"Damn that Mizukage! Damn that Kakashi!"
High in the sky, Deidara maneuvered his bird made of explosive clay among several water dragons. Every dragon had been infused with lightning-nature chakra by the members of the Lightning Release squad led by Kakashi, which meant that if his bird touched one, the Lightning Release would very likely rob it of its ability to fly.
His surprise attack on Jiraiya earlier had only been a casual strike. Most of his attention had gone into controlling his bird.
Unlike the furious, flustered Deidara, Kakashi and Mei Terumi stood on the ground, watching him in the sky with complete composure.
According to the plan they and their subordinates had devised, Deidara had no way out.
"Lady Mizukage, now!"
At Kakashi's signal, Mei Terumi immediately began forming hand seals.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
An ocher-colored liquid spewed from the Mizukage's mouth, covering such a vast area that it blotted out the sky. Deidara could only keep fleeing from her attack, but water dragons blocked his escape routes as well.
"That was close!"
At the last possible moment, Deidara reined in his bird, positioning himself perfectly in a gap between their attacks. But that spot was precisely the death trap Kakashi had laid for him.
On the ground, Kakashi's left eye began to change, evolving from a Three-Tomoe Sharingan into a Mangekyō Sharingan.
Blood trickled from Kakashi's left eye. At the same time, spatial power sliced Deidara's body clean in two.
"Is this... an ocular jutsu?"
In the sky, both Deidara and the bird beneath him were torn in half by Kakashi's Kamui. Thanks to that, Kirigakure's Water Dragon Bullet finally swallowed Deidara and brought him down before Kakashi and the others.
"Sealing Squad, move in!"
At Kakashi's command, Konoha's Sealing Squad immediately sealed away the