The Flying Thunder God relied on several prerequisites, such as physical reflexes and an ialent for space-time ninjutsu, but its most crucial requirement was chakra perception ability.

  One might mah slightly weaker reflexes or less talent in space-time ninjutsu, but without chakra perception, even mastering the Flying Thunder God would be useless. After all, if one couldn't sehe Flying Thunder God marks, what was the point to teleport?

  Moreover, the strength of chakra perceptioermihe effective range of the Flying Thunder God and the ability to accurately locate and loto the seals.

  Both Tobirama and Minato were outliers in chakra perception, verging on BUG-like levels. In the inal timelihey could sense chakra from battlefields while still in Konoha.

  During the Freat Ninja War, the battlefield stretched as far as the northernmost part of the Land of Irhly the same distance as traveling from Konoha to Suna.

  While Masashi couldn't quite match these two monsters in terms e, within his effective sensing range, he surpassed them.

  Wheivated his chakra perception, every chakra signature within Kusa's hospital vividly appeared in his "eyes."

  "Care to expin?" he asked, turning toward Kusa's leader beside him. "Of course, I pretend you didn't know."

  "Masashi-sama, I really…"

  "Let's set aside the fact that you've temporarily relocated a lot of people," Masashi said. "But why am I sensing Uzumaki chakra in this hospital? Are you using members of the Uzumaki as medie? You should uand the implications of such as."

  The senior Kusa officials were stunned into silence.

  Seeing their reas, Masashi offered a friendly reminder.

  "Every a leaves a trace; wind leaves a sound, and chakra leaves its mark too. This short period isn't enough for chakra traces to disappear. Although I doubt you'd uand if I expined further," Masashi said as he began walking toward the hospital. "All you o know is this: if you make an enemy of Konoha, death is certain."

  As he said, the first part of his stateme over the heads of the Kusa officials, but the sed part was crystal clear.

  "Masashi-sama!" the Kusa leader panicked and hurriedly followed. "Please, let me expin! I truly had no idea there were members of the Uzumaki the vilge!"

  Flustered, he suddenly locked eyes with a pair of Sharingan. In an instant, it felt as though he had lost sciousness. By the time he snapped out of his daze, Masashi and his two subordinates had already reached the entrance of Kusa's hospital.

  "You truly didn't know. Sihat's the case, I suggest you stay here and watch."

  Before the Kusa leader could respond, Masashi's figure vanished into the hospital, now shrouded in darkness due to a power outage.

  The Kusa leader stood frozen in pce.

  He now knew who that Uzumaki member was. No wonder… No wohey had such a unique stitution! But… when did the Uzumaki develop such abilities?

  Feeling his own neck as if to firm he was still alive, he turned abruptly to face the others.

  "Kill those people immediately! Go!"

  "We haven't yet—"

  "There's no time! Do it now!"

  Being unaware of the Uzumaki member or their identity could perhaps be excused. But if Iwa were to find out, it would spell disaster. Their attempts to exploit Konoha wouldn't escape the White Ghost's notice.

  They didn't o fear retaliation from Iwa—the White Ghost would kill them before that happened!

  Just one gnce from him had made the Kusa leader fully realize—no one iire vilge could survive even a single breath in front of the White Ghost!

  The Kusa ninjas who received the order hurried away.

  The remaining senior officials exged grim looks.

  "Isn't this too extreme?" one of them finally siad. "an really defeat all of Kusa's forces?"

  In the current ninja world, strength in numbers was the prevailing mi.

  The Kusa leader secretly agreed but couldn't suppress his fear.

  "Are you fools? Did you not hear me? Did you not feel it? That man touched my shoulder! My shoulder! Not yours! He could've killed me in that instant!"

  Did these bastards think he didn't know they were hoping he'd die so they could seize his position?

  "Absurd! Ignorant fools! You 't prehend power of this level! Just follow orders!"

  And like a docile child, he waited obediently at the base of the hospital.

  The other senior officials showed varyiions. Some shifted nervously, others maintaiheir masks of defiance.

  As a sed-tier ninja vilge, Kusa wasn't so weak as to be irrelevant. Being able to get involved in the flicts between Konoha and Iwa showed they had some standing. The main differeween Kusa and the Five Great Nations y in the number and quality of their jonin.

  Although they cked elite jonin, they weren't pletely without capable fighters.

