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#61 The Sand Will Rise!
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 10:00:10 +0000 UTCTsunade took over the controller.
"How do I fire?" she asked.
Mufasa pointed at the screen. "See the circular reticle? It’s locked onto Deidara. Press 'A' for a single shot. Press 'B' to fire everything. Simple."
Deidara never imagined he’d become a target in what felt like a video game.
Tsunade pressed 'A' without hesitation.
More than a hundred air cannons fired in unison.
Deidara heard a strange noise from below—like the popping of a cork from a bottle—before realizing something was off. The moment his clay bombs descended, they were suddenly thrown back up towards him.
"What the—?!"
His giant clay bird shuddered violently, as if struck by an invisible hammer. The belly caved in. The tail snapped off. The wings were shredded in an instant.
Deidara barely had time to process what was happening before he felt a sharp wind slice through the soles of his feet. Then it clicked.
"They’re attacking with wind?!"
He quickly formed another clay bird and leapt onto it just as his previous one was obliterated by the unseen force. Hovering above the distorted shadows below, his frustration boiled over.
"Cowardly Sand Ninjas!" he snarled. "I’ll blow you all to hell!"
More clay bombs erupted from his hands, falling in a devastating barrage toward the village.
In the command center, Mufasa grinned as he worked the controls. The air cannons responded instantly.
The massive air currents swirled upward, catching the bombs mid-fall and tossing them right back into the sky. Some even rebounded toward Deidara himself.
"What the hell?!" Deidara cursed, forced to dodge not only his own explosives but the relentless air attacks as well. His movements became frantic as he struggled to stay airborne.
On the ground, Sasori watched in silence before finally calling out, "Deidara, retreat."
"No!" Deidara snapped. "I won’t let them mock my art!"
His hands moved quickly—he was preparing something big.
Mufasa leaned back, eyes gleaming. "Is the Prism Tower fully charged?"
A nearby operator nodded. "Yes, my lord. It can fire at any time."
Lightning chakra crackled through the massive tower, preparing to unleash a devastating laser attack. Deidara’s earth-based jutsu would be useless against it.
Just as Mufasa was about to give the order, Gaara stepped forward.
"Let me handle this."
Mufasa raised an eyebrow. "You want to go out there?"
Gaara nodded, his expression calm but firm. "I want to test my strength."
Mufasa chuckled. "Alright. Prism Tower, hold fire."
Gaara stepped onto a floating platform of sand and soared out of the command tower, heading straight for Deidara.
Deidara, who had just finished molding his next attack, narrowed his eyes. Seeing Gaara emerge from the shadows, he smirked.
"Heh. Took you long enough to show yourself."
Gaara stopped about a hundred meters away, his gaze cold and unyielding.
"You’re Gaara, right?" Deidara asked, his tone mocking.
Gaara’s eyes burned with quiet fury. "Anyone who harms my village… will not be forgiven."
The cork of his gourd popped off, and a steady stream of sand poured out.
Deidara wasn’t intimidated. He had studied Gaara’s techniques.
"Tch. He’s gonna attack with sand as usual," Deidara muttered. "All I need to do is force him on the defensive, slip my clay spiders into his sand, and detonate him from the inside."
He raised his hand, preparing to launch a missile—
But Gaara was faster.
"Sand Style: Gatling Bodhisattva!"
The sand surged into the shape of two towering figures, each resembling a bodhisattva. In their massive hands, colossal Gatling guns formed, loaded with compressed sand bullets.
Deidara’s smirk vanished. "What the hell is that?!"
Gaara didn’t wait for an answer.
"Fire."
The Gatling guns spun to life, unleashing a relentless storm of sand bullets. The sky filled with a deafening roar as the sand rounds tore through the air, pummeling Deidara before he could react.
Tsunade watched the spectacle on the monitor, then turned to Mufasa, her expression unreadable.
"Do all you Sand Ninja fight like this?"
Mufasa chuckled. "Environment shapes the warrior."
Deidara, now caught in the unrelenting barrage, screamed in pain. The rain of sand bullets continued for minutes, drowning him in an avalanche of destruction.
When the attack finally ceased, the dust settled.
Deidara reappeared, barely clinging to life. His clothes were shredded, his body covered in wounds, and one of his hands hung limp.
But his eyes burned with fury.
"This… This is unacceptable!"
Gaara narrowed his eyes. He could sense the madness rising in Deidara’s chakra.
Deidara gritted his teeth, his expression twisted. "Fine! If I’m going down… I’m taking all of you with me!"
He ripped open his shirt, revealing the grotesque mouth embedded in his chest. With a crazed grin, he began feeding it clay.
"C4: Ultimate Art…" he whispered.
A massive surge of chakra erupted from his body. The air around him crackled with deadly energy.
Tsunade’s eyes widened. "Mufasa, what’s he doing?!"
Mufasa’s smile faded. "He’s turning himself into a bomb. A ten-kilometer blast radius. He’s planning to die taking us all out."
