---
Shinji and Karin arrived at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth.
This area was relatively less tense at the moment.
The Land of Grass was essentially a fence-sitter with little strength. If it weren't situated between Konoha and Iwagakure, perhaps Ōnoki wouldn't have even bothered sending these people to the border.
"Looks like no luck today. Let's prepare to head back to Konoha, Karin." Shinji had originally intended to search the surroundings for any trace of Jūgo.
But clearly, there was none.
So, Shinji decided it was time to leave.
Just as Shinji placed his hand on Karin's shoulder, intending to take her directly back to the All-Purpose Shop, a massive explosion not far away suddenly caught his attention.
Someone there?
Shinji stopped his movement and looked towards the smoke.
The Iwagakure ninja stationed at the border clearly had their attention drawn over there and were rushing towards the location.
"Lord Shinji?" Karin also heard the loud explosion and looked curiously in that direction.
"Let's go take a look." Seeing that the border guards were mostly distracted, Shinji took Karin's hand and headed towards the site.
To avoid drawing attention, both he and Karin altered their appearances slightly.
Crossing the border line, Shinji and Karin approached the vicinity of the explosion.
By now, a large number of Iwagakure ninja had already surrounded the area.
But they were only surrounding it, not doing anything else.
Shinji was curious. Given the typical Iwagakure temperament, they wouldn't let such a powerful explosion go unchecked so easily.
"Found him yet?"
"Not yet. When we arrived, all we found was this explosion site."
"Captain, this is...?"
"It must be Lord Deidara running off again! Search quickly! If the Tsuchikage blames us later, none of us can bear the responsibility!"
...
Hearing their conversation, Shinji understood.
So, this was the work of Iwagakure's young master, Deidara. That explained everything.
Deidara had run out here and caused this explosion.
Art is Patrick Star?
Shinji didn't plan to linger. If these Iwagakure ninja discovered him, it would inevitably lead to trouble and explanations.
Returning to the Kusagakure side, Shinji intended to find a small grove and then teleport directly back to the All-Purpose Shop place.
Soon, in a small grove, Shinji was preparing to leave.
"I'm not going back with you! Exploding Clay!" Suddenly, a loud shout was directed at Shinji.
Following that, small white spiders rapidly crawled towards Shinji.
Deidara's Exploding Clay?
"Ah!!!" Karin had never encountered anything like this before. Seeing the spiders approach, she screamed instinctively.
Feeling the approach of Deidara's Exploding Clay, Shinji quickly opened the system.
[Begin Roleplay!]
[Host: Shinji]
[Roleplay Character List: Zhongli!]
[Roleplay Character Progress: 10%]
[Today's Roleplay Time: 1/30 minutes]
[Choose to project Zhongli's image?]
[Yes/No]
[No!]
Shinji began to unlock Zhongli's abilities. With 10% of his power, defeating a Chūnin might still be difficult, but it should be enough to handle Deidara.
"Dominus Lapidis!" Quickly, as Shinji mobilized the surrounding Geo element to protect himself, a Jade Shield formed.
Faint, intricate patterns surfaced on the shield, and the skeletal frame of Geo chains formed around it, supporting the entire structure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Deidara's exploding clay continuously bombarded the Jade Shield, but it couldn't break through the defense, merely creating ripples on its surface.
Soon, the smoke cleared.
The Jade Shield in front of Shinji remained completely unmoved.
Was he kidding? Zhongli's foolproof shield wasn't that easy to break.
Besides, Deidara was only seven years old this year; the power of his Exploding Clay wasn't that great yet.
"It... did nothing? Wait, you're not from Iwagakure!" After the smoke cleared, Shinji also spotted Deidara's location.
He was currently behind a large tree, looking disheveled, with several injuries on his body.
At this time, Deidara's hair wasn't as long as his future self's, but he still had it tied up behind him.
"Indeed, I am not from Iwagakure." Shinji looked at Deidara calmly, his indifferent gaze making it impossible for Deidara to discern Shinji's thoughts.
"Sorry about that, I thought you were Iwagakure ninja," Deidara said, somewhat embarrassed.
A rebellious teenager?
Shinji looked at Deidara's young face. He currently seemed more like a rebellious youth, insisting on doing whatever his family told him not to do.
So, when Ōnoki wanted to confine Deidara at home and stop him from further developing his clay ninjutsu, Deidara simply ran away.
He had just been experimenting with his clay explosions at the border. Because he didn't get away in time, he ended up getting hurt by the blast.
The aftershock had also thrown him somewhere else. By the time Deidara came to, he realized he was already at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth. Making a snap decision, Deidara ran directly into the Land of Grass.
And that led to the events that just transpired.
"What are you doing here?" Shinji looked at Deidara's youthful face, and a plan suddenly formed.
What if he managed to lure Deidara away first...
Tsk tsk tsk. Just thinking about it was exciting.
"Nothing. Just consider me a missing-nin," Deidara pouted, his eyes darting around.
