"How should I know?"
Liao Wu answered Deidara.
At the same time, a Shadow Clone finished heating the branding iron. It bore the character for "traitor."
Liao Wu held the branding iron, ready to brand the character onto Deidara's chest.
Deidara did not take Liao Wu's branding punishment to heart. He was still reeling from the shocking revelation that Tobi was Madara Uchiha.
Deidara thought of a crucial point.
"If Tobi is Madara Uchiha, then wouldn't he have any thoughts about me going after his descendant?"
"How could he not?"
Liao Wu set the red-hot branding iron aside and said to Deidara, "That's why I said you were sold out. How could Madara Uchiha watch you kill Sasuke?"
"This was a test. Madara Uchiha wanted to test Sasuke's abilities, and you, Deidara, were an excellent whetstone."
Deidara's expression darkened.
Liao Wu continued, "Deidara, Sasuke clearly had the upper hand in your battle. You used every trick you had."
"But Sasuke just wouldn't die!"
Deidara shouted, "No! If I'd managed to unleash my Ultimate Art, Sasuke and Madara Uchiha would both have died!"
Liao Wu patted Deidara's face. "Didn't I just say it? Madara Uchiha has a space Dojutsu. At any time, he could have pulled Sasuke into another space to avoid your explosion."
"Besides, Sasuke summoned Orochi from Ryūchi Cave. If he hid inside Orochi's stomach, Orochi's defenses could still have let Sasuke escape your self-destruction!"
"Deidara, admit it! You lost to Sasuke in every possible way!"
"I..."
Deidara was unwilling to accept it, but after thinking it over carefully, it was true. He had seen the Orochi Sasuke summoned before.
Even if his Ultimate Art had blasted out a crater ten kilometers wide, Sasuke might not have been killed.
"So I was a discarded pawn Madara Uchiha used to