Konoha: The Honored One

"How... how is this possible? My art… my eternal art."

Sasori of the Red Sand collapsed to the ground, his puppet body lifeless as his remaining chakra faded into nothingness. His face, as ever, was a mask of cold indifference, but his voice betrayed him—a faint tremor of disbelief and unwillingness to accept this end.

All his dreams of eternal life, of unyielding companionship through his puppets, lay shattered.

As Sasori's heart fell silent, the hundred puppets he controlled collapsed in unison, lifelessly scattering across the battlefield.

"Seconds… it only took seconds?"

The stunned voices of the gathered shinobi broke the silence. All eyes fixated on the fallen member of the Akatsuki—an elite shinobi who once commanded fear with his Kage-level skill. Reduced to a memory in mere moments.

It was incomprehensible.

Deidara, still airborne atop his clay dragon, stared down at Sasori's lifeless form. For all his bravado, a glimmer of genuine sorrow flickered in his single visible eye.

"Sasori…" Deidara muttered, his voice subdued. "I'll pray for you… in front of the Buddha, hmm."

Though Deidara's free-spirited nature clashed with Sasori's methodical precision, he respected the man deeply. Sasori's craft—the creation of puppets imbued with life—was an art form as eternal as his own explosions.

But now, all that genius was gone.

"Oi!" Gojo Satoru, standing amidst the aftermath, tilted his head and pointed lazily with his lollipop. His carefree tone was jarring amidst the tension. "Aren't you the fireworks guy? Get on with it already. I've got plans tonight. Sweet time with a certain 'Lady Hokage' isn't gonna wait forever, you know."

Deidara froze, anger igniting within him like a fuse.

"Fireworks?" His teeth clenched as blue veins bulged on his forehead. "You mock my art with that smirking mouth of yours?! Art is explosion! Supreme beauty that cannot be denied!"

Gojo sucked his lollipop, utterly unbothered. "Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

Deidara's frustration boiled over, memories of Itachi Uchiha flashing through his mind—that same smug arrogance, that same condescending dismissal of his art as worthless. And now this sunglass-wearing fool dared to look at him the same way?

"For underestimating my art just like that bastard Itachi Uchiha, I'll show you!" Deidara yelled, thrusting his hand into the pouch at his hip. The mouth on his palm opened wide, chomping down on a lump of explosive clay.

"Prepare yourself, hmm!" he roared as a small, doll-shaped figure emerged from his hand, rapidly expanding in size.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Did you say Itachi Uchiha?!" His Sharingan spun to life, the Three Tomoe glowing with intensity as he stepped forward.

"Stay back, kid," Gojo said without looking. "This guy's throwing a tantrum. I'll handle it."

Deidara sneered, ignoring Sasuke entirely. His clay doll expanded further, swelling to the size of a small hill as he threw it to the ground. "C4!"

The massive clay construct pulsed with an ominous glow.

Gojo's Six Eyes analyzed the technique effortlessly. Within the construct, millions of microscopic explosive spiders filled the air, invisible to the naked eye. If inhaled, they would disassemble their victims at a cellular level.

"Oh, clever. Tiny air bombs." Gojo tilted his head, his tone casual. "Still an Earth Style technique, though. Easy to counter."

He turned toward his students, raising his voice. "Hey, kids, pay attention. All attributes have strengths and weaknesses. Lightning beats Earth. Watch closely, this'll be on the test."

As Gojo spoke, dark red markings appeared around his eyes. The life force of natural energy poured into his body, and the air around him seemed to vibrate with power.

"Sage Mode," Kurenai whispered, her voice filled with disbelief.

"He can use Sage Mode?!" Kakashi's jaw tightened as he stared at the transformation.

Gojo's usual carefree demeanor took on a sharp focus. His body crackled with lightning, forming an electric blue cloak around him. He slammed his hands together, generating a swirling mass of chakra infused with lightning in his palm.

"Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!"

The blue sphere swelled to a colossal size, crackling with electricity as Gojo launched it toward the expanding Garuda.

Deidara's grin stretched wide as the Garuda erupted, releasing an invisible swarm of deadly micro-spiders into the air. "Breathe deep, hmm! Let my art become your death!"

But the Rasengan detonated on impact, sending a surge of lightning through the air.

A shimmering electromagnetic barrier expanded across the battlefield, neutralizing the spiders and dissipating the Garuda entirely. The ground was left scarred, but the deadly technique had been utterly nullified.

Deidara's triumphant grin faltered. "…W-What just happened?"

The gathered shinobi looked on in stunned silence.

"Wait… was that… Sage Mode?!" Kurenai's wide-eyed shock mirrored the others'.

Gojo dismissed the Sage transformation as if it were no big deal, waving off the incredulous stares. "Yeah, yeah, I'm amazing, I get it. Back to the fireworks guy, though."

Deidara's rage consumed him. "You think this is over?! I'll show you what true art looks like!"

Ignoring the pain in his battered body, he tore off his Akatsuki robe, revealing a grotesque mouth embedded in his chest.

"Oh, boy. Here comes the monologue." Gojo rolled his eyes, plopping another lollipop into his mouth.

"This…" Deidara's voice trembled with emotion as he began to swell, his skin glowing with energy. "…this will be my ultimate masterpiece! A blast so glorious, it will leave a scar on this world forever!"

His body inflated like a grotesque balloon, growing larger and brighter with each passing moment.

"Gojo! We have to run!" Kurenai shouted, grabbing Gojo's arm. "This explosion will be catastrophic!"

Gojo didn't budge. "Relax, I got this."

With a casual step, Gojo vanished, reappearing high in the air with Deidara in tow.

Far from the battlefield, in the heart of the Rain Village, Pain—standing atop his tower—observed his domain with his usual stoicism.

"Yahiko… Konan…" he muttered in Nagato's deep, resonant voice. "We will make the world understand pain."

"Hey there!"

Pain turned sharply to see Gojo standing nearby, grinning. Next to him, Deidara continued to swell, now a luminous mass of chakra about to detonate.

"Sorry to drop this on you," Gojo said, patting Deidara's glowing abdomen. "But you seem like the kind of guy who can handle 'unforgettable pain.' Catch you later!"

In a flash, Gojo disappeared, leaving Pain and the swelling Deidara alone.

"...What?" Pain's Rinnegan widened in disbelief as the self-destructing artist reached critical mass.

BOOM!