In a secret base located within the Land of Waterfalls, Deidara met the man who called himself a god—Pain.
"Is this the newcomer? What the hell, just a brat," a flippant and disdainful voice echoed from within. As the sound of footsteps approached, two tall figures, both clad in the signature black cloaks with red clouds, emerged from the shadows.
One of them had a white headscarf wrapped around his head, a rogue headband from Takigakure (the Village Hidden by a Waterfall), and a pair of beady green eyes that gave him a fierce expression. The other was a burly man with a wide, pudgy face. It was the latter who had spoken just now.
These two were undoubtedly Kakuzu and his former partner. At this point in time, Hidan had not yet joined Akatsuki. According to Deidara's knowledge of the original storyline, Kakuzu had a penchant for killing his teammates. Given that Akatsuki members were at least at the level of elite jōnin, their bounties would be substantial if taken to a bounty exchange station—certainly no less than Asuma Sarutobi's later on.
"Who's this middle-aged man with such a forgettable face? Are you really a full-fledged member of Akatsuki? You're making me think less of our organization!" Deidara wouldn't hold back from mocking this unlucky guy.
Elite jōnin or not, Deidara might only be 12 years old, but his strength was already at the level of an elite jōnin. Otherwise, Pain wouldn't have sent such a luxurious recruitment team to invite him.
"Oh? Looks like I'll have to teach this newcomer how to respect his seniors. May I, Leader?" The unlucky guy may not have much skill, but his temper was certainly fiery. However, he still knew to restrain himself in front of Pain.
"Go ahead," Pain's multicolored projection nodded. He had descended here using the Magic Lantern Body Technique, while his real body remained in Amegakure.
"Oh, this should be fun."
"Itachi-san, it's rare to come across something so entertaining. Why don't we sit back and relax for a bit?" Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, revealing his shark-like teeth, and turned to Itachi Uchiha with a playful suggestion.
Itachi, as always, maintained his aloof and silent demeanor, but his silence itself was a form of agreement. Kisame didn't mind his teammate's attitude. Despite Deidara being much younger, Kisame had always regarded him as both a close friend and a mentor, holding great respect for him.
"Deidara, don't keep me waiting," Sasori said in his low, gruff voice.
"Tch! They're underestimating me!" Deidara thought, annoyed. It was clear that Pain was using this opportunity to test his strength. Hmph! Let's see if they can handle the shock of my art!
Deidara reached into the clay pouch at his waist with his right hand. The mouth on his palm opened wide and swallowed a lump of white clay, chewing it vigorously.
Let's start with something simple—a standard C1 clay bomb. Hm!
Deidara opened his hand, revealing a handful of intricately crafted miniature clay spiders. He tossed them onto the ground in front of him and infused them with chakra. The tiny clay spiders grew to the size of fists and, under Deidara's control, scuttled toward the unlucky guy wielding a large sword.
Huh? A secret technique? If they're charging at me, I need to create some distance.
Although the unlucky guy's strength paled in comparison to other Akatsuki members, he was still an exceptional ninja by ordinary standards. An elite jōnin was considered high-level combat power even in the Five Great Shinobi Nations. As a rogue ninja, his combat experience was extensive. Though he didn't fully understand Deidara's abilities, he quickly devised a response.
With a powerful leap, he gathered chakra into his feet and sprinted along the ceiling of the cave.
Fast!
Deidara was startled. It seemed this guy specialized in taijutsu, while Deidara himself was a long-range attacker. Allowing him to get close would be disastrous! Deidara directed the clay spiders to intercept the approaching enemy while retreating and simultaneously reached into his clay pouch with both hands to craft new clay bombs.
Damn! The battle terrain is this narrow cave. If we were outside in the open, I could easily create a Clay Bird and dominate the fight from the air.
"Useless, brat!" the unlucky guy taunted, forming several hand seals at lightning speed. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" His cheeks puffed up, and he spat out four or five fireballs in quick succession. Interestingly, the fireballs weren't aimed at Deidara himself but at the encroaching clay spiders.
No choice—I'll have to detonate them early. Deidara's clay had a well-known weakness to Lightning Release, but that didn't mean it was immune to other types of attacks. If the attack was strong enough, it could still destroy the clay, especially these hastily made small bombs. If he didn't detonate them now, they'd be melted by the fire.
"Art is an explosion! Hah!" Deidara raised two fingers on his left hand to his chest and shouted, triggering the clay spiders' detonation. With a series of loud booms, chunks of rock fell from the cave ceiling, and the resulting dust cloud temporarily obscured everyone's vision.
Nice! The power of the clay bombs had increased by 50%! A smile spread across Deidara's face. Who would've thought that just Level 1 Explosion Mastery could bring such significant benefits? He was now even more excited about unlocking the skills further down the tree.
"I told you, it's useless, brat!" The unlucky guy emerged from the dust cloud, his body unscathed except for a bit of dust. After all, this was just a probing attack—no one expected to take down an elite jōnin with such simple tricks.
"You're not getting away this time!"
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!" Flames roared from the unlucky guy's mouth. This was a B-rank Fire Release jutsu, a level commonly used in high-level battles. Its power couldn't be underestimated. Even Madara Uchiha frequently used B-rank Fire Release techniques, though his overwhelming strength made them seem like S-rank.
Instead of aiming the fire directly at Deidara, the unlucky guy used it to cut off his escape route. As a taijutsu specialist, he never relied on ninjutsu or genjutsu to defeat opponents—he knew his strengths well.
"At this range, I've won!" Closing the five-meter gap between them, the unlucky guy leaped into the air, swinging his massive sword with a vicious grin.
"Don't underestimate my art, you bastard!"
"What?!" Just as the unlucky guy's blade was about to strike Deidara, a clay centipede burst from the ground and coiled around his body.
Deidara seized the opportunity to retreat, ignoring the still-smoldering flames. Once again, he raised two fingers on his left hand to his chest.
"Hah!"
Boom! A massive explosion followed, but the enemy ensnared by the clay centipede turned out to be a wooden log.
Body Replacement Technique! Deidara was shocked. The Body Replacement and Clone Techniques were the most basic yet strategically valuable skills in the ninja world. Their existence often made battles full of unexpected twists—just like now.
"I told you, I've won, brat!" The unlucky guy suddenly appeared above Deidara, his sword raised high, ready to strike with a mountain-splitting force.
"And I told you, don't underestimate my art, you bastard!" Another clay centipede burst from the ground. Deidara had been crafting bombs with both hands—how could he have only made one? Due to their close proximity, the centipede wrapped around both of them.
The unlucky guy's face twisted in disbelief as he shouted, "You brat! Are you trying to take me down with you?!"
"Not at all, you idiot!" The Deidara before him suddenly collapsed into a pile of white clay, soft and lifeless.
"A clone! When?!" The unlucky guy was certain that Deidara had been within his sight the entire time. There shouldn't have been any chance to switch with a clone.
"Wait! It must've been when those spiders exploded! The dust cloud blocked my vision, and you used that moment to swap in a clone!"
"Correct! But no reward for you!"
"Art is an explosion! Hah!"