"Fire Release: Toad Oil Bullet!"
At the border of the Land of Wind, the ones clashing with the Iwagakure team were none other than the Konoha shinobi led by Jiraiya.
A large amount of toad oil splattered onto the Iwa-nin, and with the Konoha shinobi's Fire Release following up, many who failed to dodge in time were instantly ignited, writhing and screaming on the ground as they rolled.
Some clever Iwa-nin attempted to douse the flames with Water Release, but with the toad oil fueling them, the fire was far from easy to extinguish.
Iwagakure's formation fell into chaos, preventing their famed teamwork from displaying its full effect.
Jiraiya charged into the enemy ranks at the forefront, weaving between attacks with his skilled taijutsu while unleashing ninjutsu to maximize casualties among the Iwa-nin.
While the ground troops were under assault, Deidara in the skies wasn't having it any better.
Ever since Minato had managed to mark him with the Flying Thunder God seal in a moment of carelessness, he had been living in constant anxiety—whether eating or relieving himself, he was always on edge, terrified that Minato would cut him down at his most vulnerable moment.
"Damn it, why won't this mark come off no matter what I do? Hm!"
Circling in the air, Deidara racked his brains, trying desperately to remove the Flying Thunder God mark from his body.
Even though his skin was rubbed raw, the seal still showed no signs of disappearing.
"Argh, damn it, old man, don't blame me! I still have to pursue art—I can't die here, hm!"
After being harassed by Minato a few more times, Deidara could no longer withstand the pressure. Controlling his clay birds, he withdrew from the battlefield.
With Deidara retreating, the explosive unit tasked with protecting him also began to pull back.
They had no choice—if they stayed, Minato would wipe them all out.
Whether it was Jiraiya or Namikaze Minato, both were seasoned veterans in fighting against Iwagakure.
They knew Iwa's strengths and, more importantly, their weaknesses better than anyone.
With Iwa's commander grievously injured by Jiraiya, the large force that had entrenched itself at the Wind Country border for so long finally scattered, abandoning countless corpses as they fled in panic.
When Ōnoki heard his troops had fled the battlefield in haste, he wasn't angry.
The moment he learned Konoha had dispatched reinforcements to Sunagakure, he had already issued the order to retreat.
He just hadn't expected Konoha to act so quickly—before his command even fully reached them, Jiraiya had already appeared with Minato in tow, nearly killing his disciple.
No matter how much he cursed Deidara with his mouth, Ōnoki could never bear to let the boy die.
After all, Deidara was one of Iwagakure's rare prodigies, eccentric personality aside.
But Ōnoki believed that under his careful guidance, Deidara would eventually walk the right path, master Dust Release, and one day succeed him.
It was just a pity they hadn't managed to gain much benefit from Sunagakure this time.
Leaning back and stretching his sore old waist, Ōnoki shifted his gaze to the map beside him, already searching for the next opponent who might show a flaw.
No one knew the father better than his son. Seeing his old man's eyes spinning mischievously, Kitsuchi instantly realized he was up to no good again.
"Old man, how about we take a break for now? The entire shinobi world hasn't been very peaceful lately, and we still haven't found any trace of Rōshi."
Kitsuchi hesitated for a while but eventually spoke up to remind him.
"You don't understand a thing!"
Ōnoki glared at his big, dim-witted son, frustrated beyond words.
"It's precisely because the world is in chaos that it's the best time to reap benefits. If we all just bury our heads in development, who could ever surpass Konoha's monsters?"
His vision was sharp. In the past, Konoha had the unstable factor of the Uchiha dragging them down.
But now, that instability had settled. With its internal strife gone, Konoha was already beginning to transform.
In the old days, they would never have sent shinobi to fight just for another village's interests.
The fact that they did so now was proof enough—Konoha was no longer the timid village of Sarutobi Hiruzen's era, but a war machine extending its fangs outward under the rule of its monstrous young Hokage.
"In that case, about the Chūnin Exams' invitation..."
Hearing this, Kitsuchi assumed his father had no intention of attending the Chūnin Exams hosted by Konoha this year.
"Of course we're going. Konoha is impenetrable right now—we have to seize this opportunity of them opening up to the outside world and find a way to rebuild our intelligence network."
Ōnoki slammed his hand on the desk, ignoring the wobbling of his old back.
Of course, even he didn't fully believe in rebuilding the intel network, and his tone betrayed his lack of confidence.
"Even if we can't rebuild it, we can at least gather intel. More importantly, this is a legitimate chance to kill Konoha shinobi."
Ōnoki made no attempt to conceal his intent.
In the Chūnin Exams, a few deaths were inevitable. He could use that chance to eliminate Konoha's rising stars.
It wouldn't stop Konoha's momentum, but it would certainly disgust them.
"Hmph, let's send Deidara!"
Ōnoki waved his hand, finalizing one of the slots.
"Deidara?"
Kitsuchi was stunned.
Deidara was an elite of the explosive corps. Though not officially promoted to jōnin, his strength was already on par with one.
He was the village's most dazzling genius, the boy who had blasted Sunagakure's center to rubble at only thirteen.
This kind of person in the Chūnin Exams?
Would Konoha even agree to it?
"What, from beginning to end, Deidara has always carried out missions under the title of my disciple in the explosive corps. He's never been officially listed as a jōnin. Why can't he go?"
When it came to underhanded tricks, Ōnoki far surpassed that young Hokage of Konoha.
Kitsuchi shook his head inwardly, sighing at this shamelessness.
...
"Uchiha Itachi has always acted as my disciple, and Shisui was once a Root member—why can't they join the Chūnin Exams?"
In the Hokage's office in Konoha, Takeshi used the exact same reasoning to rebut Obito.
"You... this..."
Obito was dumbfounded.
That Itachi kid was one thing—he had graduated early years ago and had always followed Takeshi around.
But Shisui? He had made his name in the Third Shinobi World War, and now Takeshi wanted to tell other competitors he was still a genin?
"I see... then by that logic, even En Oyashiro could be considered a genin, since he only just joined Konoha."
Kakashi spoke with a serious face, analyzing from the side.
"En Oyashiro? Kakashi, do you want to get other villages' contestants killed?"
En Oyashiro's strength was already among the upper tier even within the Chinoike clan. Throwing someone like him into the Chūnin Exam melee? Why not just toss in Kosuke as well while you're at it?