  Even so, everyone uood what tier Masashi occupied. The White Ghost's reputation wasn't built oy threats.

  Before any decisions could be made, an explosion suddeed from one of the hospital's windows.

  Fmes burst outward, and those outside could see them reflected in the anguished faces of the Kusa officials. The heat reached them even at this distance.

  The explosion had e from a se housing severely injured ninjas—many of whom had suffered debilitating wounds from direct attacks by Iwa's explosive squad.

  These were Kusa's elites. Even if some were crippled, they could still tribute in the Academy or elsewhere in the vilge.

  By now, no one could miss Masashi's iions.

  He was here to make trouble.

  Whether this was saned by the Fourth Hokage or not, it was clear that Konoha was no pushover.

  Kusa's provocation had failed, and a price had to be paid.

  While the vilge wouldn't be pletely destroyed, the cost would be signifit.

  But who would willingly pay such a price? Kusa wasn't so wealthy that they could afford to.

  Perhaps, if they showed a willio go down fighting, Konoha might back off somewhat.

  Finally, some of the senior officials stomped their feet a.

  Others, like the Kusa leader, chose to wait outside the hospital for Masashi to emerge.

  Two groups, two different choices. Two different fates.

  The chaos ihe hospital soon subsided.

  Moments ter, Masashi reappeared in front of the remaining Kusa officials, apanied by his two subordinates.

  Yumi was holding a young girl with red hair simir to that of the Uzumaki .

  The girl g tightly to her neck, shrinking away nervously when she saw the Kusa officials.

  Masashi g the group before him and nodded.

  "More of you stayed behind than I expected. That's acceptable."

  There was no longer any need for pretense.

  "I'll help you remove the cer within your ranks."

  "Thank you, Masashi-sama." The Kusa leader exhaled in relief.

  Before he could finish his sigh, a violent explosioed in the distance.

  Turning toward the source of the otion, the group saw a mushroom cloud rising from a cluster of buildings. In the fiery cloud, fragments—human limbs—were scattered into the sky.

  Masashi reized the chakra from the explosion.

  ---

  The Land of Grass was quite skilled in the design and stru of prisons. For instahey eveed an iional prison, specifically built to house dangerous criminals for other nations.

  Criminals deemed "dangerous" by ninja vilges were typically individuals with powerful backgrounds who couldn't simply be killed, yet were to fur prisons to tain. They were the sort who might escape and cause havoc at any moment.

  Sino one wao detain such people on their owory, they were instead sent to the Land of Grass. After all, the try was known for its hospitality.

  With such expertise, it was fair to say that Kusa's prisons were well-structed.

  However, they should never have imprisohe Explosives Corps in their own facility.

  The Explosives Corps members all shared a peculiar occupational habit: whehey saw a building, their first instinct was to analyze its structural iy—whether it was masonry or steel, and where the weakest points were located.

  Their greatest passion in life was finding ways to blow things up uhe most limited or adverse ditions.

  Deidara was a newer to the group, but even as a child, he had loved explosions.

  Iwa ninjas weren't oblivious to the risk of Kusa stabbing them in the back. Smaller vilges always seized any opportunity to grow stronger, while long-term strategic thinking was a luxury reserved for the rger ninja vilges.

  Smaller vilges had to gamble.

  What the Iwa ninjas hadn't anticipated was Kusa's sheer audacity. They mobilized a thousand ninjas to capture the Explosives Corps.

  The differen numbers was overwhelming. With no other choice, the Iwa ninjas exhausted their stock of explosive cy before surrendering.

  Kusa had lost a signifit number of shinobi to the Explosives Corps' attacks and was initially furious. However, when the Explosives Corps surreheir auro optimism.

  This false sense of security lulled the leadership of Kusa into believing the situation was under trol. sequently, the Iwa ninjas were imprisoned, but Kusa's preparations were rushed, and many safeguards were inplete.

  This led to the se Masashi witnessed after leaving the hospital.

  Not just one, but multiple mushroom clouds of explosions were rising into the sky. Human bodies were torn apart by the bsts, and severed limbs flew everywhere.

  The Explosives Corps showed fear when fag Masashi because his level of ninjutsu had far surpassed what could be tered with mere teical skill.

  As for Kusa? That was the Explosives Corps' ideal pyground.

  Kusa might have thought that log the ninjas in prison would keep them tained, but they didn't see it that way. After a good night's sleep, they woke up refreshed and ready to kill.

