Naruto: From Extra to Savior

The power of the Rinnegan was undeniably immense, but for this clone, even sacrificing its life wasn't enough to keep that power under control. Without the proper strength, wielding such terrifying power was like a child swinging a massive hammer—completely unsustainable. Just trying to wield it only sped up its death.

Activating the Rinnegan alone was already hard enough. Using [Shinra Tensei]'s repulsive force to defend against attacks from Deidara and Red Sand of the Desert significantly increased the physical strain. Once the clone used [Planetary Devastation] to seal away Red Sand of the Desert, its body started falling apart fast. Within moments, everything below the chest vanished entirely, and even the remaining parts could no longer maintain basic stability. Cracks began spreading from inside the twin Rinnegans themselves, racing across its body like a spreading disease. Thin lines of blood seeped from the fractures, but before they could flow freely, they quickly turned into fine particles mixed with chakra, drifting downward like an ethereal mist enveloping the clone.

The sealing sphere created by [Planetary Devastation] still hung in the air, but the clone was deteriorating too fast. There was no telling if it would fully trap Red Sand of the Desert and Deidara—too many unknowns remained.

Then came a deafening explosion that shook heaven and earth. Although the sealing sphere held firm, most of the blast's force was redirected back toward the clone, especially onto the Rinnegan itself. The eyes, hit by the massive backlash, saw their existing cracks spread faster, widening and deepening steadily.

Before long, a second horrifying explosion erupted. This time, the clone, already struggling to hold on, could no longer endure such extreme levels of consumption. Even with the Cursed Seal continuously supplying energy, the clone collapsed far sooner than the sealing sphere.

First, the blood-lined cracks rapidly covered its entire body. Then, in the blink of an eye, the clone crumbled into fine dust that drifted quietly to the ground. Before the body completely collapsed, the strained Rinnegan shattered first—vanishing as if they'd never existed. Moments later, high above in the distance, the nearly collapsing sealing sphere, deprived of the Rinnegan's control, could no longer remain airborne. Chunks of earth peeled off and rained down, striking the ground and creating an uneven wasteland of craters. Finally, what remained of the sealing sphere plummeted straight down from the sky, forming a decent-sized mound of earth.

When the dust finally settled, a lone figure emerged from the pile of shattered land—Red Sand of the Desert, who had narrowly escaped death.

To survive the overwhelming devastation of [Planetary Devastation], Red Sand of the Desert deployed practically every puppet he owned, surrounding his original body with layer after layer of protection. Desperate to create even a sliver of defense, he barely managed to stay alive.

Deidara wasn't so lucky. Under steadily increasing pressure, he barely managed to maintain minimal mobility inside the sealing sphere by using Earth Release—Earth Dragon Hiding Mole Technique. Still, for Deidara to escape the attack of Planetary Devastation would be nothing more than wishful thinking.

However, with pride like Deidara's, there was no way he'd wait around to die. Using his limited control underground, he finally succeeded in detonating the sealing sphere from inside twice after consuming an immense amount of explosive clay. Unfortunately, due to his restricted movement, he couldn't stay far from the explosion center, so a great deal of the blast ended up affecting Deidara himself.

Red Sand of the Desert, being far stronger than Deidara, had far more options at his disposal. As his clones and techniques crumbled one after another, he was the first to claw his way out. When Red Sand of the Desert emerged, his ceremonial robe—black with red clouds—was already in tatters. He yanked it off and threw it on the ground. Sasori quickly scanned the damage. His original body hadn't sustained serious injury—nothing a quick tune-up wouldn't fix. However, his earlier-used Red Secret Technique—Hundred Puppet Army—had deteriorated so badly that even a "Ten Puppet Army" was now beyond reach. Beyond puppet loss, the critical issue was his chakra. With only one reincarnation core, no matter how miraculous it was, the amount of chakra it could produce remained limited. Even though puppet masters generally controlled chakra efficiently and were extremely conservative users, fighting intensely for so long while commanding hundreds of puppets had taken its toll. Even though his puppet bodies didn't feel physical fatigue anymore, chakra reserves and mental exhaustion were still unavoidable burdens.

Even so, Red Sand of the Desert didn't feel much frustration—not just because of the coldness gained from abandoning human heart and flesh, but also because he still had hidden trump cards left. Even if enemies took advantage of his battered state and attacked him from behind, Sasori was confident he could defeat them all.

[Underestimating the enemy and failing to crush them with overwhelming force was my greatest mistake...]

Regarding this mission to capture the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Red Sand of the Desert fully understood their current successes and failures.

After thoroughly assessing his situation, Sasori gathered the few remaining puppets and quickly began digging downward in the direction indicated by his sensing abilities. Soon enough, tireless puppets dug out a large pit. Suddenly, the ground beneath the pit erupted, and Deidara burst through. His hair was a complete mess, and his face was unrecognizable. If it weren't for those piercing azure eyes still burning with youthful defiance, almost no one would recognize that battered figure as the once-confident Deidara.

"Aniki Sasori," Deidara said weakly, "we're finally alive... huh?"

"Hmm," Sasori asked, "how do you feel? Can you move at all?"

"I guess I can't really help for now…"

"Don't move—I'll dig you out."

"There's no way Deidara got out of that terrifying explosion without paying some kind of price."

"What exactly is that jutsu? Using two Garudas to create that explosion is simply unbelievable. A single Garuda could destroy an entire village..."

"You're underestimating the Rinnegan," Red Sand of the Desert cut in. "Even though our leader rarely appears and hasn't even revealed his full strength yet, do you really think he could command a group like this—a gang of Rogue Ninjas, villains, madmen, and power-hungry freaks—without something extraordinary?"

