Chapter 205: Look, this is a normal person! Naruto is simply a psychological miracle.
Even if it sounded a little cold, Kenichi couldn't help thinking, after looking at Deidara, that it wasn't surprising the Village didn't accept him. Deidara's Bloodline Limit was Explosion Release, a power that was simply too special.
Once that ability awakened, it meant he could cause terrifying destruction at any moment. Add Deidara's personality on top of that, and the idea of him blowing up his own Village didn't even feel farfetched.
Kenichi could understand the fear.
If he hadn't stopped Deidara quickly earlier, Deidara might already be experimenting and have blown up the airship. At that point, even Kenichi would be furious, let alone the people of Iwagakure who had nothing to do with Deidara.
If someone's home got destroyed by another person, they would hate the one responsible down to the bone. With that kind of damage and fear, Deidara being ostracized by the villagers was almost inevitable.
And if you added another condition, like that house had just finished paying off a thirty year mortgage…
Kenichi sucked in a breath. It was honestly a miracle Deidara hadn't been beaten to death on the spot.
"Your Bloodline Limit is a talent, Deidara. It isn't your fault," Kenichi said, offering what comfort he could. Explosion Release was already troublesome on its own, and paired with Deidara's temperament, it was a recipe for disaster.
But was that really Deidara's fault?
It reminded Kenichi of Naruto. Kurama had been forced into Naruto by his father, who had hoped his son would be treated well. Instead, it backfired and gave Naruto a childhood that could only be called tragic.
Deidara didn't choose Explosion Release either. He was born with it. And a power like that, in the hands of a child his age, was bound to cause serious problems.
Of course, the Third Tsuchikage's education methods likely had issues too. For the sake of the Village, the Third Tsuchikage had Deidara live outside Iwagakure.
On the surface, it reduced friction between the Village and Deidara. But kids Deidara's age were psychologically sensitive. He could feel the difference in treatment, and that only pushed him further toward extremes.
Worse, the Third Tsuchikage didn't seem to realize what that kind of isolation would do. Kenichi sighed. Raising and teaching children really was an important matter.
The future Fourth Tsuchikage had basically been guided down the wrong path.
"Amemiya senpai… everyone dislikes me. The kids in the Village don't play with me anymore. My master keeps telling me how to become a powerful Tsuchikage, but I don't want to be Tsuchikage… hmm." Deidara said more than usual, his voice tight.
Kenichi lifted an eyebrow. So it really was like that.
Deidara's experience sounded tragic, and in a strange way, it made Kenichi think Konoha should properly bow to Iruka, Teuchi, and even the Sage of Six Paths.
Deidara had been treated like this, and he already looked like he was near the edge. If Naruto's life had been given to Deidara instead, Kenichi suspected Deidara would have turned himself into a bomb and performed his final art right in the middle of Iwagakure.
So for Naruto, who grew up in Konoha's environment, to not be corrupted by it… that truly was a psychological miracle.
"Tsuchikage?" Kenichi snorted. "No one sane wants that job. What's so good about it? It looks glorious, but you're busy to death every day."
Deidara froze for a moment. People around him had always said they wanted to become Tsuchikage.
His childhood playmates shouted it like a dream. His aunts and uncles said they envied the Tsuchikage sama. His teacher told him he would become the next Tsuchikage, again and again, until it filled him with resistance.
That was how teenagers were. The more adults pushed, the more the kid pushed back.
"Amemiya senpai, let me tell you…" Deidara immediately slid into complaint mode, pouring out his experiences. The more he spoke, the clearer his past became to Kenichi.
In some ways, Deidara's childhood resembled Naruto's, but not completely.
Before awakening Explosion Release, Deidara had been an ordinary child. He had companions. He had friendships. Then his Bloodline Limit manifested, and everything changed overnight.
His friends grew distant. Other villagers stared at him, avoided him, treated him like a walking disaster. He was isolated. If the Third Tsuchikage hadn't taken him in as a disciple, Deidara's life might have been even worse.
Then came the day he was taken out of the Village to live elsewhere, under the Third Tsuchikage's decision. After that, Deidara's mindset shifted completely.
"I hate them." Deidara's eyes darkened, and his fists clenched hard.
Uncomfortable. Hatred. Resentment. Dissatisfaction. Grievance.
Those were the words Deidara returned to again and again when he described that period of his life.
Kenichi let out a slow breath. "This is a normal person."
