Hyuga Chiba VS Deidara

"Magnet Release: Gold Sand!"

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand!"

There was nothing left to say; from the moment Sasori brought out the Human Puppet of the Third Kazekage, peaceful coexistence between him and Rasa was impossible.

Consequently, vast quantities of Gold Sand and Iron Sand surged into the sky, colliding violently with one another.

It was impossible to tell which side would ultimately emerge victorious.

Meanwhile!

Above Sunagakure!

"It seems that Hyuga Chiba's Tenseigan is truly impressive, to have beaten Sunagakure into such a state, hmm."

Deidara rode atop a clay bird, observing the current state of Sunagakure through a micro telescope he had specially modified.

Following the previous battle, the village was now filled with broken walls, ruins, corpses, and bloodstains.

Many Sand Ninja and civilians were busy cleaning up the aftermath.

Of course, Deidara had no interest in such scenes; he was merely searching for the figure of Hyuga Chiba, while simultaneously feeling a bit puzzled: "But to think so many Sand Ninja were left behind, and even that guy who plays with Gold Sand didn't suffer too heavy an injury."

"Could it be that this so-called Hyuga Chiba has limited strength, failed to become the new One-Tailed Jinchuriki, and was instead taken down by Sunagakure?"

"If that's the case, then I'll just take his Tenseigan and the One-Tailed Jinchuriki back with me, hmm."

"I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed." Suddenly, a voice rang out from in front of Deidara: "I indeed did not become the new One-Tailed Jinchuriki, but I was not taken down by Sunagakure either."

"Your plan to bring my Tenseigan and Gaara back to the Akatsuki is also going to fall through."

"Furthermore, S-Rank Rogue Ninja of Sunagakure, Deidara, I regret to inform you that Sunagakure is now my, Hyuga Chiba's, spoils of war."

"Your unauthorized entry into the skies of Sunagakure is considered an invasion of my territory."

"As punishment, you shall also become my spoils of war, or—die by my hand!"

"When did you appear?" Deidara looked at the blue-eyed youth who had appeared before him out of nowhere, feeling momentarily startled before regaining his composure: "You are Hyuga Chiba, and those blue eyes are the so-called Tenseigan?"

"It is worthy of being a pair of eyes on par with the Rinnegan, to actually allow you to fly in the sky?"

"And you seem to know me, and also know of the Akatsuki?"

"But judging by your tone just now, you likely won't accept our invitation to join the Akatsuki."

"That's just as well; let me test exactly what kind of skills you have, hmm."

Before his words had even faded, Deidara pulled several small clay birds from the pouch at his waist.

These birds moved like living creatures, flying rapidly toward Hyuga Chiba.

"Deidara, you shouldn't bother bringing out these amateur tricks."

Hyuga Chiba did not even shift his gaze; the moment those clay birds entered within a five-meter radius of him, they were repelled by a force of repulsion.

"Just as the intelligence provided by Zetsu suggested, you possess the same ability as our leader."

Deidara was not overly surprised, though his expression grew significantly more solemn.

Although he had not seen the leader take action many times, the latter's strength was beyond doubt.

"C2 Dragon!"

Without hesitation, Deidara quickly crafted a clay dragon several meters in height.

The clay dragon flapped its wings and flew toward Chiba, spitting out a large number of small clay birds as it did so.

"Too slow. Perhaps I should give you a hand."

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Chiba raised a hand, and a powerful suction force acted simultaneously upon the small clay birds, the clay dragon, and Deidara himself.

"Heh, I didn't expect the possessor of the Tenseigan to be such a fool."

Seeing the clay dragon and himself being pulled rapidly toward Hyuga Chiba with no way to resist, Deidara laughed instead of panicking.

After all, the closer his clay bombs were to the target, the more power they could unleash.

Unless—

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

Just as the small clay birds and the clay dragon drew closer and closer to Hyuga Chiba, and Deidara prepared to shout "Katsu!" to detonate the clay, a massive amount of electrical current surged from Hyuga Chiba as the center, rapidly spreading in all directions.

It was common knowledge in the Ninja World that Lightning Style countered Earth Style.

It was hard to say if Deidara's clay bombs strictly counted as Earth Style, but they were similarly countered by Lightning Style.

Consequently, those small clay birds and the clay dragon instantly became a pile of duds under the effect of the lightning.

"Damn it!"

"How could he know that Lightning Style could counter my clay bombs? Was it a coincidence?"

Deidara's expression turned ugly, his heart filled with astonishment.

Worse yet, he was also within the attack range of the Lightning Style: False Darkness.

Because the effect of Banshō Ten'in was still active, he had no way to dodge it at all.

At the critical moment, Deidara used the hand speed honed over years of being single to create a Clay Clone to block in front of him, only then avoiding the fate of being electrocuted.

This also resulted in that Clay Clone being rendered useless.

Furthermore, Deidara's methods all required a sufficient amount of Explosive Clay to be realized.

He had prepared quite a lot of Explosive Clay for this trip, yet he had an inexplicable premonition that it would likely not be enough.

"You have attacked twice; now it is my turn."

At this moment, Chiba's lips curled slightly as he raised his hand and struck out into the air toward Deidara: "Lightning Style: Air Palm!"

A two-meter-long hand of lightning formed instantly and slapped toward Deidara at an extremely high speed.

From a distance, it gave off a sense of déjà vu, much like the "Buddha Palm" Chiba had seen in certain movies and television shows in his past life.

"Not good!"

Deidara's expression changed once again; although the suction of Banshō Ten'in had vanished, the speed of that lightning hand was incredibly fast.

Before he could even react, he was struck by the lightning hand.

"Peng!"

"Zzzzt!"

In that instant, Deidara felt a massive force slam into him, while intense electrical currents stimulated every part of his internal body and exterior.

His body inevitably plummeted from the height of several dozen meters to the ground, smashing out a small, human-shaped crater.

"Hyuga Chiba!"

"You have truly angered me. I will make you witness my art."

Facts proved that even though most Ninja have high attack and low defense, Deidara had not completely lost his combat capability because of this.

On the contrary, a furious Deidara quickly stood up and created a Clay Doll that looked exactly like him.

Immediately following, the size of this doll grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a Clay Giant several dozen meters tall.

"This C4 Karura was originally prepared for Itachi, but now—Hyuga Chiba, you and the entire Sunagakure can go die together, un."

While providing commentary, Deidara created another Clay Bird and flew back up into the sky.

Next, he intended to properly enjoy the sight of Hyuga Chiba being killed by his own C4 Karura.

As for Sunagakure? It was just a side effect.