Chapter 157: Anything can be Explosive, Karin's Art...

On the road from Kusagakure back toward Amegakure, Deidara and Sasori had wrapped up their mission and were on their way home.

As they walked, Deidara couldn't help asking curiously, "Big Bro Sasori, why are you so bent on making money? Even though our approaches to art differ, I thought you'd devote all your energy to art."

Sasori guided his Hiruko puppet forward at a leisurely pace, his tone grave as he replied, "Deidara, you don't understand. Making money itself is a form of ultimate art."

Deidara: (O_O)???

Confused, he thought, Could it be that Big Bro Sasori has abandoned puppet art and is pivoting to the art of money? That can't be right. As an artist, one should be absolutely committed to their chosen path and never switch so lightly! He couldn't resist asking tentatively, "Big Bro Sasori, are you really giving up puppet art and studying the art of money?"

Sasori answered without hesitation, "Don't be ridiculous. I'll forever chase after things of eternal existence—that will never change!"

Hearing Sasori say that, Deidara felt relieved. Still, he couldn't help pointing out, "Big Bro Sasori, explosions are art! Art is explosions! But what does your pursuit of ultimate art have to do with making money?"

Sasori didn't hold back: "Previously, through Senshi's help, my artistry made enormous progress. And with his continued help, it can grow further. After working hard for a while, I've saved enough money to upgrade my art to an even higher level. I'm planning to find Senshi again and ask him to enhance my art!"

Deidara's face took on a thoughtful look upon hearing this.

Come to think of it, I've also done a bunch of missions with Kakuzu and Sasori. I earned quite a bit myself… maybe I should visit Senshi too, to improve my own artistry?

He was turning it over in his head when, not far in front of them, the familiar sight of a dark-red vortex-like portal appeared. Deidara was a bit surprised, whereas Sasori's eyes lit up with delight. In the next moment, Senshi emerged from the portal along with Karin. Each of them carried a skewer of Tri-colored dango, eating contentedly. They looked perfectly at ease.

As soon as Sasori spotted Senshi and Karin, he moved up to greet them directly with, "Senshi, I've finally saved enough money to complete the second upgrade of my Hex Rejuvenation Core!"

Senshi felt a bit surprised and mused inwardly, How polite of Sasori—here I've just landed, and he's immediately offering me a job. Taking a bite of dango, he said to Sasori, "Big Bro Sasori, you want the second upgrade on the Hex Rejuvenation Core, right? That's a 300-million ryō commission. You got it all ready?"

Sasori spoke no further. Controlling his Hiruko puppet, he pulled out a scroll.

Bang!

A puff of white smoke, and one money chest after another appeared, piling up into a small mountain. On seeing this, Karin strolled over leisurely to tally the funds. She was well versed in that by now, finishing up in no time.

"All set, Senshi. The money checks out."

With Karin's confirmation, Senshi nodded and told Sasori, "Okay, Big Bro. Issue me the mission, then. Once the Hex Rejuvenation Core completes its second upgrade, your total chakra reserves will surge, and you'll gain a very powerful new jutsu."

Listening to Senshi and Sasori talk left Deidara completely stunned.

Increasing your chakra total just like that?

And instantly learning a new jutsu?

Senshi's methods truly defied belief!

Sasori, thrilled by Senshi's promise, made his Hiruko puppet rattle in excitement. He couldn't hold back: "I'll pay you 300 million to do the second upgrade on my Hex Rejuvenation Core!"

"Way to go, Sasori!"

[Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Sasori]

[Goal: Perform the second upgrade on Sasori's Hex Rejuvenation Core]

[Reward: 300,000,000 ryō]

[Mission Rank: S-rank]

[Bonus: 300,000 Employment]

When the system prompt rang in Senshi's mind, he was delighted. Only moments ago he'd grabbed a job from Konan, and then after using time-space ninjutsu to arrive here, Sasori presented another 300-million-ryō job. Life truly was easy!

Once Sasori made that contract with Senshi, Deidara couldn't resist his curiosity: "Senshi-nii, upgrading Sasori's Hex Rejuvenation Core must be really difficult, right?"

Deidara had teamed up with Sasori for a long time and was familiar with Sasori's circumstances.

Right now, Sasori's entire ability set revolves around the Hex Rejuvenation Core, so Deidara assumed that such an upgrade wouldn't be simple.

