Naruto: Deidara’s Struggle

After spending another half a month on the move, Deidara and his group advanced southwest from the Land of Waves, passing through the now-destroyed Land of Whirlpools. Skirting along the southern coastline of the Land of Fire, they finally entered the Land of Rivers.

Bored during their journey, Deidara opened his Strongest Artist System to check his progress. The battle in the Mist Village had been a resounding success, allowing him to level up four times in one go. It felt like striking it rich overnight—he had accumulated five Skill Points in one fell swoop.

Strongest Artist System

Host: Deidara

Shock Value: 6700/14000

Skill Points: 5

Unlocked Skills: Explosion Mastery Level 1, C2 Enhanced Great Dragon, Improved Clay, Chakra Enhancement, Lightning-Resistant Clay, Extreme Heat, Morphology Optimization, Ninjutsu Enhancement, Insect Form Mastery

Since the four skills he had previously considered required additional sacrifice conditions, Deidara had instead chosen to unlock several branch skills that didn't have such requirements.

He had unlocked Pyrotechnics and Greater Detonation Range. With these, Deidara could now detonate his clay bombs from several dozen kilometers away.

He also unlocked Morphology Optimization, as well as Human Form Mastery and Animal Form Mastery. These allowed him to create clay humanoids and clay animals just as easily as he currently crafted clay insects.

Finally, he had unlocked Ninja Arts, which included Genjutsu Resistance Level 1, giving him some ability to resist genjutsu—though the effect was only moderate.

These skills had cost him four Skill Points, leaving one remaining. He planned to save it for either Clayification or Explosion Mastery Level 2.

His decision largely depended on whether Kisame managed to retrieve Shibuki (Splash) for him. Judging by Kisame's attitude, their relationship hadn't completely fallen apart yet, and there was still a chance for mutual cooperation in the future.

"Deidara-san!"

"Why do you get to fly so comfortably up there while I have to walk down here? I'm so tired!"

"I feel like I'm going to die of dehydration!"

Below Deidara's clay bird, a young boy of about eight or nine from the Hōzuki Clan was glaring up at him with an annoyed expression, looking as though he was about to collapse from the heat.

It was none other than Suigetsu Hōzuki.

Though still young, Suigetsu already showed signs of his talkative and cheeky personality.

"Suigetsu?" Deidara turned to look at the boy, his eyes gleaming with interest.

"Uh...?" Suigetsu felt a bit nervous under Deidara's gaze.

"Turn your hand into water for me," Deidara said.

"Like this?" Suigetsu, confused but compliant, transformed his right hand into transparent water.

Quick as lightning, Deidara pulled out a clay cup and scooped up some of the water, offering it as a sacrifice to the system.

"If I take part of your hand like this and don't give it back, will you end up disabled?" Deidara asked.

"Ahhh!" Suigetsu let out an exaggerated scream, flailing his liquid arm wildly. "Give it back! Give it back right now!"

"Are you the devil?!"

"It's gone," Deidara shrugged, feigning helplessness.

"You should try changing back. Let's see if you're missing a few fingers or something."

"That's impossible!" Suigetsu shouted indignantly.

"I can just regenerate it from other parts of my body!"

"That still means you're losing part of your body, doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but I can just replenish it by drinking water," Suigetsu replied.

"Sounds like the girls in your Hōzuki Clan have it pretty easy. They don't have to worry about dieting," came a voice from below Suigetsu.

"Hey! Why are you hiding in my shadow again? Get out of there!" Suigetsu yelled, pointing at his shadow.

"Let me hitch a ride. Walking is too tiring, and it's way too hot today. The sun is blinding," replied Shadow Man.

"Argh!" Suigetsu growled in frustration. He wanted nothing more than to slice Shadow Man in half with a blade, but how could he cut a shadow?

"Silence!"

"There's someone ahead!"

Suddenly, Hiruko halted his advance. Deidara felt a bit embarrassed—after all, he had no scouting abilities to speak of.

