As the warplanes were shot down, Deidara glanced at the ruins below, conjured another giant clay bird, and mounted it.
He was heading into the city to unleash the brilliance of his art.
"C3!"
Riding his giant clay bird, Deidara swiftly advanced towards the city, continuously dropping bombs that destroyed everything in their path. Upon reaching the city, he released a C3 Number 18 bomb.
As the C3 was dropped, the doll-shaped bomb rapidly expanded. Deidara quickly retreated, knowing the destructive power of the C3 could obliterate an entire shinobi village.
"What's that falling from the sky?"
People noticed the oversized doll descending and questioned in amazement. The next moment:
"Boom!"
A massive mushroom cloud erupted from the ground, and the blazing light illuminated Wakanda's sky.
"Ahhh..."
The blinding light from the C3 bomb temporarily blinded those who looked directly at it. Following the light, a terrifying shockwave swept through, toppling buildings and creating a colossal crater at the explosion's epicenter.
The surrounding buildings were reduced to dust, and the Wakandan people in the vicinity perished instantly.
Kisame, fighting in the distance, saw the bright mushroom cloud and immediately started running, cursing, "That bastard Deidara, is he trying to kill me too?"
Kisame fled the battlefield as the visible shockwave approached.
W'Kabi also saw the mushroom cloud. In that moment, his mind could only think one thing: Wakanda was under nuclear attack.
Knowing he couldn't outrun the shockwave, W'Kabi shouted, "Defensive formation!"
He jumped off his rhino, taking cover behind the energy shields. Reacting quickly, some border soldiers raised their energy shields while others took cover behind them or used rhinos and debris for protection.
T'Chaka and T'Challa who just arriving at the battlefield, screamed in horror, "No!"
"Boom!"
The shockwave hit, shattering windows and breaking the energy shields of the border soldiers. The soldiers were thrown by the force, including T'Challa and T'Chaka, who were flung away like rag dolls.
Fortunately, being far from the explosion's core, the destructive power was somewhat reduced. Soldiers with energy shields had a chance to survive if lucky, but those without were instantly killed.
In an underground warehouse, Uchiha Itachi was loading Vibranium when he felt the ground shake and heard the explosion. Dust fell from the ceiling.
"The underground defenses are impressive," Itachi muttered. "I wonder if they used Vibranium in the construction."
He quickened his pace in collecting Vibranium while Hidan, guarding the entrance, had already dealt with several groups of Wakandan soldiers.
Hidan arranged the corpses before him, using their blood to draw a sacrificial symbol for his god. Standing in the center of the ritual, he smiled, "The ritual is ready. Time to offer these sacrifices to my god."
As Hidan spoke, his skin turned black with white bones marking his body.
"Great god, enjoy the sacrifices I offer," Hidan declared, starting the ritual. The souls of the slain Wakandan soldiers flowed into Hidan, enhancing his power.
Suddenly, the underground lights dimmed. Panther god Bast's gaze penetrated the dimensional layers, focusing on Hidan in the warehouse entrance.
"Is there a new god on Earth?" Bast's voice echoed underground, making Itachi pause. "But you shouldn't slaughter my followers!"
Feeling a deathly presence, Hidan cursed, "What kind of terrifying existence did Deidara provoke?"
Hidan didn't realize Bast was alerted not by Deidara's explosion but by his sacrificial ritual.
Although Deidara's C3 bomb brought immeasurable losses, it was not a big problem for the Leopard god Bast. Ancient One was still there, and even if she had the faith of Wakanda, she would not easily show up.
However, Hidan's evil god ritual forced the Leopard god Bast to pay attention. The brutal way of plundering and killing her believers, as well as the other party's appearance like a newborn god, forced her to intervene.
A colossal, rainbow-black panther paw materialized in the underground space, swiping at Hidan.
"Boom!"
The ground shook as Hidan was slammed into a deep crater, his sacrificial ritual interrupted. His scythe broke into several pieces.
"Cough, cough!"
Hidan spat blood, feeling as if every bone was shattered. Yet, his eyes held madness, not fear.
"If I offer this to my god, the blessing I'll receive will be unprecedented..."
Bast was surprised that Hidan survived. According to her calculation, he should have been pulverized.
"Since he's still alive, another strike will suffice."
Another giant panther paw appeared, ready to strike Hidan again.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames erupted from the void, engulfing the panther paw. At the same time, an Itachi shadow clone charged forward and self-destructed upon impact, delaying the paw's descent.
The real Itachi appeared before Hidan, grabbing him and using a reverse summoning technique to escape.
While retreating, Itachi sent a message through the Akatsuki ring: "Strong enemy. Reverse summon. Retreat."
"Boom!"
Bast's second strike missed as Itachi and Hidan vanished to the summoning realm, avoiding the blow.
