A thousand meters above the blue sky and white clouds, a giant white bird soared through the air.
Atop its head stood a girl.
She spread her arms, lifted her chin slightly, and closed her eyes with a faint smile on her face. The wind rushed past, making her hair dance behind her.
For a moment, she seemed to merge with the sky itself, creating a picture of serene beauty.
But Deidara had no time to admire the scene.
Gritting his teeth, he stared at Sakiya standing confidently on the bird's head.
What was going on with this girl?
Was the one before just a clone?
How had she moved past him and ended up here?
Was she toying with him!?
Deidara didn't intend to get close to her without caution. He narrowed his eyes and focused his chakra in his right hand.
If one looked closely, they'd see a strange mouth on his palm, filled with sharp, tiny teeth. It wriggled as it formed several small clay spiders.
Without hesitation, Deidara tossed the tiny creatures onto the bird's back. They skittered toward Sakiya, ready to detonate.
Just as they reached her feet, she spoke—softly, almost absentmindedly.
"Do you know something?"
Deidara blinked.
What?
He suddenly realized—his clay spiders weren't responding.
Sakiya continued as if lost in thought.
"I really love standing high in the sky, feeling the wind rush past me."
Deidara's wariness didn't waver. He had already molded a few more explosive clay balls, ready to throw at a moment's notice.
Then, Sakiya slowly turned around. Her right eye gleamed red.
"Alone in the sky, enjoying the wind, gazing down at the world... with my eyes, I witness the emotions of all below—joy, anger, sorrow, and pain."
Her tone was calm, poetic even.
Then, in an instant, she raised her hand, and a glowing pattern appeared beneath her feet.
Deidara's eyes widened.
What was this? An illusion?
"You disrupted my moment of peace," Sakiya said, voice laced with mock severity. "That is a grave offense!"
She formed a seal.
"Face judgment! Death Ray Burst!"
A sudden whirlwind formed around her, then shot toward Deidara.
He stared blankly.
…That's it?
It was just a small gust of wind.
Deidara sighed. This girl had all the dramatic buildup, but the attack itself was barely a breeze.
Not taking any chances, he grabbed Gaara, jumped off the bird, and let himself free-fall through the sky.
As he fell, he glanced back and saw Sakiya peeking over the bird's edge, watching him with innocent curiosity.
That did it.
Deidara's eye twitched.
"You! Stop staring and witness true art!"
Judging the distance was just right, he grinned and formed a hand seal.
"Art… is an explosion! Hah!"
The clay bird swelled—then burst into a fiery explosion.
As he plummeted, Deidara caught a glimpse of Sakiya's expression shifting from calm confidence to pure shock.
And he couldn't help but smirk.
"Hahaha! You idiot! Die in the explosion of true art!"
BOOM—!
A massive fireball erupted in the sky, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. The force of the blast caused Deidara to plummet even faster.
But he had prepared for this.
With a swift hand seal, he unrolled a scroll and pressed his palm against it.
Bang—!
A massive clay dragon burst forth beneath him, catching him mid-fall.
This was one of Deidara's prized creations—the C2 Clay Dragon.
Lying comfortably atop its back, he controlled the dragon's movements with ease.
"Finally… that weird girl is gone."
He exhaled in relief—then paused.
Something nagged at him.
Just to be sure, he sat up and glanced toward the dragon's head.
Nothing. No mysterious girl standing there.
Deidara let out a breath. "Good. She's really gone this time."
He shifted his focus back to Gaara, placing him securely at his feet. With the clay dragon's limited flight time, he needed to land and restock his supplies.
Descending felt routine—simple.
Once on the ground, he grabbed Gaara, ready to lift him off the dragon's back. As he reached for him, another pair of hands appeared, gently helping him lift Gaara.
Without thinking, Deidara muttered, "Thanks..."
Then he froze.
Slowly, he looked up.
Standing before him was the same blindfolded girl, smiling as she blinked at him.
It was eerily quiet for a few seconds.
Suddenly, Deidara reacted, jumping back and throwing several explosive clay balls in his hands.
"Die, you bastard!"
He didn't care if Gaara was caught in the explosion; he just wanted to blow up this girl now.
Boom, boom, boom!
The explosions went off in rapid succession, covering the figures of Sakiya and Gaara. Thick smoke rose up.
Deidara stared at the smoke, waiting for any sign of movement.
Then, a magic circle materialized from the dust, expanding rapidly and covering the area.
Deidara froze, confused.
In the blink of an eye, his vision flickered.
To his shock, Sakiya, Gaara, and the C2 dragon appeared somewhere else entirely.
Deidara frowned.
"What the hell? Is this an illusion?"
Sakiya shook her finger and smiled.
"No, no, this is the invisible boundary of my Eye of Death. I'm in a different dimension now."
Deidara didn't believe her for a second. He could still clearly sense the position of his C2 dragon—still in the same spot as before, where the explosion had taken place.
He looked again.
His eyes widened. The position was wrong.
The explosion smoke had appeared in a different place from where the clay dragon had been!
"So that's how it is," Deidara muttered, his expression shifting.
He had been tricked by an illusion.
"Hahaha! You think you can fool me with this illusion? You're wrong!"
He grinned.
"Your position hasn't changed! I've figured it out!"
Sakiya froze for a moment before responding.
"Hmph! You're wrong! I'm in another space, a different dimension that overlaps the real world."
Deidara didn't care to listen to her anymore. He controlled the clay dragon, launching more explosive clay in all directions for a brutal attack.
But to his surprise, Sakiya's body remained next to the dragon, unaffected by the blasts.
She glanced at the dragon's movements and smiled.
From Deidara's point of view, it looked like nothing had changed.
The dragon moved, but the space around them remained silent and still. There was no sign of an explosion.
Deidara could feel the clay dragon's position shifting, but he didn't know where.
Sakiya smiled at him.
"That said you can never hit me when I'm in another dimension."
Deidara gritted his teeth.
Even though he knew it was an illusion, trying to fight it felt like he was blindfolded and stumbling around. This wasn't a battle he could win easily.
"In that case, let me show you my ultimate art!"
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