Chapter 202: A Guide to the Proper Use of Deidara
"Art is an explosion!"
With Deidara's chuunibyou style shout, he detonated the charge. Kenichi heard a heavy boom, and a wave of dust kicked up across the field.
He walked over to inspect the results.
The mannequin in the center had been punctured clean through by iron plates, and even the dummies on the edges were riddled with wounds from metal shards and debris. The lethality had risen sharply.
"How does it feel?" Kenichi glanced at Deidara beside him.
Deidara looked thrilled, crouching to examine the targets. His eyes flicked between the dummies and the gaping holes torn by flying fragments, like he had just discovered a new law of the universe.
"Amazing!" Deidara nearly vibrated in place. " senpai, you're truly amazing! Just adding a little of this actually boosts the explosion's power!"
Kenichi smiled.
What was so strange about it?
It was just a fragmentation grenade.
Still, watching Deidara light up, and seeing how convenient, simple, and absurdly low cost this ninja version of a grenade was, Kenichi found himself thinking further.
Explosives were simply too expensive.
Thermobaric bombs were terrifyingly effective, but their production cost was so high it bordered on unbearable. Kenichi always made sure he could earn the money back before using them, or at least accomplish his basic objectives.
For example, blowing up Obito.
He had everything prepared, but before he could carry it out, he ran into another problem. If he transplanted Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, there was a high chance it would be impossible to shut down.
Explosives were powerful. Even if they were not ideal against truly strong individuals, they were still a super weapon in group battles against ordinary shinobi.
The only issue was cost.
"Senpai…" Deidara scratched his cheek, suddenly embarrassed. He had confidently promised he could help Kenichi, and yet in the blink of an eye, he had failed miserably.
This kind of power was stronger than even a powerful Fireball Jutsu.
"Deidara," Kenichi said, "try compressing your chakra inside and keeping it in a relatively stable state."
If quantity was not enough, then quality would have to make up for it. If he could compress hard enough, the same resources might produce a stronger effect.
That was when he learned Deidara's current research conclusion.
If these explosive clays were going to reach tremendous power, they needed sufficient quantity. In other words, they needed enough equivalent.
Explosion Release was a chakra based technique. Chakra could be replenished through refining. It was practically an endless supply of clean energy.
That meant Deidara could become a very respectable explosives production machine.
"Deidara, are you alright?" Kenichi asked, watching closely.
The concern only made Deidara admire his idol more.
Even though I accidentally blew it up, my idol still cares about me!
"It's alright, Senpai, I'm sorry. I just…" Deidara blushed and lowered his head, clearly mortified. He had not meant to, but he had embarrassed his idol anyway.
It was environmentally friendly, safe, inexpensive, and efficient.
Cluster bombs were a special type of weapon. Fundamentally, they were ordinary bombs, but they broke apart in midair, causing thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of smaller bombs to scatter and fall freely from high altitude.
Kenichi had to admit, this method of bomb production was the first time he had ever seen anything like it. If he had not been absolutely certain Deidara was human, he would have been tempted to dissect him just to see if there was a processing plant inside.
Hearing Deidara's explanation, Kenichi understood immediately.
So the problem was still his own.
He had just told Deidara that an explosion was not determined solely by yield, but also by many other factors. Yet if the bomb became too large, fewer cluster bombs could be packed together, which defeated the point.
"Yes, senpai!" Deidara nodded quickly, then started trying to compress his chakra again. Kenichi squatted beside him, watching closely.
It exploded.
The blast came with no warning. Kenichi reacted instantly, throwing up an earthen wall to block the shockwave and catch some of the flying debris.
Even so, the impact snapped his hair back and nearly knocked him off balance.
Kenichi coughed twice, then used Wind Release to disperse the smoke. Through the thinning haze, he saw Deidara coughing too.
But he was unharmed.
Kenichi finally let out a breath he did not realize he was holding.
"It's fine, it's fine," Kenichi said with a wave and a smile. "Tell me, how did it suddenly explode?"
Deidara scratched his head, equally confused. "When I was compressing it, my chakra suddenly detonated. I did not even have time to react."
Kenichi fell silent, replaying what he had seen.
Deidara had chewed the explosive clay, tried to compress chakra into it, and the moment he pulled it out, it detonated.
At least it did not explode inside his body. Otherwise, Kenichi would have lost his little fanboy.
But the cost problem had effectively been solved. With Explosion Release, they could not perfectly replicate the weapons from his previous life, but they could still produce certain results.
And now, Kenichi had a new option forming in his mind.
"So," Kenichi asked, "do you think this counts as a failure or a success?"
Deidara froze, then looked unsure.
Kenichi did not answer for him. He was already thinking ahead.
The future Deidara would be extremely useful. He could mass produce small bombs and other lower requirement explosives, saving Kenichi a great deal of money. That alone made Deidara's safety important.
The main issue with cluster bombs was never just their immediate explosive strength.
In Kenichi's previous life, the most terrifying hidden danger was unexploded submunitions. Because there were so many, it was impossible to guarantee that every single one detonated properly. Some would remain live, turning the battlefield into a long term death trap. Nobody knew whether a single careless step, or a single impact, would set one off.
That was why cluster bombs ended up restricted under agreements.
Kenichi remembered how, in the past, certain weapons were covered by conventions signed by smaller countries, requiring everyone not to use them. The superpowers did not always sign those conventions. Cluster bombs were exactly the kind of "effective enough to be used anyway" weapon.
But that was the previous life.
In the ninja world, that specific problem did not exist. If Deidara used Explosion Release to create cluster bombs, they would detonate as they fell. There was no need to worry about residue. Deidara himself had said that if it did not explode, it would become ordinary soil once the chakra ran out.
The sheer number of small bombs also made interception extremely difficult.
Such weapons could cover a wide area and produce brutal tactical effects. Many small bombs did not mean weak. In fact, it could mean the opposite.
Kenichi stared at the small crater the cluster bomb had made, then frowned.
"This will not work," he said. "It will not achieve the effect we want. Why is your explosive so weak?"
It was unexpected, yet perfectly logical.
It was hard to say Deidara's chakra control was insufficient. He was still young, and his development of both his jutsu and bloodline potential was still limited.
Still, Kenichi could not help comparing it to his own experiences.
When he compressed Sage Chakra into thermobaric explosives, the destructive power had been far beyond this. This level of Explosion Release did not impress him at all.
Kenichi stroked his chin. If that was the case, compressing chakra really was difficult.
If Deidara tried to keep it stable, it became less volatile, and the power naturally dropped.
Kenichi's mind flicked back to another thread entirely.
This question still needed experiments to verify. For example, using some Uchiha to see whether the Sharingan had extra nerves. If extra nerves existed, what did those nerves connect to?
Kenichi was not in a hurry to take revenge on Obito.
He looked at Deidara again, and his thoughts shifted into a new direction.
"Deidara," Kenichi asked curiously, "does your Explosion Release require this clay?"
"Huh?" Deidara blinked. "I do not know. I tried other materials, but none worked as well as clay."
Kenichi's interest sharpened immediately.
So if he wanted to make Deidara work for him properly, he would need to solve the clay problem first.
What kind of power was only compatible with clay?
Kenichi was genuinely curious.
.....
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