In a forest near Kusa, a group of Iwa ninja was advang.

  This squad was someeculiar because it included two very young members.

  A spiky-haired Iwa ninja raised his hand, and the others came to a halt.

  "Take a break."

  "Got it, Captain."

  "Idiot, didn't the orders already e down? Stop misusing titles," the spiky-haired ninja corrected.

  He g the two young ones, his gaze calm and unflustered.

  The group of Iwa ninja sat down to rest, eating and drinking as hey positiohemselves strategically, maintaining sight lihrough the forest while staying hidden from potential observers.

  The two children huddled together.

  The older one, a blond boy of about eight, looked unusually mature for his age. The younger one, a girl, appeared far more naive. As she leaned against the boy, she took a big bite out of her rice ball, only to choke and turn red in the face.

  The blond boy sighed, patting her back while giving her water to help her swallow.

  "Kurotsuchi, are you an idiot?"

  "Deidara-nii, it's so tasty!"

  "You're so dumb. You should eat the rice ball in smaller bites."

  The spiky-haired ninja overheard their versation, a wave of irritation welling up in his heart.

  But his face betrayed none of his annoyance.

  This was an order from the Third Tsuchikage, and as the "vice-captain," he had to cooperate fully.

  The actual captain was the blond boy behind him.

  After a while, he turned around and approached the two children.

  "Captain Deidara," he addressed the blond boy. "What are your instrus for the move?"

  Deidara looked up at the man in front of him.

  The man's name was Gari, the former leader of the Explosion Corps.

  Deidara could sehat Gari didn't like him.

  To be fair, most of the Explosion Corps didn't like him.

  As the Tsuchikage's disciple, he didn't mind such arras from his teacher, nor did he feel the o provoke a senior jonin from the vilge.

  "No, Captain Gari, I'm just here to learn from you. The squad's movements should, of course, be under your and."

  This respo Gari at ease. It seemed the kid wasn't tant.

  He wasn't a narrow-minded person. He simply disliked the Tsuchikage's abrupt decision to put a child in charge of seasoned ninja.

  "Deidara, you're the Tsuchikage's disciple. Even if Lord Tsuchikage didn't say so explicitly, I uand his i. For this mission, you are ihe captain, so there's o dee." Gari smiled slightly. "If you have any questions about the Explosion Release, feel free to ask me."

  "Uood. This is my first time leaving the vilge, so please guide me," Deidara replied, then paused before asking, "Captain Gari, could we enter a joint Kusa and Konoha ninja for this route?"

  "There's a possibility," Gari said, his eyes narrowing, "but the odds are very low. The Kusa ninja, though underhanded, won't openly oppose us unless we eheir territory."

  "They know we might infiltrate from here?"

  "Yes. While the Kusa ninjas aren't great at bat, their intelligend reaissance skills are excellent. Still, they'll likely 'overlook' us. Let's just say Kusa's loyalty depends on which way the wind blows."

  After speaking, he g the young girl.

  "Kurotsuchi, how is your Lava Release progressing?"

  "Huh? Oh..." Still sav the taste of her rice ball, Kurotsuchi sucked on her finger before answering, "I build a bridge!"

  "Good. We'll be crossing a river, and if necessary, we'll rely on your Lava Release. Like training, but this time, people's lives depend on it."

  "Okay!" Kurotsuchi raised her small hand cheerfully.

  "She ha," Deidara interjected. "I've seen her practice."

  Gari turned and walked away.

  After he moved some distance, Kurotsuchi leaned closer to Deidara and whispered, "Deidara-nii, Captain Gari is so scary."

  "Kurotsuchi, even if you whisper, Captain Gari still hear you," Deidara sighed.

  Ign her, he took out his ninja tools poud began cheg his supplies.

  "Are you going to sculpt now?"

  "Why would I sculpt at a time like this? I'm just cheg if I have enough cy."

  Deidara carefully ied his supplies.

  Strictly speaking, he wasn't a natural Explosion Release user.

  Gari was the textbook example of Explosion Release mastery, able to use it without aernal medium.

  Deidara, oher hand, had developed his owhod, eling his fasation with explosives into using the specialized cy of the Explosion Corps to achieve effects akin to, or even surpassing, Explosion Release.

  This unique approach was what had caught ōnoki's attention ao him being taken on as a disciple.

