Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 95
🕑 Added 2024-12-25 11:57:30 +0000 UTCIn a forest near Kusa, a group of Iwa ninja was advancing.
This squad was somewhat peculiar 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 come down? Stop misusing titles," the spiky-haired ninja corrected.
He glanced at the two young ones, his gaze calm and unflustered.
The group of Iwa ninja sat down to rest, eating and drinking as needed. They positioned themselves strategically, maintaining sight lines through 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 conversation, 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 instructions for the next 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 sense that 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 arrangements from his teacher, nor did he feel the need to provoke a senior jonin from the village.
"No, Captain Gari, I'm just here to learn from you. The squad's movements should, of course, be under your command."
This response put Gari at ease. It seemed the kid wasn't too arrogant.
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 understand his intent. For this mission, you are indeed the captain, so there's no need to decline." Gari smiled slightly. "If you have any questions about the Explosion Release, feel free to ask me."
"Understood. This is my first time leaving the village, so please guide me," Deidara replied, then paused before asking, "Captain Gari, could we encounter a joint Kusa and Konoha ninja force on 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 enter their territory."
"They know we might infiltrate from here?"
"Yes. While the Kusa ninjas aren't great at combat, their intelligence and reconnaissance 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 glanced at the young girl.
"Kurotsuchi, how is your Lava Release progressing?"
"Huh? Oh..." Still savoring the taste of her rice ball, Kurotsuchi sucked on her finger before answering, "I can 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 can handle it," 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 can still hear you," Deidara sighed.
Ignoring her, he took out his ninja tools pouch and began checking his supplies.
"Are you going to sculpt now?"
"Why would I sculpt at a time like this? I'm just checking if I have enough clay."
Deidara carefully inspected 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 any external medium.
Deidara, on the other hand, had developed his own method, channeling his fascination with explosives into using the specialized clay of the Explosion Corps to achieve effects akin to, or even surpassing, Explosion Release.
This unique approach was what had caught Ōnoki's attention and led to him being taken on as a disciple.
With proper guidance, Deidara's version of Explosion Release could rival Dust Release on the battlefield. Additionally, his technique was far easier to pass down than Dust Release.
After completing 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 enemy territory was standard practice for the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
For the Explosion Corps, their tactics were simple: infiltrate, explode everything, and retreat.
If pursued, they laid mines and continued their retreat. This method earned them 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.
Technically, Earth Release could create a bridge, but it required constant chakra to maintain its stability. In contrast, Kurotsuchi's Lava Release produced solid concrete-like material capable of temporarily supporting the group's passage.
"Got it!" Kurotsuchi replied cheerfully.
She ran to the front, puffed up her cheeks, and spat out globs of cement-like substance that connected the cliffs. Another Iwa ninja used Water Release to solidify it, forming a simple bridge.
"Move!" Gari commanded.
The group crossed the bridge swiftly and disappeared into the forest on the other side.
About a kilometer away, Masashi, accompanied by two rookies from the Hyūga and Inuzuka clans, came to a halt.
---
For ninjas at the rank of chunin 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 label—"qualified cannon fodder" or "useful cannon fodder."
The two special jonin accompanying Masashi were hailed as geniuses within their respective clans.
Take the Inuzuka boy, for example.
While the Inuzuka might not stand out much in Konoha politics, their clan was solidly mid-tier among the eight major ninja clans.
Yet in the context of a war between two villages, the actual status of these so-called geniuses was simply—advanced cannon fodder.
This, in fact, reflects the true position of many "geniuses" in the shinobi world.
"Captain?"
The two geniuses looked up in confusion as Masashi suddenly stopped, his senses alert to something they hadn't yet detected.
"Yumi, how far can your Byakugan see at 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 direction." Masashi pointed to the right.
The Hyūga girl obediently performed the Hyūga clan'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 scent in the air," the Inuzuka boy sniffed the air and said. His nose twitched slightly. "It's strange though."
"Strange how?" Masashi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Like earth and... something artificial. Not natural at all."
The current wind direction 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 back to Masashi. She blinked a couple of times and looked over at Keita.
And there it was—the famous "Hyūga Look." A time-honored gaze used at year-end family gatherings to elegantly express dissatisfaction with nosy relatives.
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 incoming 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 considered an "elite."
But that was all.
Even with two rookies tagging along, this level of opposition wasn't enough to make him consider retreating.
His time under Black Zetsu's "training program" further sharpened his evaluation skills, leaving him confident 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 need it."
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 into a raging tempest.
Trees were uprooted, grass and dirt were flung skyward, and the overwhelming force wreaked havoc on the landscape before them. The sound was deafening, like a thousand blades cutting through the air at once.
Yumi and Keita stood frozen, mouths agape, stunned by the sheer destruction.
"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 under the protection of the village's youngest Kage-level ninja. However, they hadn't truly grasped what that meant.
Neither the Hyūga nor the Inuzuka clans produced powerhouses of this magnitude—this type of overwhelming, artillery-like force was unique to clans like the Uchiha or Sarutobi.
When Masashi finally ceased his output, the forest before them had been flattened, a barren plain stretching 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 reach once more, he noted that 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 comparable 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 such an attack.
Sure enough, figures soon appeared on the horizon, at the edge of the newly created plain.
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 intelligence on 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 actions. Understood?" 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 display, they were now utterly convinced of his strength, trusting him completely. If he told them to lie down and take a nap, they would comply without hesitation.
The Iwa ninjas stopped not far from the trio.
"Konoha ninja, state your name!" Gari demanded.
The group had been marching 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 protection.
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 glanced at the two children behind Gari.
Judging by his appearance, there was no way the boy wasn't Deidara. As for the girl, her features weren't distinct enough 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, confirming Gari's identity. "Only someone of your stature could have rookie 'geniuses' assigned to them."
Gari kept his composure, but his mental fluctuations betrayed 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 conversation, he gathered that this ninja was knowledgeable about Iwa but held no respect for the Tsuchikage.
The five great villages each maintained intelligence on the other's key figures. Knowing your opponent's identity often determined the outcome of a battle.
Understanding his intent, Masashi had no intention of indulging him.
If his two rookies weren't here, he might have been more forthcoming.
"Sorry, I'm just a nobody," Masashi replied, shifting his gaze away from Deidara. "Can you leave now? I'd rather not waste chakra unnecessarily."
"No can do," Gari shook his head.
Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out from behind him.
"Ha!"
An explosion erupted. In an instant, orange firelight engulfed Masashi and his team.
The Explosion Corps's ninjas broke into smiles.
While they didn't appreciate Deidara's symbolic replacement of Gari's position, they couldn't deny his talent.
Because this kid—was truly strong.
