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[NTU] [ARC-22] Chapter : 295
🕑 Added 2025-04-16 13:53:58 +0000 UTC“Oh? So it is Pain.”
As the distance between them closed, Toshiro finally got a clear look at the approaching figure—and instantly recognized his opponent.
Without hesitation, his eyes sharpened. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t know why Pain had suddenly come after him, but there was no point in waiting for an explanation—not when danger was flying straight at them.
With a soft command, Toshiro’s shadow stretched across the back of Yamawashi, writhing and twisting as if it had a life of its own. Within seconds, it took shape—first a crude outline, then a fully formed silhouette resembling a giant bird.
The moment the drawing completed itself, the shadowy figure burst to life. Wings spread wide, the shadow-bird leapt from the surface and soared into the sky, instantly growing into a majestic beast with a wingspan of nearly 30 meters. With a deafening cry, it shot forward like a missile, diving straight toward the approaching enemy.
“Wait… Is that—Shadow Imitation?”
Itachi’s usually calm expression faltered. He and the Anbu at his side stared in shock. Itachi had studied Toshiro’s techniques and knew about his Super Beast Imitating Drawing, but this—this was something entirely new.
He hadn’t used ink. He had used shadow.
When did the Hokage learn the Nara Clan’s secret jutsu?
And just then, from beneath them, came a disgruntled voice.
“Really, Toshiro? You can fly on your own. Why’d you summon me just to carry you around?”
It was Yamawashi, clearly annoyed, flapping harder to keep them airborne while the Hokage unleashed artistic destruction midair.
The summoned eagle grumbled in irritation. His master could literally turn his own shadow into a flying beast, and yet still chose to summon him for transport?
Unbelievable.
“I’ve got chicks to feed back home, you know,” the eagle muttered under his breath, clearly unimpressed.
“I don’t have time to argue with you,” Toshiro replied with a shrug, dismissing the eagle’s complaints without a second thought.
Wasn’t it obvious?
Sure, he could use his Super Beast Imitating Drawing to create a flying creature, but that required steering it himself, navigating the skies, maintaining the chakra flow… way too much effort. Why bother when he had a perfectly competent bird-taxi with a built-in GPS?
He turned to Itachi, who was still staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “Don’t overthink it. We’ve got more incoming.”
Snapped out of his daze, Itachi blinked and quickly nodded. “Understood.”
He turned his attention back to the horizon—and sure enough, another black dot was fast approaching.
Suddenly, a sharp, shrill screech ripped through the sky.
The monstrous bird that had been eyeing them from afar let out a fierce cry as it spotted Toshiro’s shadow beast heading its way. Its wings beat furiously against the wind, gathering speed as it tucked its wings tightly behind its back—streamlining itself into a deadly projectile.
It was diving straight for them.
The enormous bird hurtled through the air at breakneck speed, cutting through the clouds like a blade. The wind pressure it generated was so intense that the surrounding clouds parted before it even reached them.
It didn’t even bother acknowledging the ninjutsu-created bird coming its way—as if it were swatting aside a gnat.
“…That speed is something else,” Toshiro muttered, watching the creature blur across the sky like a living arrow. But rather than stay focused on it, his gaze calmly shifted toward another approaching figure on the opposite side.
As Toshiro looked away, the bird he had created with his shadow let out a sharp, piercing cry—as though receiving a silent command. Without hesitation, it veered upward, rocketing straight toward the sky.
Splat!
With a brutal impact, the shadow bird collided with the enemy's summon, its beak piercing clean through its massive opponent in a single devastating blow.
Inside a tree hollow miles away, Nagato’s eyes narrowed as he observed the scene through his summoned beast’s perspective.
“…Interesting.”
“What is it, Nagato?” Konan asked, sensing the sudden shift in his tone.
“It’s nothing,” he replied, though his gaze darkened. “Just confirmation. The Fifth Hokage isn’t easy to deal with.”
Even as he spoke, the powerful bird that had been soaring toward Toshiro suddenly faltered mid-air.
It began to twist violently, wings flailing, its entire body spinning out of control before plummeting in an erratic spiral.
Nagato clenched his fists slightly.
“He infused a sealing technique into his ninjutsu... Subtle. Dangerous. He’s even more troublesome than I expected.”
