togophonebook Chapter 614 The Attacker
Chapter 614 The Attacker
"Did Xiao finally come?"
On the streets of Konoha, Tsunade heard the distant roar of an explosion, like muffled thunder rolling in. Her gaze fell on the black column of smoke rising in the distance, and she clenched her teeth.
However, before personally heading to the scene to confront Akatsuki, there was one more thing that needed to be arranged first.
"Where is Mai Uzumaki now?!" Tsunade suddenly turned around, facing the ANBU members waiting in front of her.
"Mai Uzumaki returned to her residence not long ago and is currently with Jonin Namikaze!" The ANBU member knelt on one knee, speaking rapidly, "Hokage-sama, what's the next step?!"
"Send a squad to surround Minato's house immediately!" Tsunade waved her hand. "We absolutely cannot let Mai Uzumaki step out of the door! No matter what happens outside, no matter what she says, keep her inside! We absolutely cannot let Akatsuki take the Nine-Tails, understand?!"
"Yes!" The ANBU accepted the order, activated the Body Flicker Technique, and disappeared from the spot in the next second, leaving only a few fallen leaves swirling in the air and slowly drifting down.
Tsunade took a deep breath and rushed out at full speed towards the direction where the explosions were most concentrated.
On the other side, the very center of the attack had become a chaotic battlefield. Buildings on both sides of the street were blown beyond recognition, with rubble and broken planks scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder.
Right in the middle of all this, two figures dressed in distinctive black robes with red clouds were casually strolling among the Konoha ninjas who were attacking them.
"Xiao! Don't even think about getting through here!"
"We will absolutely not let you take another step forward! Don't even think about succeeding!"
The Konoha ninja roared and launched an attack from all directions simultaneously. The sounds of shuriken, explosive tags, and kunai clashing were sharp and rapid, and several ninjas skilled in taijutsu pounced on the two invaders from the front and flanks, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks.
"Sigh, they're all ninjas with no artistic flair whatsoever." Deidara's mouth was lazily chewing on a lump of white clay in his palm. "Mediocre movements, outdated techniques, but they're barely good enough as practice subjects for artistic experiments, hmm."
"Deidara, don't forget our purpose," the tall man standing beside him said in a deep voice. Kakuzu's green eyes swept over coldly, "You haven't forgotten the leader's instructions, have you?"
"Alright, alright, I can't do anything with you." Deidara pulled his hand out of the clay bag, palm up, several freshly sculpted clay spiders crawling between his fingers before leaping to the ground and darting quickly towards the Konoha ninja's feet. "But, as soon as the target appears, I'm going to use it to experiment with art. The strongest tailed beast, the Nine-Tails, I've always wondered what kind of beauty it would create if it were integrated with art? It would definitely be much more spectacular than these small fry, hmm."
The two of them chatted as they dealt with the attack, completely disregarding the Konoha ninja around them.
However, these Konoha ninjas were indeed unable to pose a real threat to them.
Deidara flicked his fingers, scattering clay figures in all directions like beans. Spiders bounced and wrapped around the ninja's legs before exploding. Birds swooped down and knocked over ninjas who were about to form hand seals. Centipedes slithered along the ground, entangled those who tried to sneak up from blind spots, and launched a series of small, targeted explosions.
Each strike was precisely controlled at the critical point of stunning the target without killing them. Kakuzu didn't even use ninjutsu; he simply relied on taijutsu to deflect all the flying shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags without taking a single step back.
Occasionally, one or two ninjas would break through the barrage and rush close, only to be struck in the chest with a backhand slap, sending them flying backwards to crash into the wall, where they would slide down and remain motionless.
"Hmph, they're all small fry." Kakuzu withdrew his fist, coldly sweeping his gaze over the Konoha ninjas lying scattered on the ground around him. "None of them are worth anything. Get out of my way before I accidentally kill you all."
"Don't get too cocky! Painful Kick!"
A loud shout came from the sky, and a figure bursting with astonishing chakra plummeted vertically from mid-air like a meteorite.
"boom--!"
The massive shockwave swept outwards from the point of impact, sending rubble flying into the air, cracking the ground with spiderweb-like fissures, and shattering the remaining glass windows on both sides of the street under the crushing force of the shockwave.
The shockwave, carrying dust and smoke, formed a rolling gray wall that rolled straight toward Kakuzu and Deidara.
"Lady Tsunade!"
"It's the Hokage! The Hokage has arrived!"
The Konoha ninjas around saw the figure slowly straightening up from the billowing dust, and their faces instantly lit up with the joy of escaping a desperate situation.
"The troublesome fellow has arrived." Kakuzu narrowed his eyes slightly, and stretched his hands out from under his robe, assuming a defensive stance.
Deidara had already reacted the instant he sensed Tsunade's approach. A giant white clay bird rose from the ground beside him, its massive wings flapping violently, creating a gust of wind that lifted him rapidly into the air, just in time to avoid the impact of the Painful Heaven Kick.
He stood on the bird's back, looking down at the short, light-yellow-haired female ninja on the ground. "Oh? You're the one who's been investigating us, the one that old man likes?"
Tsunade didn't speak, but her fists clenched slightly. The intelligence—"old man," did that refer to Jiraiya?
"Everyone go evacuate the villagers! Leave this to me!" Tsunade ignored his words and instead gave the highest priority order to the ninjas still on the battlefield.
"Yes!" The Anbu and Konoha ninjas immediately accepted the order and quickly dragged up their fallen comrades—those who had been knocked unconscious by the explosion or thrown around—and evacuated the area as fast as they could.
In a short while, only Tsunade, Deidara standing on the giant white bird in mid-air, and Kakuzu standing motionless on the spot remained on the battlefield.
However, Deidara spoke up again.
"That old man was indeed a formidable opponent, very troublesome, and it took quite a bit of effort to completely eliminate him. But..."
His gaze swept over Tsunade from head to toe, then his playful smile deepened, widened, and became even more infuriating. "I thought that guy had high standards, but it turns out he likes this kind of eternal 'plains'! Hmm!"
He stood on the bird's back, his gaze deliberately lingering for a while on the flat, undisguised area of Tsunade's chest, his tone undisguisedly mocking.
"...What did you say?"
Tsunade slowly raised her head. She had been calmly considering her battle strategy, but now, several veins bulged on her forehead.
"Didn't you understand?" Deidara continued, oblivious, shrugging his shoulders. "Your 'ninja way' is just like your body. Completely flat, not even a small mound can be found; it's a straight line from beginning to end! It lacks even the most basic aesthetic appeal of the human body, possessing absolutely no artistic value! Hmm!"
"You, who only know medical ninjutsu and taijutsu, have no idea what 'creation' or 'art' means! Art is an explosion! It's beauty that blooms in an instant and then disappears forever! And you? You don't even have the most basic textures to be an artistic medium! Barren! So barren! So barren that it kills all my creative desire! Hmm! Hahahaha—"
Deidara's unrestrained laughter echoed continuously from mid-air.
"...I'll kill you."
A burst of chakra erupted from Tsunade's feet, shattering the ground beneath her.
"boom--!"
The next moment, a gigantic white creature appeared without warning in the very center of the battlefield. The slug's enormous body occupied almost half the street, casting a shadow that enveloped Kakuzu entirely.
The slug slowly raised its head, a glob of translucent liquid emitting a pungent odor surging deep within its mouth. Then, it suddenly opened its mouth and transformed the corrosive mucus into a high-pressure water jet, shooting it towards Deidara in mid-air!