An Explosive Art? But I've Heard of the Tailed Beast Bomb!

Atop the Kazekage Building in the Sand Village.

Grandma Chiyo stood amidst the blowing sand, her face haggard.

The villagers were even more bewildered.

They could accept Gaara becoming the Kazekage, given he was the son of the powerful Fourth Hokage and the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

But the problem was this.

Why declare war directly on the Rain Village?

These two places were nothing more than brothers in misfortune; one never saw a drop of rain, while the other was pelted by torrential downpours all night long.

Neither was suitable for human habitation.

Setting aside the cost of taking the Rain Village, it was completely worthless.

Ordinary people did not know the power of the Akatsuki.

Grandma Chiyo, however, was deeply worried.

When she looked at Naruto, who stood between the Feudal Lord and the Fifth Hokage Gaara, she let out another sigh from the bottom of her heart.

The Sand Village had already been controlled.

Once the alliance with the Leaf was established, the Sand Village would inevitably become a part of it.

And the Leaf, having grown in power and successfully unearthed oil in the desert, would surely continue to expand.

It would become the absolute enemy in the eyes of every Ninja Village.

"The Sand Village declaring war on the Rain Village is purely a war used by Naruto Uzumaki to expand the Leaf's influence."

Grandma Chiyo felt powerless at this moment.

Judging by how Naruto had severed her Puppet Technique with a single move earlier, his strength was already comparable to those top-tier ninjas she had seen in her youth.

As an elder from the same generation as Onoki the Fence-Sitter and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Grandma Chiyo had also witnessed the era absolutely dominated by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

"In the face of absolute power, those of us who are so-called advisors or Elite Jonin are no different from ordinary people."

Grandma Chiyo said to Kankuro with a bitter smile.

"Grandma, perhaps this isn't a bad thing. If oil is a good resource, we can benefit from it too. Besides, the Sand Village truly needs allies right now."

Kankuro had witnessed the strength displayed during the Konoha Crush Incident with his own eyes.

It was indeed far superior to the current Sand Village.

So, while others still questioned the strength of the Acting Hokage, Naruto, they knew the truth well.

"It is the era of the young, after all."

Grandma Chiyo remained silent.

Since she could not stop it, she would at least avoid provoking their future ally.

On the rooftop.

A sandstorm struck.

A Nine-Tails fox head appeared in front of Naruto, shielding everyone within.

Grandma Chiyo was terrified.

Nine-Tails Chakra!

The strongest Tailed Beast was already being controlled by Naruto with such ease!

"Yellow sand everywhere, what a nuisance!"

Bang!

With a clap of his hands, Naruto immediately used a giant tree to block the Sand Village's yellow sand from entering.

"Much quieter now."

Wood Style!

Grandma Chiyo felt as if she were back in the era dominated by Hashirama Senju.

She dared not speak; the Leaf's strength was truly unexpected, and it was best not to provoke them!

Who could have imagined that a terrifying existence like Hashirama Senju could be born again within a hundred years!

[Ding!]

[World line shifted. The Akatsuki is attacking ahead of schedule. Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand have come with the resolve to destroy the Sand Village and take away the One-Tail.]

[Host, you must ensure that Ao and Yu turn over a new leaf and save the precarious Sand Village.]

[Task completion will grant a reward of 300 Goodwill Points.]

[Task failure will result in a severe penalty of 3000 Punishment Points.]

"You really spend all day thinking about turning over a new leaf."

"The Goodwill prize pool contains ten thousand Kusanagi Swords, and the Punishment pool contains the ninja tools of the Sage of Six Paths!"

"System, don't you dare try to bait me with that!"

Naruto punched the system panel, causing it to vanish.

He turned to the guard who had previously delivered the message to Gaara.

"Return to Konoha and tell them to declare war on Amegakure."

"Tell them that since Amegakure is attacking the Sand Village, a member of the Konoha Alliance, we have no choice but to engage in war immediately!"

Naruto did not blush in the slightest as he spoke.

Grandma Chiyo was advanced in age, and she truly had not expected such an excuse.

"Naruto, a person like you is truly immune to being shackled by morality."

Temari was thoroughly impressed.

"The facts are as stated; Amegakure is indeed attacking the Sand Village, and we must support our allies!"

Naruto crossed his arms, his skin growing increasingly pale beneath the golden Nine-Tails Chakra cloak.

Wisps of Sage Technique chakra drifted like clouds, yet remained perpetually connected to his body.