  With pruidance, Deidara's version of Explosion Release could rival Dust Release otlefield. Additionally, his teique was far easier to pass down than Dust Release.

  After pleting his checks, Deidara packed up his supplies.

  "Alright, we've rested enough. Let's move," Gari ordered.

  The group stood up and resumed their advance.

  Following the route, they would cross a river and use the forest for cover to infiltrate the Land of Fire.

  In times of war, infiltrating eerritory was standard practice for the Five Great Shinobi Vilges.

  For the Explosion Corps, their tactics were simple: infiltrate, explode everything, areat.

  If pursued, they id mines and tiheir retreat. This method earhem a fearsome reputation.

  The sound of rushing water grew louder, as they approached the river.

  The forest gave way to a cliff overlooking a raging river below. The water surged violently, smashing against rocks and spraying white foam.

  "Kurotsuchi," Gari called.

  Teically, Earth Release could create a bridge, but it required stant chakra to maintain its stability. In trast, Kurotsuchi's Lava Release produced solid crete-like material capable of temporarily supp the group's passage.

  "Got it!" Kurotsuchi replied cheerfully.

  She ran to the front, puffed up her cheeks, and spat out globs of t-like substahat ected the cliffs. Another Iwa ninja used Water Release to solidify it, f a simple bridge.

  "Move!" Gari anded.

  The group crossed the bridge swiftly and disappeared into the forest oher side.

  About a kilometer away, Masashi, apanied by two rookies from the Hyūga and Inuzuka s, came to a halt.

  ---

  For ninjas at the rank of in to special jonin, their titles and perceptions vary depending on who you ask.

  The official stance, represented by the Five Kage, was that they were "the elite of their forces."

  However, in private discussions among seasoned jonin, often referred to as "battle-hardened veterans," they had another bel—"qualified on fodder" or "useful on fodder."

  The two special jonin apanying Masashi were hailed as geniuses within their respective s.

  Take the Inuzuka boy, for example.

  While the Inuzuka might not stand out mu Konoha politics, their was solidly mid-tier among the eight major ninja s.

  Yet in the text of a war between two vilges, the actual status of these so-called geniuses was simply—advanced on fodder.

  This, in fact, reflects the true position of many "geniuses" in the shinobi world.

  "Captain?"

  The two geniuses looked up in fusion as Masashi suddenly stopped, his senses alert to something they hadn't yet detected.

  "Yumi, how far your Byakuga full range?"

  "If I push it, about half a kilometer." There was a hint of pride in her voice.

  "Then take a look in that dire." Masashi poio the right.

  The Hyūga girl obediently performed the Hyūga 's signature sequence: hand seals—chakra surge—Byakugan activation. The veins around her eyes bulged with focused chakra.

  "Captain, I don't see anything."

  "There's a st in the air," the Inuzuka boy she air and said. His witched slightly. "It's strahough."

  "Strange how?" Masashi's eyes narrowed slightly.

  "Like earth and... something artificial. Not natural at all."

  The current wind dire was advantageous to him, a ninja with sensory capabilities based on smell.

  "Yumi, looks like you've lost to Keita this time," Masashi said with a smile.

  Yumi didn't dare talk baasashi. She blinked a couple of times and looked over at Keita.

  And there it was—the famous "Hyūga Look." A time-haze used at year-end family gatherings to elegantly express dissatisfa with nosy retives.

  However, Keita was a bit of a flirt. Yumi's look made him blush shyly. Who knew what kind of thoughts were running through his head?

  Still, the two did get along well; they seemed to have grown up as childhood friends.

  "All right, enough fooling around. We have ining enemies," Masashi said, sensing multiple chakra signatures. He had already assessed the enemy's numbers and strength.

  The opposing lineup included jonin, and one of them could be sidered ae."

  But that was all.

  Even with two rookies tagging along, this level of opposition wasn't enough to make him sider retreating.

  His time under Bck Zetsu's "training program" further sharpened his evaluation skills, leaving him fident about what he could achieve in situations like this.

  "Stay by my side and don't move," he said firmly.

  "Captain, should I maintain sight?" Yumi asked, chakra still flowing to her eyes.

  "No. Save your chakra. You'll ."

  Estimating the distance, he formed a hand seal and exhaled toward the forest ahead.

