Onoki looked at this hotel, his brow smoothing out. This was more like a place for people to stay! He smiled and nodded. "Raikage-sama, you shouldn't have!"
The Fourth Raikage, A, laughed. "It's the least I could do." As he spoke, the Fourth Raikage led Onoki to check in. Their assigned rooms were directly opposite those of the Konoha group.
After completing the formalities, the Fourth Raikage chatted with Onoki a while longer before saying, "Third Tsuchikage-sama, the succession ceremony is tomorrow. You should rest now. I need to go back and finalize some matters."
"Very well. Fourth Raikage, safe travels." Onoki's face wore the professional, fake smile of a politician.
Darui was utterly shocked. Following behind the Raikage, he never expected his leader to pull such a sneaky move, making them face the Hokage, Ryun Uchiha, directly!
No wonder the Raikage had asked for Konoha's room numbers on the first day of check-in. He had a backup plan all along, determined to make things difficult for Onoki!
Meanwhile, Onoki and his group headed upstairs towards their rooms. Just as they were about to enter their own room.
The door opposite suddenly opened. Onoki frowned. What was the Fourth Raikage playing at, putting them opposite an occupied room!
They turned to see who was so bold. When the door opened, Onoki gasped. "Ryun Uchiha!"
"Hmm? Who's calling me?" Ryun Uchiha stepped out of his room. He looked up and saw his old acquaintance Onoki, Kitsuchi, and some blond-haired brat.
"Oh, all familiar faces. Hello!" Ryun Uchiha laughed, extending his right hand.
Onoki took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then a smile spread across his old face. "Hokage-sama, greetings. Are you staying here?"
Ryun Uchiha smiled and nodded. "Yes! What a coincidence, you're right across from us."
Hearing Ryun Uchiha talking to someone in the hallway, other doors opened too. Sakumo Hatake, Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara emerged from their rooms.
They looked at the Iwa-nin group and frowned. Aside from Onoki, Kitsuchi, and Deidara, the other Iwa Jonin all gasped.
These were all Kage-level fighters! And Ryun Uchiha was a powerhouse surpassing even that level. Having them as neighbors across the hall was indeed a bit intimidating!
Far away in the Raikage's office building, the Fourth Raikage, A, held a telescope. He glanced at the hotel situation and a smirk appeared on his face. 'Onoki, you were so arrogant, attacking without hesitation, destroying one of my hotels. Let's see if you can still act tough facing Ryun Uchiha!'
Thinking this, the Fourth Raikage set up a camera, intending to record Tsuchikage Onoki's wretched, subservient behavior. After the succession ceremony, he would play it before his father's grave to comfort his father's spirit in heaven.
Then he would make a thousand copies and distribute them across the Ninja World, making Onoki lose face completely.
Onoki's back was slightly bent at this moment, his face wearing a fawning expression. "Hokage-sama, we just arrived and didn't know this was your residence. If the Hokage minds, I will take everyone and change floors immediately."
Deidara, young and fearless, spoke up. "Old man, why should we move! You are the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure! Since when have we ever made way for others!"
Onoki shuddered. Oh no! His expression turned somewhat ugly, and he looked at Ryun Uchiha with pleading eyes. Ryun Uchiha's face held an amused smile.
Kitsuchi covered Deidara's mouth. "Hey! Brat! Are you crazy? This is the Hokage of Konohagakure in the Land of Fire, Ryun Uchiha! The man who single-handedly held his ground against our ten-thousand-strong Iwa-nin army years ago!"
"Now over a decade has passed. Who knows what level his strength has reached. Have you lost your mind!" Kitsuchi looked at Deidara in terror!
Deidara was unconvinced. "My Explosion Release is nothing to scoff at either!"
Ryun Uchiha laughed. "Is that so? How about you use your Explosion Release and have a jutsu contest with our Anbu Commander, Sakumo Hatake?"
"Alright!" Deidara's eyes lit up. He wanted to prove his strength, prove his power, prove that Explosion Release was stronger than Dust Release!
"Hokage-sama, here... is it appropriate? This is inside a hotel, after all," Sakumo Hatake said, frowning. He wasn't afraid of a jutsu contest, but worried about potential damage to the hotel and bringing disgrace to Konoha.
Ryun Uchiha nodded. "This hotel has a training ground. Let's have the match there. Sorry for the trouble, Sakumo."
Sakumo Hatake nodded. 'I will live up to the Hokage-sama's expectations.' Onoki, seeing the situation, also nodded. "Deidara, be careful later!"
"Shut up, old man. Just watch!" Deidara smiled confidently, dropping his luggage without a care and rushing downstairs.
Onoki and Kitsuchi exchanged a look, put down their luggage, ordered the Anbu to arrange the luggage, and followed.
Ryun Uchiha and Sakumo Hatake went downstairs, the others following behind. Once there were no Iwa-nin in sight ahead or behind, Ryun Uchiha suddenly spoke. "Sakumo, do you know why I want you to fight that kid?"
Sakumo Hatake shook his head. "I don't. But I will definitely win, even if it's just a jutsu contest."
