Chapter 167: Madness and Calm, Frankness and Cunning
Chapter 167: Madness and Calm, Frankness and Cunning
"This should be a good spot. Yep."
A little earlier, Deidara, riding on his Clay Bird, had been flying and finally chose a picturesque mountain with clear waters as the burial ground for the five people below.
He maneuvered his Clay Bird to face the Xuan Yuan crowd, picked up a large pile of pre-made C1 Clay Spiders with both hands, and hooked his mouth:
"A bunch of vulgar people who don't appreciate the beauty of art. Now open your eyes wide and learn what real art is all about! Yep!"
Deidara threw the Clay Spiders with both hands, and a large number of them rained down towards the Xuan Yuan team.
One of the Xuan Yuan ninjas quickly formed a series of hand seals and shouted:
"Earth Style: Ground Nuclear!"
The ground beneath the five Xuan Yuan members quickly sank, with walls of earth rising on all sides to tightly enclose them.
Deidara observed this and formed his own hand seals.
"Hey!"
Boom!
A series of explosions rang out.
The layer of earth above the Xuan Yuan group didn't hold for long and was blown apart.
The remaining C1 Clay Spiders, with their eight spider legs, scurried through the gap at incredible speed, rushing towards them.
"Use Lightning Style!"
Heyi Ming, with his rich combat experience, quickly thought of a countermeasure.
As expected, with the ear-piercing sound of Lightning Style jutsu, the attacking C1 Clay Spiders instantly short-circuited and became motionless.
"Tsk, so quick to find the weakness of clay."
Deidara clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Moreover, when he saw that all five Xuan Yuan members could use powerful Lightning Style jutsu, he scowled even more.
But it didn't matter.
At this moment, Deidara turned serious, carefully observing the Xuan Yuan group on the ground, who were prepared for battle, and analyzed:
"The five of them maintain their formation no matter what, showing great teamwork. They don't give each other an opportunity to use close-quarters combat; in terms of jutsu, apart from one person using Earth Style, the other four specialize in Wind and Lightning Styles. It's possible that all five of them are also proficient in Earth Style, or even Fire and Water Styles; they are very decisive in using their jutsu, and their chakra reserves seem to be much higher than that of regular ninjas. These guys are quite well-rounded."
Although Deidara was eccentric and bold, with an unusual obsession with his art, his personality was similar to Hidan's, straightforward and frank.
However, unlike Hidan, Deidara could be calm, cunning, and decisive in battle, possessing a rigorous and meticulous tactical mindset.
After a brief exchange and quickly analyzing the abilities of the Xuan Yuan group, Deidara reached into his ninja pouch filled with clay, and the two large mouths on his hands started chewing again.
After a few breaths, he spat out a batch of Clay Birds and Clay Grasshoppers from the two mouths on his palms.
While Lightning Style was effective against Clay Bombs, it required direct hits.
Moreover, the chakra consumption for jutsu was much higher than that of Clay Bombs.
This time, Deidara deliberately created small, flexible, and extremely fast Clay Birds, as well as small and bouncy Clay Grasshoppers that were hard to hit.
"Let's go again!"
Deidara grinned and threw the Clay Birds, which took to the air first and attacked the Xuan Yuan group at high speed.
Right after, the Clay Grasshoppers landed on the ground and hopped around, surrounding the Xuan Yuan group in an unpredictable pattern.
Facing the aerial and ground assault, the Xuan Yuan group did not scatter.
Knowing that doing so would only lead to their individual defeat, they stayed together under the command of their leader, Heyi Ming. They cast jutsu to block the approaching Clay Bombs while running towards the nearby forest.
"Explode!"
Boom!
With a maneuver from Deidara, one of the tiny twin-winged birds accelerated, skillfully dodging the Lightning Style jutsu that had just been unleashed. It charged at incredible speed towards the Xuan Yuan group and detonated.
In that instant, two broad hands reached out and grasped the twin-winged birds.
After the explosion,
Crack! Crack!
The Earth Style: Hardening Technique that enveloped Heyi Ming's palms shattered completely.
With a slight tremor in his hands, he glanced at Deidara, who remained hovering high in the sky, always out of the range of their jutsu. He maintained a calm demeanor as he said, "Keep moving forward."
The key to victory in this battle was to force Deidara to descend from the sky.
As long as he remained airborne, they could only passively take the blows and await a slow, painful death.
By hiding in the dense forest, they could block Deidara's line of sight.
If he wanted to manipulate his clay bombs, he would have to close the distance.
And that would be when their true trump card, the secret technique of the "Blast Beetles," which had claimed countless powerful foes, could be unleashed.
The other members of the Xuan Yuan group were well aware of this strategy.
They continued on in silence, facing the relentless onslaught of the clay twin-winged birds and clay grasshoppers without trying to disable them. Instead, they directly employed area-of-effect jutsu to repel the incoming threats.
Watching the clay bombs either detonate or stall amidst the various jutsu, the Xuan Yuan group drew closer to the dense forest. Deidara, hovering in the sky above, stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Are they planning to use the forest to block my line of sight and slow down the clay bombs? Should I pursue them?"
"Of course not."
"They're not just trying to conserve chakra and hide in the forest to slow down my assault. Their goal is to lure me down. They're probably preparing a killing move."
Deidara chuckled.
Far from being foolish, he was nothing like Hidan, a brute who would recklessly charge into a trap.
"Since that's the case, let my art reduce you all to ashes."
Deidara's right hand reached into his ninja pouch once more. The large mouth on his palm devoured the clay, chewing for longer than before. Then, he spat out a doll-like explosive from his mouth, which landed in his palm.
C3-Number 18.
Infused with his highest level of chakra and crafted from explosive clay, this was a doll-like bomb.
Its blast radius could destroy an entire village.
Obliterating the forest below would be child's play.
As he watched the Xuan Yuan group disappear into the dense forest, Deidara calmly raised the doll in his hand. He loosened his fingers, and the airborne doll was activated.
At first, the doll descended rather slowly.
But soon, as the doll's size began to swell, its descent quickened.
As it neared the forest...
Deidara formed hand seals, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and shouted,
"Art is an explosion! Yeah!"
Dazzling white light erupted from the enlarged doll.
In the next instant...
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion shook the earth.
A not-insignificant mushroom cloud formed around the doll, spreading at a visible rate in all directions.
Everything in its path was instantly reduced to ashes.
The forest included.
(End of Chapter)
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