Deidara's Trickery

"Taijutsu Secret Technique: Rengeki!" During the Chunin Exam, Rock Lee's speed had already surpassed the speed of sound when he unlocked the Fourth Gate. Now, his speed was even more incredible. In an instant, he burst forth with such speed that even Kakashi, with his Mangekyo Sharingan activated, was astonished. Rock Lee's progress since the Chunin Exam was remarkable. No, compared to when he went to the Land of Wind, he had improved immensely.

Deidara couldn't react at all. He became like a punching bag, being thrown and beaten in mid-air, forming a rotating triangular pattern.

"One final strike, it's over." Rock Lee's face turned crimson. He concentrated his strength and kicked Deidara, sending him flying thousands of meters high. Then, with tremendous speed, Rock Lee caught up and appeared behind Deidara. He unleashed the final strike of Rengeki—a strike that was also the most powerful. The raging force created a shockwave that seemed to be a mix of golden and fiery red, resembling a shockwave launched from high in the sky towards the ground.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion occurred as Deidara was smashed into the depths of the water, crashing heavily onto the ground beneath, creating a massive crater. Otherwise, the spot where Deidara fell formed a cylindrical vacuum domain with a radius of over five meters. The water currents were unable to flow into it, as if a short-lived vacuum domain had been created, preventing the water from entering.

"Well done, Lee." Neji and Tenten, as Lee's teammates, said simultaneously. Their teacher, Guy, was even more excited and gave Lee an enthusiastic hug. The two of them, embraced in the twilight, left behind tears of passion. Naruto and Sakura, who were initially praising them, turned away as if they didn't know these two people. Their display of affection was a bit too much. Come on, you two, even if you want to hug, choose the right time and place.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness." Kakashi used this technique, replicating the one used by Kakuzu. While the water currents had not yet filled the vacuum domain created by Rengeki's attack, Kakashi immediately shot a powerful lightning spear towards Deidara underwater.

"Too late. Explosive Clay C3 No. 18." It turned out Deidara's C3 couldn't only be used by dropping it from the sky. On the contrary, as long as he threw it or kept it nearby, he ccould detonate it at any time with a mere thought. Dropping it from the sky was just one way of utilizing it based on the actual combat situation.

"As expected, a step too late." Kakashi's gaze did not focus on Deidara, who was holding the C3. Instead, he looked towards the Three-Tails on the other side. At the moment when Lee used Rengeki, he already knew. Unfortunately, Lee's speed was too fast. In an instant, he completed the super-speed Rengeki attack, causing the Konoha's Lotus to bloom in an instant.

Therefore, Kakashi hastily shot the lightning spear, but he was still a step too late. A dazzling blaze erupted, engulfing the surging water currents. Just as the explosion was about to engulf Kakashi and the others, Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan began to rotate.

The area in front of Kakashi's focused gaze started to distort. The explosive impact seemed to be absorbed into it like water flowing into a deep pit. However, it wasn't the explosion actively entering, but rather, Kakashi's Kamui attracting it.

"Kamui!" Bloodshot veins appeared in Kakashi's eye. The power of the C3 explosion was too strong. To transfer such a powerful explosion at such a close distance, using the power of Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan, his chakra, and his strength, required a significant amount of focus.

Therefore, the transfer speed was relatively slower. Fortunately, once the explosion was sucked, it didn't spread but was visibly transferred at a rapid pace.

"Quick, that blond guy is taking the Three-Tails away." Kakashi couldn't move at this moment. He had to maintain Kamui, and it required intense concentration. So he could only entrust his hope to the people around him.

"Sage Art: Wind Release - Rasenshuriken." Naruto, who reacted the fastest, immediately used the Sage Mode he had recently learned to create a Rasenshuriken. The high-speed spinning Rasenshuriken flew toward the target, but unfortunately, it was a step too late. One step wrong, every step wrong. They were all late by a step.

Everyone thought that Deidara would go all out to fight, but instead, his goal was to divert the attention of the Konoha ninjas away from the Tailed Beast. He wanted everyone's focus on him while secretly preparing to exhaust their fighting power. After all, they had just fought the Three-Tails, as well as Hidan, Kakuzu, and their group for a long time.

Their stamina had been significantly depleted. Unfortunately, the strength of the Konoha ninjas, including Naruto, exceeded Deidara's expectations. He hadn't reached the point he anticipated, and he had to resort to his most critical move ahead of time. By using the C3 explosion to attract everyone except Kakashi, the person hit by Rock Lee was just a clone carrying C3 clay bombs.

Deidara had already used the C2, transporting the Three-Tails away during this opportunity. He knew that Kakashi's Kamui could block his C3, but unless Kakashi disregarded the safety of his comrades and focused solely on attacking him, Kakashi could only use Kamui to transfer his C3 while others wouldn't have time to deal with him.

Apart from Kamui, no other jutsu could hit Deidara, who had already flown into the sky, along with the Three-Tails. It should be said that they couldn't hit him in an instant. It would take time. Even the Rasenshuriken, despite its high speed when thrown, was still a step too late. From the beginning, Deidara intended to take advantage of the Konoha ninjas' battle with the Three-Tails and cause them some trouble, adding insult to injury.

If possible, he would kill a few of them; if not, he would simply take the Three-Tails and complete the mission. Facing the Konoha ninjas below, Deidara would undoubtedly meet his demise if he were alone. However, with his calm mind and clever planning, he managed to manipulate the Konoha group effortlessly.

It can be said that if it weren't for Itachi's influence and Sasuke retracting his Sharingan, Deidara wouldn't have chosen to completely self-destruct in a moment of impulsiveness and anger. Even though he would have lost the fight if it continued, he would have gained valuable combat experience (knowing that his jutsu had been deciphered by Lightning Release, Deidara's sharp mind would quickly come up with countermeasures).

In the next confrontation, he would undoubtedly defeat Sasuke. In the end, Sasuke managed to survive only by sacrificing Orochimaru's snake, otherwise, he would have died as well.

In this battle, what impressed Kakashi the most about Deidara was not his power or his powerful explosions, but his intelligence, planning, and adaptability. This allowed Deidara to successfully deceive everyone, pretending to engage in battle with Naruto and the others while secretly taking away the Three-Tails.