"What?!" Deidara imdiately got angry. "What gives you the right to think... hmph! Wait until I blow you flat, then say that stuff again. Just you wait, hmph!"
He turned and ran off, eager to improve his art.
Kyoshin watched his retreating figure and gave a slight nod.
This was good. Give Deidara a target and make him treat himself as a platform to test his art on.
As long as he stayed in the Hidden Stone Village, if Deidara wanted to keep challenging him, then after every defeat, as long as he wasn't killed, he wouldn't leave the village.
And this was only the first step.
He also needed to properly shape Deidara's sense of honor and sha, guide him onto the right path.
———
Ti passed, and a year went by.
An area outside the Hidden Stone Village filled with strange rock formations.
Vendors shouted along the roadside while crowds of people ca and went with excited expressions.
"The fifteenth ti already."
"Place your bets, place your bets!"
A traveling rchant who had co from elsewhere looked at the bustling scene in confusion. He grabbed a passerby and asked, "Hey, what's going on here?"
"I heard this place had too many weird rocks, so nobody planned to develop it. I haven't been here in two years, so how did it turn into this?"
The passerby's face was red with urgency as he snapped, "The hell are you grabbing for?! I'm in a hurry!"
The rchant let go helplessly and watched the man hurry off into the distance. "..."
His curiosity piqued, he followed the flow of people forward and eventually stopped at a spectator stand packed with people.
Soone sharp-eyed in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Look! Deidara's here!"
The crowd instantly stirred.
"Judging by the way he looks, he's definitely going to win this ti! Deidara! Win this for ! I've already lost money on you ten tis! I'm begging you, let make it back this ti!"
"Heh, I'm still betting on Kintsuchi. In front of the great Lord Kintsuchi, Deidara's nothing worth ntioning."
Two figures appeared one after another atop the strange rock formations, each standing on a massive boulder as they faced each other from afar.
Deidara glared viciously at Kyoshin and roared, "The fifteenth application for early graduation assessnt begins now!! Hmph!"
The farce between the two of them had gone on so long that Onoki could no longer be bothered dealing with it. There wasn't even a referee anymore. Usually, Deidara handled that himself.
"Kintsuchi!!!" Deidara stared at the boy across from him. "This ti I'll definitely beat you! I'll definitely beat you!! Hmph!!!"
Over the past year, he had challenged Kyoshin again and again without stopping.
But every single ti, he lost.
As for Kyoshin, he deliberately created the illusion that "if you just work a little harder, you can beat ."
Under the strain of long-term intense training, subtle changes began occurring in Deidara's mindset.
His love for explosions had actually started to fall behind his desire to defeat Kyoshin.
Fifteen tis.
A full fifteen tis...
If he still couldn't beat Kyoshin and graduate early...
Then at this rate, he'd freaking graduate normally.
Across from Deidara, Kyoshin wore the Hidden Stone Anbu mask. Beneath the mask, he was struggling to keep a straight face. "Show how much you've improved."
That tone, the kind only an elder speaking to a junior would use, instantly made Deidara snap. Visible heat practically surged from his forehead.
Kyoshin was only nine years old. He himself was nearly twelve.
Hearing Kyoshin talk to him like that... he couldn't take it. Absolutely couldn't take it.
"Die! Hmph!!!"
The battle began.
———
The battle ended.
Even after giving it everything he had, he still couldn't do it?
Deidara lay on the ground, blankly staring at the sky.
As usual, Kyoshin walked over to comfort him. He even deliberately breathed heavily while speaking. "Huff... that was close. You almost pulled it off."
How many "almosts" had there been by now?
Deidara's gaze refocused as he looked at the fox mask in front of him, his tone calming down. "See you next month."
He turned over and left.
Kyoshin waved at him kindly. "Keep it up, Deidara! You're only a little bit away from becoming the Hidden Stone Village's number one genius!"
In the distance, Deidara's footsteps seed to falter for an instant.
Tap~ Tap~
Soft footsteps approached.
An Anbu appeared before Kyoshin. "Kintsuchi, Lord Tsuchikage summons you."
Kyoshin nodded and followed the Anbu toward the Tsuchikage Building.
He could more or less guess the reason. His growth over the past year had been far too obvious. Onoki definitely had plans now.
———
[Tsuchikage's Office]
Onoki spoke with emotion, "Kintsuchi, I've seen all the progress you've made this past year."
Kyoshin replied calmly, "It's all thanks to Lord Tsuchikage and the Hidden Stone Village's guidance."
Onoki shook his head. "No. This is your own hard work. The Hidden Stone Village only provided the environnt. Real growth depends on yourself."
He paused for a mont before continuing, "Your strength has already reached a certain level. I'm considering beginning instruction in Dust Release."
A slight change flickered through Kyoshin's eyes.
Dust Release. A Kekkei Tota. Onoki's signature ninjutsu.
Being taught a technique of this level ant that Onoki truly viewed him as a successor.
"I'll follow your arrangents."
Onoki nodded in satisfaction after hearing that.
He took out six scrolls from the drawer and placed them on the desk.
Onoki said, "But before learning Dust Release, you'll need so ntal preparation."
"Learning Dust Release may be extrely difficult. You may even fail entirely."
"Kekkei Tota isn't ordinary ninjutsu. It requires extraordinary talent and effort."
Kyoshin picked up the first scroll and opened it.
Then the second. The third...
After reading all six scrolls, he fell silent. "Lord Tsuchikage, where's the Dust Release? None of this ntions it."
Onoki tried his best to make his tone gentler. "These are the training thods for the foundational prerequisites required before cultivating Dust Release. They are not the cultivation thods for Dust Release itself."
Kyoshin, "..."
The six scrolls corresponded respectively to...
Fire Release chakra shape transformation training thods.
Fire Release chakra nature transformation training thods.
Earth Release chakra shape transformation training thods.
Earth Release chakra nature transformation training thods.
Wind Release chakra shape transformation training thods.
Wind Release chakra nature transformation training thods.
If ninjutsu difficulty were ranked as D, C, B, A, and S...
Then up until now, the difficulty of mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique would be considered S .
The difficulty of mastering Dust Release, however, was four tis greater than the Flying Thunder God Technique.
To put it more plainly, during Naruto's training in the original story, he once raised a question.
This technique is too difficult. It's like making one eye look upward while the other eye looks downward.
Then Dust Release would be equivalent to, while making one eye look upward and the other downward, growing a third eye to look forward at the sa ti.
"Ahem..." Seeing Kyoshin frozen in place, Onoki quickly added, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just give it a try."
"These are only the prerequisite conditions. Even if you can't learn Dust Release, this will still be trendously beneficial for your future."
Kyoshin nodded. "I'll do my best."
Onoki nodded as well. "Good. Once you've mastered these, co find . Then I'll officially begin teaching you Dust Release."
———
After leaving the Tsuchikage's office and returning ho.
The sky gradually darkened.
While taking a bath, Kyoshin opened his status panel.
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[Host: Uchiha Kyoshin]
[Bloodline: Three-Tomoe Sharingan]
[Ninjutsu: Great Fireball Technique, Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Earth Flow Wall, Great Breakthrough, Wind Cutter Technique]
[Genjutsu: Sharingan, Demonic Illusion, Hell Viewing Technique]
[Taijutsu: Konoha Style Swordsmanship]
[Chakra: 388]
[Combat Power: 155]
[System Ability: Linear Potential. Effort will always be rewarded. Your potential no longer has limits or bottlenecks.]
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