https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-447-A-Predicament-on-the-Battlefield/12558595/
Chapter 446: Pain Fuels Growth
Chapter 446: Pain Fuels Growth
Fearing that he would be late, Deidara arrived early at the park, under the blossoming cherry blossom tree. He held a bag of carefully selected snacks for Haruno Lin, feeling a mix of anticipation and nervousness as he looked around.
Unlike Deidara, who was often tardy, Haruno Lin was punctual. She usually arrived right on time and rarely kept people waiting. But today seemed different. As the appointed time drew near, Deidara didn't spot Lin but noticed a few familiar figures in the distance.
"Is this park suddenly popular? Why are Asuma and Kurenai here too?" Deidara muttered to himself as the distance between them shortened, confirming his suspicions.
"Even Kakashi is here. Did he run here?" Deidara's eyes widened as he spotted a flash of green. He was surprised because, in his impression, Kakashi Hatake rarely had the leisure to stroll through such parks.
What perplexed Deidara even more was that Kakashi and the others were heading toward the cherry blossom tree.
"What a coincidence! You're here to enjoy the park too," Deidara waved and greeted them with a smile.
Not seeing Kakashi among them, Deidara's mood remained relatively calm, and he still held on to a glimmer of optimism about the situation.
"Enjoying the park? Not exactly. Lin said she had something important to discuss, so I came over," Kurenai Yuhi shook her head.
Deidara's face froze, and the smile on his face slowly faded. This wasn't turning out to be the romantic date he had envisioned.
"Me too," Might Guy nodded, indicating that he, too, was one of those invited by Lin.
"It seems we were all invited by Lin. It's quite unusual for her to gather us like this. I wonder if something important has come up," Asuma scratched his chin, deep in thought.
Asuma glanced around and noticed that everyone present was a familiar face, with no strangers among them.
"Ahaha, I guess so," Deidara scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face. He discreetly shifted the bag of snacks he was holding to his back.
"Maybe she's facing some kind of difficulty," Guy added.
Although Deidara felt awkward at that moment, he didn't blame Lin. Instead, he felt a growing concern for her.
After all, Lin had never explicitly said that she was asking him out on a date. It was Deidara's own assumption.
"And the fact that Kakashi wasn't invited means that Lin trusts me more," Deidara consoled himself, feeling a little better.
Kakashi's absence was a blessing in disguise for Deidara. Had Kakashi been there, he likely would have seen through Deidara's intentions and subjected him to relentless teasing.
"Sorry I'm late, everyone!"
Just then, Lin's voice rang out, and Deidara turned to see her running towards them, clutching a stack of papers to her chest. She was clearly out of breath.
"It's just a few minutes. You're not late, Lin. Take your time," Deidara said, noticing her labored breathing.
Hearing Deidara's words, Lin slowed down and jogged the rest of the way to join the group.
"Creating these took longer than I expected, so I'm a little late," Lin explained, holding up the papers in her hand to emphasize her point.
It was well known that Lin had been practicing breathing techniques for quite some time. For her to be this breathless, she must have been running at full speed.
"I see. I was wondering why the usually punctual Lin was running late," Deidara said with a wry smile, his eyes drifting to the papers in Lin's hand—the very reason for her tardiness.
"'Celebrating Kakashi's Promotion to Jonin—Gift Planning (Confidential Mission)...'" Deidara silently read the large characters on the poster-like paper, his heart sinking as he realized the true nature of their gathering.
Staring at the carefully crafted Q-version portrait of Kakashi by the seaside, Deidara fell silent. For some reason, the bag of snacks he was holding suddenly felt unbearably heavy, so heavy that even Deidara, with his formidable strength, struggled to hold on to it.
Thud! The bag slipped from Deidara's grasp and fell to the ground.
Deidara made no move to pick up the fallen snacks. His face burned with embarrassment, and the awkwardness he felt in that moment was overwhelming.
The supposed date he had envisioned was, in reality, Lin's attempt to plan a celebration for Kakashi's promotion.
He had thought that Kakashi's absence meant he was more trustworthy in Lin's eyes, but the truth was that Lin wanted to surprise Kakashi.
