Kisame gripped tightly, ready to tear Sasori's puppet body apart with his bare hands.
However, Sasori wasn't an easy target. From his mouth, he suddenly launched a volley of poison needles. Not only were they very poisonous, but they were also accompanied by a poisonous mist.
The purple-black haze mixed with the water, obscuring Kisame's vision.
At the same time, Sandaime Kazekage seized the opportunity to rush at Kisame, drawing its poison-coated blade to sever Kisame's arm.
But Kisame wasn't one to let his opponents have their way.
"Water Prison Technique!"
The water clone Kisame had previously hidden underground emerged behind Sandaime Kazekage puppet, instantly trapping it with the Water Prison Technique.
As for Kisame himself, even if he's blinded, he had already caught Sasori.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He landed a flurry of punches on Sasori's head, smashing it to bits.
Immediately after, Kisame grabbed Sasori by the shoulders, attempting to rip him apart.
Boom!
At this moment, a massive explosion suddenly erupted, evaporating the water in an instant. Kisame and Sasori were affected and were blown away to a far distance.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sasori detached his arms and retreated at lightning speed.
The explosion came from a C2 Dragon enhanced by the Weapon Blessing, delivering power comparable to Deidara's C3.
The appearance of this technique signaled that Deidara had already completed the preparation for his ultimate weapon, C3.
Without water to sustain the Water Prison Technique, the Ninjutsu dissolved. Sandaime Kazekage puppet opened its mouth.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wings!"
This technique compressed iron sand into highly dense, massive wings on the puppet's shoulders. These wings not only allowed for flight but also launched iron sand feathers in rapid volleys, each capable of paralyzing and incapacitating enemies.
The 'feathers' were incredibly fast and imbued with tracking capabilities.
However, Sandaime Kazekage puppet wasn't using this technique to attack.
After all, Sandaime Kazekage puppet had no independent consciousness, and its actions were entirely directed by Sasori's Chakra Threads.
Sandaime Kazekage puppet swiftly flew to Sasori's side, grabbing him by the shoulders and retreating in the opposite direction of the explosion.
Enhanced by the weapon's blessing, the C2 Dragon's explosion was already devastating. C3, Deidara's ultimate weapon, would undoubtedly be even more catastrophic.
With his strongest defense, Hiruko, already destroyed, Sasori knew staying in the area would be suicidal.
Whoosh!
Itachi glanced at the fleeing Sasori and immediately unleashed Amaterasu to burn Sandaime Kazekage puppet. After all, if the puppet were destroyed, Sasori wouldn't be able to escape.
After doing all this, Itachi controlled Susanoo to fly towards Kisame.
In truth, Itachi had intended to burn Sasori's puppet body, but the massive iron sand wings of Sandaime Kazekage puppet blocked the flames.
The black Amaterasu fire blended into the black wings, making it hard to detect.
Nevertheless, Sasori noticed something was amiss and quickly manipulated Sandaime Kazekage puppet to shed the burning parts of the wings.
As one of the strongest flames in Naruto World, Amaterasu burned its targets until they were completely incinerated, a fact Sasori was well aware of.
Fortunately for Sasori, Sandaime Kazekage puppet's iron sand was not part of its core body and could easily be discarded. With new iron sand replenished, the puppet maintained its speed and carried Sasori further away.
This retreat had no specific destination. Sasori understood that the further he got from the explosion, the less damage he would sustain.
Seeing this scene, Naruto couldn't help but smile.
Back then, Sasori, staying inside Hiruko, had taken ten slow days to reach Sunagakure. Now, under life-threatening danger, not only was he no longer slow, but he had also taken flight on the spot.
'Truly, human potential knows no bounds… it just needs the right pressure to be unleashed.'
Seeing Sasori retreat safely, Naruto shifted his focus back to Kisame.
Despite being blinded by the poison needles and riddled with wounds, Kisame didn't utter a single cry of pain. Instead, he began pulling out the needles with his bare hands.
Immediately afterwards, golden light suddenly shone from his body, clearly the effect of his fusion with Samehada.
Through Samehada's Chakra transfer and healing properties, Kisame's injuries began to recover rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Samehada functioned like a high-capacity power bank, and it was precisely because of this tool that Kisame was utterly fearless.
As Kisame's body recovered, Susanoo descended to the ground. Without hesitation, Kisame dashed toward Susanoo, intending to escape with Itachi.
Initially, Kisame and Itachi's plan was straightforward: first eliminate Sasori, the tank, and then seal Deidara's explosive creations with the Totsuka Blade when he appeared.
However, Sasori's unorthodox tactics had delayed Kisame, preventing him from defeating Sasori quickly.
Now, not only had Sasori safely retreated, but Kisame himself had sustained severe injuries. Although he was healed, battles between Shinobi are often decided in mere moments.
With the best opportunity lost, Itachi no longer had the chance to locate Deidara.
Or rather, the appearance of the flying dragon's explosion had already signified that it was too late.
As an explosives expert, Deidara was undoubtedly well aware of the devastating power of his C3.
From Naruto's perspective, Deidara, who is hiding underground, only emitted a faint Chakra signature, clearly not his real body. It was likely a clay clone carrying the prepared C3 back to the battlefield.
With Sasori already having fled a considerable distance, and Kisame and Itachi still on the ground, this was the perfect moment to detonate his C3.
Without any hesitation, the Deidara was hiding underground let out a low roar, "Katsu!"
Even though detonating underground might reduce the explosion's power, Deidara didn't care. The golden flying dragon, amplified by the Weapon Blessing, had already demonstrated a doubled destructive force, ensuring C3 would be nothing less than catastrophic.
Boom!
At the instant C3 detonation was triggered, Deidara's clay clone burst out of the ground, rushing directly toward Kisame and Itachi.
"Katsu!"
As soon as it got close, without giving Kisame a chance to fight back, Deidara's clay clone exploded on the spot.
Though the clone's explosion was undoubtedly less powerful than C3, it was still clay enhanced by the Weapon Blessing, glowing gold and packing substantial destructive force.
Deidara's true intent was simply to stall Itachi and Kisame, delaying their escape long enough for C3 to fully detonate.
Boom!
The golden clay clone exploded with a deafening roar, and at the moment of the explosion, Kisame had already retreated into Susanoo.
Itachi also understood what Deidara was planning, so he didn't think of counterattacking from the beginning.
Instead, he took off immediately and positioned the Yata Mirror to face the explosion.
While the Yata Mirror's specialty was defending against physical attacks, even an explosion of this magnitude posed no threat to it.
In fact, Itachi used the explosion's shockwave to accelerate Susanoo's ascent into the sky.
"Well played!"
Naruto clapped in admiration.
Both sides had displayed a masterful exchange of tactics, with attacks and counterattacks executed brilliantly.
Even as someone familiar with the Naruto series, Naruto felt this battle truly embodied the essence of a Shinobi battle!
But while the earlier sequence had been a psychological chess match, the detonation of C3 promised to be a true visual spectacle!
Sizzle!
The ground collapsed, or more accurately, it disintegrated into nothingness.
Then, a golden, semi-circular glow began to rise from the cratered ground, growing larger and brighter...