Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

This blond brat may not look like Shiki, but given how rare blond hair is in the ninja world, who knows, he might actually have some kind of fateful connection with Shiki, just like the "Yellow Flash" back then...

Although I haven't witnessed this blond kid's strength, I couldn't help but become curious. This second match was full of real substance from the start, and it's clear he's a wise man to retire!

"Darui, give him a good beating! Teach that blond brat a lesson, and I'll cover for you if anything happens!"

After a long wait, it's finally here! This time, the Fourth Raikage is really in high spirits. His eyes are flashing with golden light as he pats Darui hard before his underlings appear, saying it's just a fight, but any Cloud Ninja would understand the meaning behind his gaze...

"....Um!"

This time, Darui wasn't sleepy at all and nodded quite seriously. He knew why the Raikage had brought him out instead of letting him develop in a sneaky way. Their three Hokage were heroes for generations, but they were betrayed and killed by the Tsuchikage. This was an eternal pain in the hearts of all the Cloud Ninja. Although they couldn't kill the Tsuchikage to avenge their three Hokage now, they had a chance to beat up Onoki's disciple, preferably crippling him, and vent their anger.

897. Onoki's love for his disciple was very deep.

"Pfft! Hahaha! Onoki's love for this disciple is quite deep. He even had his disciple run into this Darui in the very first match."

Upon seeing the match list, Masato's first reaction was bewilderment, followed by surprise, and then he sat on the ground, clutching his stomach and laughing without any regard for his image.

Onoki is really getting senile. Doesn't he know what kind of fighting power that boy Darui has shown before? He doesn't believe that Onoki's judgment has become worse with age.

That Darui is definitely a Jonin-level fighter. His disciple Patrick Star was scanned by Masato using Observation Haki before. He is a typical Chunin who is close to Jonin but not quite Jonin. If you take Patrick Star's unique fighting style into account, he can indeed cause some trouble for ordinary Jonin. But is that Darui an ordinary Jonin?

That's obviously not a good idea, is it?

The most crucial point is that even someone like him who never reads books knows that Ray can defeat Earth, so there's no reason why Onoki shouldn't know. Moreover, Onoki is the enemy of the entire Kumogakure, the kind of enemy that is deeply ingrained. Now, he's sending his disciple to the stage to face the Kumogakure's top seed player who is the natural counter to him. Just how much does Onoki love his Patrick Star disciple?

Masato was laughing so hard he almost choked!

"...What's that civil engineering guy up to?"

Onoki wasn't senile; his complexion was now as good as if he'd eaten several pounds of food.

When Onoki saw that the first match was between his precious disciple and that big boy who had inherited the Black Lightning Release of the Third Raikage, his face turned ashen, and he barely managed to suppress his anger in front of everyone.

He knew exactly how much urine his disciple had. His original plan was to have Deidara meet up with those Sand Ninja brats first, give them a good beating to vent his anger, and naturally arrange for the Cloud Ninja big guy to face that Uchiha brat from Konoha, so that they would both be severely injured, or at least win a Pyrrhic victory. Then, when they met a fully fit Deidara, it would be much easier for Deidara to get the MVP.

In his opinion, Deidara was much more likely to lose to this Cloud Ninja brat than to that Uchiha brat.

After all, Deidara's Explosion Release primarily originates from mud, specifically Earth Release. However, Earth Release is severely countered by Lightning Release, especially Black Lightning Release, which is even more destructive than ordinary Lightning Release. Even if Deidara can fly on a bird, if his Explosion Release cannot pose a threat, he becomes an easy target while airborne. Given his influence in Kumogakure, if he is brought down, Deidara could very well be killed...

As for encountering that Uchiha brat, although he's quite flamboyant, the Uchiha are born with fire attributes. Although they also have both fire and lightning attributes, the Uchiha clan rarely uses lightning release. In previous one-on-one battles, this Uchiha brat only used fire release and genjutsu, and I've never seen him use lightning release. It's likely that he doesn't have lightning attribute, so he can't turn Deidara's clay bomb into a dud. As long as this Uchiha brat's genjutsu is used, Deidara, who is riding a big bird and flying in the sky, will still have a lot of trouble.

