Battle Against the Art Duo

What? Could there be other enemies?

Nadeshiko heard the sound coming from above and turned around in surprise, only to find bright lights flashing from her left, right, and behind.

Having never encountered Deidara before, she naturally did not know these were the lights emitted by Deidara's clay bombs before detonation.

The moment Uchiha Qiu Yang observed the iconic Clay Giant Bird in the sky and the white butterflies suddenly appearing to surround Nadeshiko, he had already recognized that it was Deidara from the Akatsuki.

That was the reason for his earlier dash toward Nadeshiko with a gloomy face.

He didn't want this pretty girl to die so easily at Deidara's hands; it wasn't because he was angry at her for badmouthing his teacher, as Nadeshiko had assumed.

Give me a break, he often cursed his own teacher for being unreliable too, so why would he get angry so easily?

Uchiha Qiu Yang used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Nadeshiko, preparing to grab her hand and use the Flying Thunder God to dodge the bombs.

Unexpectedly, several spiders jumped up from the ground and latched onto him, also emitting a dazzling white light.

Damn it... those things around Nadeshiko were decoy bombs. Was Deidara's true target actually me?

Oh no, the bombs are stuck to me; there's no time to dodge.

The three tomoe in Uchiha Qiu Yang's Sharingan spun frantically, instantly transforming into the shape of a Bagua diagram...

"Katsu..."

Rumble--

A cloud of explosive dust rose from the spot where Uchiha Qiu Yang had been standing.

Seeing that Uchiha Qiu Yang had taken the bait, Deidara, standing on his Clay Giant Bird, raised his hands in a showy celebration of his art's victory.

"I thought this Uchiha would be as troublesome to deal with as Itachi, hmm."

"Turns out he was defeated by my art so easily. The last time I was easily beaten by Itachi's genjutsu will never happen again..."

Deidara was about to continue gloating when he suddenly noticed several black magatama flying out from the smoke and dust below, scaring him into narrowly maneuvering the giant bird to dodge them.

After passing him, the black magatama exploded directly in the sky, the power of the blast not much inferior to his C2 series clay bombs.

If he had been hit directly by those chakra projectiles, he would have been either severely injured or crippled.

Cold sweat streamed down Deidara's face as he controlled the Clay Giant Bird to gain altitude, looking angrily at the explosion site where the dust had already settled.

Yet, he saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

What on earth... is this monster?

A massive black and white skeleton was seen enveloping both Uchiha Qiu Yang and Nadeshiko, having withstood the chain explosions of the clay bombs just like that.

Deidara immediately guessed that the magatama that had attacked him earlier must have also been fired from this skeleton.

Things are getting interesting, hmm!!

"It seems the previous bombs didn't manage to kill you, hmm... then how about this..."

After speaking, Deidara placed his right hand into his clay pouch, pulled out a handful after five seconds, and performed hand seals.

"Poof."

A two-meter-tall giant bird bomb formed and charged toward Uchiha Qiu Yang's Susanoo, hitting it head-on once again.

Boom...

This Susanoo had been forcibly activated by Uchiha Qiu Yang, and now, having been struck directly by a clay bomb, it was in a precarious state.

The skeletal Susanoo swayed unsteadily several times before shattering after holding out for only a few seconds.

No, it's still too much to face an elite Kage-level powerhouse like Deidara who can fly.

Moreover, after using Susanoo and Yasakani Magatama, Uchiha Qiu Yang felt as if the bones in his body were being scorched by fire, the pain unbearable.

Activating Susanoo in this emergency had drained more than half of Uchiha Qiu Yang's chakra.

Uchiha Qiu Yang couldn't care about whether his actions were inappropriate anymore; he endured the pain to shield Nadeshiko, who was still in a daze.

Following the residual energy of the explosion, he let himself fall toward the forest they had come from, intending to plan their next move.

The young lady seemed to sense the abnormality in the person holding her and obediently followed his movements without struggling.

However, just as they were about to land in the dense forest, Nadeshiko, whose gaze was directed toward the other side of the woods, suddenly discovered a hunched, terrifying figure at their landing spot.

The person's construction was unknown, his face bore a fierce expression devoid of any life, and a sharp, cold-glinting bladed tail extended from his back.

He looked just like... a poisonous scorpion ready to deliver a fatal strike to its enemy at any moment.

Furthermore, judging by the black cloak embroidered with red clouds—the same style as the one worn by the person using Explosion Release in the sky—the two were definitely accomplices.

Even Nadeshiko was terrified by this situation and hurriedly reminded Uchiha Qiu Yang, who couldn't see what was behind him, with a trembling voice:

"Uchiha Qiu Yang, there's someone else over there."

"Hehe, you discovered it too late."

Sasori said in a hoarse voice, controlling the tail of Hiruko to aim at the two as they descended.

Calculating based on the laws of free fall, his bladed tail would pierce right through them.

"Well done, Master."

Deidara, hovering in the sky, shared the same sentiment, his eyes locked firmly onto the two figures below.

It seems the mission the leader gave me to eliminate the Black Flash of Konoha is quite simple after all!

Contrary to the confidence held by Deidara and Sasori, Qiuyang was currently in a state of utter misery.

Damn it, how does a B-rank mission always end up pushing me into such a desperate situation?

If he were alone, he could easily escape using the Flying Thunder God, but with Nadeshiko now in tow, he had no intention of abandoning such a pretty girl who had caught his eye.

Furthermore, if he failed to deal with Deidara, who was monitoring him from above, it would be difficult to shake off the pursuit even with the Flying Thunder God.

Measuring the distance between himself and the tail of the Hiruko puppet with the corner of his eye, Qiuyang drew a kunai and threw it backward toward Deidara in the sky.

Sigh, this is my first time attempting a spatial jump to a moving Flying Thunder God marker; I hope nothing goes wrong.

"Do you really think I can't dodge something like this? Is this supposed to be your final struggle? Hmm."

Deidara was just about to maneuver his Clay Giant Bird to dodge the kunai, which was now only two meters away, when the unexpected occurred.

Qiuyang: Flying Thunder God--

Qiuyang and Nadeshiko, who should have been skewered by Sasori's tail, appeared before Deidara without the slightest warning, and Deidara's eyes locked directly onto that pair of spinning Mangekyo...

Uh, Mangekyo... Genjutsu...

Deidara felt as if the world had suddenly flipped; he lost all connection to his head and limbs, and he couldn't even mobilize his body's chakra, before plummeting into a freefall along with his giant bird.

Having eliminated the aerial threat, Qiuyang continued to trigger the Flying Thunder God for short-range jumps, bringing Nadeshiko to a cave in a remote mountain.

Without the aerial reconnaissance to track the trajectory of the Flying Thunder God, Sasori had no way to pursue them from his original position.

Observing the bloodstains on his tail, Sasori decided it was best to find that idiot Deidara first.

"Tch, did that guy Deidara fall for the Sharingan's genjutsu again? But having been struck by my poison, that strange Uchiha won't be living much longer either."