It's Unlikely You'll Surpass Me

A few days later, Jingxin went to Iwagakure's secret vault.

The vault was deep underground beneath the Tsuchikage Building, guarded by a massive stone door.

Two Iwagakure jōnin stood watch at the entrance. When they saw Jingxin, they nodded in greeting.

Ōnoki had already spoken to them, and Jingxin had permission to enter the vault and choose ninjutsu.

The stone door slowly opened, and Jingxin walked inside.

The interior was spacious, with rows of stone shelves lined with scrolls.

Each scroll was labeled with the name, rank, and nature of the ninjutsu it contained.

The air was filled with the scent of old paper and ink.

Jingxin walked along the shelves, scanning the labels on the scrolls.

He needed to choose ninjutsu that suited him, as a complement to his Sharingan.

Based on his chakra natures, Jingxin chose several scrolls containing low-level techniques.

Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Wall, a defensive technique.

Wind Release: Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, a wide-area disruption technique.

Wind Release: Wind Style: Wind Cutter Technique, a slashing attack.

Jingxin collected copies of the scrolls he had chosen, then left the vault and went to the Tsuchikage Office to report his choices to Ōnoki.

"These are all good techniques, and they're suitable for you to learn at this stage." Ōnoki sat in his office, looking at the scrolls in Jingxin's hands. "It's good that you can take things one step at a time instead of giving in to the temptation of high-level techniques!"

"I'll arrange for a jōnin to instruct you and make sure you master them properly."

Jingxin was about to thank him, but Ōnoki raised a hand to stop him. Jingxin realized he was being a little too sentimental, so he gave an awkward cough and obediently waited.

Before long, Ōnoki had gathered several jōnin and assigned them a mission.

"Your mission is to teach Kintsuchi how to use these techniques within seven days."

Jingxin followed the jōnin to the training ground.

That evening, the jōnin returned to the Tsuchikage Office with remarkably complicated expressions and handed in their mission report.

Jingxin had already learned all the techniques. His proficiency was still low, but he had mastered them; he just needed more practice to use them flexibly.

After reading the report's description of how Jingxin had learned the techniques, Ōnoki sighed. "What a divinely gifted clan~"

Meanwhile, at Jingxin's home.

After seeing off his temporary teachers, Jingxin went into the bathroom.

Warm water enveloped him, washing away the day's exhaustion.

Jingxin closed his eyes and pondered deeper questions.

Iwagakure had given him shelter, resources, and a new identity.

Repaying these kindnesses was something he needed to consider, as anyone should.

Otherwise, he'd be ungrateful. Could he even call himself human then?

He'd be no better than some brat who killed his master.

But repaying them required strategy and long-term planning.

Jingxin's strength was growing rapidly, but he still had plenty of weaknesses. He certainly couldn't accomplish anything earth-shattering just yet.

So he would start with a short-term plan.

In the original story, nearly every village had its own regrets.

Konoha's Uchiha, Sakumo Hatake, and the Fourth Hokage's son...

Sunagakure's geography.

Kirigakure's leadership.

Kumogakure's Kekkei Genkai.

As for Iwagakure, it had fewer appearances in the story. The only thing Jingxin could think of was Deidara's defection.

That guy had a strong artistic streak, but a serious personality problem.

Without someone to guide him, it was only a matter of time before he defected and joined the Akatsuki.

Jingxin couldn't let that happen.

Deidara was a genius of Iwagakure. His departure would be a loss for the village.

Even if...

No one else had seen the so-called "original Naruto."

They didn't know Deidara would defect.

If Jingxin managed to keep Deidara from defecting, no one would give him credit for it.

But it was something real he could do right now.

Hmm...

He'd made up his mind.

He'd try to change Deidara.

The following month, at the examination grounds.

Deidara once again applied for early graduation.

He stood in the middle of the grounds, clay in hand. His expression was even more focused than last time, and his eyes burned with defiance.

Over the past month, he had improved his Explosive Spider and developed a new clay creation.

Jingxin walked up opposite him and regarded him calmly.

Just seeing that face made Deidara furious. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll definitely win this time, hm! I've improved my art. Just watch! I refuse to believe I can't beat you! Hm!"

The battle began.

Deidara threw out an Explosive Spider. This time, it moved faster and followed a more unpredictable path.

He also added a jumping Explosive Frog, trying to surround Jingxin from different angles.

Jingxin used the same approach as before. He watched the spider and frog's movements and analyzed Deidara's tactics.

Then Jingxin started moving, dodging every explosion with precise footwork.

Three minutes later, Deidara was defeated again.

Jingxin's kunai rested against his throat, his movements crisp and decisive.

Deidara's eyes brimmed with frustration. "Why? I improved them. Why did I still lose?"

Jingxin put away his kunai. This time, he didn't leave right away. Instead, he considered his words. "Your art has potential, but your tactics need work."

What?!

This brat actually dared to lecture me!

No, wait...

But he was stronger than me. Maybe he had a different perspective?

Deidara stared at Jingxin, his eyes blazing. "What's the problem?"

Jingxin explained, "First, the creatures you make."

"Spiders and frogs are both land animals, so their range of movement is limited."

"Why not try making flying creatures?"

"That could increase your range of attack and make them less likely to be intercepted."

Deidara gave a quiet snort. "I thought you had something important to say. You think I haven't tried? It's too difficult!"

"Then this might help." With a smooth motion, Jingxin took a scroll from his ninja tool pouch, as if he had known Deidara would say that.

Deidara's eyes widened. "Huh? What is it?"

Jingxin answered seriously, "Some notes and training methods for improving chakra control."

Deidara swallowed, snatched the scroll, and suddenly found Jingxin's face much more agreeable. "Great! What else?"

Jingxin continued, "Second, the way you throw them."

"You just throw the explosives and rely on them to move on their own."

"Why not give them a boost? Use tiny explosions to propel them, making them fly faster and improving your accuracy."

Deidara froze. The idea was so novel that he had never considered it before.

"To keep the tiny explosions from affecting the main explosive, you just need to place some kind of barrier between them."

Deidara fell silent for a moment after hearing this, then suddenly grinned broadly and slapped Jingxin on the shoulder. "Thanks~ But if you tell me all this, aren't you afraid I'll beat you?"

Now they were getting to the real question.

"We're both members of Iwagakure, so we should help each other." After saying the expected thing, Jingxin added, "But it's unlikely you'll surpass me."