Number one in aerial combat speed

Deidara demonstrated the dive, throw, and pull-up maneuvers.

Then he shouted to Sky Ninja, "Pay attention to the posture of my giant bird's wings. As long as you maintain this angle, you can use the air to convert speed into upward force after the dive."

"You must master this skill to learn dive bombing; otherwise, you'll either crash directly to the ground and turn into mincemeat, or you'll be too slow and get knocked down by the enemy's Ninjutsu."

The Sky Ninja tried several times, but only a Ninja were able to succeed. These successful Sky Ninja were overjoyed and almost instantly gained a promotion.

Deidara said with satisfaction, "Dive bombing has extremely high accuracy due to its close range, resulting in a very effective attack."

"You guys, form a triangle formation with me later and try out the tactic of formation dive bombing. I've been wanting this for way too long."

The Sky Ninja shouted excitedly, "Yes! Lord Deidara!"

However, this time, the Sky Ninja met their match. Numerous enormous Airship bearing the insignia of Konoha blocked their path of attack.

The Airship was filled with a large number of Konoha Ninja, who stood on the deck of the Airship and wielded Ninja Tools that could launch Kunai, making their attack power astonishing.

If Sky Ninja is Kunai, their fragile Ninja Flying Tool will be damaged. Kunai is also attached with Explosive Tag, making it even more deadly.

Sometimes, even when they dodged the Kunai's attack, they were still Ninja Flying Tool by the Explosive Tag that exploded in mid-air.

The Sky Ninja themselves cannot fly; when their Ninja Tools for flight are damaged, their only fate is to fall to their deaths.

On the contrary, the attacks of the Sky Ninja were completely unable to shake the Airship. These combat-type Airship were equipped with steel plates a full finger's thickness, and their protective strength was sufficient to withstand the explosion of the Explosive Tag.

Unless the Sky Ninja can throw explosives into the Airship's firing port, it's just scratching the surface of the Airship.

The enemy is completely impervious to damage, but if you take even a single hit, or if Kunai gets within a certain distance, you're doomed.

There was no chance of winning such a battle. The Sky Ninja fought for only two rounds before their morale collapsed due to the Konoha's Airship, and they all turned and fled.

At this moment, the most terrifying thing for the Sky Ninja happened: after the Konoha's combat Airship accelerated at full speed, its straight-line speed far exceeded that of the Liao Kong Ninja.

Now even escaping has become incredibly difficult.

This is perfectly reasonable; a sufficiently large volume can accommodate more Ninja and larger Ninja Tools, naturally resulting in greater power output.

The physical rule is that volume increases Cosmic Cube, while the surface area that causes drag increases squarely. Therefore, the larger the volume, the smaller the relative wind resistance.

With greater propulsion power and relatively lower wind resistance, even with the addition of a thick steel outer shell, the Konoha Airship is still faster than the Sky Ninja.

Relying on their speed, the Konoha Ninja piloted their Airship, calmly chasing down and shooting down each Sky Ninja as they caught up, patiently eliminating the enemy's manpower.

To avoid the Konoha's Airship, the Sky Ninja were forced to scatter and flee, completely losing their organization and becoming a disorganized mob with no real threat.

The Sky Ninja were harassing and intercepting the Allied Shinobi Forces split into three groups. Only the Sky Ninja led by Deidara was Luck enough to successfully complete the third bombing mission under Deidara's cover and return in an organized manner.

Because after Deidara discovered the Konoha Airship, he single-handedly held off five Airship.

As Kage-level Ninja, Deidara's Explosive Clay is incredibly powerful; a single [Asuka] can blast a large hole in the armor of Konoha Airship.

Two giant birds or ten flying birds attacking in succession can render Konoha's Airship unable to fly, causing it to plummet into the ground amidst thick black smoke.

Deidara's attack was extremely sharp, and he shot down a Airship in no time.

Thus, the roles of offense and defense were reversed, with the Konoha Airship frantically fleeing while Deidara arrogantly pursued them with maniacal laughter, shooting down two more ships in one go.

Just as he was preparing to press on and shoot down the remaining two Airship, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, blocked his way.

Seeing the billowing smoke and wreckage of the Airship in the distance, Ōnoki's head buzzed. He roared, "You wicked disciple, how dare you kill Konoha Ninja?"

"Why don't you surrender now, or maybe the Fifth Hokage will spare your life!"

Deidara said with displeasure, "What nonsense are you talking about, old man?"

