124. An Unexpected Romantic Showdown

C0: Self-Destruction. Deidara’s ultimate technique, turning his own body into a bomb, capable of a blast radius of ten kilometers—comparable to a low-yield nuclear weapon.

This explosion did more than just blast Iron Man away; everything within the blast radius, from buildings to people, was obliterated. Where Deidara had been, the earth was hollowed out into a lake three or four kilometers wide. The sheer power of this blast exceeded that of the nuclear bomb previously sent through the space portal.

Yet, Deidara’s suicide attack ultimately failed to achieve its purpose. He had intended to use the self-destruction to kill Su Ye, but Su Ye was far too fast. Although he was caught in the periphery of the blast, he remained unharmed. It was Neji, whom Su Ye had been carrying by the collar, who suffered a gash on his outer thigh from a piece of flying debris.

Looking at the newly formed lake as the smoke cleared, the members of the Great Wall Guardians and the Avengers were left with lingering fears. Had they been within that radius, they would have been vaporized. As for Iron Man, he was bobbing in the distant bay, unconscious; had Jarvis not been remotely piloting the suit, Tony Stark likely would have drowned by now.

Further away, a human-shaped puppet appeared amidst the ruins of a building, looking expressionless at the group of people dressed in Akatsuki uniforms standing inside.

"What happened?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Deidara is dead. He self-destructed," the puppet replied, its face devoid of emotion. "That guy was strong. Hiruko didn't even have a chance to attack before he was killed on the spot."

At these words, the expressions of those around shifted.

"To kill Hiruko in an instant and force Deidara into a suicide attack—is that guy really that strong?"

"Is he?"

"Could you do it?"

"I couldn't. Fine, I admit, he’s somewhat strong."

"Of course he’s strong. Don't forget whose son he is!"

At this, everyone fell silent. A single name surfaced in their minds: "God Su."

He was a man crowned with the title of "God," a powerhouse so formidable that no one dared to speak his full name, and the mere mention of him made the entire ninja world tremble in fear. God Su was powerful, and his strength went far beyond mere ninjutsu. The Akatsuki’s goal was to capture the Tailed Beasts, and to pursue this, they often forced themselves to selectively forget God Su’s existence; only then could they maintain the confidence to complete their missions.

After a brief silence, someone spoke up. "No matter how strong God Su is, he is in the Dragon Kingdom and out of our reach, so it doesn't matter!"

The members of the Akatsuki were mostly sociopaths and lunatics; they feared God Su, but that fear would not cause them to lose all confidence.

"This time, let us go."

The speaker was a black-haired man with a center-parted hairstyle and deep nasolabial folds. He was not particularly tall but possessed an imposing aura. Beside him, a man with grey skin, fish-like gills on his face, and a giant sword wrapped in bandages on his back laughed toward the sky. "Haha, let us go and see if God Su’s son is truly as formidable as God Su himself!"

The man with the center-parted hair glanced at him without a word. The two of them moved in succession, flashing out of the building.

"Can those two handle it?"

"Hard to say."

***

On the other side, Su Ye had returned to the Great Wall Guardians' operations room with Hinata and Neji. Harry and the others had already returned, and the Avengers' Quinjet had landed on the roof of the Osborn Building. Captain America, followed by Hawkeye and Black Widow, walked in.

"Uncle Su, may I ask what happened just now?" Captain America’s voice was polite, devoid of any aggressive tone.

Su Ye played dumb, shaking his head. "I’m not sure myself. I noticed something was wrong over there and rushed over, only to find someone dropping bombs from the sky indiscriminately. I tried to subdue him, but he chose to self-destruct. These two children are the children of my father’s comrade-in-arms; they were all I could save."

Captain America couldn't fault Su Ye’s explanation. After all, no one could have predicted the scale of the explosion. The fact that the attacker had turned the area around the Midtown School of Science and Technology into a lake was something no one had foreseen.

Soon, the group began discussing the attacker's identity. Su Ye provided information and leads, while Neji, having just arrived, looked around curiously. Hinata, however, was immediately pulled aside by Gwen.

"Hello there! What’s your name? You look so cute!" Gwen gently pinched Hinata’s still-baby-faced cheek with a smile, though a flicker of guardedness appeared in her eyes.

Was this little girl Su Ye brought back really just the daughter of his father’s comrade? Could there be some improper relationship between them? Even if Su Ye didn't harbor such thoughts, it was hard for a man as exceptional as him not to be coveted by girls. Although this girl was only twelve, girls tended to mature early; twelve was old enough to start fantasizing about a man.

Besides, even if there was nothing between them, this was effectively a sister-in-law figure. Getting along with the sister-in-law was an important factor in maintaining a marriage. Eighteen—nearly nineteen—year-old Gwen had already begun to consider the sublimation of her romance with Su Ye. They were such a perfect match, compatible in every way. Plus, they had both been bitten by the same spider and shared a unique connection; they were a match made in heaven.

Just as Gwen smiled, her mind racing with thoughts, Hinata looked up, for the first time in her life looking bravely at a stranger.

"Big sister, you are so beautiful. I wish I could be as beautiful as you when I grow up."

Seeing Hinata’s innocent smile, Gwen felt much