But at Deidara's question, Senshi wore a somewhat peculiar look and answered offhandedly, "No, not that tough."

Hearing that, Deidara assumed, He's just saying it's not that tough because Senshi's that powerful. That's how he can do it so easily. Yet what happened next nearly made Deidara's jaw hit the ground.

They saw Senshi casually pat Sasori on the shoulder—like patting a watermelon—"Smack!"

All at once, there was a violent surge of chakra inside Sasori, causing even his Hiruko puppet to click and whirr in excitement.

Instantly, Sasori's chakra total soared by 30 "Kakashis," which was a solid 0.3 "Narutos." Not only that, he instantly learned a brand-new jutsu called "Gravity Field." Meanwhile, his Hex Rejuvenation Core became more nimble than before, greatly enhancing Sasori's puppet control.

Deidara was completely blown away. He had initially thought Senshi saying "not that difficult" just meant it wasn't too difficult, but never imagined that Senshi would handle Sasori's upgrade as easily as giving him a single pat.

Sasori, sensing the change in his body, was over the moon. Somewhat embarrassed, he turned to Deidara and said, "Deidara, mind helping me test my new art? It's not a dangerous jutsu, more like a barrier that'll severely restrict your movements."

Deidara responded casually, "Sure thing, Big Bro Sasori." He was also curious how much Sasori had gained from Senshi's upgrade. Once Deidara agreed, Sasori immediately used his newly learned Gravity Field jutsu. A ring of blue energy-like light appeared around Deidara, and the instant it enveloped him, he felt his shoulders sink, as if a small mountain was dropped onto him. Startled, he glanced at Sasori and Senshi, thinking, Is this really a jutsu Sasori just learned? It's way too strong!

With Senshi granting Sasori such a massive boost so quickly, Deidara's respect for him deepened. As expected of a legendary figure in the Akatsuki—truly remarkable!

Watching Deidara pinned by Gravity Field, Sasori was all smiles. This new jutsu was unbelievably practical—virtually any combat scenario could benefit from it, a must-have technique for traveling, looting, or anything else!

After a moment, Gravity Field faded, and the weight pressing Deidara vanished on the spot. He stretched his shoulders, about to say something, but Karin suddenly pointed at his ninja tool pouch and asked curiously, "What do you have in there?"

Deidara glanced proudly at his pouch. "That's my clay, the raw material for my great artistic creations."

Karin cocked her head. "Clay? What's it for?"

Seeing her interest in his art, Deidara perked up. He pulled out a lump of clay to demonstrate his "explosive art."

"You see, this ordinary clay becomes powerful explosive clay once it's fused with my Explosion Release Kekkai Genkai and my creative process. The moment of the explosion's brilliant flash—that's a beauty unmatched in the entire world!"

As he spoke, his eyes shone with burning passion for his art. Karin, listening, nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense!"

Her enthusiasm delighted him further. Never did he expect that Senshi's young assistant might share his views on art. Right away, he used the mouth on his hand to chew and shape the clay, quickly forming a lifelike clay grasshopper in his palm.

"Karin-chan, look—this is one of my dazzling works of art. Let me show you what it can do." With a flick of his hand, the grasshopper leapt away from him. Then Deidara raised two fingers and shouted, "Hah!"

Boom!

The clay grasshopper instantly exploded, leaving behind a sizable crater. With obvious pride, Deidara said, "So, what do you think? My art's pretty great, right?"

But Karin shook her head. Mimicking Senshi, she gave Deidara's shoulder a gentle pat (though she had to reach up to do it) and remarked, "Deidara, your art is good, but still too traditional. Why assume that only clay can be your creative medium?"

Deidara: (O_O)???

He looked at her, thinking, What else—am I supposed to blow up the air?

Karin simply grinned. "If you're willing to pay me five hundred thousand ryō, I can show you the newest, most innovative explosive art. Clay art is too old-fashioned and limited. And you could run out of clay. But this cutting-edge explosive art solves all those problems—none of those constraints exist anymore!"

Deidara: (O_O)???

He seriously suspected that Karin was just making wild claims. Such explosive art? Impossible—if it existed, I'd have learned it by now! He thought for a moment, then said to Karin, "All right, if your demonstration is exactly as you say, I'll pay you five hundred thousand. Otherwise, I won't pay anything."

Off to the side, Senshi watched Karin teasing Deidara. All he could do was facepalm helplessly. Indeed, she's learned quite a lot following me around.