"I may not be able to beat you, but you can't catch me either, you can't even catch me. Why should I surrender?"

Ōnoki jumped up and down repeatedly. "Idiot, idiot! I can't catch you, but the Fifth Hokage can!"

"If the Fifth Hokage sees you, you're dead!"

Deidara remained unfazed. "Old man, don't try to scare me. I admire the Fifth Hokage's explosive power, but who said he could kill me?"

Ōnoki couldn't persuade Deidara, and as time went on, the possibility of the Fifth Hokage appearing became increasingly likely. He was so anxious that he was covered in sweat.

So the Third Tsuchikage stopped trying to persuade him and started to attack, "You wicked disciple, I'm going to take you back and make you apologize to the Fifth Hokage properly!"

The Third Tsuchikage is 79 years old. He has spent his entire life training in Earth Release and Dust Release, which have now become second nature to him, and he doesn't need to Hand Seals when using them.

As soon as Ōnoki finished speaking, he raised his hand and used [Earth Release: Super Heavy Rock Technique].

He knew Deidara's Ninjutsu very well, and knew that the Explosive Clay Bird or Explosive Clay Dragon flew very fast, a speed that he simply couldn't catch up with.

Therefore, Ōnoki wanted to give Deidara a good start, lest the slippery kid get away.

Deidara knew Ōnoki intimately, and seeing him raise his hand, he guessed what kind of Ninjutsu was coming next. He immediately controlled the Explosive Clay bird to swoop down, avoiding the range of the [Super Heavy Rock Technique].

Deidara laughed heartily, "Old man, I've figured out your tricks long ago. I can't beat you now, but you can't catch me either."

"You little brat, you're asking for it!" Ōnoki's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He raised his hands again and used two Ninjutsu simultaneously.

[Earth Release: Rock Cannon Technique]

A fist-sized, round Rock appeared out of thin air and hurtled towards the Explosive Clay giant bird beneath Deidara's feet, reaching speeds of up to three times the speed of sound.

[Earth Release: Shotgun Technique]

Hundreds of thumb-sized pebbles formed a large net, attempting to completely engulf Deidara.

However, the diving Explosive Clay giant bird spread its wings, and the swirling wind gave it powerful lift, turning its descent into ascent in the blink of an eye.

This rapid turn of events, as seen by Ōnoki, meant Deidara's sudden and unexpected disappearance.

Despite the terrifying acceleration making Deidara's vision blur, he still laughed triumphantly, "Hahaha, old man, you don't understand, the key to aerial combat is speed!"

"The sky is so vast, I can fly however I want. Without speed, I can't lock on; without locking on, I can't hit; and without hitting, even the most powerful Ninjutsu is useless!"

"Your slow-moving [Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique] isn't even flying in front of me, it's more like floating, hahahaha!"

Ōnoki knew Deidara was right; he really couldn't do anything about this kid now.

But his feelings for Deidara had not faded, so the anxiety in his eyes gradually turned into despair.

Deidara, you're asking for it!

Because the Fifth Hokage is coming soon----

On a towering tree outside Konoha, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, suddenly sneezed.

The Hokage all looked at him curiously. Could a Impure World Reincarnation dead person catch a cold and sneeze?

Hashirama Senju smiled slightly embarrassedly, his intuition telling him the correct answer, "It seems someone suddenly said my name, and with a resentful look on their face."

Shazo valued Hashirama Senju's intuition highly and asked, "First Hokage, do you feel he's an enemy, or one of your own?"

Hashirama Senju replying, "They shouldn't be enemies."

Shazo nodded and said, "I understand, that's the Four Kage."

"It seems the Airship and the army have had too much of a shock to them, reminding them of my assertiveness at the Five Kage Summit, and then of you when you first convened the Five Kage Summit."

Hashirama Senju couldn't help but smile smugly as he recalled the first Five Kage Summit.

Tobirama Senju reminded him, "Fifth Hokage, the Akatsuki has begun their counterattack. You should focus your attention on the battlefield."

Shazo shook his head and said, "I am not good at commanding wars, and large-scale battles like today are more difficult than ordinary wars. As the Hokage who is not good at it, commanding from such a distance will definitely not be as effective as letting the Ninja on the front lines command themselves."

"Furthermore, my responsibility is not to command the war, but to ensure that powerful forces exceeding the Kage-level Ninja are held back and prevented from inflicting heavy casualties on the Allied Shinobi Forces."

Tobirama Senju exhaled and sighed, "You've got a really big heart, haven't you?"

