"No matter. You help, and he'll show himself soon enough."
While Shuryu tangled with Sasori, Pakura called out to Fūmi without hesitation.
At her command, Fūmi turned into a streak of emerald light and shot forward. Her movements were swift and fluid, weaving through the cloud of Sand Iron Needles before slashing at Sasori's left chest, the location of the puppet's hidden core.
Sizzle—
The sharp wings struck the dense Sand Iron barrier. Sparks burst out, cutting through nearly half the shield before the metal reformed. Sasori quickly manipulated the sand iron to swirl around his body, constantly shifting its shape to block attacks.
Because Sasori's body was fully mechanical, he could twist, bend, and contort in ways no human could, performing strange evasive maneuvers through built-in mechanisms.
By giving up offense and focusing purely on defense, Sasori managed to barely hold his ground under the relentless siege of three enemies. The black sand iron melted into glowing molten metal under Shuryu's heat and was shredded by Fūmi's wind blades, a deadly storm closing in on him.
"Deidara! What the hell are you doing?"
"Hurry up and get out here!"
Sasori's voice finally broke through his calm; irritation surged in his tone. He could already feel the tide turning against him.
Fortunately, despite their constant bickering, Deidara wasn't one to abandon a partner in a real fight. After taking a moment to heal himself underground, he surfaced with hands flashing through seals. From beneath the earth, countless clay grasshoppers erupted, leaping toward Pakura and her companions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground became a chain of explosions. Fire and smoke billowed skyward. Pakura, having leapt high into the air, was caught mid-flight by the enlarged Fūmi, who carried her swiftly out of the danger zone.
"Shuryu, clear the field," Pakura commanded.
"Yes, Madam."
Shuryu exhaled a thin sheet of golden-white flame. Though only a single layer, it spread wide; its searing temperature forcing Sasori and Deidara to retreat.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The flames devoured grass and soil alike. Hidden clay mines detonated one after another, sending waves of fire into the air. Deidara's face twisted as he muttered, "Brother Sasori, conventional attacks won't work on these guys…"
"It's fine," Sasori replied coldly. "I'll use that move next. Be ready."
"Hm, got it."
Deidara reached into his pouch, pulling out a massive lump of white clay. He shoved it into his mouth, chewed, and spat it out, shaping it into a gigantic clay clone of himself that lumbered toward Pakura's team.
The towering golem made even Temari and her teammates flinch. If that thing exploded, it could level the whole plain.
But just as the clay giant took two heavy steps, it detonated early.
The result, however, was strangely underwhelming, only a gust of wind and a puff of white smoke.
Pakura narrowed her eyes. How devious… if my husband hadn't warned me about this trick, I might've fallen for it.
"Fūmi, send it back," she ordered.
"Yes, Madam."
Though invisible to most, Fūmi could sense every particle of air. No hidden dust or explosive could escape his perception. He exhaled, unleashing a powerful white vortex that surged forward like a storm, blowing the unseen micro-bombs right back at Deidara.
Deidara's mouth twitched. "Did you leak my info or something?"
Sasori's tone stayed flat. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Then it must be some special sensing ability," Deidara muttered, glaring at Fūmi. "That blue bird must be the key…"
Sasori agreed silently. Neither had reason to betray the other. More likely, their opponent simply had terrifying sensory precision.
"Tch…" Deidara sighed heavily, then clapped his hands together, detonating the dust-sized bombs still floating in the air.
Tiny sparks flickered to life, countless points of silent fire lighting up all around them. A moment later, the air itself became a sea of flame, shimmering from the heat.
Temari and her teammates gasped as they watched from afar. The sight was both beautiful and horrifying.
"Brother Sasori," Deidara called out, "any better ideas?"
"Other than my ultimate weapon, nothing effective," Sasori replied. "That dragon and bird are absurdly strong. It's like they broke the laws of nature…"
Deidara brushed his hair back in frustration. "So? We call it quits?"
"Not yet. Wait a bit longer," Sasori muttered. "Our reinforcements are almost here."
At that, a half-buried pitcher plant rose from the ground, Zetsu emerging with a hissing chuckle.
"You've been watching this whole time?" Deidara snapped.
"Heh. Fighting's not my specialty. But don't say I didn't help, I called for backup," Zetsu replied.
Sasori's tone darkened. "Who's coming?"
"Konan and Mei Terumī. Kisame and Jūzō are still on missions, and Kakuzu took Hidan to find more hearts."
Sasori gave a curt nod. "Fine. We'll try one more time. If it fails, we'll withdraw."
"Agreed."
