As soon as Shinsei emerged from the Kirin, countless clay spiders and small birds rained down on him.
He extended two fingers, and a thick, black Chakra sword extended from between them.
This is the Storm Shield: Storm Sword; the black longsword is embedded in the incoming clay bomb.
With a deafening clang, like metal clashing, the black longsword shattered into countless tiny fragments, exploding everywhere. The surrounding clay bombs were swept away, and the fallen fragments raised a cloud of white ash.
The Storm Shield: Storm Sword are merely shape changes formed by the flow of Chakra. By changing their direction and causing them to collide, a powerful bomb can be formed. However, this requires extremely high control over Chakra, and the slightest carelessness can injure oneself.
While dodging the Kirin's attacks, Scorpion extended his right hand, and a thin flame shot out from the steel pipe in his palm, burning towards Shinsei.
Shinsei remained calm and composed, Hand Seals:
Water Release: Great Water Shockwave! A massive torrent of water surges forth, blocking the pillars of fire and continuously spreading across the entire battlefield.
Sasuke casually took out two Kunai and threw them at Sasori, who had just stood still, but Sasori easily dodged them.
Deidara stared at the endless stream of water, amazed by Shinsei's Chakra reserves. The amount of Chakra consumed by that Kirin Ninjutsu was definitely not small, and from the beginning until now, Shinsei had used countless techniques to destroy his own bombs. Now, the stream of water he was spewing out seemed to have no end.
Just as Deidara was stunned, he was instantly kicked away by Kakashi.
The moment he landed, he was met with a pair of red Sharingan.
"Damn it, I can't move." Deidara's expression changed drastically, and he plunged a Kunai into Deidara's heart. Kakashi also arrived quickly and pierced Deidara's throat with Kunai.
Deidara's left pupil rapidly shrank to a black dot, he smiled, and his body turned into a lump of white clay.
Oh no, it's a nanobomb!
Kakashi saw the air filled with fine white mist through his Sharingan and retreated at top speed, but it was too late.
"Drink!"
Deidara popped his head out from a distance, formed a hand Hand Seals with one hand, and shouted, blasting Kakashi and Sasuke into a cloud of smoke.
The surrounding area was entirely water, resembling a vast ocean.
Scorpion adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed on a raised mound of earth. Before he could regain his balance, a pair of arms reached out from the mound and firmly grabbed his legs.
A head emerged from the mound of earth; it was covered in white hair.
The Kunai stuck in the mound of earth transformed into Sasuke, and a ball of lightning lit up his right hand.
Lightning Release: Chidori!
The enraged Chidori cleaved Sasori's body in two, sending Sasori's upper body soaring high into the air.
The puppet floating on the water flew into the air and assembled with the upper body of the scorpion. He ripped off half of his clothes, revealing the naked puppet body.
From the hole in his right chest, countless Chakra Threads flew out, connecting the floating puppets one by one.
Shinsei shouted, "Get on!" Without hesitation, the group jumped onto the Kirin's back.
The Kirin stood firmly on the water's surface, and the water flow across the entire battlefield began to swirl around it.
Countless puppets rushed towards Shinsei, but the Kirin opened its mouth and spat out a huge curtain of water, blocking the puppets from entering.
The current became increasingly rapid, washing away the surrounding mounds of earth that had risen above the water's surface.
Deidara controlled a giant clay dragon and lunged at Shinsei.
Shinsei extended two fingers, and a long black sword emerged, cleaving the dragon in two.
Scorpion manipulated the puppet to run on the water's surface, but the swirling water contracted inwards, making it seem as if he were standing still.
"Brother Sasori!" Deidara shouted, his hands Hand Seals:
"Drink!"
Deidara's body rapidly expanded.
Boom!!!
The massive explosion blasted a huge hole in the water flow, and the scorpion's body also exploded, turning into a cloud of purple smoke.
The Kirin split open, enveloping the three of them. Shinsei saw a cylinder flying towards the ruins outside the arena. He flicked out a long water whip, rolled the cylinder back into his hand, and then shrank back into the Kirin's body.
If I hadn't read the original novel, I almost let him get away.
The water on the ground continued to flow, until it formed a huge pit with a diameter of 200 meters and a depth of more than ten meters.
Deidara was nowhere to be seen, and killing or capturing him, who was skilled in Earth Release, would not be so easy.
The self-destruction just now couldn't have been his true form. If it were his true form, the entire Land of Fire would have witnessed the power of the explosion.
However, catching the Sasori of the Red Sand made the trip worthwhile.
Shinsei did not disperse the Kirin to prevent Deidara from launching a sneak attack, Hashihime used the Kirin's body to detoxify everyone.
After performing detoxification on everyone, Hashihime was somewhat weak and said feebly:
"He's alright for now, but to completely eradicate the toxin, the Lord Hokage himself will have to treat him."
Shinsei examined the Regeneration Core in his hand, then used Sealing Jutsu to seal its Chakra.
He wasn't sure if this thing could be put into the sealing scroll, but just to be on the safe side, he put it in a cloth bag and hung it on his body.
The Chakra mimicry water on the battlefield has disappeared, revealing a bare, circular crater.
The group decided to rest on the spot, mainly because they hadn't yet checked Orochimaru's base, which contained a cloning device that Shinsei had been longing for.
With three Sharingan present, there was no fear of Deidara's sneak attack. However, Shinsei still cautiously released his invisibility clone before bringing out the equipment.
Orochimaru's base was deserted, except for a cloning machine; there was nothing of value there.
After loading the cloning device into the sealing scroll, the group didn't linger and began their journey towards Konoha.
Although the battle was full of unexpected events, the result was quite good: Sasori of the Red Sands was captured alive, and Deidara was driven away.
But frankly speaking, Shinsei gained a lot of advantages.
Deidara's clay bombs were completely countered by the three Sharingan and Lightning Release. Moreover, since he couldn't fly, he was no match for Kakashi and Sasuke in Taijutsu and could only passively dodge.
Sasori of the Red Sands was also countered by Shinsei. His numerous puppets were useless against Shinsei's Kirin, and his most proficient poison was also unable to exert its power because of the presence of Hashihime on Shinsei's side.
It's unclear whether this was a coincidence or Orochimaru's deliberate arrangement.
Orochimaru, however, surprised everyone this time, offering knowledge, equipment, and even battle achievements.
As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. I wonder if Shinsei will still be able to kill Orochimaru next time they meet?
Three days later, the group finally returned to Konoha. Except for Hashihime, the other four were hospitalized.
Even though Hashihime had extracted the toxins from everyone several times along the way, the toxins still spread throughout their bodies. After returning to Konoha, purple veins were clearly visible under everyone's skin.
Fortunately, no further incidents occurred, which surprised Shinsei. He had planned to seize Danzo's weakness and Danzo a fierce counterattack, but Danzo was surprisingly quiet this time.
Inside Konoha Hospital, in a ward, Riya, the mother, had just left.
Ino sat by the hospital bed peeling an apple for Shinsei, while Sakura peeled a banana for Sasuke.
Knock knock knock.
There was a knock on the door.