The Possibility of You Surpassing Me is Slim

A few days later, Jingxin arrived at the secret vault of Iwagakure.

The secret vault was located deep beneath the Tsuchikage Office, guarded by a heavy stone door.

Two Iwagakure jonin stood guard at the entrance, nodding in acknowledgment when they saw Jingxin.

Ōnoki had already given the word; Jingxin had the authorization to enter the vault and select ninjutsu.

The stone door creaked open, and Jingxin stepped inside.

The interior space was vast, with rows of stone shelves filled with scrolls.

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

The air was thick with the scent of aged paper and ink.

Jingxin walked along the stone shelves, his gaze sweeping over the scroll labels.

He needed to select ninjutsu that suited him, serving as a supplement to his Sharingan.

Based on his own chakra nature, Jingxin selected several low-rank ninjutsu scrolls.

Earth Style: Earth Wall, a defensive ninjutsu.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, an area-of-effect disruption ninjutsu.

Wind Style: Wind Cutter Technique, a cutting-type offensive ninjutsu.

Jingxin collected the copies of the chosen scrolls, left the vault, and headed to the Tsuchikage Office to find Ōnoki and report his selections.

"These ninjutsu are all quite good and suitable for your current level of study," Ōnoki said, sitting in his office and looking at the scrolls in Jingxin's hands. "It is excellent that you can take things step-by-step rather than being tempted by high-level ninjutsu!"

"I will arrange for specific jonin to instruct you to ensure you master them correctly."

Jingxin was about to express his gratitude, but Ōnoki raised a hand to interrupt him. Realizing he was being a bit overly sentimental, Jingxin cleared his throat and waited obediently.

Soon, Ōnoki summoned several jonin and issued them their orders.

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

Thus, Jingxin followed the jonin to the training grounds.

That same evening.

The jonin returned to the Tsuchikage Office with expressions of utter astonishment and handed in their mission reports.

Jingxin had already learned all the ninjutsu; although his proficiency was not yet high, he had truly mastered them and only needed more training to apply them flexibly.

After reading the description of Jingxin's learning process in the mission reports, Ōnoki sighed, "Truly a clan gifted by the heavens~"

Meanwhile, at Jingxin's home.

After seeing off his temporary teachers, Jingxin entered the bathroom.

The warm water enveloped his body, washing away the fatigue of the entire day.

Jingxin closed his eyes, contemplating deeper issues in his mind.

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

These favors required repayment; it was a fundamental matter that any human being should consider.

Otherwise, if one were ungrateful, could they still be considered human?

Wouldn't that just make one a certain master-killing rascal?

But repayment required strategy and long-term planning.

Jingxin's strength was increasing rapidly, but he still had many overall shortcomings and certainly couldn't accomplish anything earth-shattering yet.

Therefore, he would start with short-term plans.

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

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

Sunagakure had its geographical environment.

Kirigakure had its upper echelons.

Kumogakure had its Kekkei Genkai.

As for Iwagakure, it had relatively little screen time, and the only thing Jingxin could think of was the defection of Deidara.

That guy with high artistic sensibilities but a problematic personality.

If not guided, his defection and joining the Akatsuki were only a matter of time.

Jingxin could not let that happen.

Deidara was a genius of Iwagakure, and his departure would be a loss for the village.

Although...

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

They did not know that Deidara would defect.

If Deidara did not defect thanks to Jingxin's efforts, no one would credit him for it.

But that was a tangible thing Jingxin could actually achieve right now.

Hmm...

Decision made.

I will try to change Deidara.

The following month, at the examination grounds.

Deidara once again applied for early graduation.

He stood in the center of the arena, clutching clay in his hands, his expression more focused than last time, the flames of defiance burning in his eyes.

In one month, he had improved his Explosive Spider and developed new clay sculptures.

Jingxin walked to the opposite side, looking at him calmly.

Seeing that face made Deidara unable to help but get angry, gritting his teeth as he said, "This time I will definitely win, yeah! I've improved my art, I'll show you! I refuse to believe it! Yeah!"

The battle began.

Deidara threw out his Explosive Spiders; this time, the spiders moved faster and their trajectories were more cunning.

He also added Explosive Frogs that could leap, attempting to surround Jingxin from different angles.

Jingxin repeated his old tricks, observing the movement patterns of the spiders and frogs, analyzing Deidara's tactical intent.

Then Jingxin began to move, avoiding every explosion with precise footwork.

Three minutes later, Deidara was defeated once again.

Jingxin's kunai rested against his throat, the movement clean and swift.

Deidara's eyes were filled with unwillingness: "Why? I clearly improved, why did I still lose?"

Jingxin sheathed his kunai, not leaving immediately this time, but instead wearing a thoughtful expression: "Your art has potential, but your tactical application is flawed."

What?!

This kid actually dares to lecture me!

No...

But he is stronger than me, perhaps he has a different perspective?

Deidara stared at Jingxin with burning eyes: "What flaw?"

Jingxin analyzed: "First, the shapes of the creatures you mold."

"Spiders and frogs are both terrestrial creatures with limited range of movement."

"Why not try flying creatures?"

"It would increase your strike range and lower the probability of being intercepted."

Deidara snorted: "Is that all? You think I don't want to? It's too hard!"

"Then this might be helpful to you." Jingxin smoothly took a scroll from his ninja pouch, looking as if he had anticipated Deidara would say that.

Deidara's eyes widened: "Eh? What is this?"

Jingxin answered earnestly: "Some insights and training methods for improving chakra control."

Deidara swallowed hard, snatched the scroll, and suddenly found the face in front of him much more agreeable: "Very well! What else?"

Jingxin continued: "Second, your throwing method."

"You simply throw the explosives and rely on their own movement."

"Why not accelerate them? Use micro-explosions to provide propulsion, letting the explosives fly faster and increasing your hit rate."

Deidara was stunned; this idea was so novel he had never considered it.

"To solve the problem of the micro-explosion affecting the main explosive, you only need to add some insulation between them."

Deidara fell silent for a moment after listening, then suddenly grinned widely, slapping Jingxin hard on the shoulder: "Thanks, oh~ but aren't you afraid I'll defeat you after telling me all this?"

The real question had arrived.

"You and I are both part of Iwagakure, we should help each other." After saying these polite words, Jingxin added: "But the possibility of you surpassing me is not high."