"But you're right. The Hokage's duty isn't to directly command the Ninja Army. After making the decision to launch a campaign, the greatest responsibility is to deal with the enemy's Kage-level Ninja."

"I only came to this understanding after suffering a few losses myself."

He glanced at his disciple with disdain. "My stupid disciple served as Hokage for 30 years and never understood this point until his death. He was always getting bogged down in trivial details, thinking that doing small things well would make him a good Hokage."

The Third Hokage shrank his neck even further, not daring to utter a single word, nor even lift his eyes.

The Second Hokage taught him that the most important working principle for the Hokage, as the leader of Konoha, is to focus on the big picture and let go of the small details.

But it wasn't until now, until he saw what the Fifth Hokage Shazo, did, that he understood the true meaning of "focusing on the big picture and letting go of the small details."

He kept saying he trusted the Konoha Ninja, but he didn't realize that he couldn't inquire about the progress of a task or adjust its objectives before it was completed.

His proud efforts in handling government affairs completely violated the principle of focusing on major issues and delegating minor ones, resulting in a waste of time and energy from beginning to end.

That's so embarrassing.

Just then, Shazo Zuo's Communicator rang.

He immediately picked it up and said, "I'm Shazo, what happened?"

An anxious voice came through the Communicator: "Fifth Hokage, this is Inoichi Yamanaka. The Second Air Squadron encountered Deidara of the Akatsuki and has lost three Airship."

"The Third Tsuchikage has arrived and is engaged Deidara, but—"

Shazo interrupted Inoichi Yamanaka and asked, "What are the casualties among the Konoha Ninja? Have any rescue teams been dispatched?"

Inoichi Yamanaka immediately grasped the key point and replied, "The Konoha Ninja suffered minimal losses. Our Airship is extremely sturdy; even if it were shot down, it could make an emergency landing."

"I observed that the second air detachment is carrying out self-rescue; rescue and medical teams have already arrived."

Shazo nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, very good. Also, what you wanted to say is that the Third Tsuchikage couldn't defeat Deidara?"

Inoichi Yamanaka replied, "Yes, Fifth Hokage."

He said in the most solemn tone, "The Third Tsuchikage cannot defeat Deidara."

Shazo smiled. As agreed beforehand, any enemy that the Four Kage couldn't defeat would be dealt with by the Hokage.

He looked at the four Hokage behind him. "Does anyone want to deal with Deidara?"

The First Hokage shook his head repeatedly. "No, that blond brat is as annoying as a fly, too much trouble."

The Second Hokage, Third Hokage, and Fourth Hokage all shook their heads. They were all confident they could defeat Deidara, but like the Third Tsuchikage, they found it difficult to take him down.

If things go wrong and they fight for hours, Deidara might still escape from the sky, which would be incredibly embarrassing.

Shazo didn't stand on ceremony and stood up directly. "Alright, I'll handle this one. Next time we encounter a suitable enemy, we'll hand it over to the four seniors."

After saying that, he transformed into a dazzling meteor and flew towards the battlefield of the second air squadron.

The Second Hokage watched the meteor disappear into the sky with envy, muttering, "What kind of Ninjutsu is that? I don't recognize it at all!"

The Fourth Hokage said, "The Fifth Hokage used [Magnet Style] when he flew before, but I haven't sensed any Chakra fluctuations now."

The First Hokage said, "The Fifth Hokage was very skilled at developing Kekkei Genkai, perhaps it was a new Kekkei Tōta based on [Magnet Style]."

"And have you noticed that the Fifth Hokage's Chakra fluctuations are different from all of ours? It's like he has a different kind of Chakra."

The Fourth Hokage exclaimed, "The Fifth Hokage has already surpassed all of us; thankfully, we can still see his back."

The First Hokage smiled, "This is the first time since I turned 18 that I've felt the urge to chase after someone. I have to say it makes my blood boil and gives me even greater anticipation for my resurrection."

Because his wife, son, and grandson could not be resurrected, even if Hashirama Senju were to be resurrected, he would be a lonely old man. Therefore, he remained indifferent to the matter of resurrection.

The Second Hokage scoffed, "That brat is just one step ahead of us. Once I'm resurrected, I'll definitely catch up to him."

As he spoke, Tobirama Senju secretly glanced at his older brother and vowed in his heart: When I surpass my Big Brother, I will make him know what it feels like to be bullied.

The Fourth Hokage didn't say anything; he just smiled confidently.

The Third Hokage —he had no ideas.