Ryun Uchiha glanced at him and smiled. "Actually, that Deidara is talented. Although his physical prowess isn't strong, his Explosion Release is immensely powerful."
"In certain aspects, his performance in group battles isn't inferior to mine," Ryun Uchiha said bluntly, without evasion.
Everyone was stunned. This was the first time Ryun Uchiha had ever said he was inferior to someone in group combat! Sakumo Hatake frowned now. He believed Ryun Uchiha wouldn't say such a thing without reason. It seemed the upcoming fight wouldn't be so easy!
But Ryun Uchiha's next words left Sakumo Hatake dumbfounded. "However, his Explosive Clay has one weakness. Lightning Release chakra!"
"When Lightning Release chakra penetrates the clay, his Explosive Clay becomes ineffective," Ryun Uchiha stated Deidara's canonical weakness.
Everyone's mouths twitched in disbelief. A ninja who earned Ryun Uchiha's praise of having group combat abilities not inferior to his own... who would have thought his jutsu would actually fear Lightning Release chakra.
"Among us, only you and Kakashi possess Lightning Release chakra. Kakashi is too young, his control over jutsu not as precise as yours, Sakumo. So this fight will be left to you, to teach that kid a lesson," Ryun Uchiha said slowly.
Sakumo Hatake nodded. "I see. I understand, Hokage-sama." Originally, he thought Deidara's abilities were very powerful and would require considerable effort to overcome.
Who knew his Explosion Release jutsu actually feared Lightning? What a twist.
A short while later, the group arrived at the training ground. Tsuchikage Onoki and Hokage Ryun Uchiha stood together as referees.
The others stood on the other side, cheering for their respective sides.
Deidara looked at Sakumo Hatake, excitement in his eyes. The White Fang of Konoha, he had heard the old man talk about him. He was a title-holding class powerhouse!
If he could defeat him as his debut battle, then the old man should stop opposing his Explosion Release training!
"The match begins!"
At Ryun Uchiha's command, Deidara extended his hands, immediately flinging out twenty white clay spiders that crawled from various angles towards Sakumo Hatake.
Sakumo Hatake formed hand seals, then channeled a mass of Lightning Release chakra into the ground.
Instantly, the fan-shaped area of ground in front of him filled with electricity. The clay spiders touched the lightning and immediately lay down, turning into piles of white ash.
"Nani!" Deidara's eyes widened in shock. What happened! Why did his Explosive Clay fail! And it couldn't be activated!
This was also his first battle against a Lightning Release user. Through this fight, he discovered his Explosive Clay had a fatal weakness. It feared Lightning!
Sakumo Hatake looked at the little spiders turned to ash and smiled. Sure enough, the Hokage-sama's intelligence was correct. In that case, Deidara was not to be feared.
Deidara looked at Sakumo Hatake, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes. If ground spiders were useless, then birds in the sky, you can't block them all!
Thinking this, Deidara flung his sleeves, sending out a swarm of small birds. If his opponent were Kakashi, he might not have been able to block them all.
But this was Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake!
Sakumo Hatake gathered chakra in both hands, forming two lightning blades. This was chakra nature transformation! Then he leaped into the air, rushing into the center of the bird swarm.
His eyes moved rapidly, his hands constantly swinging, moving in strange steps as he sliced through each clay bird.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
The birds flying towards Sakumo Hatake were extinguished by the lightning blades. The birds that couldn't reach him struck the training ground, blasting out small craters.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The originally flat ground was pockmarked with craters. The Konoha ninja looked at the crater sizes and gasped.
The ground was made of marble. To blast a crater in it, those small birds each had at least the power of an explosive tag!
This Deidara, with a flick of his sleeve, sent nearly fifty or sixty birds. Terrifying, this kid was terrifying!
After neutralizing this wave of attacks, Sakumo Hatake turned gracefully. The other five Konoha members all clapped and cheered!
Sakumo Hatake looked at the small craters behind him and took a deep breath. This Deidara was truly formidable! If there were no Lightning Release users on a battlefield, he could probably wipe out a group of people in an instant!
Deidara roared, "No!" He immediately began kneading a gigantic form. It was... a dragon!
Ryun Uchiha's pupils constricted. "Sakumo, quickly strike that clay with lightning! If it fully forms, the hotel will be destroyed!"
Hearing this, Onoki shuddered all over. "You rebellious disciple, stop right now!" Oh my god, could those lumps of clay really be that powerful?
But he couldn't possibly doubt Ryun Uchiha's words!
"Old man! Watch, my Explosive Clay, Dragon!" Deidara laughed maniacally, his hands moving even faster. Almost there, just a little more. Once I complete this new jutsu, I'll show you the art of explosion!
However, in the next moment, Sakumo Hatake drew his White Light Chakra Sabre. He infused three-tenths of his chakra into the short sword and stabbed it into the clay.
The next moment, the clay became soft and limp, finally dissolving into a pile of loose sand!
Deidara was just about to shout "No!" when Sakumo Hatake delivered a knife-hand strike to the back of his neck. Deidara finally lost consciousness.
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