Deidara tossed his Akatsuki robe to the wind.
He tore the stitches sealing the grotesque mouth on his left chest. A massive tongue lolled out. He grabbed a handful of explosive clay and crammed it all into the maw on his chest.
"Hahahahahahaha… Hahahahahahahaha!" His maniacal laughter tore through the sky. "This is my ultimate art! I'm going to self-destruct! The blast radius is ten kilometers! No matter how you use your Susano'o, you can't escape being blown to atoms!!!"
Sasuke's eyes widened. "What…!?"
"Hahahahaha! Yes! That's the face! The tremors from the soul, facing my ultimate art!!!"
Deidara's body, still impaled by the greatsword, began to turn translucent. Dark lines within him contracted toward his chest, coalescing into a black, pulsing core of detonation.
"Die! This time I'll finish it for sure!"
"Fear it!"
"Marvel at it!"
"Despair!"
"Weep!"
"After death… my art will achieve its ultimate sublimation!"
"That's right… ART IS—"
"EXPLOSION!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Deidara's final scream. Sasuke's horrified face, frozen in the instant before oblivion. A pillar of fire and fury, a tidal wave of pure annihilation, tore through the heavens, devouring everything within its grasp.
…
CRACK.
A stabbing, heart-rending agony yanked Deidara's consciousness violently back to reality.
He stared, dumbfounded, at the hand protruding from his own chest. His gaze traveled up the arm, locking onto the face of the 'child' who stood a full head shorter than him.
Yes. The Sasuke who had just been vaporized by his ultimate art was standing right in front of him, alive. The six-pointed stars in those eyes held none of the fear he craved. Only that cold, contemptuous silence that made him feel so utterly small and powerless.
And they weren't high above a forest battlefield. They were in front of a roadside inn.
"Wha… why… how…?"
Sasuke spoke, his voice flat. "You always wanted to kill me. In that genjutsu, I let you have your wish."
Deidara's eyes bulged, wide and wild with disbelief. "Genjutsu? You say genjutsu? That reality where I killed you… was a genjutsu? No, impossible… WHEN!? WHEN DID YOU CAST IT ON ME, DAMN IT!!!"
"Probably the moment you looked into Sasuke-kun's eyes from the sky."
The low, raspy voice came from the inn's doorway. Orochimaru stood there, a shadow against the light.
Deidara roared. "Impossible! To fight Itachi, to fight the Sharingan! I trained this left eye day after day! I practiced breaking genjutsu! Even if it was a genjutsu… I'd see through it in an instant! I couldn't have been trapped that deeply!!!"
Orochimaru's voice held a note of pity. "Believing you could see through it… that was the illusion. A mirage of your own making. A phantom of consolation you sold yourself. Yes, Deidara. None of your methods… were of any use before Sasuke's eyes."
"Ha… Hahahahahahahahaha…"
Deidara broke. Completely. He laughed, a hollow, mad sound.
"Genjutsu… genjutsu… You see!? Uchiha Sasuke! I killed you in your own genjutsu! Killed you!!! With my ultimate art!!"
Sasuke didn't even blink. "You only saw what I wanted you to see."
"Ahahahahahahahahahaha…"
But Deidara wasn't listening anymore. He was lost in self-delusion, venting the howling void inside him with manic laughter.
"Fine. If it makes you happy…"
Sasuke steadied Deidara's shoulder and pulled his hand out.
"Guh—WAAAGH!"
A torrent of blood erupted from Deidara's mouth. He stumbled back three paces before collapsing into the spreading crimson pool.
"Art… art… if art isn't explosion… then what is it…? The Sharingan… heh… I'll never acknowledge it… Not even in death…"
He kept muttering until his last breath left him.
Sasuke looked down at the one Akatsuki member who, in both his past and present life, had died by his hand.
"A personality isn't formed overnight. Perhaps you had a past I never knew…"
Whoosh. The black flames of Amaterasu erupted over Deidara's corpse. Sasuke gave him a funeral in his own way.
But this era doesn't need artists or madmen.
Orochimaru walked to Sasuke's side. "Even if he was an enemy… killing the same man twice. It must leave something unresolved."
The black flames consumed the remains. The night wind carried away the ashes, and with them, his soul, off to await the next cycle.
Sasuke gazed at the moonlit sky. "I'm not Naruto. I don't have the power to change hearts. I'll see my way through to the end."
…
The tower in Amegakure. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled. The perpetual curtain of rain, never ceasing, washed over the Village of Sorrow.
Swish.
A dark vortex swirled. Obito appeared once more before Pein and Konan.
"Deidara is dead. Without a sound."
Pein's voice was indifferent. "I see. A bomb that could have gone off at any time. His death saves us trouble."
The topic of Deidara was closed.
Obito continued. "Kisame is already on the trail of the Eight-Tails."
Beside them, Konan's eyes were downcast, her thoughts unreadable.
Pein spoke. "The Eight-Tails. They say Killer B is the perfect jinchūriki. His control over the tailed beast surpasses even the former Fourth Mizukage, Yagura."
Obito's tone was low. "I vouch for Kisame. He won't fail."
"Since you say so," Pein said. "We can expect good news."
"Then," Obito said, the single word heavy with implication. "You should prepare as well. The Nine-Tails, Naruto… Pein. You will hunt him personally."
Konan finally spoke. "Zetsu still hasn't located Naruto's whereabouts, has he? It's as if he vanished from the world. Jiraiya… is the same."
"The shinobi world is only so big," Obito replied. "If he's alive, we'll find him. We wait."
Pein shifted the subject. "By the way… about Sasuke's sudden appearance in the Land of Waterfalls. Have you figured out his purpose?"
"Oh?" Obito's masked head tilted slightly. "Do you have thoughts on the matter?"
"After Itachi," Pein stated coolly, "he has not actively sought out any Akatsuki members. But we cannot be certain he won't impact our plans going forward. You tried to recruit him, but failed. There's no reason to let him live any longer, is there? If he cannot be used… it is better to eliminate him early. Don't you agree, Mr. Madara? If you are hesitant due to clan ties… I don't mind handling it for you."
Nagato… have you grown bold enough to teach me my business now?
The thought was ice-cold in Obito's mind. Nothing showed on his masked face.
"Oh? If you're willing to handle it, I'd be grateful," Obito's voice was light, almost teasing. Then it dropped, each word deliberate. "I'm just not sure if this new Sasuke… is a meal even you can swallow."
"…" Pein did not reply. Outside the tower, the rain began to fall harder.
Konan's voice cut through the silence, clear and cold. "Impossible. Pein… is… invincible."
…
Three days later. The dark hour before dawn.
A simple boat docked. Figures stepped ashore.
Two figures in straw raincoats and bamboo hats stood gazing at the village weeping in the cold rain.
"Back then… did Jiraiya stand in the rain like this too?"
"Go ahead, Sasuke-kun."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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