radicalducati Chapter 421 Are you an artist too?
Chapter 421 Are you an artist too?
Naruto's simple, brutal, and unreasonable Multiple Shadow Clone Technique instantly ignited the atmosphere of the entire arena to its first boiling point!
In the stands, tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on the astonishing scene below.
Hundreds of identical orange-clad boys roared noisily and powerfully, like a raging torrent bursting its banks, surging towards the three members of the Iwagakure team from one end of the arena!
The visual impact and sense of oppression brought by that scene far surpasses any complex and exquisite ninjutsu duel. Ordinary people just like to watch this kind of simple and brutal showdown!
"Oooooooooooo—!!"
"Charge! Konoha brat!"
"This...this is way too much?!"
"Go for it, Konoha boys!"
Cheers, screams, shouts, whistles...
The various sounds mingled into a deafening roar, almost lifting the sky above the stadium.
Ordinary people have never seen such a spectacle.
It was practically a small-scale military charge!
Adrenaline surged through everyone's body, and hot blood coursed through the veins along with thunderous footsteps and shouts.
Inside the players' rest area, the members of the other ninja village teams couldn't help but widen their eyes in disbelief.
Karui's golden eyes widened in shock as she gasped, "This... so many physical shadow clones?! Are you kidding me! Is that kid's chakra limitless?!"
Standing beside her, Omoi, with a lollipop in his mouth, subconsciously raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. The usual worry on his face was now replaced by deep surprise. He clicked his tongue twice and muttered indistinctly, "Luckily... we didn't draw this guy, otherwise, just dealing with these clones would have been enough to give us a hard time, I guess..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Karui and Atsi both understood his unspoken meaning.
The two paused for a moment, then exchanged a glance. Karui quickly leaned closer to Omoi and asked in a low voice, barely audible to the three of them, "Could it be... 'that'?"
Omoi nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the orange figures in the arena that were constantly being consumed and replenished. His voice was solemn: "Apart from that thing... I can't imagine what kind of physique could possess such a huge amount of chakra at this age, almost... the level of a tailed beast."
Even if he is a member of the Whirlpool Clan.
Karui and Atsi felt their hearts sink at the same time.
As ninjas from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village) and disciples of Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, their understanding of "Jinchuriki" far surpasses that of ninjas from other villages.
With their inhuman chakra reserves, tenacious vitality, and the potential risk of going berserk, each Jinchūriki is a nuclear-powered deterrent.
This seemingly carefree Konoha genin in front of you might very well be the legendary Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
This speculation instantly added a layer of solemnity and apprehension to their situation.
Not far away, Temari and Kankuro subconsciously turned their gazes toward Gaara.
Karin, completely oblivious to the issue of chakra levels, had her eyes fixed solely on Menma. She cupped her face in her hands, gazing at him with a dreamy expression: "Menma-nii is so handsome… and the way he commands from behind is so imposing…"
Kurotsuchi glanced at her helplessly, her gaze lingering more on Deidara and Sora, her brows furrowed.
What on earth is Grandpa doing?
Meanwhile, in the center of the arena, the battle had instantly reached a fever pitch.
Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu instantly separated and surrounded Deidara, Sora, and Kirara.
Although the individual strength was not strong, many ants can kill an elephant. Hundreds and thousands of punches, kicks and kunai came from all directions, and the scene was chaotic for a time.
"No matter how many come, I'll fry them to my heart's content! Drink up!"
Instead of panicking, Deidara laughed excitedly, his blue eyes flashing with fanatical fervor.
His hands moved like butterflies flitting among flowers, constantly pulling out prepared clay from the ninja tool pouch at his waist, stuffing it into the mouthpiece in his palm, injecting chakra, and then throwing it out towards the densest part of the surrounding crowd without even looking!
White clay spiders, centipedes, and grasshoppers, like living white plagues, fell into the shadow clone swarm, and then—
Boom boom boom boom—!!!
A series of explosions erupted in quick succession, instantly filling the air with the acrid smell of gunpowder.
Each explosion clears a small area, turning several or even a dozen shadow clones into scattered white smoke.
Deidara, like a tireless explosion artist, freely wielded his "works" among the crowd, the flashes of the explosions illuminating his face, which was slightly distorted with excitement.
However, Naruto's shadow clones were far too numerous, and they kept coming forward one after another, showing no fear of death.
