"Morino Ibiki is also very excellent at interrogation."
Hiruzen calmly smoked his pipe, not looking at his old comrade's face. "Besides, he is now a guest of our Konoha. How could we treat a guest so rudely?"
"You are playing with fire!"
Danzo said coldly. "You're going to ruin Konoha!"
"Danzo, don't forget I am still the Hokage."
Hiruzen's gaze also turned cold.
All along, he had been able to tolerate Danzo's various outrages.
Because he knew Danzo did all this to protect Konoha.
But now, he could no longer be sure if Danzo still thought this way.
Or rather, Danzo had fallen into a state of paranoia.
Danzo had challenged Hiruzen's bottom line countless times.
The number of times he sent people to assassinate him was too numerous to count.
To become Hokage, Danzo had stopped at nothing.
However, Hiruzen had long since determined his candidate for the next Hokage.
So, before Takumi fully matured, he wanted to protect this village for him.
"Hmph!"
Danzo flicked his sleeves, knowing it was useless to waste words here.
Recently, Hiruzen's attitude towards him had become increasingly firm, unlike before when he could cajole and pester to get him to give in.
This caused his prestige to gradually decline.
This was something he absolutely could not allow.
It seemed he needed to find a way to make the Konoha's higher-ups understand his determination.
Watching Danzo leave, Hiruzen's expression softened, becoming somewhat tired.
"Takumi-kun, don't worry. I will definitely hand over a complete Konoha to you. I believe that under your leadership, Konoha will reach an even more brilliant state."
He turned and looked into the distance through the window.
Although he couldn't see Takumi and the others at the training ground from here, his gaze was firmly fixed in that direction,
As if he could really see them.
…
Back at the training ground.
The young Shinobi had dispersed.
Naruto was taken away by Kakashi, and Sasuke went home alone to rest.
Takumi accompanied Deidara as they walked.
"Senpai, about the guidance you mentioned..."
Deidara looked at Takumi with full expectation.
"Honestly, you're already very outstanding in terms of explosions."
Takumi shook his head and said. "My explosive ability lies in its concealment, while yours lies in power. But after looking at the clay bombs you made, I think there's still room for you to improve."
"Please guide me, senpai!"
Deidara immediately adopted a serious attitude, looking intently at Takumi.
"Since you can imbue clay bombs with a certain vitality, why not make some more convenient clay bombs?"
Takumi asked back. "Compared to things like spiders, aren't there many other useful small animals?"
"For example, flying insects like mosquitoes and bees. They're small enough and very concealed."
"And also bugs like earthworms that can move underground. They can be used to ambush enemies when they're off guard."
Takumi couldn't understand why Deidara didn't make some clay bombs that were easier to move.
He never saw what was so good about those spiders and centipedes.
They were all insects, but things like mosquitoes and flies were obviously faster and harder to guard against.
But this was ultimately Deidara's own ability.
As an outsider, he shouldn't have much research on it.
"What a genius idea!"
Deidara's eyes immediately lit up. "As expected of senpai, thinking of things I never considered!"
"It seems my clay still has a lot of room for improvement!"
Saying this, he was about to rush back and experiment.
"Hey, wait!!"
Takumi grabbed him.
"Any more good advice? Please don't be polite, tell me everything!"
Deidara's face was full of excitement; he felt like a new door was opening before him.
"You rely on clay during battles, right? Am I wrong?"
Seeing Deidara frantically nodding, Takumi continued. "Have you considered preparing some clay in advance and storing it in scrolls? If you prepare enough, wouldn't you have unlimited clay bombs?"
"Genius!"
Deidara excitedly raised his hands high. "Senpai, you're so smart!"
"How could my brain be so stupid? I never even thought of something so simple!"
He rushed out suddenly.
This time, Takumi didn't stop him.
These were the only two points he could think of in a short time.
As for how Deidara would improve them, that wasn't his concern.
And he was quite curious about how far Deidara's improvements and development would go.
Imbuing clay bombs with vitality gave him a lot of room for manipulation.
And he didn't necessarily have to make the clay bombs in the shape of animals.
He could completely make the clay into some inconspicuous objects and use them as trigger traps.
This way, Shinobi lacking sensory abilities, once approaching a disguised clay bomb, would be blown to pieces.
In Takumi's view, Deidara's ability still had a lot of room for progress.
"It's getting late. Time to go home."
Once Deidara left, Takumi was alone.
He was now a bit impatient.
Quickening his pace, he returned home and opened the door.
Sure enough, he saw that familiar figure busying itself in the kitchen.
The flawless back captivated him.
The busy figure turned around, saw Takumi, and immediately revealed a beautiful and shy smile. "You're back?"
"Mm."
Takumi snapped out of it.