Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 167: Madness and Calm, Candidness and Cunning

"It should be around here. Mm."

Flying on his clay bird, Deidara finally chose a picturesque spot to be the burial ground for the five people below. He steered the clay bird towards the five members of the Nokizaru group, holding a pile of prepared C1 clay spiders in his hands, and smirked.

"A bunch of philistines who don't appreciate the beauty of art. Next, open your eyes wide and learn what true art is! Mm!"

Deidara tossed the clay spiders, which rained down upon the Nokizaru group. A Nokizaru ninja quickly formed hand seals:

"Earth Style: Ground Movement Core!"

The ground beneath the five Nokizaru members rapidly sank, the surrounding earth rising to form a protective barrier above them.

Deidara watched and formed hand seals of his own.

"Heh!"

Boom!

A series of explosions shattered the earthen barrier above the Nokizaru group. Many remaining C1 clay spiders scurried through the opening towards them.

"Use Lightning Style!"

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Hagoromo Ming, with his rich combat experience, quickly thought of a countermeasure. As expected, the lightning jutsu instantly neutralized the incoming C1 clay spiders, rendering them inert.

"Tch~ So quick to find the clay's weakness."

Deidara grumbled. Seeing the Nokizaru members adeptly using powerful lightning jutsus, he pouted. But it didn't matter. Deidara got serious, closely observing the well-coordinated Nokizaru group and analyzed:

"Five people, always maintaining formation, very coordinated. Can't let them use taijutsu. Besides one using Earth Style, the rest are skilled in Wind and Lightning Style. They might also know Fire and Water Style. They use jutsus decisively and have more chakra than average ninjas. These guys are quite comprehensive in their abilities..."

Though Deidara was reckless, bold, and obsessively dedicated to his art, he differed from Hidan in that he remained calm, cunning, and decisive in battle, with a meticulous tactical mind. After a brief exchange and analyzing the Nokizaru group's abilities, Deidara reached into his ninja pouch, and the mouths on his hands started chewing clay again.

In a few breaths, clay birds and grasshoppers emerged from his palms. Lightning Style might counter clay bombs, but it needed to hit. Also, jutsus consumed more chakra than clay bombs. Deidara crafted agile, speedy clay birds and small, leaping clay grasshoppers.

"Here we go again!"

Deidara cheerfully tossed the clay birds, which took flight, attacking from above, while the clay grasshoppers on the ground bounded unpredictably towards the Nokizaru group.

Facing attacks from above and below, the Nokizaru members stayed together. Knowing splitting up meant being picked off, they followed Hagoromo Ming's lead, countering the clay bombs and moving towards a nearby forest.

"Trying to escape?"

Deidara formed hand seals and shouted:

"Explode!"

Boom!

Two small clay birds accelerated, evading the incoming lightning jutsu, and exploded within the Nokizaru ranks. At that moment, two large hands grabbed the clay birds. After the explosion, the Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu protecting Hagoromo Ming's hands cracked. Shaking slightly, he looked at Deidara circling high above, out of reach, and calmly ordered:

"Keep moving."

The key to victory was grounding Deidara. As long as he stayed airborne, they would be sitting ducks. The forest could obscure Deidara's sight and force him to lower his altitude. Only then could they use their ultimate secret technique, the "Exploding Bug" jutsu, which had felled many strong foes. The Nokizaru members knew this well. Silently, they continued forward, using wide-range jutsus to fend off the clay bombs.

Watching his clay bombs either explode prematurely or be stalled, as the Nokizaru group neared the forest, Deidara rubbed his chin and pondered:

"They want to use the forest to hide from my sight and slow the clay bombs. Should I follow them?"

"Of course not."

"These guys expended so much chakra not just to reach the forest, but to lure me in for a trap. Surely they have a kill move ready."

Deidara chuckled. He was not a brute like Hidan, charging blindly into traps. "In that case, let's turn you to ash with my art."

Deidara reached into his pouch again. The mouths on his hands chewed clay longer than before, producing a humanoid clay bomb, which he held aloft.

C3: No. 18.

A high-level explosive clay creation imbued with his top-tier chakra. Its blast could obliterate a village. Destroying the forest below would be a breeze.

Seeing the Nokizaru group disappear into the forest, Deidara calmly raised the clay figure, releasing it into free fall. Initially slow, the figure's descent sped up as it grew larger. Nearing the forest, Deidara formed hand seals, excitement in his eyes, and shouted:

"Art is an explosion! Heh!"

A dazzling white light burst from the enlarging figure. In an instant, a deafening explosion followed. A mushroom cloud emerged, expanding rapidly, incinerating everything in its path, including the forest.