Chapter Twenty-one: Deidara, the Mad Artist

Kakashi had been doing a great deal of research.

It had taken a lot longer than expected to find Gato's main hideout. Several interrogations had revealed that most of his minions didn't know the location. They had bases where they operated from on his instructions. You didn't find Gato, he found you.

It was an efficient system that you wouldn't see among ordinary gangsters.

Even so, he'd managed to track it down. Now he peered through the trees toward the hideout. Drawing out his kunai, he sensed for any sign of the Akatsuki.

Nothing.

Surging in, he leaped onto the balcony and used a jutsu to slip in. Yet when he entered, he found the guards dead. They were lying in pools of their own blood, shot with needles or cut to pieces. Checking them, Kakashi noticed the blood was drying. They'd been dead for some time, at least.

Still, this was the kind of weapon Sasori used.

Could Gato be dead, then?

Kakashi decided he'd best check the whole thing before he came to any conclusions. And so he began his search. As he did, he quickly realized that there had hardly been a scuffle. These men had obviously been taken completely off guard. Yet Gato was not here; there wasn't anyone matching his description.

Could Gato and Sasori have had a falling out? If so, Gato may have been taken captive. Or perhaps he escaped after his minions died.

Either way, this changed things. Team 7's job might have ended. Or gotten a whole lot more difficult.

Kakashi sped back with double speed. The others would need to know about this.

Naruto didn't like leaving Sakura behind like this.

The reasoning sort of made sense. But getting separated was something he didn't want to do, and Sakura was not as strong as them. Though Sasuke had told her to run if she saw the Akatsuki. Still, it weighed on him as they got to Tazuna's house.

"Where's your friend?" asked Tsunami when they got back.

"Sakura is on observation duty," said Sasuke. "Since Kakashi-sensei isn't back yet, I want someone to camp out on the bridge and make sure nothing happens to it.

"Gato might send men to sabotage the bridge."

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Tsunami.

"We are ninja," said Sasuke simply. "Risks are part of the job."

"You don't need to worry, Tsunami," said Tazuna. "We didn't see any sign of the Akatsuki while we were out there. It may be that they are above Gato's pay grade."

"Or maybe they had a falling out and killed Gato," mused Sasuke.

"Well, it's something to hope for," said Tazuna.

"...You're all going to die," said Inari, suddenly from where he hid behind Tsunami.

"Excuse me?" asked Sasuke.

"You're all going to die!" said Inari. "Sasori the Cruel is out there! Even before he came here, Gato ran down everyone who stood against him! There's no way you can beat them!"

"You don't have to worry," said Naruto quickly. "We can handle this, believe it."

"I don't believe it," said Inari. "Sasori has killed entire armies, and now he's got a partner! What makes you think you stand a chance!"

"Trust me," said Naruto, smiling. Though he didn't really feel it at all.

"...I'm cooking dinner now," said Tsunami.

"Thank you, Tsunami," said Tazuna. "Why don't we all eat and talk about this over the meal?"

"Is there anything I can do to help you in the kitchen?" asked Naruto, wanting to be helpful.

"Well, actually yes," said Tsunami. "Right this way, please."

The exact details of Inari's hopelessness were told to Naruto as he helped. It turned out that Inari's stepfather had been a hero of the Land of Waves. He'd once saved the whole village from a flood, and when Gato had come in, he'd tried to rally people.

Instead, he'd ended up dead.

Naruto felt awful for the kid. What must it have been like to lose both your father and your stepfather? Even so, there wasn't any time to talk before the meal was done, and it was time to serve it.

When Naruto went to get Sasuke, he found the other boy looking through that scroll from before. It was like he was trying to memorize it. "So, what are you doing?"

"Mind your own business," snapped Sasuke. "I'm checking my kit. You ought to do the same if you don't want to screw up again."

"Don't talk to me like you're any better at this than I am, Sasuke," shot back Naruto. "You're not."

"I'm not the one giving tours to any random person who might be a spy," replied Sasuke.

"Yeah, but you are the one who told Sakura to camp out in the rain on the bridge!" replied Naruto.

"We need someone there to keep your clones watching," said Sasuke. "If Gato sends men to blow up the bridge, Sakura can handle it. If not, she's under orders to hide."

"Quit acting like your the commander, just because you're an Uchiha!" snapped Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei didn't put you in charge!"

