"Haha, you little brat, you're finally dead!" Deidara cackled maniacally, his face twisted in a wild grin.
"Pat, pat..."
The sound of footsteps coming from the smoke made Deidara's arrogant smile freeze on his face.
Kaoru emerged from the smoke, unharmed. He looked at Deidara with the same calm expression.
"How is this possible, damn it..."
Deidara said, gritting his teeth and taking two steps back in disbelief. "How are you not even scratched? Not even a tear in your clothes..."
"Your abilities are completely useless against these eyes," Kaoru said coldly.
The moment the centipede exploded, Kaoru had activated his Dark Shield, suppressing the full force of the explosion.
"Damn it, don't get cocky!" Deidara shouted, reaching into the ninja pouches on either side of his waist, which were filled with clay for making bombs.
"Was the C1 bomb not powerful enough? If that's the case, I'll use C2..."
"Was the C1 bomb not powerful enough? If that's the case, I'll use C2..."
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison Technique!" A deep voice boomed out.
Before Deidara could finish speaking, four walls of earth rose up around him, converging on him with incredible speed!
Caught completely off guard, Deidara was trapped in the earth, with only his head exposed.
"What powerful Earth Release!" The three members of Team 8 were surprised.
"Damn it! Let me out!" Deidara shouted, unable to move.
"You little brat, causing trouble in someone else's village!"
The deep voice spoke again, and two figures descended from the sky, landing in front of Deidara.
One of the figures was extremely muscular. The ground trembled when he landed.
"Sorry, sorry, Konoha kids, Deidara's just a free spirit. I didn't keep an eye on him, and he went out on his own!"
The muscular man said. He was over two meters tall, wore a red bandana, and had a simple, honest face.
He was the one who had easily trapped Deidara with a single Earth Release technique.
"That's... Kitsuchi, an elite jōnin from the Hidden Stone Village, and the son of the Third Tsuchikage," Kaoru thought, narrowing his eyes.
Based on his memory of the original story, he recognized the identity of the large man.
"Deidara-nii-san, can't you be quiet for once? How can you cause so much trouble in someone else's village?"
The other figure, a young girl with short black hair, was about Deidara's age. She looked at Deidara with a reproachful expression.
"That's Kurotsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage's granddaughter. The Hidden Stone Village is really bringing out their elite. They must be preparing seriously for the Chūnin Exams," Kaoru thought.
The girl who was nagging Deidara was Kurotsuchi, who would later become the Fourth Tsuchikage.
"Hmph, I was just displaying my art. They're the ones who ruined it!" Deidara continued to shout, but trapped in Earth Release, he could only move his mouth.
"Alright, alright," Kitsuchi said, waving his hand dismissively. He then turned to Kaoru and the others. "Are you all alright, Konoha kids?"
"We're fine," Kaoru said, shaking his head.
"But you should keep a better eye on your genin. That blonde kid almost killed an innocent child," Shin said coldly.
"Ah, of course, of course!" Kitsuchi said, nodding apologetically. "We're grateful to you for stopping his rampage."
With that, Kitsuchi walked up to Deidara and hoisted him, along with the column of earth trapping him, onto his shoulder.
"What strength!" The members of Team 8 said again, impressed.
"You brute, put me down! Put me down!" Deidara shouted from Kitsuchi's shoulder.
"Alright, alright, Deidara, have you forgotten what the Tsuchikage said? If you want to fight, wait until the Chūnin Exams," Kitsuchi said, laughing.
He then used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.
"What's your name?" After Kitsuchi left, Kurotsuchi looked at Kaoru with a smile.
"Uchiha Kaoru," Kaoru said, returning the smile.
"Will you be participating in the Chūnin Exams?" Kurotsuchi asked.
"Of course," Kaoru nodded.
"Good. I'll remember you. I look forward to fighting you," Kurotsuchi said, giving Kaoru a meaningful look before using the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
Soon, the scene was quiet again, with only the destroyed wall bearing witness to the fierce battle that had just taken place.
"This year's Chūnin Exams are full of hidden talent..." Shin said.
"That's right. It's getting more and more interesting," Kaoru said, nodding. The Hidden Stone Village had sent such gifted young ninjas. Who would the other villages send?
At that moment, in a hall inside the Hokage Tower... On one wall of the hall was a brightly colored Konoha symbol.
The Third Hokage sat in front of the symbol, with two ninjas standing rigidly beside him.
Both ninjas wore animal masks, indicating that they were members of the Anbu.
On either side of the hall stood three teams of ninjas.
Each team consisted of three people: one adult and two children. Each team kept a distance from the others, as if wary of them.
"Sorry, sorry, Hokage-sama. I had some business to take care of and I'm late," Kitsuchi said, carrying Deidara, and Kurotsuchi walked into the hall.
They stood on one side of the hall. Kitsuchi released Deidara from the Earth Release and told him to behave.
"Alright, now that the representatives of the Five Great Nations are all here, I'll explain the details of this year's Chūnin Exams..."
The Third Hokage said, looking at the four teams below him.
The four teams of ninjas were from the Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Stone Villages.
Although the Third Hokage had agreed to let them participate in the Chūnin Exams, he had only allowed them to send one jōnin to lead the team.
That was why there was one jōnin leading several genin.
"The second stage of the Chūnin Exams requires three genin to form a team, but most of you only brought two genin..."
The Third Hokage said, looking at the ninjas from the other villages.
Aside from the Hidden Sand Village, which had brought a larger number of participants as Konoha's ally, the other three great nations had only sent two genin.
After all, the quality of the ninjas was more important than the quantity, and their purpose wasn't to participate in the Chūnin Exams.
Even so, the Chūnin Exams were a competition between the new generation of ninjas from each nation, and each nation naturally hoped that its genin would come out on top, showcasing their national power.
Therefore, they had all sent their most talented young ninjas to participate.
"That's no problem. We can form a team with just two genin," said the leader of the Hidden Cloud Village team.
He had spiky white hair that covered his left eye. He was Darui, who would later become the Fifth Raikage.
____________________
for more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - 20+ Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - 40+ Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - 80+ Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"