Boom!
Tobi's body slammed into the ground. The earth split apart in an instant, sending sand and rocks flying as thick clouds of dust billowed into the air.
The sudden turn of events startled Deidara, who had just been about to release a ninjutsu.
He had almost convinced himself that Tobi really was Madara Uchiha. But now, someone had slapped Tobi flying—and the one who'd done it was a boy who didn't look very old!
For a moment, Deidara was at a loss. Then a thought struck him: Zetsu might not have been lying to them after all.
Perhaps Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki really had been badly injured before they came here!
Deidara hadn't even seen Ye Fan's attack clearly. All he'd registered was Tobi crashing to the ground, followed by the whistling wind in his ears.
"That speed..." Deidara's mouth twitched. This was going to be a real problem. He no longer thought Ye Fan was just a child.
Deidara glanced at Tobi, who lay in the massive crater with blood at the corner of his mouth, and grew extremely tense.
He was grateful he hadn't ended up facing Ye Fan. At that speed, he wouldn't have had the slightest chance to fight back!
"Ma... Madara... sir, are you all right?" Deidara called out.
In the crater, Tobi's head was still ringing. He shook it hard, and only then did he start to feel a little better.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Tobi slowly rose to his feet. He stared at Ye Fan, standing outside the crater, his expression grave.
Ye Fan's first attack had been enough to show him that Ye Fan had become incredibly powerful.
The instant Ye Fan struck, Tobi hadn't even been able to react, let alone release a ninjutsu.