  In an instant, a violent windstorm arose. Driven by his chakra output, the wind turned inting tempest.

  Trees were uprooted, grass and dirt were flung skyward, and the overwhelming force wreaked havo the ndscape before them. The sound was deafening, like a thousand bdes cutting through the air at once.

  Yumi aa stood frozen, mouths agape, stunned by the sheer destru.

  "Is this what they mean by Kage-level?" Keita whispered, barely audible over the howling wind.

  Before setting out, their families had told them they'd be uhe prote of the vilge's you Kage-level ninja. However, they hadn't truly grasped what that meant.

  her the Hyūga nor the Inuzuka s produced powerhouses of this magnitude—this type of overwhelming, artillery-like force was uo s like the Uchiha or Sarutobi.

  When Masashi finally ceased his output, the forest before them had been fttened, a barren pin stretg as far as the eye could see.

  He didn't mind if the enemy decided to retreat after this. After all, his mission was merely to prevent Iwa squads from infiltrating.

  Extending his sensory reace more, he hat the enemy chakra signatures remained intact. Their numbers hadn't decreased.

  They were elites.

  Not to boast, but the power of the Great Breakthrough in his hands was parable to Orochimaru's. The fact that the enemy sustained no casualties meant they must be from Iwa's Explosion Corps.

  Indeed, only this unit in Iwa's military hierarchy had the tactical skills to withstand su attack.

  Sure enough, figures soon appeared on the horizon, at the edge of the newly created pin.

  It was Iwa ninjas.

  Activating his Sharingan, Masashi focused his enhanced vision on the group and identified their faces from afar.

  As expected, it was the Explosion Corps, with their captain, Gari, leading them.

  Konoha had intelligen him.

  "Listen carefully. What you're about to see isn't in any training manual," Masashi said quietly to his team. "Yumi, Keita, stay by my side and don't move. Don't make any unnecessary as. Uood?" He emphasized his point.

  "Yes, Captain," the two rookies nodded.

  Seeing the imposing aura of the enemy, the "geniuses" were self-aware enough to realize they were liabilities.

  However, after witnessing Masashi's earlier dispy, they were now utterly vinced of his strength, trusting him pletely. If he told them to lie down and take a nap, they would ply without hesitation.

  The Iwa ninjas stopped not far from the trio.

  "Konoha ninja, state your name!" Gari demanded.

  The group had been marg along peacefully when suddenly, a massive wind attack barreled toward them.

  Fortunately, they were experienced veterans, so there were no casualties.

  Even Deidara and Kurotsuchi emerged unscathed, shielded by the group's prote.

  Although the ninja capable of such a wind attack had to be formidable, the Explosion Corps was no pushover. Retreating without even seeing the enemy was out of the question.

  "Ah, so ōnoki sent you to babysit, huh, Gari?" Masashi g the two children behind Gari.

  Judging by his appearahere was no way the boy wasn't Deidara. As for the girl, her features weren't distinough to identify.

  "Raising Iwa's geniuses only to let them die here—is that wise?" he taunted again.

  "So, you know who I am." Gari shifted slightly to shield Deidara and Kurotsuchi. "Geniuses are plentiful in Iwa. These are just new recruits."

  "True, you're one of Iwa's veteran jonin," Masashi said, firming Gari's identity. "Only someone of your stature could have rookie 'geniuses' assigo them."

  Gari kept his posure, but his mental fluctuatiorayed him.

  So, it really was Deidara?

  "Are you too afraid to state your name?" Gari probed, trying to deduce the enemy's identity. From their versatiohered that this ninja was knowledgeable about Iwa but held no respect for the Tsuchikage.

  The five great vilges each maintained intelligen the other's key figures. Knowing your oppo's identity ofteermihe oute of a battle.

  Uanding his i, Masashi had no iion of indulging him.

  If his two rookies weren't here, he might have been more forthing.

  "Sorry, I'm just a nobody," Masashi replied, shifting his gaze away from Deidara. " you leave now? I'd rather not waste chakra unnecessarily."

  "No do," Gari shook his head.

  Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out from behind him.

  "Ha!"

  An explosioed. In an instant, e firelight engulfed Masashi and his team.

  The Explosion Corps's ninjas broke into smiles.

  While they didn't appreciate Deidara's symbolic rept of Gari's position, they couldn't deny his talent.

  Because this kid—was truly strong.