Deidara's hands flashed into the Shen-Yin seal, and a large cluster of tiny clay spiders crawled out of the mouths on his palms. With a sweeping flick, he scattered them in front of Ryoma.
When the spiders were only a meter away, Deidara formed another one-handed seal.
"Drink!!"
The spiders detonated in a chain of sharp blasts, engulfing Ryoma.
For an instant, Deidara truly thought he had blown the man to pieces—until the smoke parted.
Ryoma emerged completely unscathed.
Not even a scratch on his clothes.
"Hey… hey—what!? How is that even possible?!"
Deidara's eyes trembled. But the shock only twisted his paranoia further. If Ryoma could withstand his art… did that mean his "art" was inferior?
That thought alone reignited the madness in his eyes.
"My art is the strongest!"
"Art… is an explosion!"
He tore open his ninja pouch and yanked out a large lump of clay.
C2 Dragon!
The mouths on his palms chewed rapidly, spitting out a massive lump of clay that writhed and twisted.
In seconds, a huge white clay dragon roared to life.
Explosive projectiles spewed from its mouth—only for Ryoma to casually flick his fingers.
Lightning-infused senbon shot out like a storm of needles, piercing every clay explosive in midair.
Clay explosives were fundamentally Earth Release, and when flooded with Lightning Release, they lost their explosive function altogether.
Deidara's greatest weakness—exposed instantly.
Deidara stiffened. He never expected someone to read his art so quickly.
But then a slow smile curled at his lips. Ryoma walking toward him only made it widen.
Because alongside the C2 Dragon… he had already planted a trap.
Detonating Clay Centipede!
A massive centipede burst from beneath Ryoma's feet, winding around his body and binding him tightly.
"Hahaha! Don't move, or I'll blow you sky-high!"
Deidara grinned wildly as he watched Ryoma wrapped up and seemingly helpless.
This particular clay bomb contained far more chakra than the spiders—he was certain it could obliterate anyone caught in it.
But Ryoma only stared at him—quiet, calm, eyes boring straight through him.
That gaze irritated Deidara more than anything.
"I hate it when people look at me like that."
His face twisted. He didn't understand how Ryoma could stay calm at a time like this.
Just as he prepared to detonate the centipede, Ryoma spoke lightly:
"I advise you… not to do that."
"Oh? Regretting it already?" Deidara sneered.
And he triggered the explosion.
BOOM!
A massive blast engulfed him—not Ryoma.
Deidara's own body was torn apart in a spray of blood before being hurled more than ten meters away, crashing into the ground in a broken heap.
"W-what… happened…?"
He forced his bloodshot eyes open—and saw them.
A pair of Kaleidoscope Sharingan, glowing like crimson gemstones, slowly revolving.
"…Genjutsu."
In that instant, Deidara realized the truth—
The one bound by the centipede was never Ryoma.
He had fallen into an illusion without even noticing.
Was it when they met?
Was it when the clay spiders appeared?
He never got his answer. His consciousness slipped away.
Ryoma walked over, grabbed Deidara with one hand, and vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique, delivering him straight to Konoha.
Moments later, he returned near Kusagakure.
There was still one more left.
Before a waterfall, a middle-aged man with a distorted puppet-like body muttered irritably:
"That brat Deidara—why hasn't he come back yet?"
"You must be Sasori of the Red Sand."
Ryoma descended from the air, eyes fixed on the hunched figure cloaked in black, only his head visible. The eerie puppet mask covered the lower half of his face.
"Sasori of the Red Sand," Ryoma repeated calmly.
The man's eyes narrowed.
"Ryoma!"
Sasori naturally recognized Ryoma the moment he appeared.
To him, Ryoma wasn't just an enemy—he was the man who killed his grandmother, Chiyo, the master puppeteer who had raised him.
If Ryoma was here, then it meant he had discovered their recent movements.
Hatred simmered beneath Sasori's calm exterior.
"I didn't expect the so-called God of the Shinobi World to come in person," Sasori said, his altered puppet-voice deep and cold. "But you're just in time. Let me show you my newest creation."
With a blast of smoke, dozens of puppets materialized behind him, forming a deadly formation.
Under Sasori's precise control, countless mechanisms fired simultaneously—poisoned senbon, kunai launchers, flamethrowers, hidden wires.
But not a single attack touched Ryoma.
In the span of a heartbeat, every puppet was reduced to scattered parts.
Before Sasori could even process the failure, Ryoma stood directly in front of him.
"What speed…!"
Reacting on instinct, Sasori activated the hidden weapon within his puppet body—the steel scorpion tail hidden in the hollow of his back. With a piercing swoosh, the tail shot forward, thrusting straight at Ryoma.
"Crimson Iron Tail Stake!"
But Ryoma merely waved a hand.
A soft crack echoed—and the entire tail disintegrated into powder.
"This power…!"
The recoil sent Sasori flying backward through the air, tumbling tens of meters before he landed and slid to a stop.
He steadied himself, eyes locked on Ryoma, counting silently.
The tail stake was coated with an incredibly potent poison—one graze was enough to end most shinobi.
Even taijutsu specialists couldn't ignore its effects.
"…Eight… nine… ten… Tch."
Sasori's brows knit together.
"No reaction at all. So even my poison doesn't work on him."
He exhaled sharply.
"It seems I'll have to use my real form."
He formed hand seals.
Boom!
A burst of white smoke erupted.
The puppet body split cleanly in half—opening like a hollow shell.
From within stepped a red-haired boy with a deceptively delicate face.
Cold eyes stared at Ryoma with utter detachment.
The real Sasori of the Red Sand.