"Well, he might as well," snapped Sasuke. "Seeing as you and Sakura can't even do bodyguard duties without me to babysit you."

"Oh yeah, because you're usually such a great judge of character," said Naruto.

"Ahem," said Tsunami.

They looked up, "Yes?"

"Dinner is ready," said Tsunami.

"Right, thanks," said Naruto.

Naruto avoided the subject while eating the meal. Actually, he avoided talking to Sasuke deliberately. Sasuke remained silent like always, and Naruto began to get really sick of him. More sick than usual.

Yes, they had fought together side by side, and Naruto could tolerate him a bit better, but...

Nevermind, things had worked out with Sakura. They might work out with Sasuke.

"In any case, we got a lot of work done on the bridge today," said Tazuna as they finished the meal. "I expect it may take a while to finish, but with your clones, it'll be a lot faster."

"No problem, Tazuna. I can handle it," said Naruto. Then he looked to Tsunami as she cleaned up the leftovers. "Hey, um, do you have anything in this I can use to take to Sakura? I figure she'll be getting hungry."

"Of course, just let me get something," said Tsunami.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to setting up his kit. Naruto waited and looked to Inari, who was somewhat morose. "Hey, Inari, is it?

"Listen, I know things look bad. But we've gotten out of worse straights. Just trust us, and it'll be fine."

"But you don't even trust eachother," said Inari.

"...Touche," said Naruto after a moment.

Still, Inari seemed to be feeling a bit better.

Sakura understood the logic.

Someone had to make sure Gato didn't send thugs to sabotage the bridge. She was likely to get in the way if it came to a fight with the Akatsuki. And by staying here, she could handle thugs, keep a watch out, and just make a run for it is Sasori showed up.

That didn't make the rain any less unpleasant.

It had started out small and gotten increasingly worse as the day went on. Eventually, Sakura had been forced to move her tent away from the bridge. Now she'd set it up in the cover of some trees. Naruto, or rather, one of Naruto's clones, was sitting with her.

"Ugh, guard duty is the worst, isn't it Sakura?" asked Naruto.

"Quit complaining, Naruto," said Sakura. "You aren't even here to begin with."

"Yeah, I know," said Naruto. "But, I can feel all of it through my shadow clones."

"So what?" asked Sakura. "That just means you'll remember doing a hard day's work without actually having to do one. You're the lucky one."

Sakura tried another punch. She thought she got it better.

"So um, what are you doing?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, I'm practicing my stances," said Sakura. "I've got a long way to go if I'm going to catch up with you and Sasuke." She'd been practicing a lot more than she ever had before. Something about the past few days had gotten her to work really hard at this.

Maybe it was meeting Orassi that had done it.

"Is now really the time?" asked Naruto. "I mean, if there's some sort of thing, you'll be all tired out."

"Relax, Naruto," said Sakura. "Gato will probably want the bridge intact anyway, it's not like-" Then she saw a white beetle scuttle into the tent.

"Look out!" shouted Naruto.

Sakura sprinted and pushed under the tent, even as Naruto landed on it. For a moment she ran and then the entire tent exploded. The trees nearby were torn to shreds, sending splinters all over the place. Sakura turned and saw the blonde man who'd been with Sasori walking forward, hands in his pockets.

Sakura took a stance. "You... Deidara."

"The one and only," said Deidara.

Then from his sleeves came dozens of tiny birds of clay. They surged toward Sakura, and she leaped back, trying to dodge them. Suddenly, dozens of Naruto's shadow clones interposed themselves. As they did, explosions rocked the area, and one bird got through.

It neared Sakura, but she took a risk and sprinted under it. As she did, it exploded, and the force threw her from her feet. She rolled through the mud, narrowly pulling herself up. Beetles of white clay scuttled toward her, and she leaped.

A moment later, the world went white.

Thrown back, she landed hard, cushioned only by the mud. Pulling herself up, she felt it under her nails. She was filthy, and Deidara was coming forward. His hands were in his pockets, but one of his hands was kept near the bag at his side.

"Gotta admit, it's been a while since I ran into someone who lasted that long," said Deidara. "But your shadow clone friends seem have run out."

"What... how did you get past all of Naruto's clones without anyone seeing?" asked Sakura.

"Well, I am an infiltration specialist," said Deidara, raising a hand. "For instance!"