In the brief interval between explosions, more shadow clones immediately filled the gap, unleashing a barrage of punches, kicks, and ninja tools.
"Earth Release: Rigid Form Technique!"
Sora Onoki, who was nearly hit by a clay spider, rolled over to avoid the impact of the explosion and then formed hand seals.
He opened his mouth and spat out a large amount of hard earth mixed with chakra, which quickly combined and shaped in the air, and in an instant condensed into a rock giant about three meters tall, with a burly body and indistinct features!
The rock giant let out a silent roar, raised its enormous fist made of hard rock, and slammed it down hard at the shadow clones of Naruto that were surging around it!
Boom!
The ground trembled slightly, and three or four shadow clones that couldn't dodge in time were smashed into white smoke.
The rock giant strode forward with heavy steps, its arms swinging like two human bulldozers, rampaging through the sea of shadow clones. Wherever it passed, plumes of white smoke rose, temporarily relieving the pressure on Deidara's sides.
"Oh dear, really... so many rude people rushing at us all at once, they don't know how to be gentle with women at all."
Dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit, Mica, holding an exquisite purple parasol, gracefully stepped back a few paces like a noble lady strolling in a storm, maintaining a delicate distance from the front line.
As she watched the orange figures rushing towards her, a half-smile appeared on her delicate face, and a strange glint flashed in her purple pupils.
"Since you're so enthusiastic..." Yunmu tilted her head slightly, and a slightly mischievous laugh escaped from the bandaged lower half of her face.
"Then play with me and have some fun."
Before she finished speaking, her purple eyes shone brightly, and a peculiar pupil power carrying a strong mental disturbance rippled out like water, accurately enveloping the dozen or so Naruto shadow clones charging at the forefront.
The next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The dozen or so shadow clones suddenly stopped rushing forward, their expressions instantly changing from fierce to bewildered and terrified.
"Huh?! My body... why isn't it obeying my commands?!"
"Damn it! I can't move! What's going on?!"
"Hey! What are you doing?! You've hit the wrong person!"
These dozen or so shadow clones, like puppets on strings, stiffly turned around, raised their fists, and attacked the other shadow clones beside them!
For a time, a small-scale chaos and infighting broke out within the shadow clone group, further slowing down the offensive.
Deidara caught a glimpse of Sora and Kirara blocking his flanks out of the corner of his eye, and felt somewhat relieved.
He was confident in the abilities of the two teammates the old man had forced upon him, especially Sora.
Deidara then focused his attention back on the black-haired boy opposite him who hadn't made much of a move throughout, and the Hyuga girl behind him who had activated her Byakugan and looked wary.
"Take care of that girl who rolls her eyes first!" Deidara made the decision instantly.
The Byakugan's ability is troublesome; it can see through chakra movements and is somewhat effective against his small clay bombs, so it must be removed first.
As for that blond kid who was mixed in with countless shadow clones and whose true form was difficult to discern, he would be eliminated later with a large-scale explosion.
He quickly reached his hands into the specially made ninja tool pouch at his waist, and the mouthparts in his palms began to greedily chew and mix the explosive clay.
Chakra was poured in frantically, and the clay rapidly deformed under his control.
"Art is an explosion! Drink!"
Deidara waved his hands forward, and dozens of lifelike centipedes, birds, grasshoppers, and snakes made of clay, like a miniature white army, emitted faint hissing and flapping sounds, leaving afterimages as they swarmed towards Menma and Hinata in the distance!
These clay creations contain compressed, unstable chakra, which will instantly detonate once they approach their target or are impacted!
"Menma-kun! Watch out!" Hinata's Byakugan clearly "saw" the violently fluctuating chakra clusters within those small white animals. She immediately took a half step forward, blocking Menma's side, her Gentle Fist stance already in place, ready to defend with the Rotation Heaven or Eight Trigrams Empty Palm.
However, Menma was faster than her.
"Step back, Hinata, leave it to me." Menma's gentle voice rang in Hinata's ears, and at the same time he stepped forward, protecting Hinata behind him.
This subtle movement made Hinata's cheeks flush slightly, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart, but her Byakugan vigilance did not relax in the slightest.
Suddenly, Muma pulled out two oddly shaped kunai from his ninja tool pouch at his lower back with lightning speed.
The blade of the kunai was no different from the ordinary blade, but at the end of the handle, several explosive tags engraved with complex spell formulas were firmly bound!