While they spoke, Pakura didn't let up. She launched another wide-scale attack, commanding her Homies into formation, Shuryu in the center, Pakura on the left, and Tengu on the right.
Shuryu unleashed Fire Release, while Pakura and Fūmi added Wind Release.
From above, white flames poured like mercury, spreading fast and forming surging waves of molten light across the battlefield.
Everything they touched melted. The air rippled and blurred; the landscape itself twisted under the heat.
Even Zetsu and Deidara were forced underground, fleeing for their lives. The heat seared through the soil, chasing them as they burrowed frantically deeper.
When the flames finally died down, the earth above had turned into a cracked sea of black and red magma, smoke still curling from its surface.
Pakura didn't wait to confirm the kill. She immediately regrouped with Temari and the others, wary of a counterattack.
Her caution was justified. Zetsu and the others had indeed considered ambushing, but Temari's unit remained sharp, their formation tight. Even underground, the chance for a sneak attack was slim.
As if to confirm her instincts, a shadow passed overhead. A massive paper bird descended, its wings gleaming white.
On its back stood two figures in black cloaks patterned with red clouds, Konan and Mei Terumī.
Konan's paper bird dissolved into countless sheets that fluttered back into her body as she landed. Her expression was calm, her eyes cold and analytical.
Beside her, Mei Terumī's gaze was different, cool but curious, lingering on Pakura, the other woman who shared their connection to Uchiha Gen.
Seeing two more enemies arrive, Pakura didn't waste words. She bit her thumb, formed hand seals, and slammed her palm to the ground.
Bang!
Smoke erupted and Kyouki appeared.
The three Homies reunited instantly, exchanging quick words and laughter, as if they weren't in the middle of a battlefield.
Sasori, Deidara, and Konan's expressions all twitched. They knew exactly how dangerous this was. Uchiha Gen's Summons; these "Homies" were infamous across the shinobi world.
Konan's voice was calm. "We'll test them once. If it doesn't work, we retreat."
The others nodded.
None of the four dared to rely on Taijutsu; they each unleashed their most destructive Ninjutsu instead.
Konan spread her massive, white, and angelic wings. Paper detached from her body, forming a river of paper shuriken and kunai, each tagged with explosives. The torrent of blades filled the sky like a storm.
Mei Terumī unleashed Lava Release, spitting pale-yellow acid that poured forward like a corrosive river, dissolving everything it touched.
Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage, shaping black sand iron into three massive triangular prisms that spun furiously in midair.
Deidara crafted a colossal white tiger with his strongest clay-C3 level. The creature's steps shook the ground, its body brimming with explosive chakra.
Pakura didn't counter. She simply ordered a retreat.
The three advanced Homies looked at one another. Then, in perfect unison, their bodies moved, colliding at a single point.
A blinding surge of light burst forth.
When it faded, a towering figure stood where the three had been, a humanoid dragon over fifty meters tall. Its central head was crimson, the left head shone white, the right a shimmering green. Six muscular arms extended from its body, scales gleaming pale purple, a tail whipping behind it as waves of energy pulsed from its form.
The Dragon-Human opened its three mouths.
Lightning. Fire. Wind.
The three forces converged, spiraling together into a pale-purple beam that tore through the battlefield.
The paper shuriken river, the acid stream, the sand iron prisms, and the clay tiger—everything disintegrated on contact.
The shockwave carved through earth and air alike. Even the soil that touched it vanished into nothingness.
Deidara's eyes widened in horror. "That's… like the old man's Dust Release!"
In truth, it wasn't Dust Release, but the fusion of Fire, Lightning, and Wind was every bit as destructive or perhaps even more so.
Konan and the others had no time to discuss it. The Dragon-Human lunged forward. Despite its massive size, it moved with terrifying speed, propelled by lightning and wind. Its six flaming fists slammed down one after another.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground erupted. Each strike shattered earth and stone, the landscape exploding into fire and debris. Konan and the others could barely defend themselves.
But even their combined counterattacks barely scratched the creature's scales. Attacks that did land were healed in seconds by surging chakra within its body.
Fighting it felt like facing a raid boss, it was unstoppable and implacable.
"Retreat!" Konan barked after a glance at Pakura, who was circling around for a flank.
None of them argued. They unleashed one last combined barrage to force distance, then broke away, fleeing as fast as their jutsu allowed.
Flying would've made them perfect targets, so they escaped on foot, darting through the wrecked terrain.
If the Dragon-Human had chosen to pursue, at least one or two of them would've died. But it didn't. It stopped, watching them vanish.
Because Uchiha Gen had already predicted this exact battle.
He'd instructed Pakura beforehand not to chase too far. After all, the Akatsuki members still had their uses.