Deidara was so furious he could've exploded from anger alone.
When had he ever suffered this kind of humiliation?
His hand was already on that lump of specially prepared clay.
C4: Garuda.
All he had to do was set it off, and every living thing within a few kilometers would be reduced to dust, nano-scale clay bombs shredding them down to the cellular level.
That damned Kazekage. Those Sand shinobi. And this stupid cage.
All of it would vanish into nothing.
But there was no escaping it.
Meaning… he'd die too.
Fine.
So what if he died?
Who was Deidara?
An artist who pursued the ultimate explosive art.
To merge with his art in the most dazzling detonation…
What glory could be greater than that?
And yet…
Just as he was about to ignite it--
"Deidara. Do you want to beat Itachi?"
Teizawa's voice cut in.
Not loud, but it hit like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.
And truthfully, Teizawa was nowhere near as calm as he sounded.
His heart was pounding.
He was genuinely terrified this delinquent brat would impulsively blow himself up.
The problem was… Deidara absolutely would do it.
So the instant Teizawa saw him reaching for the clay, he threw out that name.
Sure enough.
The moment Itachi Uchiha's name landed…
Deidara's movement froze.
Itachi?
The name was a thorn, stabbing straight into his heart.
That forever expressionless face.
Those crimson eyes that looked like they could see through everything.
The man who had trapped him in genjutsu with a single glance, almost made him die to his own art…
A nightmare.
Deidara's pupils tightened.
His hand stiffened in midair.
Teizawa watched the reaction and a slow smile rose.
Good.
He knew it.
Itachi was Deidara's biggest inner demon.
That man's genjutsu had made Deidara taste failure.
Had made this proud artist doubt his own art for the first time.
From that day on…
Beating Itachi became Deidara's deepest obsession.
Deeper, even, than the pursuit of explosion itself.
For that obsession, in the original storyline, he had eventually even chosen self-destruction…
Dragging Itachi's brother Sasuke down with him.
Now, as long as Teizawa grabbed that pressure point…
"What… what do you mean?"
Deidara finally spoke, voice hoarse and wary.
His hand still pressed to the clay.
But the madness in his eyes had receded by more than half.
Teizawa looked at him, face calm and breezy.
"Feeling calmer?"
Deidara didn't answer, just stared him down.
Teizawa didn't care. He continued as if they were chatting.
"I'll help you beat Itachi. How about it?"
"Ridiculous!"
Deidara bristled instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"I need your help? I can handle Itachi myself--"
Teizawa cut him off, voice carrying a teasing edge that felt intentional.
"Except I have everything there is to know about Itachi."
"His abilities. His weaknesses. And…"
He drew out the pause, eyes fixed on Deidara's face.
"The secret of the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"And I also know the Mangekyō Sharingan isn't invincible. It has weaknesses too."
Deidara's words died in his throat.
The secret of the Mangekyō Sharingan?
He remembered those crimson eyes.
Remembered the helplessness of falling into genjutsu with a single look.
That shameful moment when he'd almost died by his own art…
If he could learn those secrets…
"You… don't want to know?"
Teizawa's voice came again, coaxing.
Deidara went silent.
His mind raced.
Was the Kazekage telling the truth?
Did he really have intel on Itachi?
Or was he just lying to string him along?
But what if…
What if it was real?
If Deidara learned Itachi's weakness…
He could beat him.
He could prove to everyone…
Art was explosion.
His art was the strongest.
"You… you're serious?"
Deidara finally asked.
And in his hoarse voice was something he didn't even realize was there.
Hope.
Teizawa's smile deepened.
In that smile was something Deidara couldn't read.
Got you.
Teizawa thought to himself.
Dealing with Akatsuki psychopaths was actually easy.
You just had to prescribe the right medicine.
Sasori wanted eternal art, so you bait him with sand-iron puppetry and "true eternity."
Deidara wanted explosive art.
And his obsession was beating Itachi…
So you bait him with intelligence.
As long as you held what they wanted, they'd bite.
As for Kakuzu and Hidan…
One liked stealing hearts. The other didn't even care about torturing opponents.
Those two, Teizawa had already planned to kill from the start.
Now that they were dead, nothing of value was lost.
"Of course."
Teizawa nodded at Deidara, tone firm.
"I keep my word."
He paused, then added casually:
"And your partner Sasori has already decided to return to the village."
"If you come too, you can keep working together."
Deidara's eyes went wide.
"Sasori? That bastard… he agreed?"
"Mm."
Teizawa nodded like it was nothing.
"He should be drinking tea in the Kazekage Tower right about now."
Deidara's mouth twitched.
Sasori, the one who spoke the least, the bleakest one, the guy whose thoughts were impossible to read…
He folded that fast?
Still…
Deidara looked into Teizawa's bottomless eyes, and a chill crawled up his spine.
What kind of pull did this Kazekage have?
"So?"
Teizawa's voice dragged him back.
"Choose. Stay in the cage and wait until you get treated like a trophy?"
"Or come with me, get Itachi's intel…"
"Then beat him with your own hands, and prove your art."
Deidara didn't speak.
Three seconds.
Five.
Ten.
Then--
"I… I want to see the intel first."
His voice was hoarse, reluctant.
But beneath it was something closer to resignation.
Teizawa smiled.
"Deal."
He raised a hand and gave a casual flick in front of Deidara.
Deidara stood inside the cage.
He stared at the open door, then at the man outside, smiling like this was all effortless…
And a strange premonition hit him.
If he stepped out…
He might never be able to go back.
But in the end…
He stepped forward anyway.
Because intel on Itachi was too tempting.
Teizawa watched him walk out of the cage and nodded faintly.
"Smart man."
He turned and headed toward the Kazekage Tower.
"Come on. Let's go see your old partner."
Deidara stood there, watching his back.
For a long moment.
Then he sighed and followed.
Behind them, the sand-iron cage dissolved into countless black grains and sank into the ruins.
Nearby, Gaara looked completely stunned.
That's it?
The opponent he'd tried so hard to lock down…
Just surrendered after a few sentences from Teizawa?
"How… how did he do that?"
(End of Chapter)
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