Gaara’s expression hardened.
Gaara considered his next move carefully, but before he could act, Mu Feng gave the order.
"Light Prism Tower, fire."
A concentrated beam of lightning shot down from the Prism Tower, striking Deidara with pinpoint accuracy. His body seized up as the electricity coursed through him, paralyzing him completely. The explosive clay in his hands fell harmlessly as he lost consciousness, plummeting toward the ground.
Gaara wasted no time. A massive sand hand shot out, catching Deidara mid-fall. His grip was firm but not fatal—Deidara was a prisoner now.
"Gaara, return to base," Mu Feng commanded through the earpiece.
Without hesitation, Gaara turned and flew back toward the village with Deidara secured in his sand. Meanwhile, Mu Feng stood up, stretching slightly.
"Time to deal with the other one," he muttered.
Sasori, or rather, Sasori of the Red Sand, had seen enough. With Deidara out of commission, he knew continuing this battle alone would be foolish. He turned to retreat, but just as he prepared to make his escape, a figure stepped into his path.
"Going somewhere?" Kankuro asked, standing tall with his arms crossed.
Sasori's gaze shifted to him. He took in the black jumpsuit, the war paint on his face.
"You must be Kankuro," Sasori said, unimpressed. "Step aside. You're not my opponent."
Kankuro smirked. "I've been looking forward to this fight. I want to see just how strong the legendary puppet master really is."
Sasori exhaled slowly, his expression blank. "You don't stand a chance."
Kankuro didn't argue. Instead, he reached behind him, summoning his trusted puppets—Karasu, Kuroari, and Sanshōuo. The three wooden figures unfolded in front of him, ready for battle.
Sasori let out a low chuckle. "Using my own creations against me? How amusing. But those puppets are outdated. They won't help you."
Kankuro didn't flinch. Instead, he pulled out a new summoning scroll, rolling it open with a confident flick of his wrist.
"I'm not here to rely on the past. I've moved forward." His fingers formed a quick sign. "Come forth—Gundam Kuro!"
With a burst of chakra, a towering puppet emerged. It was unlike anything Sasori had ever seen—standing over ten meters tall, armed with a massive sword and an impenetrable shield. As it landed, the ground trembled beneath its weight, crushing the old puppets beneath it.
Sasori's eyes widened slightly. "Interesting. A giant puppet? And yet, it moves so smoothly. What materials did you use? What technique?"
Kankuro leaped onto Gundam Kuro's chest, gripping the controls. The cockpit door sealed shut, and the massive puppet mimicked his movements perfectly.
"Let me show you a new age of puppetry!" Kankuro declared.
He raised his arm, and Gundam Kuro followed, its colossal sword slicing downward. Sasori's current puppet, Hiruko, barely had time to react. He fired a barrage of poisoned needles from the mouthpiece, but they bounced harmlessly off the puppet’s reinforced armor.
The sword struck true. Hiruko's shell split in two, sand and debris scattering as the puppet was destroyed. Kankuro squinted through the dust. "Did I get him?"
A voice echoed from above. "Not bad, brat."
Kankuro looked up to see Sasori floating mid-air, his true form finally revealed. He was young—far younger than a man who should have aged. His body was crafted from wood and metal, his chest plate engraved with the kanji for "Sasori."
Kankuro's breath caught. "You… you turned yourself into a puppet?"
Sasori’s face remained eerily calm. "Flesh is weak. Only art is eternal. This is the ultimate form of beauty."
Kankuro tightened his grip on the controls. "Eternal or not, it won’t matter once I defeat you."
Sasori chuckled. "Oh? Let’s test that theory."
With a wave of his hand, he summoned his prized possession—a human puppet made from the Third Kazekage. The puppet's eyes glowed with residual chakra, and its arms unfolded, revealing an array of deadly weapons.
"You may have improved your craft, but you’re still beneath me," Sasori stated. "Let me show you why."
With a flick of his wrist, the Third Kazekage puppet opened its mouth, expelling a swirling mass of iron sand.
"Iron Sand Drizzle!"
The metallic storm shot toward Gundam Kuro at blinding speed. Kankuro barely had time to react, raising his shield just as the iron sand impacted. It clung to the metal, creeping along the surface like living tendrils.
Kankuro’s eyes widened. "It’s spreading!"
Sasori smirked. "That’s the beauty of iron sand. Once it seeps into the puppet’s mechanisms, it’s only a matter of time before it shuts down completely."
The magnetic chakra from the Third Kazekage puppet had begun to disrupt Gundam Kuro’s internal systems. Sparks flickered along its joints, and the shield arm trembled, struggling to hold.
Kankuro gritted his teeth. "Damn it…!"
The iron sand attack was relentless, flowing into every gap, threatening to paralyze his puppet entirely.
"Hah… fights are exhausting," Kankuro muttered under his breath. "Wouldn't it be easier if we could just settle things over tea?"
He shook his head. "No time for that. I need a counterattack… fast!"