  The Kusa ninjas had been too le ireatment.

  Chakra sealed? They broke the seals.

  ons fiscated? No problem, they simply sged what they needed.

  Explosive cy missing? They made more, right on the spot.

  Not enough mahe prison was full of inmates.

  By the time Kusa's leader's attendants arrived at the prison, the Iwa ninjas had already ahe other inmates, using the underground market within the prison to manufacture enough explosive cy for their pns.

  Before the attendants could issue their orders, the Iwa ninjas had struck first.

  The inmates followed suit immediately.

  One Iwa ninja crushed the head of an attendant with his bare hands, and within a short time, all Kusa guards in the prison were wiped out. The prison's defenses were meaningless against the Explosives Corps, who were all experts in demolition.

  Ohey broke out, the explosions began in ear.

  They couldn't target the White Ghost, but they could certainly target Kusa's ninjas.

  Even Deidara fully embraced the joy of destru, enced by his rades.

  He tossed another lump of to the air, i with chakra, a it darting into the formation of a squad of Kusa ninjas.

  Boom!

  The explosion engulfed the squad in fmes.

  He turned around to face more Kusa ninjas swarming toward him dowreet, with some leaping across rooftops.

  Altogether, there were about thirty of them.

  Quickly f a hand seal, he called out softly, "Ha!"

  A series of explosi out, fmes spreading down both sides of the street.

  Overloaded buildings colpsed oer another.

  When the dust settled, the area in front of Deidara had been reduced to rubble and debris.

  In the wreckage, the limbs of half-buried Kusa ninjas could still be seen.

  Suddenly, he took a step back.

  A piece of rubble was shoved aside, and a severely injured Kusa ninja emerged. Shards of debris from the explosions were embedded all over his body.

  Deidara sidestepped the man's desperate attad, with a kunai seemingly jured out of thin air, stabbed him through the neck.

  With a twist, the man's head flew off.

  The headless body stumbled forward a few steps before colpsing into the dirt.

  Deidara kicked the severed head aside, wiped the kunai on his clothes, and headed to the arget.

  This war had made him keenly aware of his weaknesses, and he was already formuting pns to address them. Of course, those weaknesses were only retive. Against the Kusa ninjas, he had no such vulnerabilities.

  As for Kusa's jonin, they were naturally being handled by the Explosives Corps' owe members.

  If Gari were still alive, Kusa's losses would have been eveer.

  Thinking of him made Deidara uneasy.

  Gari had sacrificed himself so that Deidara and Kurotsuchi could escape, but his as had been for the sake of the vilge.

  What kind of power did the vilge possess to inspire such acts?

  He didn't particurly care about the vilge. To him, it was just another settlement, except with more ninjas.

  It wasn't that he disliked the vilge—he simply couldn't prehend the so-called "Will" that ōnoki spoke of.

  But now, he seemed to uand it, if only a little.

  The vilge was like a family, yet irely the same.

  The houses that crumbled so easily in explosions weren't the vilge. The pce where his rades were—that was the vilge.

  Thinking of the time he'd spent with the Explosives Corps, he realized that the people he cared about weren't limited to just his teacher and the dim-witted Kurotsuchi.

  As Deidara ran, a faint smile appeared on his face.

  Then, the smile vanished.

  He had emerged from the street to see a rge crowd in the distance. Many of them were Kusa ninjas, which didn't bother him.

  What bothered him was that they were all standing submissively before one man.

  As he locked eyes with that man, the tter smiled with a hint of amusement.

  Without hesitation, Deidara turned and darted into a nearby alley.

  At the same time, he pulled out a makeshift signal fre, poi skyward, and fired it. The fre burst into fireworks in the sky, catg the attention of all the Iwa ninjas wreaking havo Kusa.

  Watg the fireworks and the quick retreat of Deidara, Masashi turo the grim-faced Kusa leader and smiled.

  "Kusa still has plenty of fight left, it seems."

  "We don't dare, Masashi-sama. We only wish to serve Konoha," the Kusa leader said, f a smile that looked on the verge of tears.

  "o look so down," Masashi replied, shifting his gaze. "You think of it this way: Kusa was bound to lose many people today anyway. Dying to an enemy is better than being killed by your own people."

  "You're absolutely right, Masashi-sama…"

  "Sihe Iwa ninjas have been discovered, there's no other choice. I'll have to aow," Masashi said.