Time rewound a little, to when Naruto and Nagato were still fighting.
Itachi appeared before Deidara, who was about to self-destruct!
Knowing that Deidara would be difficult to stop if he insisted on self-destructing, Itachi used his understanding of Deidara's personality to provoke him. "Deidara, is sneaking off to blow yourself up what you call art?"
"Huh...?" Deidara replied without a trace of shame. "Art is a fleeting explosion! The explosion itself is pure, unconstrained by its vessel or surroundings! Don't you dare sully my art!"
"Heh, heh, heh..." Itachi chuckled under his breath.
Deidara snapped, "What are you laughing at?!"
His laughter faded, and Itachi said seriously, "You call Explosion Release art. Then I say the eyes of the Uchiha can distinguish a 'fake'!"
Deidara looked incredulous. "What did you say?!"
Itachi stared straight at Deidara with his Sharingan. "Deidara, forgive my bluntness, but your Explosion Release, your techniques-they're all fakes before the Sharingan!"
"..." Deidara trembled all over.
Itachi continued calmly, "Let the facts speak. You lost to me, didn't you? And years later, you lost to my younger brother, Sasuke..."
"Hahahahahahaha...!" After a burst of wild laughter, Deidara's expression twisted viciously. "Fine, Itachi! Let's settle this! The loser shuts his mouth!"
Itachi casually brushed back his hair. Make no mistake, this was not a habit of his. In this situation, he was merely using a seemingly careless gesture to provoke Deidara, just as he had with his earlier chuckle.
Itachi sounded indifferent. "How do you propose we fight? Neither of our bodies can be killed. If you just blow yourself up without warning, this will never end..."
Deidara gave his word. "I won't self-destruct! Since neither of us can die, let's set some rules!"
"Oh?" Itachi seemed interested now, too. "Tell me. What rules?"
Deidara shaped his