Zetsu himself possessed almost no offensive capabilities. His strength lay entirely in reconnaissance and stealth. Against Naruto and the others, he was completely powerless. His only option was to alert Pain.
Zetsu's clone spoke through the illusion. "Konoha's Kakashi Hatake, the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, and a ninja from the Hyuga clan are outside the cave. Itachi and Kisame's 'Elephant' clones cannot stop them."
Pain's voice echoed through another clone. "It will take another full day to fully extract the One-Tail's chakra. Deidara, Sasori, you two take the jinchuriki elsewhere, then proceed with the extraction."
"Since the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki has appeared, see if you can capture him as well. But be careful of his strength. Even Orochimaru was defeated by him."
"Hmph, that sneaky Orochimaru… I've wanted to deal with him for a long time!" Sasori sneered.
"I'll let him experience my art firsthand," Deidara said with a cheerful smile, as if this carnage was simply a performance.
Pain finished his instructions and vanished. Gaara's body fell heavily to the ground. Though Shukaku had not been completely drained, the repeated chakra extraction had left Gaara gasping for breath.
Shukaku, trembling inside Gaara's seal, had shrunk to the size of a small hillock, far removed from his once-massive form.
"Ten-Tails!"
The other clones and the massive Outer Path Gedo Statue disappeared. Only Deidara and Sasori remained to confront Kakashi and the others.
Outside, a faint orange-red hue appeared in Naruto and Hinata's eyes. They opened them, and in an instant, four shadow clones appeared around them.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The four clones scattered immediately, heading toward the other four seals.
After breaking the Mirror Attacker Sealing Technique, they tore off each of the Five-Seal Barrier tags, one by one.
Seeing Naruto remove the seals without incident, Hinata stepped forward and struck the massive boulder in front of her with a single punch.
Chakra surged from her fingertips, shattering the enormous rock and revealing the cave hidden behind it.
Deidara, sitting atop Gaara, looked on alongside Sasori. Clearly, they had already realized the intruders' location.
Naruto's gaze hardened at the sight of Deidara perched on Gaara. The jinchuriki was still alive, and Naruto let out a brief sigh of relief. After rushing so desperately, they had arrived before Gaara's life slipped away.
No unnecessary words were exchanged; everyone already knew who they were dealing with.
With a flick of his wrist, Naruto hurled a set of kunai toward Deidara and Sasori.
"Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The kunai multiplied instantly into dozens, forcing Deidara to retreat from Gaara's body.
Sasori, however, did not move, letting the kunai rain down on him.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The kunai struck his body, the metal ringing sharply.
"Is that all you've got?" Deidara called out, narrowly avoiding the onslaught, ready to taunt.
But when he looked toward Naruto and Hinata, both had vanished. Only Kakashi remained, Sharingan fixed on him.
"What?" Deidara's eyes widened. When had they disappeared?
A shiver ran down his spine. A surge of instinctive danger gripped him.
Run! Run! Run!
It was already too late.
A sharp pain struck his neck. His breath hitched, oxygen cut off from his brain. Dizziness overwhelmed him.
This was normal.
Deidara instinctively tried to take a deep breath, but it had no effect.
Hinata, Byakugan active, stood on a green Eight Trigrams Formation that had silently spread throughout the cave floor.
Her expression unreadable, she withdrew her hand from the back of Deidara's neck, drawing a spray of blood with it.
Deidara was dead.
Not just from the fatal wound to his neck. To prevent any final explosive struggle, Hinata had already injected her chakra into his brain as her fingers pierced his neck, completely destroying it.
Naruto, carrying Gaara, returned to Kakashi's side. "Let's go, Kakashi-sensei," he said.
Kakashi glanced at Hinata, who now faced Sasori alone. "Do you think she can handle it by herself?"
Naruto's smile was bright and confident. "Believe in Hinata. Her strength now… even I have to be careful. If we stay here, her attacks might hit us too."
Kakashi's cold sweat trickled down.
If even Naruto feared her attacks, the power Hinata was about to unleash must be extraordinary.
Without hesitation, Kakashi followed Naruto, leaving the cave behind.
"Knocked out Deidara with a single strike… That wasn't just speed; it's space-time ninjutsu!" Sasori's voice was dark and slow.
He glanced at Deidara's lifeless form.
The young girl had used the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation to silently strike from behind. Not even a single jutsu had been deployed before he died.
No intelligence about Hinata had leaked out. Anyone who had witnessed this technique firsthand had already perished.
Space-time ninjutsu was insidious in its simplicity.
"This trick won't work on me!" Sasori said, his Prolonged Toxin Puppet solidly armored. Deidara's stealthy strike could not reach him.
Art, after all, was eternal.
With a flick of his control strings, a venomous spike shot toward Hinata from behind.
Hinata said nothing. She took a deep breath, gathering her Sage Mode chakra.
With a powerful motion, she thrust a punch toward Sasori.
Instantly, the massive chakra-infused fist filled his vision.
"What incredible ninjutsu!" Sasori muttered.
The Prolonged Toxin Puppet, along with its hidden body beneath, was shredded like paper under the overwhelming chakra assault.
But the residual force of the Gentle Fist did not stop.
The concentrated Sage Mode chakra barreled through the mountainside. The entire cave ignited in blinding white light.
The shockwave tore through the land, splitting rock layers. A fan-shaped trench, over a hundred meters wide, carved outward from the mountain base.
Forests for dozens of miles were uprooted, massive trees shredded into splinters, the mountainside transformed into bare stone, as though a god had plowed through it with a colossal blade.
Hidden in the earth, Zetsu's head peeked out, eyes wide with disbelief.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this? Its power… it's ridiculous," White Zetsu muttered.
Black Zetsu silently whispered to himself: Mother…
Far away, Kakashi followed Naruto and watched the devastation. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he pulled his forehead protector down. The Sharingan had been unnecessary.
When he accompanied Naruto, there was no need to fight. He had grown accustomed to leaving the battle to them while he guarded and observed.
Naruto gently set Gaara down, placing a hand on his chest. "Sage Art: Yang Release Eight Directions Restoration!"
Golden chakra surged from Naruto's hand, brimming with life force, rapidly entering Gaara's body.