But what the hell was Tsuchiki doing, the leader who had been with him for decades, letting Deidara appear first, and against a giant from Kumogakure who was Deidara's natural counter? If Tsuchiki hadn't been with him for decades and understood his character, he would have suspected that Tsuchiki had been bribed by the Raikage.

However, given the meticulous and cautious nature of civil engineering, such a major mistake should not have occurred.

Although the match list has already been released, there's no way to change it for the sake of the village's reputation. However, Onoki still wants to find out what's going on. What if his loyal follower of decades has been bribed by the Raikage? That would be terrifying!

"Lord Tsuchikage..."

Half a minute later, Tsuchiki, pale-faced and filled with shame, approached Onoki.

"What exactly happened? Didn't I tell you to make sure that Cloud Ninja brat and that Uchiha little bastard ran into each other?"

Seeing his loyal horseman of decades now with white hair and a wrinkled face, Onoki ultimately couldn't bring himself to yell at him. Everyone gets old; it's normal to make small mistakes now and then. If Tsuchiki wasn't bribed by the Raikage and was just getting old and his eyesight was failing, then he'd forgive him this once. It's just a pity for Deidara...

"...Lord Tsuchikage, this...was done by Kurotsuchi while I was away..."

"I'm ashamed and a little embarrassed," said the civil engineer.

Having spent decades in the ninja world, he had twice engaged in heated debates with the literary figure Mitokado Homura in Konoha, earning great merit for the village. Who would have thought that he would be outmaneuvered by a little girl? If she weren't his boss's precious grandson, he would definitely have sold her to the Red Bronze Zone to be a prostitute. That would be a truly dark chapter in his history.

Originally, during the ten-minute break after the first exam, the boss had already discussed with him that the black-clad lightning boy from Kumogakure would face off against the Uchiha brat in the second exam, so that at least one of them would be eliminated.

Actually, even if the boss hadn't said it, he would have had this idea. The best outcome would be for both sides to be severely injured and for the Cloud Ninja boy to be eliminated, because the Cloud Ninja boy's Lightning Release was too effective against Deidara.

Furthermore, he knew Deidara's personality well. Having been orphaned at a young age, the lack of parental guidance led to his extremely arrogant nature. Coupled with his undeniable talent, this kid never knew the meaning of humility. After winning the Land of Earth Adult Mud Championship three times in a row, he was constantly praised, which only fueled his arrogance. Even the Tsuchikage's discipline was ineffective. The Tsuchikage's attempts to discipline him were never forceful. Moreover, this kid never liked studying. Although his strength was quite good due to learning secret techniques, his cultural level was limited to being able to write his own name. He didn't understand the principle of using lightning to counter earth, and he continued to rely on his most familiar method of riding a giant bird to throw bombs, which was bound to cause trouble.

He hadn't really approved of the Tsuchikage organizing the joint Chunin Exams, since Deidara wasn't mature enough. But now that it was already underway and the exams were halfway through, as the host, he couldn't let the MVP go to his team. So, to protect Deidara's MVP, he wouldn't let Deidara run into the Uchiha brats or this Cloud Ninja boy.

But just now, he had already arranged for the Konoha Uchiha team to fight against the Kumogakure Darui team, but he hadn't announced it yet. Who knew that Kurotsuchi would take the initiative to bring him food.

Putting everything else aside, although Lord Tsuchikage is harsh, his granddaughter is truly exceptional. At such a young age, she has a sweet tongue and knows how to care for others. She calls him "Grandpa Tsuchikage" all the time, which melts his heart. Without thinking much, he took the girl and put her in his mouth.

Who knew that such a cute and kind little girl would be so precocious, knowing at such a young age that she could do anything for love, even putting something in his food?

When he returned and saw the rankings his younger brother had posted, he realized that Black Soo had changed!

898. A mouth can grow from a hand.

"...That brat. (▼he▼メ)"

Ohno, clutching his forehead in pain, managed to utter a single sentence before falling silent.

In short, it's a terrible thing!

How could Onoki, who had dominated the ninja world for decades and dedicated his life to the village, have such a precious granddaughter?

Looking at Tsuchiki, whose face was covered in excrement, pale, and whose legs were weak, it was clear that he had just come out of the toilet. At his age, to be hit like that by his precious granddaughter, Onoki could no longer bear to blame him.

