CHAPTER 119

The power of the Rinnegan is undoubtedly overwhelming, but for a clone, even sacrificing its life cannot sustain such might indefinitely. To wield a divine eye without the proper vessel is akin to handing a child a sledgehammer.

Activating the Rinnegan was already a dangerous gamble. Using its Shinra Tensei to repel attacks from Deidara and the Red Sand Scorpion placed an immense burden on the clone's body. When it proceeded to cast Chibaku Tensei in an attempt to seal Sasori, the physical toll accelerated drastically. The clone's body began deteriorating rapidly—its lower torso disintegrated, and cracks spread from its eyes across its entire form. Blood leaked from the fractures, instantly evaporating into a fine chakra-infused powder that cloaked its body in a smoky haze.

The Chibaku Tensei sphere still floated ominously in the sky, but whether it could successfully contain Sasori and Deidara remained uncertain. Then came the first catastrophic explosion from within the seal—not enough to destroy it, but the concussive force rebounded, targeting the Rinnegan. The strain deepened the cracks in the eye, once thin as strands of hair, now visible fissures of destruction.

A second explosion sounded soon after. Though the curse mark continued to pump power into the clone, the burden was simply too great. Its entire body fragmented into dust, beginning from the head. The Rinnegan, unable to endure the overwhelming feedback, shattered completely. Not even shards remained. The sealing sphere, now without its anchor, began to fall apart midair. Large chunks of earthen debris plummeted to the ground, forming craters and upheaving terrain until the remains of the failed Chibaku Tensei collapsed into a jagged mound of stone.

From that mound, a figure emerged. Covered in dust and ash, the Red Sand Scorpion had survived.

To shield himself during the seal, Sasori had deployed nearly all of his puppets, forming layers of protection around his core. Thanks to that makeshift buffer and his iron-hard core, he narrowly survived.

Deidara was far less fortunate. Unable to move freely, he relied on Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique) to keep some mobility within the sphere. In desperation, he sacrificed a tremendous quantity of explosive clay, setting off two massive internal blasts to shatter the seal from within. The downside: the explosion's epicenter was also where he was located. Much of the force hit Deidara himself.

Sasori, damaged but functional, emerged first. His Akatsuki robe was in tatters, which he tore off and cast aside. His injuries weren't fatal, but his signature Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets was now reduced to barely ten. His chakra reserves were dangerously low, and though he didn't suffer fatigue like a human, mental exhaustion from sustained multi-puppet control had set in.

Still, he felt no panic. Part of that was his detachment from humanity. Part of it was that he hadn't yet used his final trump card. He remained confident in his eventual victory.

"Underestimating the enemy... not using overwhelming force from the beginning... that was the mistake," he muttered.

Assessing his damage, he summoned a few remaining puppets and began excavating where he sensed Deidara's chakra signature. A crater formed under puppet labor. Finally, the soil swelled, and a bruised, soot-covered figure with wild blond hair emerged—Deidara.

"Big Brother Sasori..." Deidara gasped, coughing, his face pale. "We made it... somehow."

"Can you still move?"

"Doubt it. I think every bone below the neck is broken."

"Don't move. I'll get you out."

As a puppet hoisted Deidara gently, he groaned. "That jutsu... took two C2 Garudas to blow apart. One of them can flatten a village! What kind of monster uses something like that?"

"The Rinnegan is no joke," Sasori said. "You think the leader gathered all these monsters under one roof with words alone?"

"Still alive... that's enough for me," Deidara exhaled. "I really thought I was a goner."

"You're alive, but just barely. Fractures all over, internal damage, chakra depletion... you won't last long."

"Heh. One of those old geezers who's been alive for a century can probably patch me up."

"We haven't completed our mission yet. I'm not leaving. Will you follow?"

"Of course. I still haven't shown you that explosions are the ultimate form of art."

Sasori helped Deidara feed a small bit of clay into his mouth. Moments later, a new giant clay bird rose into the sky. With Deidara on its back and Sasori beside him, the two resumed pursuit.

From afar, in the shadows of the forest, a figure emerged.

Half-black, half-white, with spiraling tendrils and an unsettling smile, Zetsu observed the battlefield. "I only came to observe the Akatsuki's first Bijuu retrieval... but I didn't expect this. Someone used the Rinnegan—and it wasn't Nagato. Interesting."

Though he couldn't approach during the battle, Zetsu was unsettled by what he'd seen. Someone had forced the Rinnegan into a clone body. Such a thing should be impossible.

"Breaking the barrier of Yin-Yang Release without Hagoromo's bloodline? Who are these people?"

Zetsu, the will of Kaguya Otsutsuki, had witnessed every true Rinnegan user. But this... was different. Crude. Temporary. And yet effective.

"That clone burned out fast. Disposable... but functional. Just what I like."

His yellow eyes gleamed as he watched black ash swirl into the wind—remnants of the failed vessel.

"Imagine a White Zetsu army, each with a Rinnegan... then we'll see if Hagoromo's legacy can stop me."

...

"Our trap failed," Hyuga Hiashi muttered, Byakugan still active. "They're coming again... from the sky."

"That sealing jutsu didn't kill them? What are we fighting, demons?" a shinobi whispered.

"We should be lucky to have survived at all," Mizuki interjected. "But they can't be unscathed. What now?"

"We fight," Hinata said clearly. "We can't outrun a flying enemy. We need to regroup and strike."

"Fight? Even with the Rinnegan in play? If we survive this, we're in deep trouble..."

But she wasn't wrong. Collapsing from exhaustion would only make them easier targets. They had to try.

"The Hundred Puppets are likely destroyed. Deidara used too much clay. If Sasori attacks, it'll be with iron sand. We must strike at his regeneration core. That's our best shot."

They turned to face the direction of the approaching Akatsuki duo. The final confrontation was inevitable.

And the Rinnegan? For now, it was gone.

But its shadow still loomed.

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