Facing the bolt of lightning that pierced through the night sky, Deidara's pupils contracted sharply, but the manic passion for art on his face only surged higher.
"Perfect! Become nourishment for my art! Hmm!"
He clapped his hands together. The circling C2 Dragon opened its enormous jaws, no longer spewing individual bird bombs, but hundreds upon thousands of densely packed Clay Spiders. The spiders spread their eight legs in midair like a black tide, descending over Sasuke's head with the intent of reducing him to ashes through the densest barrage of explosions.
Sasuke neither dodged nor evaded in midair. His Sharingan took in every detail.
The fingers of his left hand spread open, and a piercing birdlike cry burst from his palm. It was not a complete Chidori, but one that instantly divided into thousands of lightning Senbon as thin as hairs.
"Chidori Senbon."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Countless lightning needles shot out faster than the Clay Spiders, precisely piercing the core of every single one. Lightning Release chakra instantly destroyed the internal structure of the Explosive Clay, and those clawing "bombs" all misfired in midair, turning into useless clumps of mud that pattered down below.
Amid this "mud rain," the lightning spear in Sasuke's right hand suddenly condensed at its tip to the utmost limit. Enhanced by the Eight Gates, its attack range extended further, reaching ten meters.
In an instant, the small area was illuminated as brightly as day by that light.
He thrust his arm forward, and the spear pierced straight through the C2 Dragon's head without resistance.
"Roar—"
The C2 Dragon's body dropped. Starting from its head, its enormous form was swiftly eroded and disintegrated by violent lightning energy. The clay comprising its body lost the support of chakra, broke apart in midair, and scattered down as