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"You brat..."

The moment he saw the glowing sphere in Deidara's palm, Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki had a thought rise in his heart: perhaps the position of Fourth Tsuchikage should be handed to the young man before him.

No one understood the difficulty of training in Dust Release better than Ōnoki.

The mere requirement of possessing the three chakra natures of earth, fire, and wind, with clear primary and secondary distinctions, had already eliminated nearly ninety-nine percent of Iwagakure's ninja.

And among the tiny number of ninja who barely met the chakra-nature requirements for training in Dust Release, some lacked talent while others lacked sufficient chakra. Forget mastering Dust Release—they could not even barely attempt to fuse earth, fire, and wind chakra within their bodies. Not even Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi, or granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, were exceptions.

Thus, Ōnoki had once pessimistically believed that he might be Iwagakure's last ninja capable of wielding Dust Release. Once he died, Iwagakure's Dust Release would likely be lost, just like Konoha's Wood Release.

Yet the sight before him swept away the gloom that had shrouded his heart for years.

Deidara had flaws aplenty—frivolous, impulsive, and burdened with bizarre views on art. He truly lacked the bearing a Kage, the leader of a village, ought to possess. But given the brutal state of the ninja world, an unreliable Tsuchikage with overwhelming strength was far more useful than a dependable Tsuchikage without much strength.

In the end, strength reigned supreme in the ninja world!

For a Kage, the ability to govern a village was certainly important. But if one did not even possess the strength to protect oneself, no amount of administrative talent mattered.

Naturally, Deidara had no idea what Ōnoki was thinking. Beaming with delight, he laughed. "Old man, did you see that? I've mastered Dust Release!"