Deidara was still running like mad, taunting the teacher chasing him from behind. The villagers around him cast disapproving glances. Clearly this was not the first time this kind of scene had played out. Because Deidara also lived in the orphanage, the villagers were still generally tolerant of the orphanage children.
Bang.
Suddenly a dark shadow appeared directly in front of him. Caught completely off guard, Deidara ran straight into it and fell to the ground in pain.
"Who?!"
Deidara looked up to find the person wearing the Kazekage robes.
"You again!"
Deidara's small face changed drastically. He brushed off his backside and stood up, saying angrily:
"Very well. I was actually planning to go find you, and here you come to my door yourself."
"Today I am going to take you down, and then completely leave the Sand Village!"
After saying this, Deidara leaped backward and formed seals. A ball of clay appeared in his hands which he hurled toward Yuji.
But this kind of petty trick posed no threat whatsoever. The clay ball vibrated in the air with minimal force, barely comparable to a firecracker let alone anything dangerous.
Not only did it miss, but Yuji had already vanished from where he stood. Just as Deidara was looking around in bewilderment, he did not realize Yuji had already appeared directly behind him. A single flick of fingers to the back of his skull sent Deidara immediately letting out a shriek, clutching his head and collapsing to the ground with tears streaming down his face.
"Let me go!"
"You villain. I am from the Stone Village, I want to go back, I do not want to stay in the Sand Village!"
Then Yuji reached down and lifted Deidara off the ground by the back of his collar, leaving the small blond boy suspended in mid-air, struggling and shouting.
"Hmph. When I grow up I will blow up your Kazekage building and then I will kill you!" Deidara yelled.
"If you have the guts, think about how to survive the next beating first," Yuji said, his tone carrying a sinister edge.
Upon hearing this, Deidara's small face instantly went pale and he swallowed hard.
"You said you are from the Hidden Stone Village, not the Hidden Sand Village. Fine. As someone from the Hidden Stone Village, you attacked the Kazekage, making you an enemy. And as an enemy, I will show no mercy."
Yuji's eyes flashed with cold light.
"Kill me then!" Deidara remained defiant.
However, judging from his expression, fear was clearly winning out.
"Kill you? Too easy."
"I will chop off your arms and legs, destroy your chakra pathways, making it impossible for you to ever become a ninja, and even more impossible for you to ever perform your precious art again. Then I will find a deserted forest, leave you there, and let you deal with the consequences yourself."
The words sent visible shivers down the spines of the newly arrived ninja academy teachers standing nearby.
Deidara, hearing this, was so terrified that his limbs stiffened and he stopped breathing.
"You. You. You wicked person!" Deidara stammered.
"Lord Kazekage," one of the ninja academy teachers called out hesitantly from behind.
"Go back. I am taking him to the detention facility," Yuji said in a low voice and began walking away.
"Ah..." Although the teacher knew Yuji was likely just threatening the boy, something about the Kazekage's tone did not sound entirely like a bluff.
"Teacher Kuroda, save me!" Deidara cried out.
"Save you? Let us see who dares," came the cold response.
"I was wrong," Deidara immediately deflated, muttering quietly.
"I did not hear that," Yuji said indifferently.
"I was wrong! Can I not even admit a mistake?! You..."
"Hm?"
"Lord Kazekage. Please do not hold this against a mere child. You are a magnanimous and great lord..."
Deidara had been about to say something rude, but seeing the expression on Yuji's face he immediately changed his tone and surrendered completely.
"At the very minimum I will go to school and study properly."
"Lord Kazekage, Deidara is a little mischievous, but that is simply a child's nature. As his homeroom teacher I will definitely discipline him more strictly going forward," Teacher Kuroda, a heavyset older man with a thick beard, pleaded on Deidara's behalf from behind.
"Skipping school is only the first offense. I have also heard that you have tried to sneak out of the village on multiple occasions, only to be caught by the guards and dragged back each time. And you enjoy using your clay to frighten the villagers. I cannot simply ignore these things," Yuji said, releasing his grip and dropping Deidara to the ground.
"If there is a next time, first I will deal with a certain sensitive area of your anatomy."
He let the threat hang in the air.
"Then your limbs. And finally you will be deposited at the outskirts of the village."
The threat escalated steadily.
Deidara trembled with genuine fear.
Even for a child, certain threats carried a particular weight that no amount of defiance could fully overcome.
The threat was worse than breaking an arm or a leg, and considerably more terrifying for a boy of that age.
"Tomorrow, classes resume as normal. If he skips again, report it to me directly," Yuji said, glancing at Kuroda.
"Yes," Kuroda replied with a somewhat rueful smile.
"You have been spending time around the Stone Village people. You must have heard a little about my reputation from them."
"I heard you picked up a thing or two about my methods. Let me be clear. I have never shown mercy to enemies. There will not be a next time. If I catch you again, you will deeply regret it."
Deidara did not dare speak again, but his eyes still held a glint of resentment and defiance. He pouted, brushed the dust off his clothes, and disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
After the small figure had gone, the seemingly stern expression on Yuji's face shifted, revealing a quiet smile.
"This child has caused me considerable trouble," Yuji said with a light laugh.
"I was simply doing what was necessary. Deidara's personality is a little erratic. He seems completely disobedient on the surface, but in reality he just wants to attract attention from certain people, especially Lord Kazekage," Kuroda said cheerfully, his outwardly rough appearance completely at odds with the subtle and perceptive observation.
"Do not be fooled by his shouting about wanting to be your enemy. I feel his behavior is more about proving his importance and his sense of existence to you specifically."
"Really?" Yuji was genuinely surprised.
He had not thought about it from that angle. He had simply assumed the brat deserved a firm hand.
"I am quite confident in this reading. Lord Kazekage, you clearly have experience with young people. I can sense it," Kuroda said with confidence.
"I see."
Yuji considered this quietly.
"He already knows his true identity, so this kind of reaction and these kinds of thoughts are quite natural," Kuroda added. His thinking was extremely subtle and meticulous, completely at odds with his rough and broad-shouldered appearance.
"You go on back then," Yuji said.
After Kuroda left, Yuji stood there for a while, turning the matter over carefully in his mind.
Deidara had been mischievous since childhood, but he had always been relatively straightforward in his own way and had maintained a genuinely good relationship with the Kazekage. Every time Yuji visited the orphanage, Deidara had always shown him warmth and enthusiasm. At minimum he had never rejected Yuji, let alone actually wanted to become his enemy.
But things had changed.
When the Hidden Stone Village's study group, Kitsuchi's delegation, had arrived in the Sand Village, Yuji had deliberately arranged for Deidara to begin making contact with them, with the purpose of training his Earth Release abilities. After about half a year of growing closer to the Stone Village visitors, something had shifted in Deidara after Kitsuchi's group eventually departed.
Because during that period, Deidara had learned from the Stone Village people that he was originally from the Hidden Stone Village, that he had been brought to the Sand Village as an infant, and that he was not a native Sand Village child.
This revelation had hit Deidara hard.
To say he was not hurt and confused by it would be a lie.
Yuji looked at the intersection where Deidara had disappeared and let out a quiet sigh.