Deidara was clearly outmatched.
He didn't waste a second—his hands blurred in a flash of instinct as he used the Body Replacement Technique, vanishing in a puff of smoke. In his place, a wooden stake appeared, which was instantly shredded into splinters by the incoming blades.
"Too close," Deidara thought, beads of sweat rolling down his temple. "If I'd hesitated for even a second…"
But there was no time to catch his breath. The swarm of razor-sharp blades, still crackling faintly with residual energy, didn't stop. Like predators with a scent trail, they redirected instantly, homing in on his new location—the tree he now stood on.
Cursing under his breath, Deidara turned to leap away—
But Naruto was already there.
Out of nowhere, the blond blur landed in front of him, eyes blazing with fury. In his hand spun a perfect Rasengan, howling with raw chakra.
"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto shouted.
Deidara barely had time to widen his eyes before the Rasengan slammed into his gut. His breath left him in a violent gasp as Naruto drove him backward—straight into the trunk of the tree behind him.
There was an explosive impact. The Rasengan carved deep into the wood, sending bark and debris flying in every direction. A massive chunk of the tree shattered, the spot where Deidara's back, Naruto's chakra, and the raw power of the Rasengan all collided.
Deidara coughed blood, the air knocked out of him as he crumpled to the forest floor, momentarily stunned, and badly shaken.
Naruto stood over the crumpled body, his chest heaving with rage. His fist trembled at his side as chakra still crackled faintly from the Rasengan he'd just driven into Deidara.
"Bastard," he growled, his voice low and shaking. "This is what you get—for destroying the body of my friend… and disrespecting him even in death."
His heart twisted with grief. The image of Gaara's lifeless form, held in the mouth of that monstrous clay bird earlier, burned in Naruto's memory. First, they had killed him. And now… they had mocked his death, carrying his body around like a trophy.
His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms.
But then—the body on the ground began to change.
Naruto's eyes widened in horror as the carved flesh turned soft and pale—crumbling away into clay. The figure that had taken the full brunt of his Rasengan was just a decoy.
A clone.
In that exact moment, Kakashi landed beside him, sharp-eyed and calm despite the tension.
"Clone technique," Kakashi muttered. "He's still around. We need to find him—quickly."
Naruto's fury boiled over. "BASTARD!!" he shouted again, voice echoing through the forest as he launched himself into the trees, scanning every shadow, every branch.
Kakashi followed after him with practiced speed, his tone steady but firm.
"Naruto—calm down. We'll get him. But not if you lose control."
----
Deidara sprinted through the dense forest, his breath ragged, sweat streaking down his face as branches whipped past him. I have to get out of here—fast, he thought, panic creeping into his voice even inside his own head. My clay's almost gone… Damn it, if I knew things would turn out like this, I would've stocked more beforehand.
But just as he leapt from one branch to another, a sudden glint of metal flashed in front of him.
A set of blades—sleek, fast, and eerily silent—sliced through the air and struck him before he could react. They weren't random attacks—they were precise.
"Wha—?!" Deidara gasped. "These… they're Inoiki's… but how?! They should be tracking the clone I left behind!"
Caught completely off guard, Deidara had no time to dodge. One blade pierced through his thigh, another buried into his shoulder, dragging him down like a puppet with its strings cut. He hit the ground hard, gritting his teeth as blood spilled across the dirt.
And then—Inoiki appeared.
He floated in on his massive sword like a phantom, calm, steady, eyes glowing with a quiet certainty. His presence alone was suffocating.
Looking down at Deidara, he said coolly,
"You really thought you could trick a sensory-type ninja like me?"
Inoiki's voice carried no arrogance—just fact.
"My range stretches farther than you think. Even if your clone had the exact same chakra level as you… you can't fool my senses. I felt the faintest emotional deviation—and I knew."
He stepped closer, the sword hovering behind him like a silent sentinel.
"That's why I guided Naruto to your decoy… while I came here."
A smirk played at the edge of Inoiki's lips.
Just then, the sound of crashing trees and a sharp crack through the air reached Naruto's ears—and in a forest as still as death, even a whisper echoed like thunder.
Naruto arrived in a blur, landing hard on the ground with Kakashi just behind him. The moment his eyes locked onto Deidara—bloodied, pinned, and vulnerable—rage overtook reason.
"BASTARD! I'm going to kill you!" Naruto roared, his voice raw with fury.
Without hesitation, he formed a hand seal—Shadow Clone Jutsu! Two identical copies of himself burst into existence, and all three began forming Rasengan in synchronized motion, chakra swirling violently in Naruto's palms.
Inoiki stepped forward sharply, alarm in his voice.
"No, Naruto! He's too valuable—we need him alive to get intel on the Akatsuki!"
But Naruto wasn't listening.
Kakashi moved in from the side, trying to intercept. "Naruto, wait! Calm down!" he urged, but his voice barely registered.
The anger burning in Naruto's chest had pushed him to the edge—and the Nine-Tails' chakra was seeping out, feeding on his rage. His pupils had turned slitted and red, his face twisted into something barely human.
His chakra flared with malice.
Inoiki's eyes narrowed. He's too far gone… If I don't act now—
In a flash, Inoiki vanished, reappearing instantly beside Naruto with almost no motion. In the next breath, his palm pressed gently against Naruto's forehead.
"Calm down, Naruto," he said, voice calm but firm—resonating like still water over a stormy tide.
A gentle pulse of energy surged from Inoiki's hand—not chakra, but raw mental power, refined and focused. It flowed into Naruto's mind like a cold breeze through a burning room, suppressing the chaotic swirl of the Nine-Tails' influence.
Naruto stiffened… then gasped. The red drained from his eyes, returning to their usual sky-blue hue. The fangs receded, and the tension in his shoulders gave way to confusion and weariness.
His Rasengan faded.
Inoiki lowered his hand slowly. "He almost had you," he said softly. "Don't let your anger give him that power."
Naruto, still panting, looked down at his hands… ashamed but silent.
----
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