The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantaged Takeshi became. He could handle Deidara with his kenjutsu, but the explosions were a real nuisance, and he also had to watch out for various traps.
"Damn it… I might actually die here," he growled, narrowly dodging an explosion.
Furious, Takeshi formed a hand seal.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A roaring sphere of flames shot forward, aiming at the bird. Deidara dodged, but the flames singed his cloak, forcing him to descend.
"That's all you've got?" he taunted, sculpting a clay snake. "Let me show you what real art looks like."
The reptile, loaded with explosive chakra, slithered at high speed. Takeshi, cunning as ever, used Body Flicker to reappear ten meters away, feinting a retreat. He planted his katana into the ground, channeling chakra.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A wall of earth rose up, blocking the snake. The explosion shook the desert, but the damage was contained. He had just spent 100 points to learn this jutsu—fortunately, it was pretty straightforward to grasp.
Deidara, impressed but mocking, chuckled. "Nice trick. But check this out!"
"C2: Dragon!"
A clay dragon took flight, spitting explosive missiles. Takeshi dodged, slicing one missile mid-air with his katana—though the blast grazed him, burning his cheek. Blood mixed with sweat trickled down.
"Bastard,"
He cursed and used Body Flicker to close the distance.
"You and your damn toys!" he shouted, hurling a flurry of shuriken tagged with explosive seals. Deidara, atop his bird, countered with a gust of clay, but Takeshi had anticipated it. He reappeared above, katana aiming for the neck.
Deidara, quick to react, dove his beast downward, narrowly dodging the blade. "You're persistent, you failed artist!" he grinned, launching a volley of explosive owls.
Takeshi, cornered, summoned a shadow clone. The clone drew the owls' attention, detonating in a puff of smoke, while the real Takeshi dove beneath the bird, slashing one of its wings. The clay cracked, and Deidara cursed as he struggled to stabilize the creature.
"You damaged my art, bastard!"
Panting, Takeshi quickly formed another seal.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The fireball blasted upward, forcing Deidara to leap off his mount. The bird exploded from the heat, sending flaming clay fragments raining down.
On the ground, Deidara launched a C1: Explosive Centipede.
The five-meter-long creature dashed forward, its legs clicking. Takeshi anticipated the move, using a shadow clone and Body Flicker to reappear behind Deidara, faking a sword slash. At the last second, he threw a kunai rigged with an explosive tag, which went off near the Akatsuki member.
As for the centipede, it latched onto the clone, who charged straight toward a nearby group of enemy ninja.
"What the hell is he doing here…" muttered one of them, fleeing.
Another, too distracted by the girls' fight, took the full blast.
"Thanks, Takeshi!" Mei shouted, several injuries visible on her body. The battle was fierce on their side as well.
Frustrated by his inability to get rid of this pest, Deidara decided to end it once and for all.
He began preparing a final jutsu.
"C4: Garuda!"
"Shit, this bastard really wants to kill us all…" Takeshi muttered, remembering Deidara's fight against Sasuke in the original series. That technique was one of the deadliest.
A cloud of microscopic explosive particles dispersed, invisible to the eye. Sensing the danger, Takeshi created a clone to distract Deidara. The clone charged, katana raised,
While the real Takeshi prepared to unveil his own artistic masterpiece. He quickly bought a chakra potion from the system shop, restoring himself.
"You want to kill me, the system's blessed child, you bastard?"
Takeshi quickly formed the hand signs.
"Fire Style: Dragon's Infernal Blaze!"
A fierce heat gathered in his mouth. The flames roared—a long, powerful jet of fire, dragon-like in form, scorched the air. The C4 particles, caught in the heat, exploded prematurely, far from Takeshi.
Deidara, caught in the blast, was thrown back, his cloak in tatters.
A satisfied smile crept across Takeshi's bloodied face. This was a famous jutsu of the Third Hokage, used against Hashirama and Tobirama during their resurrection. Takeshi had found it in the clan archives.
It was his trump card—but it consumed a massive amount of chakra. Now he was nearly drained.
"Hope that bastard's finally dead…" he thought.
But something felt off. If Deidara were truly dead, the system notification should've popped up—yet there was no sound.
Suddenly, a silhouette emerged from the smoke. It was Deidara, his torn cloak revealing bloodied skin, blood dripping from his forehead.
"Not bad… not bad at all. I want more," Deidara grinned wickedly, reaching into his pouch.
"Why won't you just die and leave me alone, you asshole?!"
Exhausted, Takeshi leapt up, his katana gleaming. "Die already!" he shouted.
Deidara, wounded but crafty, launched one last explosive spider. Takeshi anticipated it, slicing the spider mid-air—the blast grazed him, sending him flying.
Cough cough
Takeshi struggled to his feet, eyeing his enemy, who no longer wore the smile from earlier.
Before he hit the sand dune, he managed to dive forward, plunging his blade into Deidara's shoulder.
"Arghhh!"
The Akatsuki member pulled the blade from his body—a wet crack resounded, blood spurting—as he collapsed, panting.
"You're… not bad…" he murmured.
After a few seconds, Deidara stood and climbed onto a new clay bird with the strength he had left.
"We'll meet again, kid…" he muttered before flying off.
Takeshi wanted to chase and finish him, but something more urgent called him—Mei and Temari were still struggling against the remaining three enemies.
He summoned the system interface and bought two more potions, drinking them on the spot. His wounds closed, and his chakra was restored. Without delay, he sat in the Lotus position and began to mold chakra.
The body of the Supreme Avatar could absorb natural energy, and he fully intended to use it to finish this quickly—despite the risks it entailed.