Seeing her strike fail, Bast mused, "They escaped. Interesting."
As the panther paw vanished, the Amaterasu flames clinging to it fell to the ground, continuing to burn.
In the next moment, Bast's will swept across Wakanda, preparing to deal with Kisame and Deidara. However, a portal suddenly appeared, and the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, emerged from it.
"Bast, you have overstepped your boundaries."
With the Ancient One's words, a figure appeared in the sky. It had the body of a woman but the head of a black panther, and its attire resembled that of an African, sparkling with starlight.
"Ancient One, my followers have been massacred, and one of the perpetrators is a new god."
The Ancient One replied calmly, "Which is why I allowed you to intervene twice."
Bast looked at the Ancient One and said, "What about this new god?"
Clearly, Bast was unwilling to leave without also eliminating the emerging god. She believed that outside of Earth, she had many ways to kill the fledgling god.
The Ancient One shook her head. "No, he is not a deity."
Bast shouted, "How can that be? His core, the act of absorbing souls to enhance himself, and his aura..."
"The future is uncertain, but at least for now, he has not become a god, has he?" the Ancient One responded.
Bast muttered, "Not yet a god?"
"I understand."
Bast's gaze then fell upon the unconscious T'Chaka and T'Challa. She chose T'Challa, and her form dispersed into starlight, the brightest of which merged into T'Challa.
Seeing this, the Ancient One did not intervene and returned directly to Kamar-Taj.
In the city, Kisame and Deidara received the message from their rings. Though they were puzzled by what kind of enemy they had encountered, they immediately used the reverse summoning technique to return to the summoning realm.
Upon arrival, they saw Hidan lying on the ground like a ragdoll. Kisame was curious about what kind of enemy could injure Hidan so severely.
"What did you encounter?"
Deidara was also curious, noticing that Itachi didn't have a speck of dust on him and seemed unscathed, which made him even more intrigued about their enemy.
Itachi shook his head. "We didn't see the enemy's true form. I only saw a massive paw."
"A paw?" Deidara questioned. "Like a tailed beast?"
Itachi shook his head. "I don't know. Apart from Lord Charles, no one in this world should possess a tailed beast. It might be one of those powerful beings that Lord Charles mentioned, but whether it's an Earthly or otherworldly entity, I'm not sure."
Itachi, having participated in the Hell Defense Battle, knew that this world harbored many powerful and mysterious creatures in the shadows.
"Ugh..." Hidan coughed, looking at the three in front of him. "Where's my weapon?"
Itachi shook his head. "It broke, and I didn't have time to bring it with me."
"Palm Sage Jutsu!"
Itachi used the Palm Sage Jutsu to stabilize Hidan's injuries. Green chakra light appeared in his palm as he healed Hidan's chest.
"Zzz..."
However, it seemed like pouring gasoline on fire, as Hidan's condition worsened instead of improving, causing him to pass out again. Itachi, surprised, quickly stopped his jutsu.
Deidara remarked, "It seems the enemy's attack was even more formidable than we thought, preventing chakra-based healing."
"Contact Lord Charles; Tsunade might have a better solution," Kisame suggested.
"By the way, did we get the goods?" Kisame inquired, concerned about the mission. He knew how powerful Vibranium's defenses were.
Itachi nodded. "We did, and we got quite a lot."
Kisame nodded. "Contact Lord Charles then!"
…
In Wakanda, after being thrown by the shockwave, T'Challa found his consciousness pulled into a special realm. He saw a giant black panther before him, its body shimmering with starlight.
T'Challa knelt, bowing his head. "Great Panther god Bast, I am your follower, T'Challa. Please, save Wakanda. We have suffered a terrifying attack."
Bast looked at the kneeling T'Challa, and four figures materialized before him—Hidan, Itachi, Deidara, and Kisame.
"Are these your enemies?"
T'Challa looked up, recognizing two of them. "I saw these two. I don't know if the others attacked Wakanda."
Bast nodded. "I found all four in Wakanda. The enemy has been repelled."
Hearing this, T'Challa felt relief. "Thank you for your protection, Panther god!"
However, he wondered why Bast didn't kill the enemies if she could repel them. Bast seemed to read his thoughts and said, "This disaster is also a trial. Wakanda will emerge stronger from this ordeal. I will grant you greater power, the strength to protect Wakanda's people. Only by personally avenging the wrong can true justice be served."
Before T'Challa could respond, Bast transformed into a light and merged into his body. His consciousness returned to his body, and he stood up, contacting his sister Shuri through his suit's communicator.
"Shuri, the Panther god Bast appeared and has driven away the enemies. Spread the word, Bast has saved Wakanda again."
T'Chaka, hearing this, also instructed, "Spread the news."
Looking at the ruins around him, T'Chaka couldn't hold back his tears. Wakanda had suffered too much this time.
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