Whoosh...
Almost the instant the twisting vortex appeared, a chain glowing with a purple aura shot out from it. Amid the howl of tearing wind, it instantly coiled around Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki seated on the Clay Bird, and yanked her off it.
"What!?"
The sudden change startled everyone else on the Clay Bird.
At that moment, not only Deidara and Darui, but even Hyuga Tokuma, who possessed the Byakugan, was caught completely off guard. Since they were already high in the sky, all their attention had been fixed on the ground below. None of them had expected an attack from even higher up.
However, Deidara reacted swiftly. Almost the instant Fū was pulled away by the chain, he urged the Clay Bird to turn and chase after her.
Darui, the man slated to become the Fifth Raikage, immediately finished his hand seals and shouted, "Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
In an instant, a blast of black lightning in the shape of a hunting leopard shot forward!
Boom...
With the situation so urgent, Darui had no time to aim. His Black Panther quickly caught up to the purple-glowing chain dragging Fū away and struck both the chain and Fū.
Yet under the attack of Darui's Black Lightning, the chain wrapped around Fū was virtually unharmed. Fū, on the other hand, was struck by the black lightning so hard that even her hair trembled.
Just as Fū was about to be dragged into the twisting vortex, Deidara clapped his hands together with a snap and unleashed the Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
In an instant, a beam of Dust Release flashed past. It not only severed the chain dragging Fū away, but nearly sliced off half her head as well.
Whoosh...
The Clay Bird followed close behind, catching Fū as she