Sakura didn't take a moment to look for what he was doing. She sprang back and made a run for it, even as a centipede surged up where she'd been. Drawing a kunai, she hurled it and cut the thing in two. A moment later, it exploded. She could feel the heat on her face, and her hand was burned.

Deidara reached into his bag.

Sakura hurled a kunai at him, but he caught it between two fingers. As he did, she rolled for cover. He drew out clay but didn't do anything.

"What's wrong? Afraid of my art?" asked Deidara.

Sakura charged at him, kunai in hand. However, Deidara effortlessly leaped over her, setting a hand on her shoulder. Before she could respond, he shoved her down, and she hit the ground. Looking to her shoulder, she saw a beetle scuttling up her neck. With a cry, Sakura grabbed it and threw it away, before scrambling back.
Then Sakura saw Deidara hurling three large birds. They were heading for the bridge. Instantly Sakura knew she had to act and drew out her kunai. She had to save the bridge.

Running forward, she hurled kunai after kunai. Two of the birds were caught in midair and exploded. The third descended, but she got it at the last minute. The explosion rocked the top of the bridge and blew a hole in the top.

Deidara blinked and turned to her. "Huh, you actually hit those. I'll admit, that's a lot better than I was expecting from a genin. Still, I don't think you're worth wasting anymore of my art on."

"Don't take me lightly," said Sakura.

"Well, you asked for it, not me," said Deidara.

Then he surged forward. Before Sakura could move, Deidara's fist slammed into her gut. The air was thrown from her lungs. A moment later, she was slammed into the mud and muck. Turning around, she saw Deidara raising a kunai.

And then, Naruto was there.

Deidara surged back, dodging and weaving as Naruto unleashed a flurry of punches. The blonde Akatsuki redirected Naruto's strikes, backing away as he kept him at bay.

Finally, he caught Naruto's fist, and judo threw him toward a tree.

Naruto turned in midair and caught himself on a branch, spinning around and landing on the branch. Even as he did, Deidara had sent a bird, and Naruto leaped into the air just in time to avoid being blasted.

Sakura scrawled to her knees, gasping. As she did, Naruto landed and helped her to her feet.

"Sakura!" said Naruto. "Are you alright?"

"Naruto, you're here," said Sakura.

"That's right," said Naruto. "I was here to bring you some dinner. Then my clones died." He turned back to Deidara, who was smiling as a wind sent his blonde hair flowing.

"From the looks of things, I got here just in time."

"Where's Sasuke?" asked Sakura.

"Guarding Tazuna," said Naruto. "He doesn't know."

"Just who are you supposed to be, exactly?" asked Deidara.

"The names Naruto Uzumaki!" said Naruto. "And I'm the one whose going to take you down! Believe it!"

"Naruto Uzumaki," said Deidara. "The Leaf Jinchuuriki, huh?"

"Jinchuuri-wha?" said Naruto.

Sakura blinked. The Leaf Jinchuuriki? Naruto? There had to be some kind of mistake here.

"Nine-tailed fox?" said Deidara, surprised.

"You mean that giant monster that the Fourth died taking out?" asked Naruto.

Deidara. "You mean, you don't know? Well, it's not my job to tell you. The important thing is that I just got a payday big time."

"Naruto, that bag!" said Sakura.

"What about it?" asked Naruto.

"Deidara makes his models from clay he takes out of that bag!" said Sakura. "If you can get it away from him-"

"You catch on too quick for your own good!" said Deidara.

And then dozens of birds surged from Deidara's hands, surrounding them from all sides. As one, they descended. But Naruto made hand motions. "Wind style: Hurricane Shield!

Whirlwinds surrounded him, sending the birds into disarray. A moment later, they exploded in unison. The fire was all around them, but none of it touched them. It passed, and Naruto was panting. Then he made hand motions.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" said Naruto. "Kamikaze Striker!"

Four shadow clones appeared and leaped toward Deidara as one. As they did, they tore off their vests to reveal explosive tags. Deidara leaped into the air, but as he did, a Naruto Shadow Clone came from behind and caught him in a grip. Even as he did, however, Deidara threw him off and spun away. A moment later, a massive explosion delved a crater in the earth as Deidara landed at the edge of the cliff.

He turned and wiped the blood from one cheek. Then he smiled.

"What was that?" asked Deidara.