Menma's gaze quickly locked onto the area where Deidara, Sora, and Kirara were located, especially their slightly scattered positions due to dealing with the shadow clones. He instantly tensed the muscles in his arms, poured chakra into his arms, and then threw them forward with a bang!
"Naruto! Watch out!"
The moment the two specially made kunai were released, Menma shouted a warning in a clear voice towards Naruto's main body.
Naruto's main body, mixed among countless shadow clones, was directing the shadow clones to launch a fierce attack, but he instinctively trusted and reacted to Masa's voice.
Almost the instant he heard the shout, he and a dozen or so shadow clones nearby, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand, quickly scattered to the left and right sides in perfect unison, creating a narrow corridor in the surging orange sea!
Meanwhile, the shadow clones in the front row who were originally relentlessly entangled and attacked Deidara and his two companions did not retreat. Instead, as if they had received some kind of suicidal order, they rushed forward even more frantically, using their bodies to restrict the movement of the three, and even actively embracing the clay bombs thrown by Deidara!
"What?!" Deidara's pupils shrank as he saw the two kunai flying through the air with explosive tags attached to their handles, and he also noticed the unusual behavior of the shadow clones.
A strong sense of foreboding instantly gripped him!
Just as the two kunai were flying towards the middle of the arena, about to enter the interception range of Deidara's clay bomb,
With numb hands, he slammed them together in front of his chest, forming a hand seal!
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Om-!
The two specially made kunai that were flying into the air quickly split apart.
One becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight...
In the time it takes to breathe, two kunai have multiplied into hundreds!
These were not illusions; each one radiated a cold metallic light, forming a dense storm of metal that emitted a sharp, piercing shriek as it launched an indiscriminate saturation attack on the area where Deidara and his companions were located at a speed far exceeding their previous speed!
And this is just the beginning!
Even more surprisingly, the explosive tags at the tails of these split kunai began to burn as they flew!
The next moment, hell descended.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—!!!
The kunai fell like a torrential downpour, and the explosive tags attached to them burned out the instant they made contact with the target!
Hundreds of explosions overlapped and resonated in a very short time!
The orange-red fireballs bloomed, expanded, and connected into a vast expanse in the center of the arena like countless flowers of death!
The deafening explosions continued incessantly, culminating in a terrifying roar that ripped through eardrums!
The scorching heatwave spread wildly in all directions like a tsunami, stirring up dust and gravel everywhere!
The blinding white light and billowing smoke instantly engulfed most of the arena, as well as the figures of Deidara and his two companions!
The shockwave from the explosion even caused a noticeable tremor in the stands far from the stadium. Spectators in the front rows were thrown about by the powerful blast, screaming in terror. The acrid smell of gunpowder billowed in, enveloping large sections of the stands.
"Oh My God!!"
"W-What kind of technique is this?!"
"That's...that's terrifying!!"
After a brief silence, there came even more frenzied shouts and screams!
Many spectators stood up excitedly, craning their necks to get a clear view of the explosion's epicenter.
This power and momentum are comparable to a large-scale ninjutsu exchange during a war between two countries!
Inside the athletes' rest area, a collective gasp filled the air.
Even his classmates Shikamaru and Sasuke were dumbfounded, and Choji's mouth was agape as he dropped the potato chips in his hand.
Hozuki Suigetsu stretched his neck out, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, and pointed at the lingering smoke and dust that resembled a miniature mushroom cloud in the distance, his voice trembling: "How much...how much did this cost?! Are all the Konoha genin this rich?!"
He could almost see countless silver coins vanish into thin air in the explosion, and his heart was bleeding.
At the same time, he subconsciously touched his neck, and for the first time, he had deep doubts about whether the family's secret "Water Transformation Technique" could withstand such a continuous and extremely dense explosion.
Karui's dark-skinned, pretty face twitched uncontrollably. She even subconsciously started counting on her fingers, her voice hoarse: "One, one standard-power explosive tag, the market price is about two thousand taels... Just now, that wave split off more than a hundred kunai... This, this round of attack burned at least... two hundred thousand taels?!"
The number made her feel dizzy.
You should know that an A-rank mission, which involves military operations for a ninja village and the country and can only be taken by a Jonin, only costs 150,000 ryo!
Two hundred thousand taels of silver is enough to buy a decent house in Kumogakure or several fine ninja swords. And yet, in just a few seconds, it all came to a sound?