Naruto held lightning flickering in one hand and a Rasengan in the other.

His entire body hovered weightlessly in the air.

"The limit of Sage Mode Double has been reached. I shall use this war against the Akatsuki to break through to the true third stage!"

Whoosh!

A violent gale erupted.

A cheerful laugh echoed from the distant sky.

"Hahahaha! Sasori, I see them!"

Deidara's mechanical left eye whirred.

"I will slaughter them in the village myself; you handle the bombardment!"

Sasori leaped down from the sky.

"Of course! It's time to show them what true art is!"

Deidara spat out a massive amount of explosive clay from his palms.

Sensing the enemies' presence, everyone entered combat mode.

"Right on time."

A sandstorm blotted out the sun and sky.

Yet, Naruto could still clearly see the movements of Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand.

"Engage!"

Naruto stepped onto the Tailed Beast-transformed Nine-Tails.

In an instant, countless plants sprouted from the previously barren Sand Village.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom!"

Naruto always maintained his peak state.

Rather than adjusting his form based on the strength of his enemies, it was better to defeat them with his full power from the very start.

Sasori of the Red Sand had just descended upon the Sand Village.

He had intended to use his intimate knowledge of the village to quickly take it down with hundreds of puppets.

He never expected to be besieged by Wood Style the moment he appeared.

His puppets were incredibly powerful, unleashing various Fire Release techniques, toxins, and sharp blades.

Yet, under the crushing assault of Naruto's Wood Style, they were all rendered useless.

"The legendary Wood Style? How could someone from Konoha be in the Sand Village!"

Sasori did not believe that Wood Style could emerge in this era, and even if it did, it shouldn't possess such large-scale offensive capabilities.

That was until he looked up and saw the Nine-Tails tearing through the forest.

"The Nine-Tails! It really is someone from Konoha—it's that Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Sasori sensed that something was wrong; the Sand Village might be a trap waiting for them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Gaara emerged from the flying sand.

Sasori of the Red Sand looked up while dodging the Wood Style assault.

Surrounding him were none other than Grandma Chiyo and a multitude of Sand Village powerhouses.

Damn it!

Even this accursed Feudal Lord has come to throw his life away!

Wood Style alone was enough to keep Sasori of the Red Sand occupied, let alone being besieged by so many others—a classic case of kicking a man while he was down.

In the sky.

Deidara threw out a dozen or so animals made of Explosive Clay in rapid succession.

Yet, they all turned out to be duds!

The Giant Bird, Owl, Double-Winged Bird, Puppet, Centipede, and Twin Snakes vanished without a sound, as if fish returning to the sea.

"Strange, why would my art of explosion fail?"

Deidara looked down at the sand-covered Sand Village.

Just as doubt began to well up in his heart.

A massive golden chakra hand erupted from the ground, grabbing the Explosive Clay Giant Bird he was standing on and crushing it to pieces.

"What is that!"

Seeing that even the Giant Bird's explosion had no effect, Deidara knew something was wrong with the situation in the Sand Village.

"C2 Dragon!"

"C3 Number 18!"

Deidara mounted his explosive dragon while tossing out the explosive puppet capable of leveling the Sand Village.

"Who is playing these tricks? Get out here!"

"I'll show you what a real art of explosion is!"

As Deidara detonated the puppet, he tried to adjust the mechanical device over his left eye to identify the enemy within the sandstorm.

BOOM!

A terrifying explosion rang out.

The shockwave shattered the sandstorm, revealing the clear sky above the Sand Village.

The massive Nine-Tails was recovering from the explosion at a speed that defied Deidara's understanding.

Naruto hovered in mid-air, pointing a finger at Deidara.

"Art of explosion? Have you heard of the Tailed Beast Bomb?"

The Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb was enough to make even Shukaku's heart race.

"Never heard of it!"

Deidara certainly knew what a Tailed Beast Bomb was, but he had to maintain his bravado!

"Do not lie to life itself; you have been locked onto by the Death God."

Naruto pointed his finger.

The Tailed Beast Bomb surged into the sky, a strike akin to the end of the world.

Just how terrifying was the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb?

Before it even detonated, its sheer size had already loomed before Deidara!

"Damn it! What kind of joke is this!"

Even if I used a Starfish self-detonation, it would be useless! Deidara thought.

"My explosions are just that plain and unadorned."

Naruto smiled.

The sky was illuminated, and the Land of Wind was left without a single cloud.