Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

The battlefield had reached a boiling point. With the annihilation of the Kumo-nin (Cloud Ninja), all the other factions began to realize that they could no longer underestimate the shinobi from Uzumaki no Kuni (Land of Whirlpool).

Though they were reluctant to admit it, those guns—primitive as they seemed—still posed a considerable threat. Since this was only the preliminary round, most of the factions avoided fighting to the death, with the exception of the Cloud ninjas.

The other participants clashed over the scrolls, but none of the conflicts escalated to the scale of the earlier battle between the Kumo-nin and Hyuga Chinano.

This was the natural course of things. Everyone had come here to divide the spoils—no one wanted to recklessly provoke the Land of Whirlpool. After all, doing so would only give the opposing faction an excuse to assert their dominance.

"The Cloud-nin really pulled that stunt, huh?" Some of the observers muttered bitterly. "Serves them right."

However, this relative calm was the last thing Sasori and Deidara, hidden among the crowd, wanted. They longed for chaos. With the arena packed with participants, the preliminaries were the perfect stage to sow destruction. Once the competition advanced to the more regulated finals, it would be harder to act freely.

Gaara was also among the contestants, making this the ideal opportunity. If they failed to strike now, they might as well abandon their ambitions. What kind of warmongers would they be if they let this chance slip by?

Sasori intended to remain in hiding, but Deidara had no such patience. Knowing they wouldn't be able to stay concealed for long, he discarded all pretense and launched his attack.

A massive clay bird soared into the sky, circling above the arena. This time, Deidara was more cautious. Rather than making himself an easy target, he flew into the thick clouds, masking his position.

Hidden by the clouds, he repeatedly spat out white clay spiders from his hands. The miniature arachnids didn't cling to the clay bird but instead fell freely through the air.

Though small in size, the power packed into each spider was anything but small.

One after another, the tiny spiders rained down upon the field. They scattered across the battlefield, camouflaging themselves in plain sight. Some nestled beneath dead branches and leaves, others clung to the feathers of passing birds, while several slipped between the folds of the participants' clothing.

Deidara wanted this explosion to be unforgettable—a grand display of his ultimate art.

"If you're going to make it go boom..." he smirked, "you might as well make it a big one."

With all five major nations gathered in one place, wiping them out in a single blast would be the epitome of artistic expression.

As he floated above the clouds, a cruel smile tugged at the corners of Deidara's mouth. He could already picture it—the screaming, the wailing, the utter despair in their eyes as the explosion reduced them to ashes.

To him, that moment of death, where terror met awe, was the highest form of admiration for his art.

As for whether Gaara would die in the blast?

Deidara hadn't even considered it.

After all, even if the Ichibi Jinchūriki (One-Tailed Jinchuriki) perished, Shukaku wouldn't. The tailed beast would simply reform in another location with strong chakra concentrations. How could a being with the Rikudō Sennin's (Sage of Six Paths) power be destroyed so easily?

Sasori, observing Deidara's antics, sighed faintly.

He could already guess the blond's reckless intentions. "Fool..." Sasori thought, shaking his head in mild exasperation.

Though he found Deidara's obsession with fleeting explosions short-sighted, he couldn't help but respect his unwavering devotion to his art.

"Then allow me to show you eternal art..." Sasori muttered under his breath.

A faint smile tugged at his lips beneath the puppet's mask. With a slight twitch of his fingers, he unleashed a swarm of chakra threads, spreading them like a spider's web across the battlefield.

The chakra threads surged upward, forming a lattice of shimmering blue strands. They shot several dozen meters into the air before spreading out in all directions, forming a massive dome-shaped Chakra Kago (Chakra Cage) over the forest.

The web-like formation closed in from above, cutting off any potential escape routes.

The participants, seeing the chakra threads closing in, immediately retaliated.

Various ninjutsu techniques were unleashed against the webbing, aiming to destroy the threads before the cage could fully form.

But then, without warning, hundreds of red-cloaked puppets appeared, hovering in mid-air like a ghostly army.

The puppets had been hidden nearby, lying in wait. Now, they sprang into action, shielding the chakra threads from the barrage of jutsu.

One by one, the puppets threw themselves into the line of fire, blocking the attacks with their bodies. Their limbs were torn apart by fire, lightning, and wind techniques, but the chakra cage remained intact.

One of the more cunning shinobi attempted to sneak close to the threads.

Thinking he had found a blind spot, he formed hand seals to unleash a Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu).

However, just as he was about to attack, a surge of numbness coursed through his limbs.

He glanced downward in horror—one of Sasori's chakra threads had silently pierced into his body through his foot.

His mind grew foggy, his consciousness slipping away.

Yet his hands still moved, forming seals with mechanical precision. Except, instead of targeting the threads, his jutsu was now aimed at his unsuspecting comrades.

"BOOM!"

Explosions rang out across the battlefield as the controlled shinobi turned on their allies.

Caught off guard, the remaining participants were thrown into disarray.

No one had anticipated being attacked by their own comrades. They had been prepared for treachery from enemy villages, perhaps even betrayal from spies.

But to be stabbed in the back by their own teammates?

The betrayal shattered any remaining trust.

The conflict escalated into full-blown chaos.

The shinobi, unable to bring themselves to strike down their controlled comrades, turned their aggression toward the other villages' forces.

"If we can't fight our own, we'll fight theirs!" one of the rogue shinobi snarled.

It was a flimsy justification—claiming they were protecting their comrades by attacking others—but it was all the excuse they needed.

The battlefield devolved into a bloodbath.

Strangely, however, not a single ninja from the Land of Whirlpool was among the controlled victims.

If one were observant enough, they would notice that the Whirlpool forces had gradually distanced themselves from the center of the battlefield.

By the time Sasori activated his chakra cage, they had already moved beyond its range.

Their escape wasn't due to foresight—it was Karin's sensory abilities that had saved them.

Moments earlier, she had sensed a familiar chakra signature in the clouds.

"That bastard Deidara...!" Karin muttered with a scowl.

Recognizing his chakra, she had immediately warned Hyuga Chinano and the others. After a brief discussion, they discreetly withdrew from the area and prepared an ambush.

Now, from their concealed position, Karin watched the battlefield with unease.

"Should we just sit here and watch them get slaughtered?" she asked, scratching her head anxiously.

The situation felt almost staged—as though the Land of Whirlpool had secretly conspired with the Akatsuki. If they didn't offer some form of assistance, the other nations might grow suspicious.

"Provide support from a distance," Hyuga Chinano ordered calmly. "Prioritize your own safety. Don't engage directly with those chakra threads."

Her tone was firm. "We can't be seen as deliberately holding back. If we do nothing, the whole competition might spiral into a full-scale war."

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