Deidara had arrived early and brought snacks that he thought girls would enjoy, all in an effort to make a good impression on Lin. But now, as he stood there, the weight of his misunderstanding crushed him.
The pain was excruciating. Despite standing in the warm sunlight, Deidara felt a bone-chilling coldness and an agonizing twist in his heart.
Witnessing the girl he admired working hard for another boy was heart-wrenching. Deidara couldn't bring himself to look at Lin, and he lifted his head, gazing skyward with a sorrow he couldn't put into words.
"Deidara, you dropped your things," Lin walked up to him and picked up the bag of snacks, her voice gentle.
She had heard the sound of something dropping and immediately realized what had happened. However, she was surprised that Deidara hadn't picked it up and seemed lost in thought instead.
"Oh, thanks, Lin," Deidara snapped out of his daze and thanked her absentmindedly.
"Really, you should be more careful, especially since you're about to become a Jonin. You can't afford to space out like that during missions," Lin chided him, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah," Deidara managed a weak smile.
The fact that Lin was concerned about him and had him in her thoughts brought a slight warmth to his heart.
"By the way, did you bring these snacks to treat us, Deidara?" Lin asked casually as she handed him the bag.
Deidara hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, you're right, Lin."
Although he had bought the snacks specifically for Lin, he knew that giving them only to her in the current situation would be odd. So, he decided that either everyone should share them, or he wouldn't offer them at all.
"Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful, Deidara," Lin covered her mouth with her hand, a look of surprise on her face. Deidara's thoughtfulness exceeded her expectations.
Deidara had always been known for his carelessness, but this time, he had not only arrived on time but also brought snacks.
"People can always improve," Deidara puffed out his chest, feeling a surge of pride at Lin's praise.
He proceeded to distribute the snacks to everyone, but as he watched them enjoy the treats he had carefully chosen for Lin, a pang of melancholy tugged at his heartstrings.
"These are delicious! Good job, Deidara. You have a knack for choosing snacks," Kurenai complimented him.
Deidara felt as if an arrow had pierced his heart. How could they be anything but delicious? He had chosen them especially for Lin.
"So, what do you think would be a good gift for Kakashi?" Lin steered the conversation back to the main purpose of their gathering.
"You know, now that I think about it, Kakashi gave me a cultivation elixir for my birthday. You're right, Kurenai; he doesn't go for flashy things." Might Guy agreed, recalling a past incident.
"Then let's all go and find the most delicious tempura we can! We can give it to Kakashi together. Eating is practical; after all, you'll die if you don't eat," Obito said earnestly, without a hint of emotion in his voice, as if his suggestion was purely rational.
Haruno Lin glanced at Obito helplessly.
"Obito, stop joking around. You know Kakashi doesn't like eating tempura," Lin retorted.
Kakashi only ate the tempura made by Muzuki.
"I just want him to appreciate the wonders of tempura, but never mind. Teacher Muzuki's tempura is already the pinnacle of culinary perfection; there's no way to find better tempura than that," Obito hastily explained, backtracking from his suggestion.
He had made the suggestion out of spite, not expecting it to be taken seriously.
However, if his idea had been accepted, Obito would have been secretly pleased, as he imagined Kakashi's expression would mirror the one he was wearing at that moment.
After some discussion, Kurenai's idea of a practical gift was agreed upon by the group.
After their meeting, instead of leaving with Lin, Obito chose to follow Might Guy.
Even he couldn't bring himself to cling to Lin in light of the recent developments.
"Guy, how's your recovery going?" Obito asked, initiating a conversation.
Might Guy flashed a smile and flexed his muscular arm proudly, "It's progressing as steadily as the ever-rising youth within me!"
"That's good to hear. Without you around, Kakashi seems a bit lonesome," Obito said with a hint of mischief.
"That's the bond between best friends!" Guy exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up and bursting into laughter.
"I heard from Kakashi that he really wants to fight you when you've unlocked all the Eight Inner Gates and entered the Rock Lee Chakra Mode," Obito continued, feigning a serious tone.
"Well, I was indeed very strong in that state, and my best friend wants to challenge me at my peak," Guy readily believed, nodding along.