Is this the tactic of that Konoha genin?
No, this is simply throwing money at people!
In the audience, Kurenai Yuhi stared at the horrific explosion below, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her smooth forehead.
She is a genjutsu-type ninja, and is most wary of tactics that are purely based on the range and firepower of attacks.
Even during the Third Shinobi World War, battles that used hundreds of explosive tags were extremely rare.
Kurenai Yuhi's gaze turned grave as she whispered to Asuma Sarutobi beside her, "An explosion of this scale... in terms of its coverage, duration, and cumulative power... has exceeded the defensive limits of a regular Jonin. If one isn't careful, even an experienced Jonin trapped in the center will be completely obliterated..."
Asma didn't answer immediately. His brows were furrowed, his fingers unconsciously stroking the stubble on his chin, his gaze fixed on the dissipating smoke, as if trying to recall something.
A few seconds later, he spoke slowly and uncertainly, "This technique... I feel like I've heard of it somewhere before..."
His gaze involuntarily fell on Kakashi, who was squinting his right eye and gazing thoughtfully at the arena.
On the highest VIP viewing platform, Orochimaru, disguised as the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields, "Yamada Nobuyuki," leaned forward slightly with interest, gently shaking the folding fan in his hand and muttering to himself, "Interesting."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting beside him, had lost his usual gentle smile, replaced by a complex solemnity and a hint of bewilderment.
His gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, returning to that era of war and chaos, where he saw his brilliant teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
"The core concept of this technique..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was filled with turbulent waves.
"How similar it is to the forbidden technique Explosive Tags Multiplication Technique developed by Tobirama-sensei! Both use special summoning or clone mediums to achieve an infinite chain reaction of explosive tags and a targeted explosion, resulting in devastating, wide-area damage."
"However, the teacher used the Impure World Reincarnation technique, while this Menma uses the Shadow Clone Technique with his shuriken."
Although the mediums are different and the complexity and danger of the techniques vary greatly, the tactical concept of "unlimited explosions and targeted elimination" is exactly the same!
How did this person come up with this idea?
This technique alone is enough to earn an A-rank ninjutsu rating.
And it was actually created by a young, ordinary genius?!
What alarmed Hiruzen Sarutobi even more was the effortless calmness with which Menma performed this technique, and the near-perfect tactical coordination of Naruto's shadow clones.
This was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a tactic that had been carefully designed and repeatedly practiced!
If this technique were to suddenly appear on a fiercely contested battlefield during the Second or Third Shinobi World War, it could potentially change the outcome of a major battle!
However, before Hiruzen Sarutobi could recover from his shock, the scene that appeared in the dissipating smoke and dust in the center of the arena made him, and all the spectators, gasp in disbelief once again!
At the epicenter of the explosion, a semi-transparent barrier, about five meters in radius, shaped like a perfect cube, and emitting a soft white light, stood silently.
The land behind the barrier was completely intact, forming a stark and glaring contrast with the surrounding terrifying landscape that had been thoroughly ravaged by the explosion, riddled with charred craters, and resembling the surface of the moon.
Sora Onoki stood in front of Deidara and Kirara, his hands in a forward-pushing posture, a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes showing a hint of helplessness and sigh.
It was at the critical moment that he used the Bloodline Limit "Dust Release: Particle Style" to annihilate all the kunai and explosions coming from the front and the sides with the terrifying power of Dust Release, which is enough to decompose matter into atomic form!
This requires extremely high control over Dust Release and consumes a tremendous amount of chakra.
Kong never expected that he would be forced to use this trump card so soon after the game started.
But it's unavoidable; ordinary earth-flow walls or defensive ninjutsu are simply powerless against the scale and density of that kind of explosion.
The white light of Dust Escape slowly dissipated, revealing Sora's slightly panting face.
Deidara looked up at the scorched earth in front of him, which looked as if it had been ravaged by a natural disaster, and then looked at the intact ground beneath his feet. Instead of feeling any fear, his blue eyes blazed with an unprecedented, almost burning, intense light!
His gaze passed over the gradually calming smoke and dust, landing on the black-haired boy opposite him, whom he had previously overlooked.
"So that's why..." Deidara's voice trembled slightly with extreme excitement, even carrying a hint of fervor as if he had met a kindred spirit.
"Are you also an artist who pursues the 'beauty of instantaneous sublimation and destruction'? Hmm!!"