Chapter 113: Compassion to the End
Faced with Hyuga Ke's relentless assault, the already battered Deidara had no time to react before being struck by Gentle Fist. His body was severely burned, his face swollen and bruised, his jaw dislocated—he could barely form coherent words. His once-flamboyant golden braid now hung like a disheveled mop.
Struck again by Hyuga Ke's precision blows, Deidara's chakra flow was suddenly and violently disrupted. It was the final blow. With his strength drained and internal energy sealed, Deidara collapsed to the ground with a helpless groan.
From a distance, Mizuki was stunned.
"That was… too easy?!"
Mizuki had already considered that Konoha held the advantage in numbers and strategy. He'd even risked his life to create an opening. But now it seemed he had vastly overestimated Deidara's capabilities at this point in time.
"Three years makes such a difference? His tactical sense and battlefield awareness are nowhere near his potential. All it took was a bit of pressure and he cracked…"
Three years. Enough time for Uchiha Sasuke to grow from Mizuki's former punching bag into the man who would eventually overpower Orochimaru. For Naruto to go from chakra-blind fool to respected warrior. For Gaara to go from withdrawn loner to the Kazekage of the Sand. That same time, Deidara—a near-adult and already a skilled fighter—should have only grown stronger.
But what Mizuki saw was the opposite. While Deidara's raw power was formidable, his composure, experience, and combat sense were sorely lacking.
"If we really can kill him here, then so be it. What's one more deviation in this broken timeline?"
Meanwhile, with Gaara's support, Hiashi Hyuga finally caught his breath. The storm of poisoned needles had been a constant threat, but Gaara's sand barrier neutralized it perfectly. Sasori's puppet barrage simply didn't have the penetration to break through. His usual "quantity over quality" approach didn't work here.
But Sasori, the genius puppet master, was growing irritated. The earlier scream from Deidara was unsettling, and now he hadn't heard an explosion in quite some time. Instead, there were pained howls. This wasn't right.
"What's that idiot doing?"
In Sasori's eyes, Deidara was facing five opponents—only one of whom, Kurenai, had any real skill. And even she, a genjutsu user, shouldn't be much trouble. As for Gaara, Sasori considered any Jinchuriki who couldn't even use partial transformations to be a non-threat. Deidara had the sky; all he had to do was rain explosives and win by attrition. Yet here he was, silent and screaming.
To Sasori, whose entire sense of self was embedded in his puppet core and the idea of eternal art, Deidara was a companion only in title. Still, Deidara had been interesting—someone who at least shared a warped appreciation of "art." Even so, he wasn't worth dying for. If not for convenience, Sasori would've worked alone.
"Maybe I should go see what kind of mess he's gotten himself into."
Sasori didn't particularly care about Deidara's survival—but it would be more troublesome if the mission failed. With that, he turned his mechanical monstrosity toward Deidara's position, plowing through obstacles like a living tank.
Mizuki, watching from afar, noticed the shift.
"Why would Sasori suddenly abandon his fight? That's not normal behavior for a member of Akatsuki."
The members of Akatsuki were strong, arrogant, and fiercely independent. Most were missing-nin, with little regard for comradeship. Only a few—Nagato, Konan, and perhaps Itachi and Kisame—showed any real sense of alliance. For the rest, it was a loose collaboration at best.
Sasori bulldozed his way to the bloodied Deidara. His steel tail whipped through the air, swatting aside the few Konoha ninja who tried to intercept him.
"You're pathetic," Sasori said coldly, seeing Deidara's condition. "This isn't funny anymore."
Despite his injuries, Deidara laughed bitterly. "I… really let my guard down this time…"
He examined his own condition—burned, bruised, chakra sealed by Gentle Fist. It was embarrassing. All from a well-timed ambush and a relentless assault.
"I got overconfident. They knew my weaknesses… too well."
Sasori didn't answer. He didn't care about excuses. What mattered was the mission.
"Still alive?" he asked plainly.
"Barely," Deidara coughed.
Sasori yanked him to his feet. "Stay out of the way then. I'll handle it from here."
Mizuki watched the reunion with a grimace.
"Kurenai should've killed him when she had the chance. Capturing him alive? Now look what happened…"
He couldn't blame her. No one had expected Deidara to recover so quickly. And Mizuki himself had failed to communicate just how dangerous the enemy was.
Now, with Sasori and Deidara regrouped, Konoha's advantage was slipping.
"Damn it… I can't help in this state."
He reached for another half-dose of his all-purpose serum and injected it. Nearby, Hiashi noticed and asked, "Is it that serious?"
"I can still fight," Mizuki replied. "I'll take care of the puppet armor. That's our best shot."
"You have a plan?" Hiashi asked.
"Yes. But I'll need to get close, and someone has to handle that damn tail."
Hiashi looked toward Gaara.
"Relying on the Sand… we really are in strange times."
Still, they all understood. If Gaara was to be kept safe, they had to beat Sasori here and now.
Mizuki nodded at Gaara. "Can you hold him?"
"I still have plenty of chakra," Gaara said, voice steady.
"Good," Mizuki said. "Because this is our last shot."
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