While speaking, Red Sand of the Desert continued directing his puppets to completely excavate Deidara's body.

"Finally seeing daylight again," Deidara quipped as he emerged. "Back there for a second, I really thought I was dead meat..."

Surviving this time was indeed largely due to Deidara's efforts. When death loomed close, only his decisive decision to internally detonate explosive clay twice saved him from being crushed into paste by that immense gravitational force.

"Besides your head remaining relatively intact," Red Sand of the Desert stated after examining Deidara, "there isn't a part of your body without fractures. Plus, your overall condition isn't good either..."

"Just surviving's good enough. The organization's full of freaks, including ancient immortals—this kinda injury? Easy fix."

"If you think you can endure it, then fine," Red Sand of the Desert nodded. "Mission ain't over yet—we're not pulling out. Still tagging along?"

"Of course I will. I still wanna see Aniki Sasori's masterpiece. Though I still insist explosion is the most beautiful thing in the world."

"In that case, bear with it. It'll hurt badly."

Red Sand of the Desert said this while manipulating one puppet to carry the nearly immobile Deidara onto its back before preparing to set off again in pursuit.

"Wait, Aniki Sasori," Deidara stopped him and suggested, "I'm not completely useless yet. Pour whatever little explosive clay remains in my pouch into my mouth..."

Without wasting words, Red Sand of the Desert immediately manipulated the puppet to help Deidara—who couldn't use his hands—pour the remaining tiny amount of clay from his ninja tools pouch into his mouth.

Soon afterward, a human-carrying bird made from clay formed once more.

"Let's go then. Let's see what methods are left that can stop us from taking the Jinchuriki..."

With that, the two rode the giant clay bird and resumed their chase toward where Konoha ninja had fled.

After the last two figures disappeared from sight, shortly thereafter, a Yin and Yang-faced individual surrounded by leaves, exuding eerie aura and strong scheming vibes, raised his head.

"I originally came just to observe since this was the organization's first tailed-beast-capturing operation. But who'd have thought things'd go sideways the second we made our move? The Rinnegan—do you think it's something ordinary people casually get to witness?"

Although the commotion caused by Deidara and Red Sand of the Desert's battle was too intense to allow anyone to get close, and no one could get a clear picture of what really happened, how could Zetsu possibly be unfamiliar with something like the Rinnegan? Throughout history, every person who awakened the Rinnegan had interacted with him directly. Even Black Zetsu, Kaguya Otsutsuki's consciousness clone, could loosely be said to possess the Rinnegan as well—and his version was far more powerful than the one just seen. Still...

"Breaking through the limits of Yin-Yang Release? How was that even possible? Could there really be another genius emerging in this world, one who surpasses even Hagoromo Otsutsuki?"

The Six Paths Sage was undeniably talented, but he also came from a privileged bloodline with a strong starting point. That, combined with his natural brilliance, was exactly what forged the legend of the Six Paths Sage.

"That group of six needs careful watching from now on. We should look closely for any exploitable potential. Relying on Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha is still a bit of a gamble. Even with two safeguards in place, unexpected situations could become difficult to handle. Now we might have an alternative option. Still, the more Rinnegans appear, the better. Nothing would please me more than giving the Six Paths Sage a real headache."

Though he didn't yet know who was responsible for such a shocking feat, with his intelligence network, identifying the key figures would be extremely easy.

"It would be perfect if this power could be replicated. However, these low-quality products forced into existence are practically useless. How could such a ridiculous, weak body ever match the Rinnegan?"

Looking at the black ashes drifting away in the wind from the destroyed clone nearby—and the completely vanished Rinnegan—

"Anything that can't withstand both the pressure of the world's will and Hagoromo Otsutsuki's countermeasures is only fit to be disposable material. Only I can make full use of this method."

Imagining White Zetsu clones with Rinnegans overwhelming Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Zetsu felt a surge of anticipation.

...

"Our backup plan has failed," Hiashi Hyuga said grimly. Even while retreating, he kept using his Byakugan to monitor the enemy behind them. "The enemies are catching up again... from the sky..."

"No way! They actually survived something that big?" Just those few words shattered everyone's hope completely. "What kind of freaks are we even fighting here?"

"That we've lasted this long already proves our luck has been pretty good," Mizuki interjected timely. "Still, after enduring such massive ninjutsu attacks, they probably didn't come out unscathed either. What should we do next?"

"Fight back!" Hiashi Hyuga declared decisively. "We've come this far already. If we keep running like this, we'll collapse first anyway. There's no way we can outrun enemies riding on giant birds. We have to stop here, use this time to recover our strength, and prepare for a final showdown..."

"A final showdown? Was showing off the Rinnegan not enough already?"

Even if he survived this time, who knows what kind of trouble he'd end up in...

However, Hiashi Hyuga's decision wasn't wrong either. With enemy reinforcements possibly arriving any minute, it'd be stupid to wear themselves out running only to face fresh enemies who rode in. Still, they couldn't afford to lose the Rinnegan again—the enemy wouldn't fall for the same trap twice.

[Hundred Puppet Army] must've been wiped out completely by now. From the sounds just now, Deidara probably won't pose much of a threat anymore. So the only thing left is the Third Kazekage's [Iron Sand Body]? That's going to be a real problem.

It was insane—massive damage, deadly poison, and it could even destroy ninja tools. Almost nothing could stop it. Even the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist techniques struggled against it. Dodging was about the only option they had—Gaara's sand defenses were already drained, and Mizuki's Chakra Shield barely provided even the slightest bit of protection.

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