BOOM!
The instant Deidara triggered the explosion, a wave of intense danger surged through him.
Instinct took over. His body hurled itself backward.
In his vision, the world flipped, then reset.
Crows swirled and coalesced mid-air, forming the shape of Itachi Uchiha.
But the white dove—the one that should have flown toward the crows—was now streaking straight back at him.
Deidara barely dodged in time. A fraction of a second slower, and his own Explosion Release would have torn him apart.
"What the—?"
He stared at his hands, confusion flashing in his eyes.
"It was a genjutsu."
Up on the dais, Ōnoki stated flatly.
It wasn't surprising that an Uchiha like Itachi, with his Sharingan, could use genjutsu.
But this one… it was potent. It almost fooled even their experienced eyes.
Deidara's loss wasn't unjust.
Even though he hadn't surrendered, even though he wasn't hurt—that single display from Itachi laid bare the gap between them.
It wasn't just power. Strategy, composure… Deidara fell short on every front.
"Hokage," Ōnoki sighed, shaking his head. "Just how did you train a disciple like that?"
Hakagi offered a faint, non-committal smile.
How was he trained?
Hell if he knew.
Maybe the Tsuchikage should ask Shisui. This reeked of private, after-hours tutoring.
Hakagi glanced back at Shisui. The Uchiha met his gaze with a gentle, utterly guileless smile.
"…"
Hakagi looked away, a metaphorical waterfall of sweat trailing down his back.
Damn it!
Why did Uchiha Shisui have to look so pure right now?
"I'm not losing!"
Deidara roared, his hands flying as explosive clay spewed forth.
White, sticky masses vomited from his palms, rapidly sculpting the massive form of a giant white bird.
His expression was one of desperate, all-or-nothing madness. Every ounce of his chakra surged outward.
He couldn't lose! Not in front of the Hokage!
He needed the Hokage's recognition!
The white bird's wings beat, kicking up a gust of wind.
It shot toward Itachi Uchiha like a bullet.
Itachi began to form hand seals. Slowly.
Unlike his usual blistering speed, these seals were deliberate. Measured. Utterly focused.
A gale howled, whipping sand and grit into the air. Flags snapped violently.
Many in the audience squinted, eyes watering, but they forced them open. They wouldn't miss this final clash.
Hakagi already knew the jutsu Itachi was preparing.
He just hadn't expected the boy to master it so completely.
Of course. An anime genius.
A single, envious tear traced its path down Hakagi's soul.
"What are you jealous of? You skip the grind and go straight to max level."
The system's voice chimed in his mind.
"I'm just jealous they get to learn the jutsu. Not like me…"
Hakagi sighed dramatically.
The system fell silent. Why did the host's complaint sound exactly like that new term it had just learned…
—Flexing.
That was it.
"Wind Style: Meteor Kill!"
A pale cyan wind gathered, spiraling violently above the arena.
Itachi's finger pointed like a blade at Deidara.
A torrent of cyan energy erupted from his fingertip.
Its speed warped the very air.
Deidara couldn't react.
"Deidara!"
Ōnoki's face paled.
Hakagi was faster.
BOOM!
The energy beam punched through the stone floor. Another massive crater yawned open in the training ground.
Yamato stepped forward, ready as always. His hands moved to grow wood, then paused.
His eyes fixed on the hole in the floor.
It was small—the size of a baby's fist—but it bored down, down, into impossible depths.
Deidara dangled from Hakagi's grip, spared from the blast.
"Hokage-sama…"
Deidara stared up at Hakagi, dumbstruck.
To Hakagi's surprise, the boy's eyes began to glisten, rimmed with red.
"…"
Why is the kid crying?
Hakagi mentally scrambled for his memory of the original Deidara.
Right. This Deidara was still just a kid.
"Hokage-sama… am I… weak?"
Deidara's voice trembled. He fought to keep the tears from falling.
Ōnoki, who had rushed over to check on his disciple only to be completely ignored: "…"
This… this scene felt wrong.
The Tsuchikage looked at the picture of mentor-student bonding between his own apprentice and the Hokage. A wave of existential doubt washed over him.
I'm his teacher, right?
Right?!
He IS my student?!
Ōnoki's eye twitched. He straightened his posture, determined to reclaim his rightful, teacherly authority.
"Deidara! Victory and defeat are common for shinobi! A ninja who cannot accept loss will never improve!"
