"Do you really think I'll let you succeed?"
High in the sky, Deidara had also noticed the Konoha ninjas' movements.
"Perfect timing to test my newly mastered Animal Form Technique."
"C2 – Myriad Serpent Formation!"
Deidara's hands pointed downward, and the mouths in his palms opened wide. Within seconds, thousands of clay snakes poured forth, slithering toward the Konoha ninjas, blocking their path like a tidal wave.
"O-Orochimaru?!" That was everyone's first reaction. Orochimaru's reputation for summoning snakes had left a deep impression.
"It's not Orochimaru! It's just the enemy imitating his techniques!" Kakashi shouted. Compared to an unknown enemy, Orochimaru posed a much greater psychological threat to Konoha ninjas.
"Use Earth Flow Divide! Quickly!"
Following Kakashi's command, chakra surged into the ground. The earth before them rose up like a cake being sliced, splitting into two massive sections. The clay snakes were swept aside by the shifting terrain, giving the ninjas a brief reprieve.
"Move!" Kakashi ordered, leading the group forward. He stayed back with a squad of elite ninjas, fending off the relentless swarm of clay creatures.
The Konoha ninjas pressed on, but the divided ground in the canyon was far from the end of their troubles. A new enemy awaited—a woman floating above them, seamlessly switching between her paper form and human form while raining explosive tags from above.
"Dammit! Does that woman ever run out of explosive tags?!" one Konoha ninja roared in frustration.
Though Konan's direct combat abilities weren't her strength, her seemingly endless supply of explosive tags turned the battlefield into chaos. Hundreds of Konoha ninjas couldn't even get close to her.
"Get moving up front!"
"The explosive snakes are crawling over here!" someone shouted from the rear.
"We're trying, but that woman's explosive tags won't let us through!" another ninja in the front wailed in despair.
"Isn't ninja warfare supposed to be about ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu? When did it turn into a battle of explosions?!"
"Let me handle this!"
A blonde woman with her hair tied in a high ponytail stepped forward. She was a member of the Yamanaka Clan, a group known for their unique yet situationally powerful jutsu.
"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
As her body fell limp, Konan's aerial assault abruptly stopped.
"Hit me with Fire Release!" Konan's voice demanded, the unusual command betraying that she was under control.
Wasting no time, the Konoha ninjas formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
"Not a chance!"
A ninja clad in blue darted forward, weaving hand seals of his own.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A torrent of water surged forth, extinguishing the flames mid-air. Moments later, several members of the Hozuki Clan and other Mist Village ninjas arrived, surrounding Konan protectively.
"What happened?"
"It's the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu. It won't last long and will break on its own soon," one of the Mist ninjas explained calmly.
"Keep attacking! Use Fire Release!"
"It's pointless! Water Release counters Fire Release. No matter how many of you there are, our water techniques can neutralize your flames!"
As the Mist ninjas formed seals, a shadow darted along the ground, linking their shadows together.
"What's going on? Why can't I move?!" a Mist ninja cried out, his hands frozen mid-seal.
"Gotcha! Shadow Imitation Technique complete!" A Nara Clan ninja grinned from the shadows.
"Never let your guard down on the battlefield."
"Your life is mine!"
From within the Nara ninja's shadow, an enemy appeared—a figure wielding a kunai aimed for his throat.
"Nara! Watch out!"
A massive fist, the size of a full-grown man, crashed toward them, forcing the attacker to retreat into the shadows. Meanwhile, with the Shadow Imitation disrupted, the Mist ninjas completed their seals.
Boom!
Explosive tags filled the air once again. Konan had broken free from the Mind Transfer Jutsu. Her cold expression betrayed her anger at her earlier slip-up. If not for the Mist ninjas' timely assistance, she would've been defeated.
"I won't make that mistake again," she murmured, unleashing a barrage of explosive tags at a staggering rate—1,000 per second.
The battlefield was ablaze with chaos. Deidara and Sasori both felt the strain of facing thousands of skilled ninja, including those from specialized clans and elite jōnin.
No matter how powerful one was, ignoring the danger of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers was folly—unless they were Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha.
"Kakashi, it looks like Lightning Release is particularly effective against these clay creatures. Once hit, they can't detonate," one ninja reported.
Of course, with so many people fighting, someone was bound to stumble upon the clay's weakness.
"Everyone, use Lightning Release!" Kakashi shouted.
Lightning chakra lit up the battlefield, turning Deidara's clay creations into harmless duds.
"Barrier Squad! Prepare the Four Violet Flames Formation! Trap the enemy inside!"
"Lightning Release users, cover them!"
This brief lull in the fighting gave Kakashi time to devise a plan. Deidara's ability to fly gave him a massive advantage, but if they could trap him, they stood a chance.
"Huh? Noticed my clay's weakness already?"
High above, Deidara switched to Anti-Lightning Clay. While it had resistance to lightning, it was inferior to his usual clay in other ways. He hated using it.
"And it tastes sour... Ugh, disgusting."
Deidara's thoughts turned to innovation.
"I can't keep relying on old tricks. I've unlocked mastery over human and animal forms. Surely there's something new I can try!"
His eyes lit up with inspiration.
"Ah! Perfect!"
"C2: Special Type – White Zetsu!"
From the sky, humanoid figures with white, clay-like bodies streaked down. Though they splattered upon impact, the clay quickly reformed into eerily humanoid shapes, moving with unnatural grace.
"Black Zetsu Shock Value +2000"
"White Zetsu Shock Value +500"
From the shadows, Zetsu watched, stunned.
"Black Zetsu, Deidara's craftsmanship might be better than ours."
"Creating so many replicas so easily… We're much slower in comparison," White Zetsu said in an awed tone.
"Maybe we should recruit him as our chief sculptor!"
"Brilliant idea! He could craft me endless companions!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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