Deep in the forest, Karin hopped over to Senshi, blinking at him with big eyes. "Senshi, can I have two sticks of tri-colored dango?"

"Sure," Senshi agreed, pulling out two from his system storage. It was practically an infinite supply.

"Thanks, Senshi! You're the best!" Karin took the dango with glee and spun back around toward Deidara. Deidara frowned, mystified. While he pondered, Karin arrived in front of him with one of the dango skewers, saying, "Taste it—these are delicious."

"Thanks," Deidara replied, politely accepting. Despite all his questions, he took a bite. It really was tasty. But at that moment, Karin stealthily summoned "Killer Queen" and let it tap the skewer she was holding, turning the dumplings into bombs. Since Deidara wasn't a Stand user (and only Senshi could see it), he had no idea Karin's seemingly ordinary dango had become explosive devices.

Smiling sweetly, Karin said to Deidara, "Watch closely! I'm about to show you the trendiest explosive art!"

With that, she tossed her skewer of dango into the distance. As soon as it hit the ground, she snapped her fingers. Next to her, "Killer Queen" pressed the ignition switch on its right hand.

Rumble!

Those dango burst in a bright flash of red, sending up a fierce explosion that dug a small crater in the ground. Deidara was completely flabbergasted. He'd just seen Karin throwing an ordinary skewer of dumplings. He stammered, "Karin-chan, are you saying the new wave of explosive art is about disguising bombs as food? That's not necessarily stronger than my art."

Karin wagged a finger. "No, no, no! I mean the most up-to-date, comprehensive, powerful explosive art can turn anything into a bomb. Pass me the dango in your hand, and I'll show you real explosive art."

Deidara: (O_O)???

He was baffled. Is she just spouting nonsense?

Since when can you turn everything into bombs? Looking at the skewer in his hand, the same three-colored dumplings—he'd already eaten one.

He was absolutely sure they were real. If that, too, could explode, he would instantly concede her art was beyond his. While Deidara was wrestling with his thoughts, Karin took the second dumpling off her own skewer, let Killer Queen turn it into a bomb, and casually tossed it away. The dumpling arced near a tree; Karin snapped her fingers again.

Snap!

Following that sound, "Killer Queen" triggered the switch.

BOOM!

Another bright, fiery blast—this time blowing off a sturdy tree branch, as if mocking Deidara's "traditional art."

Deidara: What the—?! (ΩДΩ)!!!

He was in total shock. A moment ago, that had been a dumpling! And I ate one from the same skewer. So he'd eaten a bomb? While he stood there dumbfounded, Karin passed him the skewer with the last dumpling attached, saying, "See? That's the newest, most versatile explosive art. Dango can be food or a bomb. Not just dango—leaves, sticks, pebbles, kunai, shuriken… anything can be a bomb if I want. That's real explosive art! So if you only ever use clay as your raw material, it's already behind the times."

Accepting the skewer, Deidara froze. His heart pounded with turmoil. Had the explosive clay art he'd honed painstakingly been left behind by history? Compared to Karin's seemingly omnipotent explosive art, his efforts felt like that of a clueless newbie—no comparison at all.

As if she still found him insufficiently rattled, Karin performed more "explosive art." She picked up an ordinary stone, displayed it to Deidara, let "Killer Queen" turn it into a bomb, and threw it.

BOOM!

Another explosion. Then came leaves, branches, clumps of dirt… basically anything. As long as Karin wanted, it became a bomb.

Rumble, rumble!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With "Killer Queen," Karin was having a blast—pun intended—while Deidara sank deeper into self-doubt. Gazing at his bag full of clay, inwardly he howled, What's this clay even good for now? My art is worthless next to hers!

While Deidara was reeling, Karin-chan cheerfully stuck out her hand, "I'm done demonstrating, so that'll be 500,000 ryō in commission!"

With a complicated feeling, Deidara retrieved his wallet and handed over a check for 500,000. Karin accepted it with a grin. "Not a waste of money, right?"

Deidara: (O_O)…

He opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Sure, not a waste of money, but his faith in explosive clay was shattered like never before. Should I… change mediums?

After a moment's hesitation, Deidara said to Karin, "Karin-chan, your demonstration really was a perfect example of explosive art. Would you teach me that better method? Could you help me perfect my art?"

