Chapter 167: Madness and Calm, Candidness and Cunning

Chapter 167: Madness and Calm, Candidness and Cunning

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!"

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.

"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.