It was already too late for Zhou Cheng to stop him. All the clay had gone into Deidara's stomach.
Only a second or two remained before he blew himself up.
"Scatter!"
"He's going to blow himself up!"
Zhou Cheng's warning sent everyone around him into a panic, and they scrambled away in every direction.
Deidara's body began swelling like a balloon, his features twisting beyond recognition.
Boom!
Blinding light shone through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth before his entire body exploded.
The blast wave and flames swept outward.
But quite a few people had yet to get clear.
Zhou Cheng gritted his teeth. Goddammit.
Both his eyes transformed into Sharingan. His Perfect Susanoo appeared, then extended tendrils to pull everyone who hadn't escaped inside.
The massive explosion drove the Susanoo back two steps.
Its feet were riddled with holes, but they returned to normal in an instant.
Deidara's self-destruction covered a considerable area, reducing every building within its range to rubble.
Zhou Cheng shook his head slightly. Even if they won the battle, Konoha's losses would still be considerable.
Damn it, war was always cruel!
This only strengthened Zhou Cheng's desire to rule the shinobi world.
Only when the shinobi world spoke with one voice would wars become less likely.
If Hashirama Senju had agreed with Madara Uchiha's ideas, perhaps the five great villages would never have existed.
He had possessed the strength, but as Asura's reincarnation, he was kind by nature.
Yet Zhou Cheng felt that wasn't enough. Perhaps only strength on par with the Sage of Six Paths could silence opposition in the shinobi world and unite everyone against the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
The two-hundred-meter-tall Perfect Susanoo sent all the Konoha ninja cheering.
This was their village's Susanoo. Just looking at it made them feel safe.
*Thank goodness