"Ōnoki's student, Deidara, becoming a missing-nin... that would be quite something..." Shinji said, somewhat amused.
"He's the Third Tsuchikage's student? Then why would he want to become a missing-nin?" Karin looked curiously at Deidara. Why would someone with such status become a rogue ninja?
"Hmph! That old man! He won't let me research Exploding Clay! He won't let me pursue art! A place like that! I don't want to stay there!" Deidara, deep down, still had the mentality of a child.
With his guard down, and considering he had attacked first, he immediately started complaining about his teacher.
"Art?" Karin asked curiously.
"It's explosions! Did you see it just now? That explosion, so artistic! Although it's not completely perfected yet!"
Deidara seemed like he had met someone willing to discuss art with him for the first time, eagerly pointing towards the site of the massive explosion.
Karin, meanwhile, looked genuinely interested, the violent tendencies seemingly ingrained in her genes slowly starting to surface.
Shinji suddenly remembered that there was something in the All-Purpose Shop system's point shop that might be perfect for Deidara.
It was the Bomb-Bomb Devil Fruit from One Piece, the power belonging to Mr. 5, a high-ranking agent in Crocodile's Baroque Works.
Any part of his body could explode, even flicked boogers. The air blown from his mouth could also be used as an explosive. He himself was immune to explosions, capable of even eating a bomb without suffering any damage.
If he exchanged points for one and gave it to Deidara, then future matters wouldn't require much thought.
However, the point cost was very high, a steep 5000 points. Of course, compared to Whitebeard's Paramecia Gura Gura no Mi, Luffy's Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika, or other powerful Logia types, it was relatively cheap.
But 5000 points was still an astronomical sum for Shinji.
"What's with that look?" Deidara suddenly snapped out of his excitement, noticing the way Shinji and Karin were looking at him, as if observing something peculiar.
"It's nothing. Just thinking about the explosion you created," Karin said, averting her gaze.
"Explosion? Isn't what I create art?" Deidara asked blankly.
"Art it may be, but... I imagine the Iwagakure ninja will be here soon, right?" Shinji pointed towards the direction of the Land of Earth.
With such a major incident, Ōnoki definitely knew that Deidara had run off yet again.
Someone Ōnoki had hoped would succeed him as Tsuchikage was escaping Iwagakure time and time again.
Moreover, Deidara was only seven now. According to Kishimoto's timeline, Deidara wouldn't successfully escape Iwagakure and declare himself a missing-nin for another two years.
So...
What if he gave things a little push?
"Damn it! Are they catching up already?" Deidara looked nervously towards Iwagakure, seemingly hearing faint, noisy sounds.
"How about this? I can help you leave this village," Shinji turned his head and said to Deidara, his eyes filled with a strange light.
"Leave this village?" Deidara was a bit stunned; this was somewhat beyond what he had imagined.
But...
It also sounded kind of fun?
"Yes. Ōnoki restricts you, but I won't. How about it, come with me?" Shinji extended his hand towards Deidara.
Seeing Shinji's gesture, Karin, standing nearby, felt a sense of déjà vu??? This?
Felt like it just happened yesterday?
"Why should I trust you?" Deidara took a step back, looking warily at Shinji.
"You can choose not to trust me, but... the Iwagakure ninja are about to arrive," Shinji said, pointing towards Iwagakure.
"If I go with you, what's in it for me?"
"The benefit is, I will give you a room," Shinji stated calmly.
"A room? Heh, I'm not lacking that sort of thing." Deidara almost laughed out loud.
Seriously? He was the young master of Iwagakure. Would he lack a room from him?
"A room that won't be destroyed by your explosions," Shinji said, holding up one finger.
"Won't be destroyed by explosions?" Sure enough, Deidara looked intrigued.
Wasn't the reason Ōnoki kept restricting him precisely because his explosions caused significant public outcry?
If...
Such a thing really existed?
"Yes, it won't be destroyed. If you don't believe me, we can sign a contract." Light surged in Shinji's hand, eventually solidifying into a Star Rock.
"A contract?"
"Yes, a contract. Once signed, there will be a pact between us. Since we will share a bond through this 'Contract'—then anything within its scope can be discussed with me."
The Star Rock in Shinji's hand shimmered, its light reflecting in Deidara's eyes.
"If you can really provide such a room, then I agree to go with you. And, I'll listen to you," Deidara said, looking at the Star Rock in Shinji's hand, a flash of excitement in his eyes.
A room that couldn't be destroyed!
If he really had one, then...
He would definitely find a way to destroy it!
Then, once he destroyed that room, this bothersome contractual relationship would cease to exist!
---
> Check my: [email protected]/ShixT9 for extra 60 Chapters
> Each 50 Spirit Stones I will release an extra chapter
> If a member joins my p@treon
> Tier 1 = 1 Extra Chapter + Shoutout In Chapter Title
> Tier 2 = 2 Extra Chapters + Shoutout In Chapter Title
> Tier 3 = 4 Extra Chapters + Shoutout In Chapter Title
A review will also be greatly appreciated ^•^