His gaze held earnest expectation, even a tinge of pleading. Seeing Karin's flawless explosive approach had made him painfully aware of the flaws in his own. Yet Karin shook her head with an innocent look: "Mine was granted by Senshi. I can't raise your artistry at all, but you can ask Senshi—he's super strong and definitely has a way to help you improve!"

Deidara: (O_O)???

Those words brought him both shock and delight. Just what unimaginable abilities did Senshi have? If Senshi had given Karin that flawless art, then presumably he could also boost Deidara's. He resolved to seek Senshi's help and push his artistry to new heights. Yes, his style was powerful, but evidently still far from perfect.

Senshi overheard Karin luring Deidara into wanting an upgrade. His eyes nearly welled up with tears of joy: All my spoiling of Karin-chan paid off—she's proactively fetching me more tasks. That's how a top-tier assistant should be!

Sure enough, Deidara hurried up to Senshi, eyes brimming with hope: "Senshi-nii, can you help me elevate my artistry and perfect my explosions?"

Senshi adopted a look of slight distress, sighing: "Dei-chan, it's true your art still has a lot of potential, but refining your artistry is an extremely hard job."

Deidara frowned. When Senshi helped Sasori earlier, it looked easy… so why so hard for me? After a moment's thought, he asked, "Senshi-nii, how much commission do I need to pay for you to refine my art?"

Senshi hadn't planned out a specific method for Deidara's upgrade yet. He couldn't replicate Sasori's approach of giving Deidara an equivalent of the Hex core, upgrading it step by step.

So at best, Senshi would get as much as he could from this partnership. Smiling mysteriously, Senshi explained, "Dei-chan, you've already laid your foundation for your artistic path. What I have to do is build further on top of that. It's like painting on a half-finished canvas—much harder than painting on a blank page."

That made Deidara's heart sink, revealing just how difficult it would be for him to get an artistic boost. Indeed, Senshi wanted Deidara to make an offer. First, Senshi didn't know how much Deidara might have on him, and second, he wanted to gauge Deidara's threshold. Letting Deidara quote a price was the best approach. If it was suitable, they'd settle; if too low, Senshi could haggle upwards.

Finally, Deidara hesitantly asked, "Senshi-nii, would three hundred million ryō be enough to help me improve my artistry?"

He offered that number because Senshi had just taken 300 million to raise Sasori's art.

But Sasori's success story wasn't something Deidara could just replicate, as his puppet-based skill set had a unique incremental path. Deidara's explosive art was a different situation.

Senshi gave a light cough, speaking in a steady, matter-of-fact tone: "Deidara, you misunderstand. When I boosted Sasori's artistry for three hundred million, that was based on him having already gone through an initial foundation. Next, he still needs at least two further enhancements for his puppet art to approach perfection. You're a different case. Your explosive art is on a higher starting level but also more complicated, so it would require at least five hundred million."

Senshi wasn't simply making things up. He understood Deidara's great potential, but realized how challenging it would be to truly upgrade his "explosion art."

Hearing that figure, Deidara stood frozen, eyes brimming with disbelief: "F—five hundred million?"

He murmured, calculating internally. He wasn't all that diligent about mission work, so currently he only had two hundred million. That had taken him ages, working with Kakuzu and Sasori. For him, five hundred million was astronomical. Yet, recalling Karin-chan's near-perfect explosive demonstration, his eyes flared with renewed resolve.

Gritting his teeth, he declared, "Senshi-nii, I don't have five hundred million yet, but I'll do more missions, earn it as soon as I can. You have to help me refine my art!"

Senshi gave a small smile, his tone softening: "No rush on the payment, Dei-chan. I'll also need time to prepare a plan tailored to you. In the meantime, you can post a commission. Once you've got the fee, we can get started."

Deidara asked in confusion, "I can post the job now?"

"Of course," Senshi explained. "If we contract it now, I can get your plan ready so that as soon as the money's all there, we can begin. It saves time."

Nodding, Deidara said solemnly, "Very well, Senshi-nii. I'll offer five hundred million ryō, to commission you to raise my artistry and perfect my explosive style."

[Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Deidara]

[Goal: Help Deidara refine his artistry and perfect his explosive art]

[Reward: 500,000,000 ryō]

[Mission Rank: S-rank]

[Bonus: 500,000 Employment Points]

Satisfied, Senshi patted Deidara's shoulder. "Dei-chan, I can't wait to see how your art will evolve. Once you're ready with the fee, we'll get started."

~~~

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