Training

The training ground was especially quiet in the early morning.

The sun had just risen behind the eastern cliffs of Iwagakure, casting golden light over the smooth stone ground and dispelling the lingering chill of the night.

Jingxin stood in the middle of the training ground with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing.

He could feel the chakra in his body flowing steadily through his pathways, like a broad, deep river.

After months of continuous training during his Anbu missions and building up reserves with the Shadow Clone extraction method, his chakra had stabilized at around 420.

But that was still far from enough.

Dust Release required an enormous amount of chakra to support it.

Ōnoki had once said that chakra was the root, and Dust Release was the flower.

Without a deep enough foundation, even the most beautiful flower could never bloom.

And what Jingxin needed to do now was sink his roots deeper.

He opened his eyes and formed Hand Seals.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!

A string of white smoke clouds burst into bloom, like fireworks in the morning air.

One, ten, twenty, thirty...

Every clone looked exactly like him, wearing the same black training clothes and wearing the same calm, determined expression.

The Shadow Clones sat cross-legged at the same time, closed their eyes, and began to refine chakra.

Jingxin sat down as well.

He continued trying to master Dust Release.

Every failure made his body more familiar with the memory of that chakra flow.

The system's steady, linear growth slowly increased his Dust Release training progress.

Time passed, second by second.

Jingxin could feel sweat sliding down his forehead and dripping onto the stone ground.

Ōnoki had gone through nearly a hundred thousand attempts.

If Jingxin used Shadow Clones to train and took Military Ration Pills without restraint, he could train dozens of times faster.

But Ōnoki had also said that the village needed strong shinobi who improved steadily, not people who took shortcuts.

The total amount of chakra was crucial, and Jingxin still didn't have enough.

So he didn't speed up his Dust Release training. Instead, he had his Shadow Clones focus on training that could be sustained in a healthy cycle.

Day after day passed.

Jingxin could clearly feel his total chakra growing at a visible rate.

Although each clone was less efficient at refining chakra than his original body, dozens of clones working together made for astonishing efficiency.

It was like dozens of streams flowing into a single river. Each one was tiny, but together they were enough to raise the river's level.

Jingxin's days were incredibly fulfilling.

Training, sleeping.

Occasionally, he visited Karin at the Ninja Academy.

Then he would drop by to see Kurotsuchi.

Ever since Jingxin had arrived in Iwagakure, Kurotsuchi had looked out for him.

It was like visiting relatives.

You couldn't always wait for other people to come to you without ever going to see them yourself.

A one-sided relationship couldn't last long.

Besides, Deidara never missed a month without challenging him.

That kid was now so mad at Jingxin his teeth ached. He spent all day figuring out how to defeat him, gathering information on him, improving his Clay Bombs to counter his strengths, and training his Taijutsu like mad so he wouldn't be instantly taken out in close combat.

But unfortunately for him, Deidara always came just a little short of defeating Jingxin.

Early one morning, after making Shadow Clones to refine chakra, Jingxin headed straight for the Iwagakure Ninja Academy.

He had been invited to observe the graduation exam for Deidara's class.

The graduation exam grounds at the Iwagakure Ninja Academy were livelier than usual.

The stands were packed with Ninja Academy instructors, the parents of the students about to graduate, and several Iwagakure Jonin who had come to observe.

The center of the grounds had been cleared into a circular area fifty meters in diameter. The ground was covered with specially reinforced, shock-resistant stone, and a protective barrier had been set up around it.

Yes, a barrier.

A protective barrier, at that.

Thanks to Karin's mother getting involved, the Research Department had made major technological breakthroughs in Sealing Jutsu and barriers.

Jingxin sat in the front row of the stands, with Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi, Karin, and Chinatsu beside him.

"Deidara's finally waited long enough for this day," Kurotsuchi said, a note of emotion in her voice. "You've become that guy's nightmare."

Among the students taking the graduation exam, thirteen-year-old Deidara had grown quite a bit over the past year. His long blond hair was tied in a high ponytail, and his bangs covered one eye.

He wore the standard Iwagakure ninja uniform, but had personalized it, stitching patterns of explosions on the cuffs and pant legs. A specially made clay pouch hung from his waist.

At that moment, Deidara stared hard at Jingxin, his eyes even carrying a trace of resentment.

How many times had it been?

How many times??

Deidara had applied for an early graduation exam, but Jingxin had defeated him every time.

He really was stubborn. Given his strength, if he had had anyone else as his examiner, he would have graduated long ago—and might even have caught the Akatsuki's attention by now.

Jingxin, meanwhile, said, "Deidara's talented, but he's a little hotheaded. If we don't give him a goal he has to reach, his pranks will keep getting worse."

Ōnoki felt the same way. "He really has been much better behaved lately."

"Graduation exam, third match!" The examiner's voice rang across the grounds through an amplification technique. "Student Deidara versus his instructor, Jonin Ishikawa!"

Deidara's eyes went dark when he heard that, and he nearly fainted. He roared at the examiner, "Hey!! Why does everyone else get a Genin, but I get a Jonin?! Huh!!!"

The examiner glanced at him and said something that instantly shut Deidara up. "If you hadn't stubbornly insisted on challenging Kintsuchi, you'd have graduated by now."

"Your jutsu are too powerful. Having an ordinary Genin face you would be too dangerous."

"Oh..."

Deidara's expression changed, and he grinned. "Hahahaha! So my art has finally been widely recognized? Hmm!"

Everyone else was examined by a Genin before graduation, but he was being examined by a Jonin.

If he told people about this...

It might not sound as artistic as graduating early.

But when it came to showing off, it seemed even better.

Grinning from ear to ear, Deidara walked onto the platform.

Across from him stood his opponent, Ishikawa.

Ishikawa was an experienced Special Jonin, skilled in Earth Release defense.

He nodded to Deidara. "Are you ready?"

Deidara opened his eyes, excitement gleaming in his blue pupils. "Ready whenever you are, hmm!"

"Then... begin!"

The instant the examiner finished speaking, Deidara sprang into action.

He thrust both hands into the clay pouch at his waist, kneading and shaping the clay with astonishing speed.

In less than two seconds, ten white Clay Spiders appeared in his palms. Each was about the size of a fist, with a slightly swollen abdomen filled with compressed clay and chakra.

"C1: Spider Swarm!"

Deidara tossed the spiders into the air.

The ten spiders stretched out their slender legs and crawled and leaped through the air like real creatures, pouncing on Ishikawa from different directions.