"A bunch of idiots. Pay the price for your stupidity... Witness what true art is. This explosion has a diameter of ten kilometers. There's no way you can escape it."
Deidara laughed maniacally. "Art is an explosion! Katsu!"
A speck of white light erupted from within him. Sasuke's expression changed sharply, and as he retreated, his mature Susanoo appeared once more, enclosing Kakashi and Hinata along with him.
At such close range, escaping the blast radius was simply unrealistic. Their only hope lay in Susanoo's formidable defensive power.
Yet in the face of Deidara's terrifying self-destruction, Sasuke had no confidence at all.
The light burst forth, and terrifying power descended upon the earth. The white explosion shot into the sky like an erupting supernova. The ground trembled amid thunderous rumbles, while the light devoured all matter in its path.
A streak of golden light descended from the horizon, appearing before Sasuke in an instant.
Rumble... Rumble rumble...
Even hundreds of miles away, the tremors could be felt clearly. Its immense power had surpassed even a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Only after a long while did everything finally subside. The land had become a wasteland, and every forest within ten kilometers had vanished.
The three of them opened their eyes to see golden tails before them...
"Naruto!" Hinata cried happily. Before them, the enormous golden body of the Nine-Tails had curled around itself, shielding all three of them, Susanoo included.
Naruto smiled at her. He stood within the Nine-Tails' chakra, while a Shadow Clone beside him supported Gaara.
As the Nine-Tails' chakra faded away, he landed on the ground, and Sasuke dismissed Susanoo as well.
"How did things go on your end?" Sasuke asked, glancing at Gaara. It was merely a habitual question; seeing that Gaara had regained consciousness, he already knew