Hmm?

As the sun dipped low over the horizon, casting the Hidden Sand Village in hues of gold and crimson, Gaara stood on top of the Kazekage tower, his eyes narrowing at the incoming figure in the sky. He stepped onto a mound of sand that lifted him into the air.

"That's one of Akatsuki," Gaara muttered to himself.

Atop the same tower, but at a distance, sat Kai. He remained focused, his eyes tracking the movements below. Even if Gaara was the Kazekage, this was a moment of reckoning for him—another step in proving his leadership. Kai was there not to intervene but to ensure that the threat wouldn't extend to endanger the village.

"Clay birds. How quaint," Gaara mumbled as he saw Deidara approach on his clay bird, releasing smaller, explosive clay figures toward him.

Deidara grinned maniacally. "Let's see how your sand handles my art, hmm?"

Gaara's eyes sharpened. His sand rose defensively, intercepting and neutralizing the explosive birds well before they reached him. The sand shielded Gaara but also spiraled upward in an attempt to pull Deidara down from the sky.

Deidara clicked his tongue, annoyed but excited. "Fine, let's take this up a notch!"

Clay spiders crawled out from Deidara's cloak, quickly growing to the size of large dogs. With a snap of his fingers, they exploded, sending a shower of debris and dust everywhere.

At that moment, Gaara's sand converged to form a massive hand, reaching for Deidara in a swift, fluid motion. Deidara barely managed to dodge, his clay bird swerving wildly.

"A bit too close for comfort," Deidara muttered, regaining his composure.

Kai's eyes flicked toward the clay residue coming dangerously close to the village boundaries. Without changing his seated posture, he lifted one hand. A translucent barrier emerged, subtle but strong, containing the spread of the explosion. The debris collided with the barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground, ensuring the safety of the villagers.

With another fluid motion, Gaara manipulated the sand to create multiple arms reaching out toward Deidara from different directions. Deidara dodged and countered, but each movement was anticipated by Gaara, who adjusted the sand's trajectory instantly.

Seeing an opening, Gaara compressed a large amount of sand into a dense sphere and hurled it at Deidara. "Sand Tsunami!"

Gaara's 'Sand Tsunami' hurtled toward Deidara, who barely managed to steer his clay bird out of the way, avoiding a direct hit. However, the sand wave still struck several of his smaller clay constructs, rendering them useless.

"Faster than I thought," Deidara commented, gritting his teeth. "But let's see how much chakra you've got left after this!"

He created a clay dragon in mid-air, which rapidly began spewing out smaller clay mines that scattered across the sky, raining down toward the village below.

Gaara's eyes widened in realization. Protecting the village would require a considerable amount of his chakra-infused sand, and Deidara seemed to be betting on that.

Just as he was about to act, Gaara noticed that the falling clay mines disintegrated before reaching the village boundaries. His gaze flicked back to the top of the Kazekage tower, where Kai was sitting. The subtlety of his barrier was astonishing. Not a single clay mine had made it past the perimeter.

Unfazed, Gaara turned his focus back on Deidara. "You won't make me choose between fighting you and protecting my village."

Deidara snarled. "Fine then! C2 Dragon!"

A much larger clay dragon materialized, its maw open wide to release a volley of powerful explosives. Gaara's sand shield surged upward to intercept, each explosive nullified upon contact. Simultaneously, he willed a torrent of sand to rise and encapsulate the larger clay dragon, effectively neutralizing it.

With a swift hand movement, Gaara manipulated the sand to form a colossal spear aimed straight at Deidara. "Sand Drizzle!" He sent the spear flying with incredible speed.

Deidara dodged in the nick of time, but the sand spear grazed his cloak, tearing it. "You're quite the artist yourself, huh?"

Kai, who had been silently observing the battle, saw Deidara's chakra surge. He was preparing for something big. Whatever it was, it was enough to wipe out the village and everyone in it. Kai's eyes narrowed.

Deidara clenched his fist, chakra gathering around him in a visible, agitated swirl. Gaara could see that Deidara's patience was wearing thin, his madness inching toward a boiling point.

"You're not leaving me much room to play here, Kazekage!" Deidara snapped, steering his clay bird higher into the sky.

In response, Gaara's sand formed intricate spikes that soared upwards like a barrage of missiles. "Then perhaps you should leave the playground."

Deidara dodged skillfully, but he couldn't avoid them all. One of the spikes grazed his bird, destabilizing it for a moment. "Tch, annoying!"

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara's hand rose, and a large portion of sand ascended, encasing another set of Deidara's clay explosives and neutralizing them.

"Enough!" Deidara's eyes were wide, unhinged.

Deidara's eye twitched, glancing downward at the spectacle below him. Sand, always the accursed sand, foiling his artistic endeavors at every turn. He steered his clay bird higher into the sky, a vain attempt to distance himself from Gaara's ever-reaching tendrils of sand.

"Your art is fleeting, just like your life will be," Gaara muttered, raising his arms and sending a wall of sand upward, laced with chakra to give it both speed and potency.

"Sand Lightning Needles!"

The wall of sand dispersed into countless thin needles, each aiming for Deidara and his clay bird. They moved with precision, honed by Gaara's years of experience and relentless training.

Deidara twisted and turned, navigating his bird through the needles with great difficulty. A few grazed his arm, searing through his cloak, leaving burnt trails on his skin.

"Do you think you've cornered me?" Deidara sneered, maneuvering his clay bird to a halt, its eyes glowing ominously.

He was about to unleash another clay creation when his eyes fell on Kai. The man was sitting on the Kazekage tower, motionless and seemingly detached, as if the fight below were a mere diversion. The sight of him sitting there, doing nothing, stirred a boiling pot of emotions within Deidara.

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