"But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint him. I can't showcase my peak fighting prowess right now. At most, I can only access the fifth gate and the Rock Lee Chakra Mode; I can't open the sixth gate," Might Guy sighed, a hint of regret in his voice.
He had only forced open the sixth gate during a life-threatening situation, and he certainly wouldn't do the same during a casual spar; otherwise, he'd have to spend two months recovering instead of training.
"I'm sure Kakashi will understand," Obito said, a smile creeping onto his face as he imagined the scene.
He could already envision Kakashi getting thoroughly beaten by Guy, who was in the Eight Inner Gates and Rock Lee Chakra Mode. Even if Guy only opened five gates, it would still be a challenge for Kakashi in his current state.
"For the sake of my best friend's expectations, I'll train even harder from now on and strive to let him experience the power of the sixth gate and the Rock Lee Chakra Mode as soon as possible," Guy declared, his fist clenched tightly as determination filled his eyes.
"That's the spirit! Keep it up!" Obito encouraged, giving Guy a thumbs-up.
...
In a hidden underground laboratory in Konoha, a faint sigh echoed through the air.
"Another failure... Am I heading in the wrong direction?" Hiding his frustration, Biro looked at the experimental data with a furrowed brow.
"A ninja's talent should be something inherent in their body. Why can't I extract and steal their ninja talents?"
Discontent with his own abilities, Biro had been secretly conducting experiments to develop a jutsu that could enhance a ninja's talent.
Biro yearned to be extraordinary, to become a powerful ninja like the Sannin—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—who struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.
While his peers from the same graduating class had risen to fame, he remained a little-known Jonin in Konoha, and this reality gnawed at him.
"Damn it! At this rate, when will I ever succeed? Even Kakashi Hatake, that kid, has surpassed me!" Biro's mental defenses crumbled as he thought of Kakashi, who had become a Jonin at the age of ten.
He could somewhat accept the fame of his juniors like Namikaze Minato and Muzuki, but Kakashi's achievements truly struck a nerve.
A ten-year-old Jonin—a record-breaker in Konoha.
"I need to speed things up. It would be meaningless if I only complete the development when I'm already old and frail," Biro decided, abandoning his cautious approach in favor of more aggressive actions.
Even the most talented ninja would inevitably weaken with age, and he intended to perfect his jutsu while he was still young.
From then on, Biro increased the frequency of his abductions, conducting more extensive human experiments to test his theories.
As he delved deeper into his experiments, a new idea struck him.
"If stealing talent is so difficult, why not focus on fusion and combine individuals instead?" Biro shifted his experiments towards the goal of fusion.
As if guided by fate, his experiments in fusion jutsu progressed swiftly. Before long, he successfully fused a regular person with a summoned beast, resulting in a being with strength surpassing that of a Chunin, although their body now bore monstrous traits.
"I've done it! This is undoubtedly a groundbreaking, unparalleled ninja art!" Biro exclaimed, exhilarated by the breakthrough in his experiments.
He believed that the jutsu he had developed, which he named "Demon Fusing Jutsu," was undoubtedly an S-rank ninja art, even among the top tier of S-rank jutsu.
Subsequently, Biro began experimenting with fusing humans with other humans.
He had no intention of fusing himself with a summoned beast; he still wanted to retain his humanity.
Moreover, Biro believed that humans had greater potential than summoned beasts, as he had never heard of a top-tier powerful ninja relying solely on their summoned beasts.
As he conducted experiments in human fusion, Biro discovered something surprising: the fusion could retain many traits of the fused individuals, including their kekkei genkai.
"I'm on the right track. If I can master all the kekkei genkai, who could possibly defeat me?" Biro envisioned a path to becoming the strongest.
Perhaps due to the heightened security during the war or the radical nature of his actions, his abnormal activities were noticed, and his human experiments were discovered by investigating ninjas.
However, Biro was not foolish. Even if he lacked the prowess of the Sannin, his strength was beyond that of an ordinary ninja. In the end, he fled Konoha with his Demon Fusing Jutsu, becoming a missing-nin wanted by the village.
(End of Chapter)
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