"Phew, saved at last!" Deidara let out a sigh of relief as he ascended into the air once more. The rest could be left to Sasori. Still, he could seize the opportunity to toss a few clay bombs and rack up some Shock Value.
"Idiot! Don't lose focus on the battlefield!" Sasori's voice suddenly rang out, its tone a mix of urgency and irritation. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, like that groggy feeling of being woken up by your mother in the morning.
"What's going on?!" Deidara felt a sudden, immense force hit his waist, as if he had been thrown into the air. But his body hadn't moved—how was this even possible? And who could attack him while he was airborne?
Before he could make sense of it, the scene in front of him shifted dramatically. Deidara realized he wasn't flying at all. The Clay Bird was still on the ground, carrying the red-haired Karin, while he himself was being flung backward.
"Lightning Cutter!"
A flash of blue lightning streaked behind him as a white-haired ANBU in a mask passed by. The Lightning Cutter slashed into Deidara's right arm, leaving a deep wound that began bleeding profusely.
Bang!
Deidara crashed to the ground in a disheveled heap. It was only then that he realized he must have fallen victim to a genjutsu cast by the Sharingan. While the series of events seemed complex, it had all happened in an instant. If Sasori hadn't used Hiruko to push Deidara aside at the critical moment, he would have been dead by now.
Pain! Danger! Panic!
These were the only thoughts flooding Deidara's mind. Apart from the gash on his right arm caused by the Lightning Cutter, his left side was bruised and scraped. This was the first time since reincarnating into this world that Deidara had been injured—and so close to death. Ninja battles weren't the playful skirmishes he had imagined; they were deadly serious!
Didn't manage to kill him in one strike? What a pity.
Kakashi silently lamented as he pulled back, creating distance between himself and Deidara and Sasori. After the brief exchange, Kakashi had realized that Sasori's strength exceeded his expectations. Puppet masters were especially adept at dealing with human opponents, using poison gas, venom, and a variety of hidden mechanisms. Even a single hit could be fatal.
Having failed in his surprise attack and with the enemy now on high alert, forcing another direct assault would be unwise. The best course of action would be to locate the puppet master's real body and take him down. Of course, Kakashi had no idea that Sasori's real body was hidden inside Hiruko.
"What are you doing?"
As Deidara approached, Karin instinctively raised her skinny arm, thinking he was coming to bite her. After all, wasn't that what people usually did when they were injured?
Deidara understood her intent from the look in her eyes and gently lowered her arm.
"I told you, we're the good guys! What an ungrateful little brat!"
Karin looked up, her red eyes wide with surprise beneath her black-framed glasses. For some reason, she felt like crying again—but this time, it wasn't out of sadness.
"Mm!" She nodded, her voice soft and childlike.
"Brother Sasori, be careful! That's Kakashi Hatake down there!" Deidara shouted from his successful vantage point in the sky, warning Sasori loudly.
"I know. Kakashi of the Sharingan—he's quite famous," Sasori replied, though he didn't seem overly concerned. After all, who wasn't a genius? He, Sasori of the Red Sand, was the most talented puppet master in history!
"Captain, what's the plan?" The purple-haired ANBU, who appeared to be Yūgao Uzuki, asked. She was one of Konoha's renowned kunoichi, though she wasn't a widow yet at this point in time.
"The three of us will hold off the puppet while Tenzō and Raiken locate the puppet master's real body and eliminate him. Be cautious of the blonde one in the sky as well—he's injured but still capable of fighting," Kakashi instructed.
"Captain, even your Sharingan can't detect the puppet master's chakra threads?" Yūgao asked in surprise. The Sharingan should theoretically be able to see the chakra threads, making it easy to locate the puppet master's real body.
"Unfortunately, I can't see them. The enemy must have used some method to conceal them," Kakashi admitted, though he knew it might dampen morale.
"Are you done talking? If so, I'm coming!" Sasori was never one for waiting around. A few seconds of idle chatter was enough to test his patience.
"Move out!"
"Be careful not to get hit!" Kakashi warned as he led the charge, dashing forward at the front of the group.
Click! Click! Click!
Hiruko's mouthpiece opened to an unnerving degree, revealing rows of gleaming metal. From within, it began firing poisoned senbon in a relentless barrage.
"Evaded them all? Is it because of the Sharingan?" Sasori muttered to himself. The sheer density of the senbon barrage should have made it nearly impossible to avoid unscathed. Only those with exceptionally fast reflexes or extensive experience as puppet masters could manage such a feat. Yet the enhanced dynamic vision provided by the Sharingan allowed Kakashi to do just that.
Boom!
Hiruko's arm extended outward, rapidly multiplying and elongating mid-air. It came crashing down on Kakashi like a falling mountain. Naturally, Kakashi didn't let his guard down. Having seen this technique earlier, he already had a countermeasure in mind.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
With a series of rapid hand seals, Kakashi raised a massive earthen wall adorned with five dog heads. The wall stood firmly in front of him, blocking Hiruko's attack. The Earth-Style Wall not only defended against physical strikes but also prevented potential poison gas from reaching him.
Crash!
The earthen wall crumbled under Hiruko's assault. Sasori prepared to press the advantage, but the other ANBU members weren't about to let that happen.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Sanrin, one of the ANBU, unleashed a stream of flames from his mouth in a linear trajectory, aiming directly at Hiruko. Most puppets were made of wood, making them particularly vulnerable to fire-based attacks.
"Konoha-Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
Yūgao Uzuki joined the fray, her real body and two clones attacking Hiruko from multiple directions. Her strikes were swift and powerful, leaving no room for hesitation.
Faced with this multi-pronged assault, Sasori felt the pressure. He extended Hiruko's other arm, transforming it into a shield to block the fire attack, while the tail swung rapidly to fend off Yūgao's sword strikes.
"Lightning Cutter!"
The familiar sound of Kakashi's signature technique echoed once more. Watching from above, Deidara finally understood just how fast Kakashi's Lightning Cutter was. He also realized how close he had been to death earlier. No wonder the technique required the dynamic vision enhancement of the Sharingan to execute successfully.
Screech!
Kakashi darted past Hiruko, his Lightning Cutter slicing a deep gash from its right shoulder to its back.