"You and Water Man will handle the one who can fly. Fire Man and I will take on the puppeteer," Bug Man quickly devised a strategy. "Earth Man will act independently, looking for opportunities to assassinate," he added.
"Understood. I'll head out first," Shadow Man agreed without objection and disappeared into the shadows once again.
Flying low, Deidara scanned his surroundings vigilantly. Ever since he had narrowly escaped Kakashi's deadly strike, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat whenever he recalled the incident. Ninja battles left no room for carelessness.
Hmm? Brother Sasori is speeding up? Has he been discovered?
Deidara also accelerated, skimming through the treetops to keep himself concealed. But as he passed over a small lake, the water suddenly churned violently. The previously calm surface erupted into several water columns, stretching out like tentacles toward Deidara's Clay Bird.
These tentacles are pretty agile! Could it be Water Man from the Xuanyuan Group?
Deidara vaguely remembered there was someone in the Xuanyuan Group who could transform into water, with abilities obviously related to water. Judging by the current situation, not only had Sasori been exposed, but Deidara himself had also been discovered.
Quickly, Deidara scattered a handful of pre-prepared Clay Spiders, which clung to the freshwater tentacles gripping his Clay Bird.
"Drink this!"
Boom!
The explosion from the Clay Spiders temporarily dispersed the freshwater tentacles, allowing Deidara's bird to break free and ascend into the sky.
"Not so fast!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A deep, slightly muffled male voice echoed from beneath the lake. A ferocious pale-blue dragon shot out from the water, its massive jaws full of sharp teeth snapping toward Deidara and his Clay Bird, as if trying to swallow them whole.
No time to evade?
Deidara's pupils reflected the pale-blue water dragon below. With a quick calculation, he realized the bird's speed wouldn't allow him to dodge in time. Using the Clay Bird as a springboard, he leapt upward and landed on the ground beside the lake.
Before he could catch his breath, the freshwater in the lake transformed into countless pale-blue hands, slapping toward the spot where Deidara stood. Forced to dodge frantically, Deidara resembled a fly trying to escape a relentless swatter.
"This is getting ridiculous!" Deidara grumbled, frustrated by the continuous attacks. However, even while evading, he wasn't idle.
C2 Standard Type: Combat Hatchling Dragon!
Around Deidara, a group of hatchling dragons—about the size of ordinary humans, with chubby bodies and small wings—materialized. Despite their slightly adorable appearance, they charged toward the pale-blue hands in mid-air like a squad of kamikaze fighters.
"Art is an explosion! Drink this!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions completely destroyed Water Man's attacks, giving Deidara a brief respite. Now was his chance to take to the skies again. Once airborne, everything would be easier to handle.
"Never let your guard down on the battlefield!"
A voice suddenly whispered in Deidara's ear. A faint, translucent figure began to materialize, holding a kunai aimed at Deidara's chest.
"I've been expecting you!" Deidara replied calmly. He was being extra cautious now. The Clay Centipedes he had buried earlier had already detected Earth Man's presence, but the opponent's speed underground was too fast for the centipedes to lock onto him.
Now that Earth Man had revealed himself, an opportunity had presented itself.
"Drink this!"
"What?!"
"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"
Earth Man's entire body turned black, glinting faintly with a metallic sheen. This advanced Earth Release technique was highly practical—Kakuzu had even used it to become nearly immune to physical attacks.
"You've got some skills. But can you dodge my attack?"
Another assassin from the Xuanyuan Group, Shadow Man, emerged from Deidara's shadow, also holding a kunai aimed at his chest.
"Tch! So it was a substitution."
Seeing the enemy in front of him gradually turn into white sludge, Shadow Man muttered in annoyance.
Meanwhile, Deidara's real body stepped out from another direction, looking somewhat troubled as he faced the three Xuanyuan Group members. His abilities weren't well-suited for delicate operations like capturing live targets. When restricted by such conditions, it was hard for him to perform at his best.
"I originally planned to go easy on you and capture you alive. But now it seems that if I don't take this seriously, I might end up failing."
"Let me show you my true art!"
Finally airborne, Deidara looked down at the three Xuanyuan Group members and declared.
"Such arrogance!" Shadow Man scoffed.
"Maybe Earth Man and I are only good at assassination, with limited combat power. But Water Man's abilities are perfect for situations like this."
"As long as he's in the water, Water Man can merge with it completely, making him invincible while leveraging the terrain to unleash unimaginable power. If the lake is large enough, Water Man can even rival the Three-Tails. You should understand what that means, right?"
Shadow Man seemed quite confident in his comrade's strength. In his view, the lake below, though not enormous, was still substantial. Defeating Water Man in such an environment was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Deidara chuckled lightly. Rivaling the Three-Tails? According to the original storyline, I captured the Three-Tails myself. If I'm not afraid of the real deal, why would I fear a knockoff like you?
"Perfect timing. I recently captured the Seven-Tails. Let's see if your counterfeit Three-Tails can handle my art."
C2 Enhanced Great Dragon!
Roar!
A deafening dragon's roar echoed through the valley as a massive white clay dragon, comparable in size to a Tailed Beast, appeared in the sky. It exuded an overwhelming sense of oppression, circling in mid-air and making anyone who saw it feel utterly hopeless.
"Water Man Shock Value +300" "Shadow Man Shock Value +300" "Earth Man Shock Value +..." "White Zetsu Shock Value +500" "Black Zetsu Shock Value +500"
"So this is Deidara's art? Truly impressive! His clay creations all seem to explode—imagine what would happen if something this big detonated!" White Zetsu exclaimed in awe.
"Perhaps the entire valley would be wiped out," Black Zetsu added. Having witnessed great spectacles before, he wasn't as shocked as White Zetsu. However, because his power level was much higher, the Shock Value generated was coincidentally the same.
Looks like going big is the way to go! Releasing this enhanced dragon instantly earned me 2,500 Shock Value—what a rush!
"But why didn't I get any Shock Value from Brother Sasori?" Deidara asked, puzzled.
"You've already harvested Sasori's Shock Value at this level. To gain more, you'd need to show him something even more shocking," the system explained.
In other words, Shock Value couldn't be farmed repeatedly from the same individual.