You suppressed the excitement bubbling inside and handed Deidara a stack of custom-made explosive tags.
Before you could even try to guide Deidara into taking further interest in you, he suddenly asked if you knew who made the explosive tags.
You told him plainly that you made them yourself. Then, pulling out a blank tag, you carved the seal by hand right on the spot—and detonated it immediately.
"No way! If you blow stuff up here, the old man's gonna yell at me!"
Deidara shouted, leaping toward you to stop you.
But you remained perfectly calm. Activating your Sharingan,time seemed to slow down as you reached out with both hands and caught the already-igniting explosive tag.
In the next instant, the explosion's flames were completely contained in your palms and compressed into a small glowing sphere.
Whoosh!
You flicked the ball into the sky, where it burst into a dazzling firework.
As Deidara stared in stunned silence, you casually blew away the lingering smoke from your fingertips and asked:
"Wanna learn how?"
And just like that, Deidara quietly and without a trace brought you into the back mountains where he usually trained.
Of course, you'd already left a shadow clone at home to take your place, just in case.
...
[Third Month]
During your days spent with Deidara in the back mountains of Iwagakure, you learned that he'd been forced into isolation by Ōnoki because his obsession with "the art of explosions" had stirred up so much resentment in the village.
But in truth, his so-called isolation was just him practicing his self-invented secret techniques in all kinds of creative ways.
The back mountains were spacious and full of giant boulders—perfect for Deidara to craft bizarre clay sculptures and blow them up for fun.
He would only be allowed to sneak out of the village once his clay ran out and he needed to dig up more materials. Last time he was out, he noticed your explosive tags stood out from the rest—but unfortunately missed the chance to get them.
This time, with your new batch of tags hitting the market, Deidara found your talent intriguing, and brought you straight into his hideout in the mountains.
After watching you control a fire dragon and a series of unique firework-style explosions, Deidara grew even more eager to exchange artistic ideas with you.
He practically couldn't wait to explain everything from the very foundations—desperate for you to understand just how incredible his clay explosions were.
Thanks to this back-and-forth, your grasp of Earth Release improved at a shocking pace.
You began to suspect that Deidara's understanding and application of Earth Release rivaled your own mastery of Fire Release.
Born without a Kekkei Genkai, he had created a technique on par with Explosion Release purely from his passion for art and deep understanding of Earth Release. He had never even studied the advanced techniques required of a Tsuchikage successor, yet his strength was already at Kage-level.
He was even younger than Uchiha Itachi by a year when he made it into the Akatsuki!
So this... was the world of geniuses?
If he hadn't encountered Itachi at the peak of his power when he first debuted—and if his Earth Release hadn't been naturally countered by Sasuke's Lightning Release—
You could only imagine what level Deidara might have reached had he become Tsuchikage himself.
Iwagakure might not produce top-tier talent often, but when they did, the quality was leaps and bounds beyond the other villages.
Outside of your artistic debates, you humbly asked Deidara how to deepen your understanding of Earth Release more efficiently.
Deidara pointed toward the mountain peak in the distance and explained that some of the village's jōnin would go up there to train by pushing boulders and meditating to enhance their Earth Release.
He also added that even he used to go there to refine his Earth Release—before he created his explosive clay at age six. It was a solid training method.
After that, Deidara asked you about Fire Release. You taught him the basics of the Great Fireball Technique and asked him what chakra natures he possessed.
As expected, his chakra affinities were Earth, Wind, and Fire. Otherwise, Ōnoki wouldn't have taken him as a student!
It was now confirmed that Deidara truly was the intended successor of the Tsuchikage. Ōnoki clearly aimed to pass Dust Release onto him—and Deidara certainly had the talent for it.
However, since you'd only just met and were still an outsider to the village, you held off on asking him for details about Dust Release. Bonds take time to build.
...
[Fourth Month]
During this time together, you showed Deidara the three types of flames you possessed and explained their properties in detail.
It inspired Deidara to start looking for three types of clay to match!
Conveniently, it was about time for another clay-gathering trip.
Deidara hid you inside the unfinished frame of one of his giant clay birds and smuggled you out of the village, taking you straight to the mountaintop used for Earth Release meditation.
According to Deidara, this was his personal seclusion zone—no one ever came here to bother him.
Even the jutsu and scrolls stored here were free for you to view and study!
When it came to artistic collaboration, Deidara never held back.
And besides, this version of Deidara hadn't yet been hardened by betrayal or defeat—he still carried a bit of prideful innocence. He even refused to study most of the advanced techniques meant for future Tsuchikage successors!
Feeling a little guilty, you gifted him a small vial of Flame of the Infested, sealed within a chakra-metal box. It was the most valuable thing you could give—after all, the poison flame wasn't fully refined yet, and you weren't about to hand over your Sharingan.
Deidara carefully pocketed the box close to his chest, then cheerfully ran off to gather new types of clay.
You activated your Sharingan and scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, there was a powerful barrier shielding the area. You then summoned Boss Black-Cat and double-checked using the ninja cat's sensory abilities.
Only after confirming everything was secure did you let yourself relax.
Looking at the personal training ground of a future Tsuchikage, you couldn't help but feel a little surreal—it had all come so easily.
You stepped into the cave filled with scrolls and began reading them one by one.
Beyond the comprehensive collections of Earth Release techniques, you discovered several handwritten manuscripts from the Second Tsuchikage. They detailed the ultimate forms of Earth, Fire, and Wind Release transformations.
Even more exciting—you found the technique you'd long sought: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique.
Of course, trying to learn this many Earth Release techniques in such a short time—even with your current talent—was simply impossible.
So you carefully chose the most practical ones to study:
Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique, which could massively enhance your physical strength.
Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique, which allowed you to travel rapidly underground, even through solid rock.
And from a torn corner of the Second Tsuchikage's manuscript—you found a stealth jutsu: Dustless Bewildering Cover, capable of deceiving even Sage Mode sensory abilities.
As for the rest of the jutsu and manuscripts, you activated your Sharingan and copied them all for future study.
...
[Fifth Month]
Thanks to your earlier exchanges with Deidara, your understanding of Earth Release was already above most jōnin from the Land of Earth.
You quickly mastered both Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique and Hiding Like a Mole Technique.
You also discovered that the Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique didn't just boost your physical Strength—it could also be applied to the ground to increase gravity, making it a fantastic tool for weight-based training.
For anyone specializing in taijutsu, this was a gift from heaven.
However, you hit a wall with Dustless Bewildering Cover—the stealth jutsu capable of evading Sage Mode perception...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo