live, which was why he had used Hatake Swordsmanship instead of flashy ninjutsu. He had thought he could kill him in one strike, but he never expected Deidara to be so alert that he could evade his killing blow. Even less did he expect the brat to possess a means of creating a massive explosion to escape.
He had actually been somewhat careless as well. He had grown accustomed to using the Black Blade. Once struck by the Black Blade, which contained Truth-Seeking Orb material, anyone below the level of the Six Paths was certain to die. Kakashi had used it to deal with countless troublesome opponents. This time, because Sasuke was going to find Itachi, he had given the blade to him and was using only a spare Tachi.
Kakashi combined Hatake Swordsmanship with his S-Rank Lightning Blade, and almost no one could withstand it. Yet he had never expected Deidara to act so decisively—he had simply blasted the entire area and fled. The explosion had been astonishing. Even Kakashi had been unable to continue tracking his opponent's trail.
"Count it as his luck!"
Pakura glanced at the