In Deidara's last battle against Shinju, he hadn't even seen Shinju use many Wood Release techniques.
But the moment that enormous wooden dragon appeared ahead, he immediately turned tail and ran!!
ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
Even while fleeing, he didn't forget to shout to his two comrades:
"Shinju's here!"
"What's the point of running if he's already here? (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ)" Sasori snapped with full force.
"Exactly! There's three of us now, what's there to be afraid of!! (′д｀σ)σ"
Hearing this, Tobi looked at Sasori-senpai with newfound admiration.
High above, Deidara gritted his teeth.
"What Sasori-senpai really means is… we can't escape. ¯\(ツ)/¯"
Tobi felt the two seniors' fear of that Wood Release user was a bit exaggerated.
"Is he really that terrifying, senpai?"
Just as he finished asking that—
From somewhere deep in the forest, a thunderous roar exploded!
"Wood Release! Wood Human Technique!!"
BOOM!
A gigantic wooden humanoid, nearly as massive as the Three-Tails itself, surged into existence!
And then—
"Whizz, whizz, whizz!!"
A fierce sound of something slicing through the air erupted from the forest!
Hundreds of wooden vines shot up from the ground, lashing straight toward the airborne Three-Tails!
With so many tendrils flying at once, Deidara had no time to maneuver his clay bird to evade!
So in the very first exchange, the Three-Tails was already ensnared!
At this moment, Tobi finally began to panic.
"This is bad! Senpais! The Three-Tails we worked so hard to capture just got carried off by that wooden giant! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Deidara, kneading explosive clay in his hand, gave a bitter laugh.
"Do you believe it? Next thing you know, he'll be carrying us off too…"
Down below—
The vines dragged the Three-Tails downward, lowering it slowly.
The massive wooden giant raised its palm, a mysterious "引" (Pull) character forming upon it!!
That black script radiated an endless, terrifying power!
The moment it appeared, the Three-Tails—who had been knocked unconscious by the earlier explosion—snapped awake, its single eye filled with raw fear as it roared hysterically…
Then came a tremendous pull, surging from the giant's palm!
With a loud whoosh!
The Three-Tails was yanked straight into the wooden giant's embrace!
On top of the giant's head, Naruto's face twisted in shock.
"From far away I couldn't see clearly… but up close, the tailed beasts are really terrifying. (꒪⌓꒪)"
Turning, he glanced at Shinju beside him.
This buddy of his, who had just captured a tailed beast with such ease, looked even scarier than the tailed beast itself!
Clap!
Right beside him, Shinju slapped his hands together once more!
This time, strange markings appeared on his face—the Sage Mode facial patterns!
Shhhh!
Several gigantic wooden torii gates crashed down from the sky, pinning the Three-Tails firmly to the ground!!
Standing atop the wooden giant's head, Shinju's eyes gleamed as he muttered under his breath, weaving a complicated hand seal.
Seconds later, the seal was complete.
He raised his hand toward the Three-Tails, and within his palm appeared a single kanji: "封" (Seal)!
"Tailed Beast Sealing!!!"
Shinju roared—
Shuaa——!!!
A powerful suction force erupted from the seal!
The colossal Three-Tails was sucked straight inside!!!
Naruto: ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
"Shinju, what did you just do?!"
After adding a few reinforcing seals on top, the job was finished.
Shinju took a moment to answer:
"Sealed the tailed beast."
"The best way to keep Akatsuki from capturing them… is to seal them inside myself."
"Though the Three-Tails is pretty ugly… at least it'll keep the demon sealed in my left hand company. Now the right hand won't be lonely either. (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ"
Naruto: "..."
...
High above—
Tobi, still chattering away, was giving a live report.
"Senpais! The Three-Tails, the Three-Tails just got sucked into that red-haired guy!!"
"Tobi! You don't need to narrate things we can clearly see ourselves! (▼ヘ▼#)" Deidara snapped irritably.
But then his tone shifted, lips curling upward.
"Sasori-senpai, Tobi… you two fall back first."
"You're not seriously planning to play hero by yourself, are you?"
For the first time, a flicker of emotion flashed through Sasori's eyes.
Deidara explained:
"I already tested him last time we fought."
"Whether it was C18 or Garuda, none of it worked on this guy."
"So I've decided—it's time to show him my ultimate art!!!"
"I'll make that cocky fool witness the pinnacle of everything I've pursued!!"
"You mean… self-destruction?" Sasori asked.
"If you do that, you'll…"
Deidara acted as if it was nothing.
"Sasori-senpai, you've always known what I stand for."
"As long as my art is remembered by the world… my own death means nothing. ✧︎◝︎(⁰▿︎⁰)◜︎✧︎"
With that, Deidara shrugged off half his cloak, exposing his chest.
To their shock, a grotesque mouth had formed right over his heart!
Grabbing more explosive clay from his pouch, he shoved it into the heart-mouth…
Chomp, chomp…
As that bizarre mouth chewed the clay, Deidara's body gradually began turning transparent.
All of his chakra surged toward his chest…
Seeing this, Tobi and Sasori flapped the clay bird's wings desperately, trying to flee…
Down below, Shinju—having finished sealing the Three-Tails—looked up at Deidara, and at the two trying to escape.
"Shinju, those guys are trying to run!" Naruto warned.
Shinju nodded, indicating he was aware.
"You're not going after them?" Naruto pressed.
"That one's chakra in his eyes… it's almost identical to Kakashi-sensei's…" Shinju murmured cryptically.
Naruto blinked in confusion. "What? (‧_‧?)"
Shinju shook his head, then pointed upward.
"Never mind. The guy up there looks about ready to blow up. Let's move first…"
...
On the clay bird's back—
Deidara's transparency had reached its limit.
Every drop of chakra had gathered at his chest, ready to explode at any moment!
And to maximize damage against Shinju, he leapt off the clay bird!!
As he plummeted, Deidara's eyes shone with burning passion and longing.
"Art… is an explosion!!!"
"HAA!!!"
A blinding white light burst from his chest, illuminating dozens of kilometers around!!
BOOOOOM——!!!!
A deafening explosion erupted!!
By now, Shinju had already grabbed Naruto and used Flying Thunder God to teleport over a hundred kilometers away…
But even from such a distance, Shinju still saw the white light erupting from the forest!
Its brilliance rivaled the sun!
And due to Deidara's twisted obsession with art, that white light actually shaped itself into something bizarre…
Shinju: (≖╻≖;)
"Pat… Patrick Star?!"
Then—
BOOOOOM——!!!!
The Patrick Star-shaped light expanded further!
A terrifying secondary explosion followed!
This time, Shinju could feel the ground trembling beneath his feet!
But his expression remained calm.
"Truly… a remarkable piece of art."