What?

Yet the man merely waved a hand, and every poisoned needle rebounded as though it had struck an invisible force field!

"What?" Sasori of the Red Sands blanched. He hastily summoned iron sand to wrap around himself and Deidara, barely escaping the lethal strike.

"Heh, looks like we've got someone impressive here." Deidara sneered. The clay in his palms had already taken shape, and he hurled it at the man with a savage grin. "Show me what you can do!"

The clay burst apart in midair, instantly turning into countless miniature flying bombs that surrounded the man. But the moment they exploded, every bomb froze in midair as though caught in a vacuum. Not even a wisp of smoke escaped.

"What?" Deidara stared at the sight, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"What an interesting ability." The man finally spoke. His voice was deep and resonant, carrying a pressure that made their hearts tremble. "But I don't have time to play with you today."

He extended one hand and flexed his fingers slightly. Every suspended bomb instantly crumbled to dust and vanished into the air.

"What are you looking for?" the man asked casually, as though everything that had just happened was child's play.

Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sands exchanged a glance, doubt and alarm flickering through their minds. Was this mysterious figure a friend or a foe?

"We're looking for the Black Zetsu Family's ore source," Sasori of the Red Sands said cautiously. "Do you know anything about it?"

"The Black Zetsu Family's ore source..." The man paused, seemingly considering something, then shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know much about it either. But I do have a new Ninjutsu. Would you like to see it?"

As he spoke, he formed hand seals with both hands. Chakra gathered around him, building and building until it formed a massive sphere behind him!

"What is that...?" Deidara's pupils contracted, and he instinctively retreated a few steps. That amount of chakra was far beyond what any human could withstand!

"Watch out!" Sasori of the Red Sands shouted. Several strands of iron sand shot from his sleeves, swiftly enclosing them both in an iron sand sphere.

The man spread his hands, and the chakra sphere erupted into a raging torrent of chakra that surged wildly in every direction! The force drove Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sands back again and again, while cracks appeared in their iron sand sphere under the violent impact.

Just as they thought the force would utterly destroy them, the man suddenly stopped and withdrew his chakra.

"Forget it. Using that against you would be underestimating you." His deep voice rang in their ears. "I've got a more interesting new technique. You'll definitely like it."

As he spoke, he formed hand seals again and began gathering fresh chakra.

Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sands stared at each other, their misgivings growing. What exactly was this mysterious figure trying to do?

Meanwhile, Team 8 and the convoy were making their way forward slowly.

Suddenly, a dazzling light flashed across the sky, and everyone instinctively looked up. A massive sphere was taking shape overhead, radiating scorching light like a miniature sun!

"What is that?" Hinata watched the light with bewilderment and alarm.

Just then, the light suddenly burst apart, becoming an enormous fireball that hurtled downward like a blazing meteor!

"Watch out!" Kurenai Yuhi shouted. The three members of Team 8 and the convoy's workers hurriedly scattered. The "meteor" slammed into a nearby mountain peak, instantly producing a massive sphere of blazing light!

Boom! The entire mountain shook violently under the impact. Vast quantities of rock and earth were blasted loose, forming an enormous mushroom cloud in the sky!

"W-what kind of Ninjutsu is that?" Hinata's eyes widened, her face filled with shock.

Even Kurenai Yuhi was forced back several steps by the force. She gritted her teeth. "Could some ninja be testing a new Ninjutsu? But this power... it's terrifying!"

The mushroom cloud slowly spread through the sky, growing larger and larger until it enveloped the entire peak. Flames still flickered within the cloud, as though something was still burning...

A trace of admiration flashed in Hinata's eyes.

Yet beneath Toru Kujyo's eye mask, his Tenseigan's field of vision extended far beyond twenty kilometers. The instant Hinata finished speaking, he "saw" farther into the distance. Within a rugged mountain range, two exceptionally powerful and sinister chakra signatures lay concealed, standing out like beacons in the night. Their target seemed to be this unassuming mining convoy.

"Sensei Kurenai," Toru Kujyo said calmly, but with unquestionable resolve, "there are enemies thirty kilometers ahead who are far beyond bandits or wandering ninja. Keep escorting the mining convoy to the next town as planned. I'll deal with them."

Kurenai Yuhi was startled. "What? Toru, that's too dangerous! We'll go together..."

"No," Toru Kujyo interrupted, his voice as steady as ever. "They're very powerful. You'd only become a burden if you came. Trust me. I'll catch up as soon as I can."

He gave Kurenai Yuhi no chance to speak again. In a flash, he vanished like a phantom into the dense forest.

Kurenai Yuhi stared in the direction he had disappeared, a wave of helplessness rising within her. This student always surprised her, and he was always... so powerful that even she, his Elite Jonin instructor, felt he was far beyond her reach.

Shino silently watched the direction Toru Kujyo had taken. The insects in his sleeves grew even more restless. He could sense that the enemies Toru Kujyo had mentioned were anything but ordinary.

Hinata's face was full of worry, but she also understood that Toru must have his reasons for his decision.

Toru Kujyo raced through the mountain forest like lightning. His Tenseigan had already locked onto the sources of those two chakra signatures-inside a secluded mountain.

He stopped atop a mountain peak, gazing toward the mountain where his targets were hidden, and slowly formed hand seals.

"Divine Tengai Shinsei!"

With his low shout, the sky abruptly changed color, and wind and clouds surged. An enormous meteor wreathed in roaring flames tore through the clouds, trailing a long tail of fire. With unstoppable might, it hurtled toward the mountain where Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara were hiding!

Rumble-!!!

The deafening roar echoed for a hundred miles around. The earth shook violently, as though the end of the world had come. The mountain instantly crumbled beneath the meteor's impact, and smoke and dust shot skyward, forming a colossal mushroom cloud. A terrifying shock wave spread outward in a ring, destroying entire swaths of the surrounding trees.

As the smoke and dust gradually cleared, all that remained was a crater whose bottom could not be seen.

"Mm! Now that's the art of explosion! Ha!"