After all, no one expected that such a cute and sensible little girl would come up with such a wicked trick.

Although he has the same style as he did back then, isn't this just blatantly sabotaging his own people?

Why does he do so many things?

He just wanted Deidara to become famous, to show the ninja world that Iwagakure could produce talent, and that Onoki hadn't done so many despicable things...

But in the end, he was tricked by his own granddaughter.

Looking down at Deidara preparing to enter the fray, Onoki sighed softly.

Now that things are as they are, the match-up list has already been announced, so there's no way it can be changed. Otherwise, Iwagakure would really have no shame.

Now we can only pray that Deidara will be quick-witted.

Although this disciple had secretly learned the secret technique, he had always been ignorant and incompetent, which made Onoki really worried!

As for punishing my beloved granddaughter, I'll let it go. She's my own granddaughter, after all, and I can't bear to do it!

........

"Hey, big guy, I really don't like the look in your eyes... um..."

The two sides entered the arena. Deidara, accompanied by two unknown extras, faced off against Darui, who also accompanied by two unknown extras, standing about ten meters apart. The referee had already announced the start, but neither side showed any intention of making a move. Deidara was getting annoyed by the way the three of them, especially the big Cloud Ninja in the center who had previously lost to Itachi Uchiha, was looking at him with a murderous glare. They were even more arrogant than him on his own turf.

"Huang... brat, that's enough for today. Blame it on being Onoki's disciple. (▼he▼メ)"

This is the most Darui has said since the Chunin Exams. There wasn't much to say when he fought the Uchiha from Konoha before. The two had no national or personal grudges, so they just went up and fought.

But this blond kid was different. In his mind, he was a god-like man. Their third generation leader was killed by Onoki, which was both a national and personal vendetta. He originally wanted to call him "blonde kid," but considering that there was an old blond man watching the battle not far away, he swallowed his words. However, it did not affect his momentum at all.

His fists, as big as sandbags, were clenched tightly, veins bulging, ready to fight at any moment. Coupled with the murderous glares of his two supporting characters beside him, and his physique, which was two heads larger than the average Iwa ninja trio, he completely overwhelmed his opponents in terms of presence.

"Stop talking big, big guy. Let me show you my art, hmm..."

Deidara spoke without making any visible movements, but instead reached into his ninja tool pouch as if he was rummaging through it for something but couldn't find it. He kept rummaging around.

"(⊙_⊙)??? What's this kid up to? Why is he taking so long to reach into his ninja tool pouch? He can't be looking for some divine artifact, can he?"

Everyone listened to the imposing opening remarks of Onoki's blond disciple and thought that a fight was about to break out. But when they saw the blond kid reach into his ninja tool bag as if looking for something, he didn't find it and didn't seem to be planning to fight. Everyone was confused and wondered what the kid was up to.

"Should we... go for it? (⊙_⊙)?"

Not only were the people around them dumbfounded, but even the two minor characters behind Deidara were completely bewildered. Although they were on the same side, they were just small fry in the village. They had no idea what their Tsuchikage's disciple was up to. Moreover, they had never seen Deidara before. Although they had heard of him, this was the first time they had met him. They had no idea what their Tsuchikage's disciple was all about. All they knew was that Deidara was a genius.

But seeing that Deidara had stopped moving after reaching into his ninja tool pouch, and that the atmosphere had been built up to this point with so many people watching, they couldn't hold back any longer, regardless of what Deidara was up to. The two stared at each other, and then they ruined the atmosphere that Deidara had created. What if Deidara was preparing a big move?

"Hmph! You pretentious brat, die! Heavy Violent Flow!"

While the two minor Iwa ninja kids were still arguing and undecided about whether to go up, a minor Kumo ninja kid on the other side couldn't hold back any longer. They thought this genius disciple of Onoki was up to something and making them nervous, but it turned out he was just showing off. For their Raikage, and for his father who died with the Third Hokage in the Land of Earth, he went up!

"Exploding Clay - Grasshopper..."

Just as the Cloud Ninja extra took two steps forward, Deidara on the other side also made a move. As if he had finished preparing his ultimate move, he raised his hand and pointed his palm at the other party. From the palm, a small mouth like a human kept spitting out a swarm of tiny grasshoppers made of white clay, which hopped and skipped towards the other side.