Though he could fly and scout from above, if the enemy had concealment techniques or anti-detection barriers, relying on eyesight alone was useless.

Two figures emerged in front of them—one wearing a Konoha forehead protector, the other a Sand Village forehead protector.

"Halt!"

"Who are you?" Deidara flew forward, scrutinizing the two newcomers.

"We've heard that you've traveled far from the Mist Village. Konoha sincerely invites you to join us," said the Konoha ninja, whom Deidara didn't recognize.

But the Sand ninja was someone he did know—Baki, the man who always covered half his face with a cloth.

Deidara couldn't help but want to comment. Kakashi, Danzo, Ao—they all covered their faces for good reasons, like hiding a Sharingan or a Byakugan. But what's your excuse, Baki? What are you hiding?

"The Sand Village also welcomes you," Baki said, echoing the sentiment.

Tch!

Deidara immediately understood. Their location had been exposed. It was obvious that Obito was behind this. Without his interference, the double isolation of the Mist Village and the Rain Village would have kept the outside world in the dark about the events of the defection night for years, let alone allowed an interception midway.

"And what if we refuse?" Deidara asked, knowing full well he wouldn't hand over his team to anyone. He had worked hard to take down Yagura Karatachi—it hadn't been easy.

"Then don't blame us for being rude," the Konoha ninja replied with a veiled threat.

At this moment, Deidara's group was in a canyon. Naturally, the high ground on both sides was occupied by ninja armies from Konoha and the Sand Village.

"So this is a threat?" Deidara countered.

"If you see it that way, then so be it," the Konoha ninja replied. "But I prefer to call it a show of sincerity."

The smug expression on the Konoha representative's face made Deidara feel like he'd stepped into a cliché face-slapping novel.

After all, the ninja he had encountered before were all cautious to a fault. This was the first time he'd seen such arrogance.

"I advise you to step aside. Otherwise, you'll regret it later," Deidara warned, his eyes flashing dangerously. Large-scale battles were the last thing he feared.

"Hmph!"

"Foolish brat!"

The Konoha representative raised his right hand high, clearly signaling for action.

"Have they refused?"

Though Kakashi was officially leading Konoha's forces, his rank wasn't high enough to command everyone. For instance, the Root ninja leader bypassed Kakashi entirely and issued his own orders.

"Fire the signal! Prepare Earth Release!"

"Coordinate with the Sand Village forces and catch them off guard with the first strike!"

"Wait!" Kakashi tried to intervene.

"There are many civilians below. If we use large-scale jutsu like this..."

"Kakashi, this is war! We are ninja. We shouldn't concern ourselves with such trivial matters!" the Root ninja interrupted coldly.

"No!" Kakashi protested, but before he could stop them, a signal flare was launched into the sky.

He turned in shock. The signal hadn't been fired by a Root ninja, yet it had been launched anyway.

"Kakashi, give the order. At this point, there's no turning back," said a ninja from the Akimichi Clan, stepping forward with a look of helplessness and sorrow. He understood all too well that people like him and Kakashi were exceptions—anomalies among ninja.

Most ninja were simply killing machines.

"Sigh..." Kakashi sighed heavily, then raised his hand.

"Earth Release! Prepare!"

"Fire!"

"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!"

"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!"

From the high ground on both sides of the canyon, hundreds of Earth Release ninja shouted in unison. The earth shook violently as the cliffs began to collapse, sending massive boulders crashing into the canyon below. It was as if the world itself were ending.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The canyon walls continued to crumble, transforming into an avalanche of rocks that threatened to bury everything below. Panic and chaos spread among those trapped inside.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall!"

"What?!"

"What?!"

A massive black metal wall formed from iron sand rose into the air, shielding everyone below from the falling rocks. Not a single person was harmed!

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

Explore More Amazing Fanfiction on My Patreon!

Unlock 30+ Advance Chapters and Enjoy Exclusive Stories Early!

👉 patreon.com/GoldenLong