Chapter 621: The Ultimate Chain Explosion

The first white bird plummeted from the sky, shooting straight towards Sasuke like a javelin.

CRACK! BOOM!

A deafening roar echoed as the explosion instantly engulfed everything within a ten-meter radius in flames. The fiery shockwave rippled outwards, but Sasuke's figure had already materialized beyond the blast's reach.

Watching the destructive power before him, Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

'He's gotten considerably stronger, Deidara!' he thought. 'It seems that after arriving in this world and joining forces with Kara, the members of Akatsuki must have undergone modifications with Scientific Ninja Tools, to varying degrees. Otherwise, Deidara's Exploding Clay wouldn't possess this level of power!'

"Hahaha! See! This is true, perfect art!" Deidara's voice boomed from above. "I am flawless now!"

"Uchiha Sasuke! They say you're strong, some kind of near-invincible existence. Today, I will defeat you!" As he spoke, Deidara's expression twisted into a ferocious grin. He commanded the flock of white birds still circling in the sky. With a sharp downward thrust of his hand, he slammed his palm towards the ground.

His voice turned cold as he looked down at Sasuke, the corner of his mouth curling upwards.

"Ultimate..."

"...Serial Explosions!"

BOOM!

The first explosion detonated, swiftly followed by a second, a third, a fourth... An unrelenting chain of blasts ripped through the air. For a moment, the entire desert seemed filled solely with the thunderous roar of explosions. Countless bursts of fire and innumerable shockwaves expanded outwards.

Gaara, who had remained behind, felt his scalp tingle as he witnessed the scene unfold. The sheer force of the flames was astonishing; he was forced to manipulate his sand, erecting a defensive wall just to ensure he wouldn't be caught in the onslaught.

Flames raged, stacking upon each other, climbing higher and higher towards the sky.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Under the relentless bombardment, the dense flock of white birds gradually diminished. The furious assault lasted for several dozen seconds.

When it finally ceased, the desert landscape before them, spanning nearly a kilometer, was completely shrouded in the smoke and fire generated by the explosions. The ground itself had been violently gouged out, leaving a massive, deep crater. Sand, scorched by the intense heat, had fused into crystalline structures.

As the smoke began to clear, revealing the crater lined with glittering fused sand, nothing remained but blackened rock besides the shimmering crystals. In some places, an ominous red glow pulsed faintly – rock superheated into magma, still flowing from the terrifying temperature.

Gazing upon this scene, even Gaara couldn't help but draw a sharp, cold breath.

Such terrifying power. If an attack like this were to strike Sunagakure... the village would likely cease to exist in an instant.

'How did this man become so strong?' Gaara wondered. 'His Exploding Clay... its power seems to have increased dramatically. The Deidara I knew before never possessed destructive force on this scale! How did this happen?' A look of deep apprehension crossed Gaara's face. If he had to face Deidara now, how could he possibly defeat such an opponent?

"Is he finished?" Deidara mused aloud from the sky. "Tch! And here I thought he was supposed to be impressive. I still have plenty of powerful techniques I haven't even used!" His voice dripped with disdain. "Someone like that deserves to be called nearly invincible?"

Surveying the empty crater below, devoid of any sign of Sasuke, Deidara concluded his target had been utterly obliterated. He looked thoroughly unimpressed. It had only taken one move; he had many more potent techniques he'd wanted to test! He'd expected Sasuke to withstand at least a few more attacks, but he turned out to be surprisingly fragile.

"Uchiha Sasuke isn't that easy to deal with!"

Gaara's voice cut through the air from behind Deidara. Hearing him, Deidara turned, a scornful smirk playing on his lips. "Hmph! Why praise a guy who's already been blown to dust? Right now, he's—"

Swish!

Suddenly, a black shadow swept past, accompanied by a faint, cool breeze. Sasuke appeared directly behind Deidara. The sharp point of a kunai pressed against Deidara's throat.

"Were you looking for me?" Sasuke whispered softly near Deidara's ear.

In that instant, Deidara's mind went blank. How had Sasuke's presence suddenly appeared? Had he dodged the attack earlier? Impossible! He hadn't seen Sasuke make any move to evade. There was no way he could have escaped that!

"You..." Deidara stammered.

"You didn't even know he possesses space-time abilities?" Gaara's voice interjected calmly. "Your attacks might be powerful, but they're wasted effort if they can't hit your enemy!"

Hearing the words "space-time abilities," Deidara understood instantly. He hadn't seen Sasuke dodge, or rather, he had been certain Sasuke couldn't completely evade such a wide-range attack because he hadn't known about abilities like space-time ninjutsu. This 'space-time ability'... it was likely similar in nature to Konoha's Flying Thunder God technique.

'Damn it,' Deidara cursed inwardly. 'To think he has a power like that... it's practically cheating!'

"Your art... it's not bad," Sasuke stated coolly, "but... it's too weak!"

Without another word, Sasuke thrust the kunai in his hand, piercing straight through Deidara's throat. He gave Deidara absolutely no chance. With a single, simple strike, Deidara was taken down.

Watching Sasuke, Gaara felt as though he grasped a fundamental truth. For someone of Sasuke's caliber, the stage requiring complicated maneuvers or auxiliary ninjutsu to dispatch an enemy was long past. For Sasuke, whether it was a punch, a kick, or a sword strike, the difference was negligible. Using ninjutsu or not using ninjutsu... it made little difference anymore.

Gazing at Deidara's fallen form, Gaara let out a silent breath. With Deidara down, it was his turn next. No matter what, even knowing he was no match, he had to find a way to stop Sasuke. This was Sunagakure. Under no circumstances could he allow Sasuke to take the Tailed Beast.

Just as Sasuke turned his gaze towards Gaara, he suddenly sensed a dangerous aura.

CRACK! BOOM!

The Deidara at his feet instantly exploded. This time, the terrifying blast was so close and powerful it engulfed even Gaara, who was dozens of meters away. The moment the flames erupted, Sasuke vanished using his space-time ninjutsu.

Gaara reacted instantly, controlling his sand to shield himself from the blast's impact. Even so, the explosion's power shocked him. The resulting firestorm actually breached his sand wall, and the residual shockwave slammed into him, sending him flying backward. He crashed heavily onto the ground dozens of meters away.

The air itself seemed to shudder. A column of smoke, easily a hundred meters tall, rose slowly towards the sky.

And then, from within the heart of the receding explosion, Deidara calmly walked out, twisting his neck slightly.

"Truly terrifying!" he remarked, a smirk on his face. "So fast... capable of taking me down once in less than a minute. As expected of a ninja hailed as nearly invincible!"

At that moment, Sasuke reappeared nearby. Looking at the unscathed Deidara before him, Sasuke frowned. "Did you deliberately reveal an opening just now?"

Hearing this, Deidara grinned. "Take a guess? A pity, though, I still couldn't manage to injure you. That ability to teleport instantly whenever you want... it really is a headache!"

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