Given what Deidara had endured, ending up like this made sense to Kenichi. Naruto, by comparison, was the abnormal case.
If Shisui hadn't yet revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan, Kenichi might have suspected Naruto's mind had been altered by Shisui's Mangekyo since childhood, forcing him to stay optimistic and cheerful, dreaming of becoming Hokage no matter what.
"Actually, you're not that bad," Kenichi said, not preaching and not forcing comfort. He knew lectures were useless. Even if he was Deidara's idol, saying too much would only make things worse.
So he changed tactics.
Deidara thought his life was miserable. Fine. Kenichi would introduce him to someone whose life was even more miserable, and let reality do the work.
He told Naruto's story.
As Kenichi spoke, Deidara first looked confused, then increasingly stunned.
Isolated by everyone. Pelted with rotten eggs and spoiled vegetable leaves. Later treated like he didn't exist. Not a single friend. Living day to day on scraps. No proper teachers. No family.
"Amemiya senpai… you're not joking, are you?" Even Deidara, who admired Kenichi deeply, couldn't stop himself from asking. It sounded like a made up tragedy. No one could live like that.
Kenichi rolled his eyes. He already knew this reaction was coming. Anyone with basic common sense would find Naruto's story hard to believe.
"Why would I joke with you?" Kenichi said with a scowl. "That kid is in Konoha. Sometimes I'll take you to see him, and then you'll understand."
He wasn't the kind of person who spent all day telling pointless stories.
Kenichi pulled out his calendar and checked the dates. If this mission in the Star Village ended smoothly, he could head to the Land of Fire to restock his consumables. After that, the experiments could begin.
He had considered taking someone from Shisui, but Shisui was useful. Better to let Danzo play the villain. Kenichi himself would stay the good person.
People preferred being close to someone kind. Staying near someone cruel required strict conditions. Kenichi tended to act neutrally, but to reach his goals, he didn't mind wearing the mask of a good man.
Being a good person had benefits.
"Konoha has someone like that too… hmm." Deidara blinked, still struggling to believe it. Because under those conditions, according to what Deidara had heard from his teacher, that kid could still walk around the Village cheerfully every day.
And he even wanted to become Hokage?
It sounded like a fairy tale.
"Of course it does," Kenichi said with a shrug. "Why wouldn't it?"
Then he glanced out the window. Below them was a small town.
He didn't know where it was.
This time, Kenichi deliberately avoided Konoha's location. He didn't know whether Konoha had developed any anti air ninjutsu. If they were spotted, it would be troublesome, so it was safer to simply not fly over it.
Besides, heading southeast through the Land of Fire didn't require passing above Konoha anyway.
"Amemiya senpai… that person is normal, right?" Deidara asked again, as if he needed to confirm it out loud.
"Don't worry," Kenichi said, nodding. "He's absolutely normal. He just has some secrets other people can't know."
Kenichi wondered, briefly, whether Nagato would start his plan the moment Naruto was taken out.
Probably not. Nagato's standards for his plan were strict, and he wouldn't act until everything matched what he wanted. Kenichi didn't know what those standards were, but the mission would only be carried out after Naruto grew up anyway.
It might not even be confirmed yet that the Nine Tails jinchuriki was Naruto.
Kenichi looked back at Deidara. Deidara still wore an expression like he was questioning life itself. That was when Kenichi finally noticed something else.
Deidara seemed to have a verbal habit.
It hadn't stood out earlier, but whenever he spoke about Iwagakure, he kept adding "hmm" at the end of his sentences.
"Deidara," Kenichi said, studying him. "I've noticed you really like adding 'hmm' at the end when you talk. Especially when it's about Iwagakure."
It wasn't a big problem. It just felt a little strange.
"Ah!" Deidara flinched. "Sorry, Amemiya senpai. It's because my teacher always taught me to say 'yes' more and 'no' less, so I…"
He scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Third Tsuchikage… oh, Third Tsuchikage. Your ability to teach students was really inferior to Hiruzen's. At least the Three Sannin didn't end up with bizarre verbal habits.
"You can change it," Kenichi said, patting Deidara's shoulder. "It's perfectly normal to refuse things you can't do."
In the ninja world, age didn't map cleanly to maturity. A one year old was still a one year old, sure. But by three, kids were basically like five or six year olds. By six or seven, they already carried the mindset of teenagers.
"Okay, senpai," Deidara said loudly, rubbing at his eyes. "I… I'll change it!"
.....
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