"A mouth growing from the palm of a hand is pretty weird, but what is this thing? Clay? A grasshopper?"

The spectators in the stands, who had initially thought it was some kind of amazing move, were momentarily stunned when they saw a group of hopping clay ant soldiers. They weren't trying to mock the blond kid; after all, it was already bizarre that a small mouth could grow from the palm of his hand, and the grasshoppers were clearly made of clay, yet they were still alive and kicking—it just didn't seem normal.

But... is this kid planning to fight the muscle man with these little grasshoppers?

It doesn't seem to have any harmful effect at all!

"careful!"

The two Cloud Ninja extras stared at the little white grasshopper hopping towards them, their long-awaited atmosphere instantly shattered. They stared at each other, seemingly wondering why the clay grasshopper had come to life on its own.

Only Darui, wary of the white grasshoppers that were being chosen for them, warned his two companions. After all, Darui was Onoki's disciple, and Onoki had praised him to the skies. Plus, the imposing manner of his earlier shout didn't seem fake. He knew that these strange white grasshoppers must have something unusual about them. Trusting his companions, he quickly led them away from the grasshoppers before they surrounded them, just to be safe.

899. This is... Explosion Release?

But it was too late.

While everyone was completely baffled, wondering what Onoki, a disciple whose palms seemed to have mouths, was trying to do by spitting out these little grasshoppers, Onoki, the disciple whose palms could grow mouths, clasped his hands together in a mudra and shouted with considerable force: "Explosions are art... Hah!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As soon as Deidara finished speaking, a series of explosions rang out, and the little white grasshoppers exploded one after another, creating tiny mushroom clouds.

"Holy crap! This is... an explosion?! Σ(?д?lll)"

"Idiot, it should be... Explosion Release, right?"

"Hiss... Such power..."

Everyone was startled by the sudden series of explosions. They stared in disbelief as small mushroom clouds rose below, followed by cratered ground that instantly sucked away the surrounding chill. This was ridiculous! Those little grasshoppers were actually bombs!

"Hiss... Wow, that's incredibly powerful! Teacher, is this why you made Sandstone surrender? This is... Explosion Release?"

Mei Chuan Neiyi, who was watching the battle, couldn't help but gasp as she looked at the pitted and uneven field caused by the ants. If Sha Shi had stubbornly refused to admit defeat, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the power of such an explosion. It turned out that Onoki wasn't exaggerating. This blond kid was actually a demolition expert. The power of this explosion was much greater than that of the explosive tags.

However... although he had never seen the Explosion Release technique in person, there were some records in his family. He happened to have seen these records, but this blond kid's Explosion Release technique was different from the ones recorded in his family. He had never heard of a mouth growing from the palm of the hand, and he remembered that the Explosion Release technique was not from Iwagakure.

"Pretty much. Sandstone Kid is alright, but the puppets he's using are a bit weak. They can't withstand this brat's explosion at all. I'm not sure if it's Explosion Release, though. I've only heard it's a secret technique passed down through generations in Iwagakure, and it hasn't been seen in decades. Apparently, this technique is very dangerous. You saw that brat's palms sprouting mouths just now. Actually, it's not just his palms that have mouths, it's even on his chest. I guess it's because learning this technique requires some kind of physical modification. If he can't withstand it, he'll be done for..."

Masato, stroking his chin as usual, said that he wasn't too surprised by Patrick Star's explosive power. After all, Patrick Star was going to be a self-destructing genius in the future. However, he realized that he had overestimated Patrick Star. It took him so long to hold back his ultimate move, almost as long as Jiraiya's cooldown. This kid's strength didn't seem as great as he had expected.

Although these small bombs look quite powerful and imposing, they are clearly not enough to break through the Storm Release boy's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Although the Storm Release boy's mastery of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode is not yet sufficient, his defense is still beyond the reach of these small bombs.

"call....."

Sandstone, who was still feeling down even after admitting defeat and receiving comfort from Masato, felt his legs go weak after witnessing the explosive power of the grasshoppers. He breathed a huge sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn't been reckless enough to listen to Masato. If his small frame had been blown to bits by those grasshoppers, he probably wouldn't have been reduced to ashes. He certainly wasn't going to be a twin...