Chapter 238: Kurotsuchi and Deidara
Chapter 238: Kurotsuchi and Deidara
As the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage and the strongest among the village's young generation, fifteen-year-old Kurotsuchi exuded confidence from head to toe. Normally passionate and bold, she possessed the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, boasting powerful abilities and a beautiful appearance, giving her an exceptionally high reputation among Iwagakure's younger shinobi.
Not satisfied with her current achievements, she had left the comfortable village early on, gaining tough practical experience along the border, honing her ninjutsu, and training her ability to handle matters. Hearing that Ino Yamanaka from Konohagakure was quite famous, she had always wanted to go spar with her, but her grandfather had consistently stopped her.
Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is 'you're not allowed' periods.
Still asking? Go copy the Will of Stone a hundred times!
Kurotsuchi was extremely displeased. By her reckoning, she was the same age as Tenten and Neji, and one year older than Ino and Naruto – they were all clearly peers. Hearing about Ino's feats like defeating Chojuro of the Hidden Mist and beating up the Sand Village Jinchuriki, her hands were itching for a fight. But her grandfather was as stubborn as a rock, leaving her with no choice but to find other things to do. She took on numerous patrol missions.
The village assigned her a team, but she insisted she didn't need one. Did Ino Yamanaka from Konoha need a team when she went out? Did I need one? she thought. If danger arises, it's not certain who would be protecting whom. She didn't need one! The Third Tsuchikage also felt his granddaughter was very strong and believed nothing major would happen within the Land of Earth.
One day, while Kurotsuchi was patrolling the border, eliminating rogue ninjas attempting to enter the Land of Earth, she suddenly heard from some civilians in a nearby town about a strange person wearing a black cloak with red clouds, long golden hair, and who caused explosions at the slightest provocation.
Spirited, she thought, Deidara! You traitor, how dare you come back to the Land of Earth?!
Meanwhile, using the Yamanaka clan's intelligence network, Ino had roughly determined Deidara's area of movement. She then created explosions in several surrounding towns to lure the real Deidara over. Under her clever provocation, the real Deidara ran right into Kurotsuchi.
Deidara was a disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, one year older than Kurotsuchi. They had grown up together, childhood acquaintances, but there were truly no romantic feelings between them. In Kurotsuchi's eyes, Deidara was simply too chuunibyou. Kurotsuchi hoped her other half would be a mature, steady individual – a strong person she could rely on. She didn't like guys with childish personalities like Deidara.
There was absolutely no spark between them. They met and started fighting after barely exchanging a couple of words.
Ino observed from inside her Chameleon Castle.
Honestly, it was such a shame about Comrade Deidara. With the Tsuchikage as his teacher and a great future ahead of him, he had such excellent conditions, yet he betrayed the village. The succession order in Konoha was the Third Hokage, then Jiraiya, then Minato Namikaze. Iwagakure had a similar succession order: the Third Tsuchikage, his son Kitsuchi, and then one of his three disciples from the younger generation would be chosen.
Konoha's succession ran into problems, and Iwagakure here didn't complete the transition smoothly either. Kitsuchi was Kurotsuchi's father, the Third Tsuchikage's son, preparing to take over as Tsuchikage, but he had been 'preparing' for twenty years... Now Kitsuchi was over forty, and his father showed no intention of retiring at all. The younger generation had also grown up, making things so awkward for him. He simply decided not to compete anymore and let the next generation take over.
The Third Tsuchikage's three disciples, in order of age, were Akatsuchi, Deidara, and Kurotsuchi. Akatsuchi was a big man. While being a village Kage didn't require the appearance of a "handsome young man from miles around," one's appearance couldn't be too poor either; it was a matter of image. Even if Akatsuchi could sit on Kaguya Otsutsuki and kill her, his nearly three-hundred-pound physique wouldn't allow him to become Tsuchikage. His 'face value' was simply too low; they were worried he would affect the village's image. Moreover, he didn't have that capability anyway.
From beginning to end, Deidara only had one competitor: Kurotsuchi. If only his personality were a little better and he wasn't so playful, even if he couldn't become Tsuchikage, he could have become the Tsuchikage's husband. Unfortunately, he was tricked away by the Akatsuki with just a few words. This person's mentality was truly no good.
Ino thought that if she had transmigrated into Deidara's body, she would have secured the title of Tsuchikage successor long ago. How could clay be as fun as Kurotsuchi? Deidara was truly a child; he didn't understand anything!
Deidara, whom Ino considered a child, hadn't reached the heights he would three years later, but his qualities in all aspects still solidly surpassed Kurotsuchi by a notch. Their taijutsu came from the same school. Kurotsuchi's smooth, long legs repeatedly kicked at Deidara's upper, middle, and lower body. Deidara, who had joined the Akatsuki, was fast and agile, and his combat awareness was also a bit higher than Kurotsuchi's. While sporting a twisted smile, he used his arms to block kicks from various angles.
"Lava Style: Ash Stone Seal Technique!" Kurotsuchi quickly formed hand seals, then spat out a large expanse of black liquid that resembled concrete.
Ino couldn't help but look a couple more times. The posture this granddaughter of the Tsuchikage used for her ninjutsu was different from the mainstream. When Ino, the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage, Asuma, and others used this type of spitting ninjutsu, they would take a deep breath, gather chakra inside their mouths, and then expel it. Comrade Kurotsuchi seemed to gather it between her chest and abdomen, then separated her legs, bent at the waist, and lifted her hips to expel it in a rather unseemly posture.
What a strange posture... Does Lava Style have to be used like this? Ino felt her 'shame level' was a bit high watching it.
Kurotsuchi fought fiercely, but the strength gap was still quite large. Deidara, like always, went wild when people were around, blasting wildly in return. After they exchanged over twenty blows, Kurotsuchi was beaten black and blue. Seeing that the opportunity had arrived, Ino's spiritual form rushed to the side of the battlefield, then pounced forward...
"Stop bothering me, you commoners! You don't understand my art at all!" Facing the girl he had grown up with, Deidara ultimately didn't deliver a killing blow. At this moment, Kurotsuchi was half-kneeling on the ground, blood flowing down from the corner of her mouth, while he only had some minor damage to his clothes.
He summoned the giant clay bird that had been circling in the sky, stepped and jumped onto it, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, Kurotsuchi shouted, "Stop!"
Deidara frowned, turning his head to look, his expression somewhat hostile. Kurotsuchi's voice was a bit hoarse, and her tone was different from usual. She said, "Leave behind the secret technique training scroll for explosive clay! It doesn't belong to you; it's the village's property!"
Deidara looked slightly confused. "Didn't the old man have a backup?" He mumbled to himself, then nervously scratched his head. "Refined art is indeed not something ordinary people like you can grasp. It's understandable that it wasn't valued enough. Fine!"
He took a scroll from his ninja pouch and threw it far to Kurotsuchi. "Giving the original back to you! Don't lose it again! Hmph!" He raised his head, seemingly saying goodbye to his past self, then the giant clay bird shook its wings and flew into the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/GirlsLove1