Chapter 285:
The bomb expelled from the C2 Dragon's mouth struck Sasuke and exploded, distorting his body with the blast.
"What... is that?"
Hanabi pointed at the warped form of Uchiha Sasuke and asked.
"Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. He's even sprouted wings now, huh."
Future Boruto looked at the kneeling Sasuke, who was supporting himself with the Kusanagi Sword, and commented.
"Never thought Akatsuki members would be this troublesome. And there's even another guy just standing there watching..."
Uchiha Sasuke muttered as he glanced toward Future Boruto, ignoring Hanabi entirely.
"That's it? How boring, Uchiha Sasuke. Guess I'll go all out next!"
The wings formed by the Cursed Seal lightly flapped, lifting Sasuke into the air.
"Don't think you can escape, you little bastard!"
The C2 Dragon immediately fired another bomb at Sasuke.
With a loud bang, Sasuke fell from the sky. He didn't even manage to hold onto the Kusanagi Sword. One of his wings had been blown off completely.
"Used the wing to shield himself, huh? Fine by me—means you can't fly anymore."
Deidara looked at the grounded Sasuke. "Now I'll send you on your way!"
Lying on the ground, Sasuke grabbed the Kusanagi Sword embedded in the earth and flung it toward the airborne, hand-sealing Deidara.
"That kind of attack won't work on me!"
Deidara, controlling the C2 Dragon, easily dodged the frontal strike—only to pause. "...Wait, that's a chakra thread!"
Sasuke, still prone, manipulated the Kusanagi Sword via the chakra thread. The blade suddenly turned mid-air, slicing the C2 Dragon clean in half and sending it plummeting to the ground.
Immediately after, Sasuke hurled two explosive-tag-laden shuriken at the falling Deidara.
Boom—
Riding a clay bird, Deidara burst out of the explosion, his Akatsuki cloak destroyed.
"What a pain..."
Uchiha Sasuke got to his feet, reverting to his usual cool appearance as he looked at the still-alive Deidara.
Locking eyes with Sasuke's Sharingan, Deidara was struck by a memory—being recruited into Akatsuki by Uchiha Itachi. Clenching his fists, he pulled out one final lump of clay and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Every last one of you looks down on my art! This is the jutsu I created specifically to kill Uchiha Itachi—C4 Karura!"
Deidara spat out a massive clay replica of himself. "Hahaha! Uchiha Sasuke, you're not getting away! Art is an explosion! Drink it in!"
The enormous clay Deidara began to disintegrate, scattering into the wind.
Golden chakra erupted from Future Boruto, shielding both himself and Hanabi.
"Hahahaha! I win! My art triumphs!"
Deidara raised his hands in triumph atop the clay bird.
"What's Deidara doing? The fight's not even over yet..."
Hanabi stared at the celebrating Deidara in confusion.
"He's already trapped in a genjutsu. What an idiot... Fighting an Uchiha and not guarding against genjutsu."
Future Boruto commented blandly, showing no intention of intervening.
Since the black-and-white vision hadn't appeared, it meant Deidara dying here still aligned with the proper timeline.
"Chidori!"
A lightning-charged hand pierced through Deidara's chest from behind.
"Looks like you used up all your chakra. You've slowed down."
"Your eyes..."
"Ordinary eyes can't see your microscopic bombs—but my Sharingan can see chakra. Your bombs, infused with chakra, glow like will-o'-the-wisps to me."
"Then... what I saw—was you being disintegrated..."
"Just a genjutsu." Sasuke cast a quick glance down at Future Boruto below the clay bird, confirming he still wasn't interfering, before continuing. "I avoided your vital points. Now tell me—where is Uchiha Itachi?"
"Heh, you've even gone out of your way to explain all that. I suppose I should tell you..."
Deidara's voice lowered, "Uchiha Itachi is at..."
"I've told you Itachi's location. Now... you can die!"
The Deidara pierced by Chidori turned into clay and fell onto the clay bird. His real body emerged from the mass, grabbing Sasuke's right leg.
"This is the true finale—take a direct hit from my C4 bomb!"
Deidara's mouth spewed clay rapidly, wrapping both himself and Sasuke, along with the clay bird, in a giant clay sphere.
Then, Deidara's true body escaped from the mass.
"Looks like the one out of chakra is actually you. You don't even have the strength to break free from the clay."
"This time, I've really won! Hahaha!"
Deidara's wild laughter was cut short as he was suddenly sent flying.
"Just as I thought—an idiot. Sasuke never released his genjutsu."
Future Boruto watched Deidara get launched and commented.
"This time, you really can die."
Sasuke walked toward Deidara, while silently staying alert to Future Boruto.
"Boruto, shouldn't we help him?"
"Why would we? If Deidara dies, that just leaves an open slot for you."
Future Boruto replied.
"Kill me? Hah! The one who's going to die... is you! My art will be your end!"
Sasuke said nothing, his three-tomoe Sharingan silently fixed on Deidara.
"Damn it! Damn it! It's infuriating! You brothers are both so damn smug! That look in your eyes—that calm, composed gaze—it's like you're denying my art itself! Seeing my work and not even flinching... I'll never forgive you! Go to hell! All of you, go to hell!"
Deidara tore open his shirt and stuffed clay into the mouth on his chest.
"This is my ultimate art. I'm going to self-destruct! I'll become art itself! A never-before-seen explosion will leave an indelible mark on this land! My art will be legendary! The blast radius will be ten kilometers!"
"Boruto, we need to run!"
Hanabi grabbed Future Boruto's hand in panic.
"No, it's too late. With a radius of ten kilometers, not even the fastest Body Flicker can get us out."
"Huh? Then what do we do? Can your chakra still shield us?"
"No... an explosion this intense would injure even the Nine-Tails."
"I'll be fine, Lord Boruto."
Kurama's voice came from within Future Boruto.
"There's only one way—seal him before he detonates."
The moment Future Boruto finished speaking, he suddenly teleported next to Sasuke, triggering Sasuke's alarm.
"Sorry, Boruto... Guess you'll die with me."
Deidara looked bitterly at the sudden appearance of Future Boruto.
"No need to apologize. I'm not going to die."
As he spoke, Future Boruto extended his right hand toward Deidara, revealing his Rinnegan.
"That eye... only the leader should have that!"
"Chibaku Tensei!"
Stones began wrapping around Deidara, lifting him into the sky.