"I create shadow clones of myself and send them out," said Naruto, creating more. "Then I use explosive tags I keep on my chest to blow them sky high."

More Kamikaze Clones surged toward Deidara; however, he spun into the air above them. As they followed, Deidara unleashed clay birds. The two collided in midair, and a massive explosion tore through the air. Propelled upwards, Deidara righted himself in midair and hurled another model. This one expanded to form into a bird that he landed on.

Flying upon it, Deidara surged into place above where'd he'd been before. Naruto created a number more clones and smiled. "Like it?"

"Very much," said Deidara. "You, my friend, have a real knack for artistry."

"Thanks, but uh..." said Naruto. "It's more like a technique."

Deidera reached into his bag and began to get more clay as the two-faced one another down. What was Naruto doing here? "True art is transient, only passing. It exists for only a perfect moment and then is gone forever. True art... is an explosion?"

"I kind of figured art was painting on a blank canvass," said Naruto.

That got under Deidara's skin. "Quiet!"

Beetles burrowed up from the ground around them. As they did, Naruto grabbed Sakura and leaped away with her over one shoulder. She saw the area where they'd been blasted to pieces, even as Naruto landed.

However, his clones had scattered and were coming all around Deidara. Sakura had expected him to use his birds again. Instead, however, Deidara surged out of range of them. He hurled kunai through each one before they could explode.

Was he running out of ammunition?

"Same old tricks again, huh?" asked Deidara.

"Not quite," said Naruto.

And then out of the trees, Deidara was hiding in came four clones. Deidara was caught dead to rites as they motioned. Then they exploded into liquid and soaked Deidara all over. As it did, the bird he was riding on lost control. It crashed down, and Deidara landed on the ground, unable to move.

"Got you! Hah!" said Naruto, moving forward. "That's my trademark Uzumaki Medical striker! I used it to take out that guy Tobi before! Works every time!"

"So, those clones of your can do more than explode huh," said Deidara with a laugh. "Well, I've got some bad news for you. Those models you dodged...

"They aren't the only art I've made today."

"What?" said Naruto.

Deidara rose up. Then he rushed toward them, and his form began to become bloated as flames surged through him. Sakura and Naruto leaped aside, and Deidara exploded, shattering the trees and ground.

"A clone..." said Sakura. "That was a clone!"

Then the real Deidara came out of the woods, wearing his bag. "A clone made from detonating clay. One of my best inventions.

"After all, true art is not merely the act of creation. It is the act of imparting an aspect of yourself into the thing you are making. What greater artistry is there than to become art itself!"

Naruto blinked. "...So does that me a better artist than you?"

"What?" said Deidara. "No, what could possibly make you think that!"

"Well, I mean, you're talking like explosions are art. You're saying that by having a clone detonate, you are becoming art," said Naruto. "But I create clones that explode all the time; it's not even hard.

"So, I guess that makes my art better than yours."

"What are you babbling about!" snarled Deidara in a fury. "Your art is nothing to mine! You create a few shadow clones and make them explode! It's nothing but a momentary manifestation of ego! Every clay sculpture I create is unique; each one lovingly crafted within my own body! I pour my very heart and soul into unique details!

"Your art, if it can be called that, is nothing but mass-produced, soulless noise!"

"A few seconds ago, you said it was pretty good," said Naruto.

Deidara regained his composure a bit. "Well obviously, but I was speaking as a master to a rank amateur. Compared to mine, your art is nothing."

"So are explosions actually considered an art form, Sakura?" asked N

"Well, I think there are firework guilds," said Sakura.

"Oh, so you're a master from the fireworks guilds then! Wow, that's pretty cool!" said Naruto.

Deidara went very still for a moment. "...No, I'm not part of a guild."

"Then how do you know your art is better than mine?" asked Naruto. "I mean, you're that older than me. So maybe we're both just amateurs, and you just think you're a master.

"Maybe you're just a newbie with delusions of grandeur."

Deidara went very still. "...It seems that I'm going to have to prove my reputation then! Fine! Let's see how you like this!" Raising a hand, he called forth new models, these in the shape of hawks. They rose into the air and one-handed on Deidara's hand.

"Eh, six out of ten," said Sakura, seeing her chance.

And then Deidara sent the hawk toward her. "Die!"