"Hokage-sama… I let you down, didn't I?"
Deidara's eyes never left Hakagi's face. A soft sob escaped him.
"…"
It really doesn't have to be this dramatic.
But, considering the monumental importance of a childhood mentor…
Hakagi felt a duty to contribute to the healthy psychological development of the ninja world's youth.
"No. Deidara is strong."
Hakagi ruffled the boy's blonde hair. "Your talent is immense. I believe the future you will be even greater."
Deidara rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. "But… but I lost to Uchiha Itachi…"
"Hmm… well, you're younger than him. Who knows? Maybe when you grow up, you'll surpass him."
Hakagi had no qualms about lying to children.
"Hokage-sama… you really believe in me?"
Deidara's gaze was full of anxious hope.
Hakagi nodded. "Of course I do. You're a future Tsuchikage, after all!"
A brilliant light ignited in Deidara's eyes.
Power flooded his limbs.
He would study tirelessly. Train until he dropped. Become the Tsuchikage! That way, he'd beat Uchiha Itachi in status alone!
Hakagi fell silent. Ōnoki swiftly wedged himself between them, adopting a profoundly wise tone.
"Deidara, a single loss means nothing. As long as you never give up, you will one day become a remarkable shinobi. This is what I, your teacher, must impart to you."
"Hmm?"
No response came.
Ōnoki looked down.
The spot was empty.
"Where's Deidara?"
The Tsuchikage's composure cracked.
"Tsuchikage-sama, Deidara left quite a while ago!" an Iwa-nin standing behind Ōnoki offered awkwardly. He was cringing on his Kage's behalf.
Ōnoki returned to his seat, heart thoroughly bruised.
"Hokage… you win."
His voice was dejected.
Not because of the lost bet. Because of Deidara.
Why does my own student keep forgetting I exist, dammit!
Itachi Uchiha paid zero attention to the aftermath.
He only knew one thing: it was time to go home and look after his brother.
With the Chunin Exams on, his father and mother were swamped. Sasuke was his responsibility.
The thought of little Sasuke alone at home made Itachi's feet itch to move.
He left without a word.
Soon after, the screen lit up with the next match.
Hyūga Tenri vs. Akiaoi Shinya.
They'd been paired together.
Akiaoi Shinya had no Kekkei Genkai, but his ninjutsu talent was off the charts—easily on par with Itachi's. Yesterday's match proved he'd picked up some Lightning Style tricks in Kumo, too.
Hyūga Tenri's single devastating punch was formidable, but she couldn't unleash it in rapid succession.
The winner: Akiaoi Shinya.
Beside Hakagi, the Raikage puffed up with pride.
Hakagi: "…"
For a moment, I couldn't tell if Shinya was my student or his.
But the Raikage had taught the boy too, so he was half a sensei, he supposed.
The following matches were more routine.
Until it was Haku's turn.
"That boy… Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, correct?"
Ōnoki remembered Haku. His performance yesterday was stellar.
High combat IQ. Unshakable calm. Maximized every ounce of his ability.
Ōnoki admired that type deeply.
"Yes. That little one's talent is exceptional."
Mei Terumi's gaze settled on Haku, softening with a uniquely feminine tenderness.
"The Mizukage seems quite taken with him."
Ōnoki saw right through her.
Mei nodded. "Of course. Who wouldn't like a child who's powerful, kind, and obedient?"
Hakagi clicked his tongue. His undercover agents were really thriving, one outdoing the other.
Haku's persona sounded awfully familiar.
"Familiar? Weren't you exactly the same when you first entered Konoha, Host?"
The system helpfully jogged Hakagi's selectively amnesiac memory.
"…"
The outcome of Haku's match was never in doubt. He won, clean and simple.
The tournament ground on.
Elsewhere. The Five Kage's Lodgings.
The inn was fortress-tight. Hyūga and Uchiha guards formed an impenetrable ring. Not even a mosquito could slip through.
In the Kazekage's suite, a small child sat quietly on the plush bed.
Toys meant for a toddler lay scattered before him. Deep, purple shadows bruised the skin under his eyes.
"…Mother…"
Gaara murmured dully.
It was the only word he knew.
The other person in the room heard him. He turned and approached.
Yashamaru gently ruffled Gaara's red hair. "Good boy. Want to play with your toys?"
Gaara didn't answer.
