Chapter 511: Obito's Hope
Judging from how Deidara started modifying his eyes after losing to Itachi once, all to resist genjutsu, he was someone who was both willing and skilled at making up for his weaknesses through research.
This was exactly what Orochimaru and Shiromo had talked about—the rare "scientific spirit" that Sasori had lost after abandoning his emotions.
In the original story, Deidara never improved his Explosive Clay because he was still young. He had never faced a worthy Lightning Release opponent capable of giving him a crushing setback and pushing him to start improving it.
Deidara's fighting style focused on long-range, large-scale bombardment.
Ordinary Lightning Release ninja, even if they could counter Explosive Clay, rarely had the chance to use it.
And honestly, in the original story, when Deidara fought Sasuke, things had never reached the point where he actually needed to self-destruct.
By the end, Sasuke had already run out of chakra and couldn't even maintain his Sharingan. Deidara simply convinced himself that Sasuke was looking down on him, and that misunderstanding drove him to blow himself up.
But this version of Deidara had already been warned by Shiromo, so he had long since started thinking about this problem.
He had already experimented with all sorts of methods to defend against Lightning Release.
One of them was the classic "ground wire."
But that method had its flaws.
First, it greatly reduced the clay's mobility. Second, if the "ground wire" was cut, Lightning Release could still disable the Explosive Clay.
Now, however, Deidara has found a new solution.
"What?!"
Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.
The Explosive Clay covered by Purple Lightning didn't slow down in the slightest. It continued crawling toward him and Naruto in dense waves.
Kakashi didn't know that Lightning Release could completely deactivate Explosive Clay, but he did know that Lightning Release naturally countered Earth Release.
Yet Deidara's clay wasn't affected at all.
What was going on?
Could Explosive Clay have nothing to do with Earth Release?
At that moment, however, Kakashi activated Sage Mode.
It didn't take him long to sense the truth.
Every piece of Deidara's Explosive Clay contained natural energy.
Invisible strands of natural energy, much like the chakra extensions used in Frog Kumite, connected the clay to the ground, redirecting the power of Purple Lightning harmlessly into the earth.
"So that's how it works. There really isn't a single simple member in the Akatsuki."
Once Kakashi understood the trick, he immediately felt a headache coming on.
"Hey, Kakashi! Put the guy behind you in front of you as a shield already. Why are you protecting him? My Explosive Clay isn't going to blow off the Tailed Beast cloak he's wearing."
Deidara had no intention of holding back. He was simply reminding Kakashi.
After witnessing all of Shiromo's bizarre strategies, Deidara's own way of thinking had changed.
As the saying goes, you become like the people you spend time with.
Right now, Deidara honestly felt Kakashi wasn't thinking straight.
A normal flesh-and-blood body...
Trying to protect a perfect jinchūriki wrapped in a Tailed Beast cloak.
What was the point of that?
"Kamui!"
Coming back to his senses, Kakashi ignored Deidara's advice.
He neither retreated nor moved Naruto in front of him as a shield.
Instead, he activated Kamui.
His target wasn't the Explosive Clay itself.
He was trying something else.
Natural energy was invisible, so it couldn't simply be cut apart with physical attacks.
Space distortion was different.
Kamui could sever the connection created by natural energy.
However…
Boom!
Kakashi's pupils shrank.
Deidara's Sage Art: Explosive Clay wasn't merely connected to the earth through natural energy.
That connection also served as the detonation trigger.
The instant it was severed, the clay exploded automatically, preventing anyone from cutting the connection first and then disabling it with Lightning Release.
Kakashi immediately poured more chakra and ocular power into Kamui.
He expanded its range, swallowing the explosion itself into the Kamui dimension.
Then he used Kamui to warp away all of the remaining Explosive Clay.
The moment each piece was transported away, its connection was naturally severed, causing it to explode instantly as well.
But none of that mattered to Kakashi anymore.
Obito's chakra was currently sealed, so he couldn't enter or leave the Kamui dimension.
There was no need to worry about him getting caught in the explosions.
Besides...
Even if Obito did get blown up, he'd deserve it.
If Obito somehow appeared inside the Kamui dimension, that would only mean he'd found a way to escape.
"..."
Watching Kakashi drop to one knee, breathing heavily after expending so much chakra, Deidara clicked his tongue in frustration.
He could think of ways to counter Lightning Release.
But space-time ninjutsu was just too unfair.
He needed to figure something out.
Just as Konan had used endless paper bombs to counter the masked man...
He needed to devise a way to use Explosive Clay against this kind of teleportation technique.
Meanwhile...
In Amegakure, inside a cave where no signal of any kind could be detected...
Obito lay motionless on the ground, completely lost.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do with his life anymore.
All he could do was leave everything to fate.
He didn't even know who he should pray to.
Suddenly...
He felt something strange.
"This is..."
Obito's eyes snapped open as he sat upright.
He sensed a mysterious source of Sage Chakra appearing inside his body.
The source was...
His eye?
That's right.
His eye.
After activating Sage Mode, Kakashi had used Kamui over a massive area.
Naturally, a portion of the Sage Chakra he had gathered passed through his Mangekyō Sharingan and entered the Kamui dimension.
And it reached Obito.
Obito was overjoyed.
"Kakashi... Kakashi! I really have to thank you!"
As more and more Sage Chakra flowed in, it was gradually becoming enough for him to use Kamui once.
His excitement was impossible to contain.
Before this, every time Kakashi's Kamui affected him, what got sent over was nothing but garbage.
Finally...
Something useful had arrived!
Obito was so happy he nearly cried.
Misfortune may hide within fortune, and fortune within misfortune.
He had finally been rewarded!
"Madara, you can stay here by yourself. I'm leaving first!"
Obito felt as if the clouds had finally parted.
Even as he prepared to leave, he couldn't resist mocking Madara one last time.
"...?"
Madara, who had been sitting next door with his chin resting on one hand out of boredom, frowned in confusion when he heard Obito shouting.
"Has Obito finally snapped from all the pressure?"
Perplexed, Madara stood up and walked toward the barred window of his cell to look over.
But...
Before he even reached it—"AAAAAHHH!!"
The instant Obito activated Kamui, all of the Explosive Clay whose natural energy connections had just been severed appeared inside the Kamui dimension.
They landed directly on top of him.
The Obito who had been celebrating, convinced he was about to get his freedom by escaping...was blown sky-high.
"...He really has gone insane."
Hearing the scream, Madara's mouth twitched.
He stopped walking.
Inside Obito's cell...
Obito lay sprawled across the ground in utter misery.
In truth, he had actually had a chance to escape.
If he had simply endured the Explosive Clay, he could have left the prison as a corpse.
Then, the next time Kakashi used Kamui...
There was a good chance Kakashi would discover his dead body.
(End of this chapter)