"Cough, cough... We'll now continue drawing the matchups." Gekko Hayate's coughing sounded like broken glass scraping across stone, intermittently breaking the lingering hush in the Arena.
His gaunt fingers tapped the coldly gleaming Crystal Screen, and pale blue patterns of light flowed across it like living things.
"Beep, beep, beep..." The contestants' names scrolled rapidly across the screen like fallen leaves swept up by a gale.
Gaara vs. Deidara.
Gekko Hayate called out, "Gaara and Deidara, please come down for your Preliminaries match."
In the stands, Qingwu swept his gaze across the screen.
When the names "Gaara" and "Deidara" settled at opposite ends of the screen as firmly as if anchored in place,
a playful smile curled his lips. "Well now, what a coincidence."
His fingertips tapped lightly against the railing with crisp clicks as he murmured to himself, "Does this count as fate raising the curtain early? The Kazekage and the Akatsuki member from three years in the future are now opponents in the Chunin Preliminaries."
"Gaara fighting Deidara means Rock Lee gets to avoid having his arm and leg crushed, too. This really is interesting."
Beside him, the scarlet Sharingan in Uchiha Hikari's eyes rotated slightly. She detected a restless quality hidden in the chakra surrounding Deidara, like gunpowder on the verge of exploding:
"That Iwagakure ninja's chakra is unusual. There's an unstable, explosive feel to it, as if it could detonate at any moment, but it doesn't feel like an Explosion Release bloodline ability. How strange!"
Qingwu cleared up her confusion. "Explosive clay. I believe that's a technique Iwagakure forbids people from learning."
Hikari and the Hiashi brothers looked at him.
Qingwu did not keep them guessing and continued his explanation. "Explosive clay mixes chakra into specially prepared clay, allowing it to explode and granting the power