It moved far faster than Sakura could dodge, but Naruto put clones in the way. An explosion rocked the air, and Sakura was thrown down. "What? I'm the customer giving a review."

"You have absolutely no right to judge my art!" snarled Deidara, sending legions of beetles toward them. "My art is perfection!"

Naruto sent his clones and set them off ahead of time. Clustered together, all of them blew up in moments.

"Isn't that my call?" asked Sakura. "I mean, I am the person who is experiencing the art. And you said art is an emotional experience.

"Well, my emotion is:

"Six. Out. Of. Ten."

Deidara went berserk. He unleashed more birds, but these were not like the others. They looked like they'd been hacked out in a hurry. They surged at Sakura, but there was no care or effort put into their attack. She was able to dodge these ones far easier, and as Deidara threw more, she realized this was getting easier.

"Oh, I get it," said Sakura. "It's a gimmick.

"See, with all those speeches, I always figured you considered yourself an artist. But this is really more like something you adapt for style points. Like you want your name to stand out, so you adopt the whole mad artist thing for a brand."

"Brand?" asked Naruto. "What do you mean, Sakura?"

"Well, it's like that Ninjamania thing," said Sakura. "Team Guy put on a big show and stuff to entertain the crowd, but they weren't really their characters.

"But it made them stick in people's minds.

"I think Deidara pretends to consider explosives art because it makes him memorable. He's marketing himself!"

"MY ART IS NOT A BRAND!" roared Deidara.

At this point, he wasn't so much throwing models at them as hand grenades with wings. The explosions blasted huge pits in the earth. A lot of trees were destroyed, but Sakura could respond. His attacks were clumsy, and he seemed to be just trying to blow everything in sight up. And whenever he came too close, Naruto would counter it.

"Sakura, stop getting him mad!" said Naruto, who was being pushed.

"Geeze, is this the best you've got?" asked Sakura. "This stuff is really just a repeat of the stuff you did before with no original ideas. I get that hand grenade to get results, but can't you come up with anything original."

"DIE!" snarled Deidara.

And then, Deidara changed strategies. He stopped aiming. Instead, he just threw out more and more models in their general location. It was like a massive net, and as they came forward, Sakura realized they wouldn't be able to block it.

"Wind style: Hurricane Shield!" cried Naruto.

The wind surged around them again, and the explosions hit them. Even if the fire didn't get through, the force nearly through Sakura off her feet. Then another wave of models hit the shield, another, then another.

"Sakura, stop provoking him!" said Naruto. "I can't keep this up forever."

"You don't have to," said Sakura as the wind died down. "Just keep it up until he runs out of clay."

The wind faded, and Deidara swooped overhead. Sakura smiled. "That one almost hit me. Maybe you should go into mining work, and you don't have to hit moving targets there.

With a feral roar, Deidara sent his bird itself toward them as he leaped off. They split, and the explosion surged around them. Sakura was sent tumbling head over heels and hit back first into a tree. Falling to the ground, she gasped for air.

Deidara began to laugh. "What's the matter? No more reviews from the uneducated peons who don't know what they want? No, well then...

"WHY DON'T WE FINISH THIS DISPLAY!"

He reached into his pack and came up empty. "What...

"My detonating clay."

"Now, Naruto! Get him!" said Sakura, pulling herself up painfully.

"Looks like you're fresh out of projects!" cried Naruto, creating a lot of clones to completely surround Deidara.

"You..." said Deidara, "you never interested in my art! YOU WERE JUST GETTING A RISE OUT OF ME, SO I'D RUN OUT OF CLAY!"

"You catch on quick!" said the Narutos in unison as they surged forward from all sides. "FINAL VERDICT! ONE OUT OF TEN!"

On the one hand, Deidara was a far more skilled and experienced combatant. On the other hand, he was outnumbered by hundreds. Naruto slammed into him from all sides, and he hardly had a chance to fight back before they were on him.

One brutal beatdown later, Naruto was healing Sakura. Meanwhile, Deidara was lying unconscious on the ground. Sakura wondered if she should find this romantic or something, but she was honestly too tired.

"Hey, Sakura, that was really sharp, provoking him like that," said Naruto. "If he'd been fighting smart, I'd have been done for."

"It's uh..." Sakura paused, feeling really good about herself for the first time in forever. "Well, it seemed the proper thing to do is all, Naruto."

Today had been a good day.

Sakura passed out.