Nagato had seen it clearly—when his summon impaled Toshiro’s ninjutsu bird, the creature didn’t vanish like typical chakra constructs. Instead, its form unraveled into a mass of black sealing symbols.
They slithered like serpents across the summon’s body, binding its wings and limbs, paralyzing it mid-air. In the same instant, the spiritual connection between Nagato and his summon was severed.
"That guy..." Nagato muttered, eyes narrowing. "Could he be Deidara?"
Toshiro, unfazed by the faltering bird, turned his gaze to another approaching figure. After a brief moment of scrutiny, he recognized the straight blond hair and manic energy from a distance.
"So it is Deidara—the new recruit from Akatsuki."
From atop a pale, compact owl, Deidara grinned manically as he soared through the sky. His eyes gleamed with a wild excitement.
"Hahaha! What a thrill—to have the Hokage himself witness my art!"
Without hesitation, Deidara plunged a hand into one of the pouches strapped to his waist. A wet, squelching sound followed as the mouths on his palms chewed the clay with eagerness.
"Let’s put on a real show!"
He clapped his hands together and flung the freshly molded figures into the sky. In moments, they transformed—an aerial flock of bizarre, four-winged creatures shaped like birds and swans, but pulsing with unstable chakra.
“Forget that useless summon from the leader—this is true art! Huh!”
As Deidara’s words echoed through the sky, the chakra-born clay birds he had crafted surged toward Toshiro and Yamawashi with eerie synchronization.
"Even if you're the Hokage," he sneered, his hand raised like a maestro conducting a deadly symphony, "the sky is my domain."
"This time, you'll witness true art—up close!"
He extended a finger, guiding his creations like arrows in flight, their four wings beating rapidly as they closed in.
Yamawashi, sensing danger, flared its wings and unleashed a powerful gust. A fierce burst of wind, laced with invisible wind blades, slammed into the oncoming birds. Several of the clay creatures were shredded mid-air, torn to pieces in a flutter of white fragments.
Using the recoil from the wind pressure, the eagle darted backward in a wide arc, trying to gain some distance. But Deidara only grinned wider.
“Wind techniques? Ha! A mere breeze can’t scatter my masterpieces!”
Under his control, the surviving clay birds surged forward like predators on the hunt, closing the gap swiftly despite the aerial maneuver.
"They're persistent," Toshiro muttered, his tone calm but watchful.
From atop the eagle’s back, Itachi stepped forward. His eyes narrowed, reading the rhythm of the incoming attack. In a breath, he formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive sphere of flame roared to life and hurtled backward toward the pursuing flock. The explosion illuminated the sky in a flash of orange and crimson.
But Deidara only laughed louder, his voice echoing above the flames.
“Pointless! These aren’t ordinary bombs—they’re carefully crafted, resistant to fire and wind! You’ll need more than party tricks to stop my art!”
Sure enough, the birds emerged from the blaze, singed but intact, their glowing cores pulsing ominously as they closed in.
"Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu!"
Following Itachi’s fire attack, another ANBU leapt into action, unleashing his own ninjutsu—a technique rooted in legend.
Thick wooden tendrils burst from his arm, rapidly twisting and extending like living spears. The forest itself seemed to rise at his command, reaching toward the incoming clay birds with unrelenting force.
This ANBU wasn’t just anyone—it was Tenzo, Kakashi’s former teammate, better known as Yamato, and one of Orochimaru’s infamous test subjects.
"Wood Release, huh…" Deidara murmured, narrowing his eyes as the wooden spikes surged forward. His expression flickered with surprise—but only for a heartbeat.
“Hah!”
With a fierce shout, Deidara sent the leading clay birds barreling straight into the wooden assault. In a blinding flash, they detonated, blooming into orange-red explosions that tore through the forest tendrils like paper.
BOOM!
Flames roared through the sky as splinters scattered in every direction.
“Hahaha!” Deidara laughed with manic glee. “So this is the legendary Wood Release? Pathetic! Even nature itself bows before the brilliance of my art!”
From within the fiery chaos, a swarm of two-winged clay birds dove through the gap left by the explosion, racing toward Yamawashi with renewed fury.
"You’re in my range now," Deidara said, raising a hand slowly like a conductor about to strike the final chord. "And at this distance… my explosion becomes true perfection."
