Chapter 150: Luffy
The leg in Eric's hand turned into blue electrical charges, wrapping around Deidara's entire body, sending a tingling sensation through him.
"What is this?" Deidara, having seen many strange things, such as people turning themselves into snakes or puppets to achieve immortality, had never seen anyone turn into atomic charges before.
"Lightning clone?" Deidara asked uncertainly.
"No, I am the lightning itself. I don't use the ninja's various clone techniques." Eric broke free from Deidara's control, still standing on top of the dragon's head not far away.
"200 million volts, Thunder God!" Eric's normal-sized body rapidly grew into a four-meter-tall Thunder God, his body filled with powerful electrical charges, surrounded by countless blue electric currents.
"Bili bili!" The screeching sound of electricity pierced through Deidara's ears.
"What?!" Deidara widened his left eye, hoping to see through the illusion in front of him.
"No, not an illusion, but reality." After carefully examining, Deidara finally realized that Eric's form had fundamentally changed.
"Is this art?" He covered his face, peering through his fingers. "No! I won't admit it! I won't allow such art to exist!"
"This isn't art. And I really appreciate your explosive art." Eric genuinely praised Deidara. "How about joining us?"
"Defeat me first, and then we can talk!" Deidara was no longer the twelve-year-old boy who first appeared. Now nineteen, after six or seven years in the Akame, he had encountered far too many things, and his mind had matured. He would not give up so easily.
"Then I'll help you with that!" Eric, transformed into the Thunder God, swiped his hand towards the giant dragon's body where Deidara was.
"Hmph!" With a grunt, Deidara swiftly slipped out from beneath the dragon's body, his right hand's mouth chewing quickly as he shaped a clay owl.
The clay dragon shattered under Eric's attack.
"Wow! The dragon got killed!" Luffy cried, watching from a distance.
"Get out of here!" Ace, who caught up to Luffy, grabbed him and tried to Dragon him away with all his might.
"Look!" One of the mountain bandits pointed up in surprise. "Is that a god?"
The group hurriedly looked up at the sky.
Deidara tossed his right hand down, landing on the back of the clay owl.
"Can you dodge lightning?"
The sudden voice above him startled Deidara, and he quickly looked up, seeing Eric in the form of the Thunder God, both hands in a sumo stance, left hand extended forward, right hand pulled back, ready to strike at any moment.
"10 million volts, Electrocute!"
"Ugh..." Deidara was interrupted by the lightning strike before he could finish Speaking.
Boom! A loud crash like thunder cracked the sky. The blue lightning pierced through the air, causing Ace, Luffy, Dadan, and the others below to immediately cover their ears.
Struck directly by the lightning, the clay owl lost its vitality, and Deidara, smoking all over, fell straight down.
Just before hitting the ground, Eric flashed below him, catching him in a princess carry.
Thud! The clay owl, smoking heavily, crashed into the ground.
"Cough cough..." Deidara's coughing was tinged with a burnt scent.
Eric casually said, "You lost."
"Hey hey~" Deidara, feeling deflated, sat on the ground. "Got it~ I'll join as your little brother, but let me rest for a bit. Your lightning is tough to withstand."
"Ah, you need a beating to become a little brother? You're tough."
"Huh?" Deidara's eyes grew wide as he twisted his mouth. "What did you say?"
"Well, Deidara may be calm and smart during battles, but he's usually a bit foolish, naive, and straightforward."
"Hey, did you just say I'm foolish?!"
"No, you heard wrong. Thanks, Kurumi, help this guy recover."
"No problem, 'Four Bullet'!"
Kurumi raised her pistol and aimed at Deidara.
Deidara widened his eyes and waved his hands repeatedly, "Hey! Wait! I just joined you guys..."
"Alright, I won't kill you, but don't move!"
Bang!
The pain Deidara imagined never came. Instead, the numbing sensation from the lightning faded, and the injuries he had suffered vanished.
Deidara stood up, looked at his hands, and then at his clothes, which were now completely new, with the smoke stains from the electric shock gone.
"Oh~" Deidara exclaimed in delight. "What a nice ability, this is art! Big Sister! Please take good care of me from now on."
"Ah, you're getting the hang of this?" Kurumi tilted her head cutely. "But you called me 'Big Sister' wrong, didn't you? I'm only 17."
"..." Deidara fell silent. "So how should I address you?"
"Just call me Big Sister. I like it~"
"Hey!" Deidara clenched his fists.
"So you want Kurumi's ability to heal your injuries, right? I suggest you get hurt less. Kurumi uses her ability by consuming her 'time,' which is basically her life." Eric explained.
"Consuming life..." Deidara stopped, then bowed to Kurumi. "Thank you, Big Sister, for spending your time healing me."
"You're so polite." Kurumi nodded, "Not bad."
"By the way, Kurumi can absorb others' time to replenish her own 'time,'" Esdeath suddenly said, revealing the truth.
"Hey!" Deidara shouted in anger.
"Can't you stay silent?"
"I just don't want to see you bully the new little brother," Eric said.
sigh Deidara sighed deeply. "Now that I've joined, what's the plan, boss? There are still a few little bugs over there. Do you need me to go get them?"
Eric, with his Heart Network's perception, had already detected the presence of Ace and Luffy.
"No need, I'll go. You all stay here."
...
"What are you doing here?"
"Wow!" The voice from behind startled Dadan and the two boys.
"You're the one from Machino's bar..." Ace tensed, preparing to act. If Eric attacked, he was ready to strike first.
"Oh, all tense, are you preparing to fight?"
"What?!" Ace was taken aback. "He saw through me!"
"You, you are...!" Dadan froze when she saw Eric's face, her expression turning pale, her body trembling uncontrollably, and even the small thugs nearby began to shake.
"What's wrong, Dadan?" Ace and Luffy quickly looked at their foster mother. "Damn, what did you do to Dadan?" Luffy charged toward Eric.
"Wait, Luffy!"
Dadan quickly snapped out of it. "Come back!"
"Heh, as expected, you're impulsive," Eric smiled. "But I don't want to get hit by your fist."
Armament Haki covered his body, hardening!
"Look out!" Luffy shouted as he jumped, throwing a punch at Eric.
Bang! The sound of hitting something hard echoed.
Luffy's angry expression shifted to one with tears in his eyes as he rolled on the ground. "Wow, that hurts!" He clutched the fist he just used and rolled on the floor.
"Luffy!" Ace shouted and rushed over.
"Is this okay? You're raising your fist against the one who avenged Sabo."
Hearing Sabo's name, Ace stopped, and Luffy halted his rolling as they both looked at Eric.
(END CHAPTER)
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