"Akatsuki? Never heard of it. Don't bother me with your little band of wandering ninja. How about I show you what art really is? Hm!"
As he spoke, Deidara kneaded a lump of Explosive Clay.
In moments, a lifelike Clay Spider took shape in his hands.
"Boring." After a pause, Shinji continued, "If I win, you'll join us."
"How dare you look down on my art!"
Deidara flew into a rage and hurled the Clay Spider in his hand.
Boom.
A violent explosion instantly swallowed Shinji and the others. The blast hit the main hall too, causing half of it to collapse.
Standing amid the ruins, Deidara burst into laughter. "That's all the strength you have, and you still dare look down on my art? What a laughable organization! Hm!"
Suddenly, a faint voice rang out. "Is this your art? It really is boring!"
As soon as Deidara heard it, he stiffened as if struck by lightning, his sharp gaze sweeping the area.
Although he was only twelve, just old enough to graduate from the Ninja Academy, his strength had already reached Jonin level. In terms of destructive power and mobility alone, he even surpassed many elite Jonin.
So he immediately sensed something was wrong, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. "I'm caught in a genjutsu?"
Just then, Shinji's figure appeared out of thin air before him.
Then the main hall he had just blown apart began to restore itself, brick by brick. In the blink of an eye, it was as good as new, as if the explosion had never happened.
Now Deidara was certain he had fallen under a genjutsu, but uncertainty still showed on his face. "When did I get caught in it?"
"From the moment you saw these eyes, you'd already lost," Shinji