The moment Uchiha Kai finished speaking, the clay bird beneath Deidara's feet began trembling violently.
"What's going on? Why isn't my clay obeying me anymore?"
Deidara's expression changed drastically.
He realized he could no longer control the chakra inside his clay. The explosive clay that had always obeyed him now seemed to have lost all life as it began falling from the sky.
"Deidara!"
Sasori sensed something was wrong and immediately leapt down from the bird.
But Deidara was not so lucky.
The clay bird lost power and began breaking apart. He fell straight from a height of over a hundred meters.
"Damn it!"
Deidara desperately tried to gather chakra midair and create more clay to cushion his fall, but the chakra inside him seemed to have been locked away by something.
He could not draw out even a trace.
Just as he was about to smash into the ground, a steel tail suddenly shot out and caught him.
It was Sasori.
At the critical moment, the puppet master saved his partner.
"Sasori-danna! What's going on? My chakra…"
Deidara's face was deathly pale.
"That man is dangerous."
Sasori's voice was even hoarser than usual.
"He can control chakra."
On the ground, Uchiha Kai looked at the two Akatsuki members with a flicker of interest in his eyes.
"Akatsuki? Interesting. I thought you people had already been wiped out."
"Bastard! How dare you look down on us!"
Deidara angrily tried to counterattack, but he still could not mobilize his chakra.
Sasori was far calmer.
He knew that forcing a fight in this situation would only lead to death.
"We didn't come here to fight you," Sasori said. "Our target is the One-Tails Jinchūriki. Since you're here too, why don't we cooperate?"
"Cooperate?"
Kai smiled.
"Do you think I need to cooperate with you?"
The moment his voice fell, the sand around Sasori suddenly erupted.
Countless tiny grains drilled into the joints of his puppet, jamming every mechanism.
"What?"
Sasori desperately tried to control his puppet, but the sand seemed alive, destroying his body from within.
Crack!
Crack!
The sound of mechanisms snapping rang out one after another.
Hiruko, the puppet Sasori was so proud of, became riddled with holes under the sand's invasion.
"My art…"
Sasori's voice carried pain.
"Eternal art is indeed decent."
Kai commented calmly.
"But before absolute power, all art is meaningless."
He pointed casually.
Sasori's puppet body instantly shattered, revealing the true core inside.
A cylindrical container holding a human heart.
"I see. You turned even yourself into a puppet."
Kai looked at the beating heart with great interest.
"But in that case, destroying you becomes even simpler."
The sand gathered into a giant hand and reached toward Sasori's core.
At that critical moment—
A thunderous boom suddenly came from the sky.
RUMBLE!
A thick bolt of lightning descended from above and struck the sand hand.
The sand hand was blasted apart by the lightning, allowing Sasori to escape.
"Who?"
Kai narrowed his eyes.
When the lightning dispersed, a tall figure appeared before everyone.
Silver-white hair.
Bronze skin.
It was the Raikage of Kumogakure, A.
"A? Didn't you already surrender?"
Temari asked in surprise.
A did not answer her.
His eyes were fixed on Uchiha Kai.
"I said I would surrender, but I never said I would stand by and watch other villages get slaughtered."
"Oh?"
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Is Lord Raikage planning to go back on his word?"
"I'm not going back on anything."
A rolled his wrist as Lightning Release chakra danced across his body.
"I just want to see how strong you really are."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished.
Lightning Release Taijutsu Secret Art: Lightning Straight!
A rushed toward Kai with lightning speed, his fist wrapped in violent Lightning Release chakra.
The force of that punch was enough to shatter a mountain.
But Kai simply stood there.
He did not even raise his hand to defend.
Bang!
A's fist struck Kai squarely in the chest.
However, the expected explosion and blood never appeared.
His fist felt as if it had struck solid steel, producing only a dull impact.
"So this is the Raikage's full strength?"
Kai lowered his gaze to A's fist.
"How disappointing."
A's eyes widened.
His full-power strike had failed to even break the man's skin?
"Now it's my turn."
Kai raised his hand casually.
Slap!
A simple slap sent A flying dozens of meters.
The Raikage rolled several times in midair before smashing heavily into the ground and creating a huge crater.
"Uncle A!"
Deidara cried out in shock.
Although they were enemies, A had just saved Sasori, so Deidara felt some goodwill toward him.
A climbed out of the crater, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, but his gaze remained firm.
"Again!"
He charged at Kai once more.
This time, he activated the strongest form of his Lightning Release Armor.
His entire body was wrapped in blue lightning, moving so fast he was almost impossible to see.
But the result was the same.
No matter what technique A used, before Kai, it was no different from a child throwing punches.
Every attack was easily neutralized.
Every charge ended in failure.
A few minutes later, A was covered in wounds, kneeling on the ground and gasping for breath.
"Had enough?"
Kai looked down at him from above.
"You should focus on being a proper vassal instead of doing meaningless things like this."
"I…"
A tried to stand again, but his body had already reached its limit.
At that moment, a playful voice rang out.
"Yo, yo! Big bro, that won't do! Let me help you, yo!"
Killer B rushed over from the distance, Eight-Tails chakra surging around him.
"Killer B? Why are you here?"
A stared at his brother in shock.
"I snuck out, yo!"
Killer B grinned.
"When I saw Big Bro in danger, how could I just stand by, yo?"
Kai looked at Killer B, displeasure flashing through his eyes.
"I remember you were supposed to be inside the Divine Court base."
"I was there, but the Eight-Tails told me Big Bro was in danger, so I ran out, yo!"
Killer B scratched his head.
"I hope Lord Kai won't be angry."
"Ran out?"
Kai's tone became dangerous.
"It seems my subordinates have a management problem."
A beam suddenly shot down from the black fortress in the sky, projecting a figure onto the ground.
It was Uchiha Sasuke.
"Divine Lord, this was my negligence."
Sasuke dropped to one knee.
"The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki used the ability of a Perfect Jinchūriki to temporarily block our surveillance."
"No matter."
Kai waved his hand.
"Since the brothers want to reunite, let them go on the road together."
Killer B's expression instantly turned serious.
He knew he had truly caused trouble this time.
"Eight-Tails Transformation!"
Killer B released the full power of the Eight-Tails without hesitation.
A gigantic octopus-bull appeared on the battlefield, eight tentacles whipping wildly.
"Big bro, let's go together, yo!"
A looked at his younger brother in Eight-Tails form, and warmth surged through his heart.
Even knowing death was almost certain, Killer B had still come to save him.
"Good!"
A stood again as Lightning Release chakra erupted from his body.
"When brothers fight together, nothing can stop us!"
The Eight-Tails' tentacles and A's Lightning Release attacked Kai at the same time.
For a moment, lightning flashed and tentacles tore through the air.
Their offensive was fierce beyond measure.
But Kai's expression remained calm.
"Chibaku Tensei."
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