Ishikawa remained calm as he ford hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking the spiders' path.
But the corner of Deidara's mouth curled into a grin.
"Explode!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
All ten spiders exploded at once, and the resulting smoke instantly engulfed the entire field.
Ishikawa imdiately retreated, but sothing suddenly burst out from within the smoke.
'No, not one thing, a whole swarm...'
'A swarm of white bees and… little birds?'
Behind every clay bird was a bee following closely behind, each bee raising both hands while holding a tal plate.
"Hah!", Deidara shouted loudly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of tiny explosions rang out.
The shockwaves generated by the countless bees provided propulsion for the birds, while the birds used that force to adjust their wings, flying toward Ishikawa from every direction at terrifying speed.
A wave of shocked cries erupted from the spectator stands. To create clay creatures capable of such precise and stable flight, Deidara's control had already far surpassed the level of a chunin.
Ishikawa had no choice but to use wide-range Earth Release techniques to defend and evade.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Continuous explosions rang out around Ishikawa.
Although each individual bird wasn't especially powerful, their sheer numbers made the chakra consumption extrely taxing.
Cracks began appearing in Ishikawa's defense.
"Stop!", The examiner shouted loudly.
"You've graduated, Deidara!"
Deidara recalled the clay birds and burst into laughter.
Truthfully, the examination prepared for Deidara had only been a formality.
Everyone knew his strength had long surpassed that of an ordinary genin. The only reason he still hadn't graduated early was because he was too stubborn.
Deidara basked in the applause, then lifted his head toward the spectator stands, his gaze imdiately locking onto Kyoshin.
There was no pride or showing off in those eyes, only pure anticipation.
He was waiting for Kyoshin's evaluation.
After stepping off the field, the other students crowded around to congratulate Deidara.
The instructors were also discussing his performance from earlier, their words full of praise.
But Deidara only responded perfunctorily before squeezing out of the crowd and heading straight toward Kyoshin.
Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow. "Looks like he's here for you."
Kyoshin stood up and walked toward Deidara.
The two t in the passageway beneath the stands.
Deidara looked directly at Kyoshin and asked, "So?"
His tone sounded calm, but Kyoshin could hear the tension underneath.
This proud young man actually cared a great deal about his opinion.
Kyoshin smiled. "Very good."
The corners of Deidara's lips lifted slightly, but he quickly suppressed it again.
"But? Hmm."
"But..." Kyoshin paused. "There's still room for improvent."
'Damn it!'
'If you were gonna criticize , why phrase it so politely?!'
Deidara ground his teeth together, but the irritation caused by Kyoshin's roundabout way of speaking was quickly overwheld by his thirst for knowledge.
"Then say it already! Hmm!"
Kyoshin said, "The bees can provide propulsion for the birds, but the energy efficiency is too low. The birds are flying at twenty ters per second."
"Compared to before, when you just threw them directly, it's definitely much faster, and it greatly reduces the enemy's reaction and evasion ti, but it's still not fast enough."
Deidara frowned. "Then I need to improve energy efficiency? Hmm…"
"Exactly." Kyoshin reminded him, "You can use hardened clay, or even just a steel tube sealed at one end."
"Put the bees below and the birds above, completely sealing the internal space."
"When the bees explode, the pressure inside that sealed space will rapidly expand, but because the 'clay or steel tube' can't be moved, all the energy will be directed into propelling the birds."
To put it simply, it was close to the firearm principles from Kyoshin's previous life, though sowhat different.
After hearing it, Deidara felt his whole body heat up with excitent. He was already unable to wait any longer.
As he ran outside, he shouted, "See you next month! Hmm!"
His tone was completely serious. There wasn't the slightest hint of joking.
Kyoshin smiled, "I'll be waiting."
———
[One Year Later]
[Training Grounds]
The chakra lamps on the rock walls had already gone out, leaving the entire field subrged in deep darkness. Only the central area was illuminated by a faint yet pure white glow.
Kyoshin sat cross-legged at the center of the halo, his hands forming a complicated seal in front of his chest.
Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was slow and deep.
Between his palms, three masses of chakra rotated slowly.
Crimson fire. Blue-gray wind. Yellow-brown earth.
The lights of the three colors intertwined and seeped into one another, attempting to fuse into the legendary pure white capable of reducing everything into an atomic state.
But every ti they approached the edge of fusion, the balance would collapse. The chakra would grow unstable, and the light would begin to flicker.
Then…
Pop~
With a soft burst, the three masses of chakra dissipated simultaneously, turning into chaotic airflow that brushed across Kyoshin's face.
A trace of exhaustion flashed through his scarlet Sharingan.
"That's enough for today."
His chakra reserves were already more than sufficient. What he lacked now was practical experience in training.
Two months ago, Kyoshin had already begun using shadow clones to train Dust Release.
Including all the additional attempts provided through the shadow clones, he had tried this step nearly two hundred thousand tis in total.
Kyoshin's talent ca entirely from the system's linear potential. In terms of innate ninja talent, he was far inferior to Onoki.
Kyoshin stood up and returned ho. After preparing everything, he lay down on the bed, released the shadow clones, and instantly blacked out as both legs stiffened.
———
[The Next Day]
Kyoshin took a deep breath and ford hand seals once again.
Three masses of chakra. Three origins. Three different natures.
Kyoshin once again began attempting fusion.
Every day, his understanding of Dust Release steadily improved.
This ti, he no longer pursued speed. Instead, he pursued precision.
The direction of every strand of energy, the balance of every node, every millisecond of change, all of it was calculated and adjusted with exact precision.
Earth and wind made contact first.
Yellow-brown and blue-gray intertwined and slowly began to rge.
This wasn't a simple mixture, but a fusion at the level of chakra nature itself. The heaviness of earth gave wind physical form, while the sharpness of wind granted earth an edge.
The color of the light gradually began to change, shifting from two distinct colors into a faint grayish white.
Kyoshin's breathing beca even slower, almost stopping entirely.
All of his focus was concentrated between his hands, sensing that delicate point of balance.
Then he added fire-nature chakra transformation.
The crimson glow seeped cautiously into the gray-white fusion like a thin thread.
Faint red light began surfacing within the gray-white glow. The three colors were no longer clearly separated, but instead perated one another, each containing the others within itself.
Kyoshin maintained this precise control.
The fusion ratio of the three chakra types approached perfection. Earth accounted for forty percent, providing a stable foundation.
Wind accounted for thirty percent, providing the sharpness of decomposition. Fire accounted for thirty percent, providing annihilating heat.
They no longer rejected one another.
They had begun to truly fuse together.
The color of the light grew paler and purer.
From gray-white tinged with red, to pale gray, to nearly transparent, and finally...
A strand of pure white light ignited between Kyoshin's palms.
The light was faint, only the size of a fingernail, wavering unsteadily like the dying fla of a candle in the wind, as though it could go out at any mont.
But it truly existed.
And it was slowly, steadily growing.
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