A Surprise Culinary Skill, Winning Deidara Over

The white light faded.

The sand in the sky turned into a gigantic shield, protecting Sunagakure from above.

Fortunately, neither the residents nor the buildings were caught in the blast.

But moving so much sand had nearly drained Gaara's chakra.

A wicked smile suddenly crept across Deidara's lips.

A Clay Bomb that Deidara had prepared in advance shot straight toward Gaara.

With no time to think, Gaara immediately wrapped himself in sand.

"Crack!"

The explosion thundered across the land.

When the smoke cleared, the sand surrounding Gaara began to crumble and fall away.

"That was Lord Gaara's Absolute Defense!"

"How could it be destroyed just like that?"

Everyone turned deathly pale.

In the distance, Chuan Yu had already seen through Deidara's trick with his Sharingan.

Deidara certainly had some tricks up his sleeve.

Just moments ago, when Gaara had controlled the sand and torn off Deidara's left arm,

the sand had spread too quickly, sweeping Deidara's severed arm along with it.

Deidara had taken the opportunity to infuse his chakra into the sand.

When Gaara used the sand to protect himself,

all it took was a touch to set off the bomb.

Then the sand would trigger a chain reaction.

The so-called strongest defense was nothing more than a pile of loose sand once the bombs went off from within.

"It's over."

"Come on. Let's go do something worthwhile."

Chuan Yu turned and headed for Sunagakure's rear mountains with Karin.

In the sky, Gaara's consciousness was already growing hazy.

As his chakra neared its limit, he used the last of his strength to move the sand outside the village.

If he fell now, the sand filling the sky would swallow Sunagakure below.

As Kazekage, this was the last thing he had to do.

"Kankuro..."

"I'm sorry..."

Once all the sand had been moved away, Gaara slowly closed his eyes.

"Gaara!!!"

On the ground,

Kankuro let out a furious roar.

The shinobi behind him began firing arrows at Deidara.

But how could something like that hurt Deidara?

He used the Flying Bird to wrap Gaara securely, then flew quickly toward the rear mountains.

"Put Gaara down!"

Kankuro hurried after them.

Baki sent people after them as well.

Sunagakure's rear mountains.

A narrow trail ran between two closely packed mountains.

It didn't look dangerous at the moment.

But when Chuan Yu slowly pried away a rock,

he found the space beneath it covered in Explosive Tags.

"Sasori's an interesting fellow."

"Come on, Karin. Let's clear this place out before they get here."

"It'll make it easier for Sunagakure's reinforcements to catch up, and that'll make what comes next more interesting."

Karin nodded, and she and Chuan Yu began removing the Explosive Tags nearby.

Ten minutes later,

Deidara flew past the mountaintop with Gaara.

After reuniting with Sasori, they left Sunagakure together.

When Kankuro saw the trail behind them, he suddenly stopped.

"It's too quiet here."

"Something's not right!"

Kankuro carefully searched the area with two other shinobi.

After confirming there was no problem, they continued their pursuit.

Not long afterward,

Sasori suddenly heard the reinforcements behind them.

"Go on ahead."

"I'll handle things here."

Sasori said calmly.

"Then I'll take you up on that!"

Deidara leaped onto the Flying Bird and sped ahead.

As Kankuro and Sunagakure's pursuers closed in, the Steel Spikes on Sasori's back slowly rose.

"A grand opening!"

"My first mission's already a success."

"But what was with those Sunagakure shinobi's expressions just now?"

"They didn't seem to appreciate my art!"

Deidara looked at Gaara and complained irritably.

Just then,

a flash of moonlight streaked past up ahead.

Deidara was startled.

He sprang into the air, and the Flying Bird was sliced in half.

Gaara fell from the sky.

Chuan Yu appeared, caught Gaara, and landed on the ground.

Deidara took a closer look and flew into a rage.

"You bastard! Are you looking to die?!"

"You're stealing my victory!"

Chuan Yu lowered his long sword and smiled faintly.

"You seem to have forgotten the suggestion I made at the meeting."

Hearing that, Deidara put his hands on his hips and turned his head away arrogantly.

"That was just your suggestion. Why should I follow it?"

The next moment, Chuan Yu set Gaara down.

Lightning turned into a long dragon and roared around Chuan Yu's arm.

"I almost forgot. Pain said he wanted to see whether I had the strength, right?"

"Then I suppose I'll just have to show you..."

Chuan Yu slowly raised his arm.

In an instant, the Lightning Dragon reached Deidara.

Before Deidara could react, his entire body became immobile.

The Lightning Dragon coiled around him.

Chuan Yu grasped his throat from a distance and slowly lifted him into the air.

"Pathetic."

Chuan Yu looked at Deidara with contempt. His disdainful stare was downright infuriating.

If Deidara could self-destruct right now, he wouldn't hesitate!

Chuan Yu knew Deidara's weakness.

Lightning-style ninjutsu was what countered him.

Once he was restrained,

his bombs would be rendered useless, reduced to duds.

Chuan Yu had bound him with the Lightning Dragon to keep him from blowing himself up.

The guy had a terrible temper.

He'd fly off the handle at the slightest provocation.

Chuan Yu couldn't risk it.

"Y-You've got guts! Put me down! Fight me one-on-one!"

Deidara glared at Chuan Yu.

"Aren't we already fighting one-on-one?"

Chuan Yu raised two fingers, and the Lightning Dragon vanished instantly.

After landing, Deidara immediately took off his jacket.

Karin's cheeks flushed red, and she quickly turned away.

"I'll show you my ultimate art!"

As he spoke, Deidara untied the white stitches across his chest.

A huge mouth appeared in the middle of his chest.

At the sight, Chuan Yu stepped right up to Deidara.

Before Deidara could feed the clay into the mouth, Chuan Yu had already grabbed a piece of burger and stuffed it inside.

Deidara was completely dumbfounded.

"Wait! What did you just feed it?!"

Deidara immediately felt sick.

The mouth on his chest began chewing away.

He had to admit, it seemed to be enjoying the food.

[ Ding! Surprise Culinary Skill activated! ]

[ The host's specially made Lao Ba Secret Burger! ]

[ Classic catchphrase activated: "Let's go! Give it everything you've got!" ]

[ Since the host specially made this for someone else, the burger contains a special seasoning! ]

[ Lao Ba's Divine Skill activated: Seal the Mouth! ]

As Deidara stood there, dazed, a Heavenly Eye suddenly appeared on his forehead.

But it looked more like a tattoo.

Deidara clutched his head in agony as a skinny man with a Heavenly Eye tattoo danced wildly in his mind.

A song kept repeating over and over, too.

The scene shifted rapidly. When Deidara saw the man appear in a bathroom,

he completely broke down.

Deidara couldn't take it anymore.

The mouth on his chest began vomiting uncontrollably, and even the mouths in his palms joined in.

"Bastard! Bastard! Ugh... Bastard! Ugh...!"

"You're incredible!"

Deidara bent over and vomited furiously.

The next moment, unable to resist, he gave Chuan Yu a thumbs-up.

"I have to admit, that Heavenly Eye tattoo on your forehead is pretty cute."

"Your ability has been sealed."

"Your so-called art can't be displayed unless I allow it."

"Now, do you think I have the strength?"

Chuan Yu and Karin were already doubled over with laughter.

After vomiting, Deidara lay on the ground, completely drained.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.

Damn it!

The whole sky was sparkling with burgers!

"Ugh! Ugh!"

"I can't take it anymore!"

"Ah!!!!"