His tiny figure looked heartbreakingly alone.
A spatial distortion rippled through the room.
Two figures materialized.
Yashamaru noticed nothing. But he saw Gaara's head suddenly snap up.
"Gaara? What's wrong?" Yashamaru asked.
The next instant, darkness swallowed his vision. He collapsed, unconscious.
"Why not just kill him?" Zabuza asked.
Beside him, Hanataki—clad in the Akatsuki's black robes with red clouds—reached for the boy on the bed.
A wall of sand erupted, shielding Gaara. Hanataki's hand slammed into it, stopped cold.
So this is the famous Mother's Absolute Defense…
Golden flames ignited around Hanataki's hand. They seeped through the sand barrier as if it were nothing.
"Fire Style: Blasting Storm!"
A colossal fire dragon roared, shattering the wall as it hurtled toward Hanataki.
Hanataki's face was already hidden behind his mask. He raised a single hand. Golden light blossomed from his fingertip, engulfing his body in an instant.
The raging fire dragon… dissolved. It was sucked into the golden glow as Tree watched with a grave expression.
A second later, a fire dragon twice the size of the original shot back at her, carrying all its fury and heat.
The scorching windblast hit her first.
The dragon was upon her.
Blood-red light coalesced in Tree's pupils. Black tomoe spun, linking into a unique pattern.
A black skeletal ribcage materialized around her. The dragon's fiery breath guttered and died.
Tree, as captain of the Kage security detail, had been the first to detect the anomaly in the Kazekage's room.
She never expected to face the masked man from the Iwa attack here. Again.
In that split-second of defense, Gaara was already in Hanataki's grasp.
The boy was eerily placid. Captured, but not crying. Not struggling.
Maybe, at his age, he couldn't even comprehend what was happening.
Hanataki pulled up Gaara's shirt.
On the pale, soft belly, the seal imprisoning the Tailed Beast was etched.
Hanataki's hand pressed down. The extraction began.
"Magnet Style: Gold Dust!"
The sound of collapsing masonry exploded around them.
A tsunami of gleaming gold sand surged, crashing toward Hanataki.
He halted the extraction, flickered, and reappeared with Gaara well outside the attack range.
"Dust Style: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A voice rang out behind him.
In the blink of an eye, a white cubic barrier surrounded him.
"Tsuchikage!" the Kazekage, Rasa, shouted in alarm. "Gaara is in there!"
Ōnoki nodded grimly. He knew.
And this man… wouldn't be ended so easily.
He was right.
The next moment, the person trapped inside the Dust Style barrier wasn't Hanataki.
It was a bewildered Rasa.
Ōnoki gritted his teeth, forcibly dispelling the technique.
"Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
A deafening draconic roar split the air. A massive water dragon, its form crackling with violent lightning, materialized.
It roared, maw gaping, and plummeted to devour Hanataki where he stood.
Hanataki raised his hand. The golden light swallowed Mei's combined assault whole.
In the next heartbeat, a Lightning Water Dragon of equal, terrifying scale hurtled back at her.
"What kind of twisted jutsu is this?!" Mei dodged, brow furrowed.
Ōnoki shared the intel, voice tight. "That masked man is the one who attacked Iwa. He can teleport himself and others instantly. He absorbs ninjutsu and reflects it with greater power. On top of that, he wields Ice Style and a series of other high-level offensive techniques."
Rasa heard this. A cold sweat traced a path down his temple.
"You're saying… his power is practically immeasurable?"
Rasa's heart hammered.
Gaara was his son. And the One-Tail Jinchūriki of Sunagakure.
For both personal and village reasons, he couldn't let anything happen to the boy.
He thought keeping Gaara by his side was safest. He could suppress the One-Tail if it stirred.
He never imagined anyone would dare strike during the Five Kage Summit at the Chunin Exams.
"Let's see just how strong he really is!"
A rough voice, edged with the snarl of lightning.
A blur of blue-purple light shot across their vision.
The Raikage's body was sheathed in a crackling Lightning Style Chakra Mode.
His speed was untraceable.
"Lariat!"
All his immense power concentrated into his elbow. He shot toward Hanataki like a human thunderbolt.
The force behind it could shatter a mountain.
Golden light flared at Hanataki's fingertip.
Thin rays of gold shot out, weaving into a radiant net in the air.
"You think you can stop me with just this? Impossible!"
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