Temari cast her gaze towards Sakura again. Subconsciously, she still thought the rival was weak. The rival only seemed to know some hand - to - hand combat skills, and Kanpō could handle this level easily!
Since entering the Chunin Exams, Kanpō had been suppressing himself for too long. Let him have some fun!
.............
Sakura bent down, hunched over, and stared intently at the oddly - shaped puppet. It seemed that the rival finally intended to get serious.
During the preliminary round, she noticed that the way this puppet was operated was quite unusual. First, there were many traps. One never knew where some bizarre traps would suddenly appear. Moreover, in her judgment, most of these traps were poisoned.
Secondly, Kanpō's techniques for manipulating the puppet were something she had never seen among the ninjas she had fought against before.
The chakra threads extending from his five fingers were connected to the puppet, controlling each joint of the puppet separately. These chakra threads were not easy to break; they seemed very tough.
Finally, these puppets were made up of sections. If one couldn't attack its core or didn't have enough strength to smash the whole puppet to pieces, then these joints could be reassembled by the puppeteer.
Sakura had a general idea of Kanpō's attack pattern and methods in her mind. Coupled with her prior rehearsals, she wasn't without a chance of winning.
Kanpō's fingers moved rapidly. With a wave of his upper arm, the [Puppet: Corpse Crow] connected to the chakra threads leaped high into the air and halted.
"Black Secret Technique: Poison Needles from the Mouth"
The eerie puppet opened its mouth wide, and a tube protruded from it, spraying high - density green poison needles in a small area towards Sakura three times in succession.
Seeing the poison needles rushing towards her, Sakura gathered strength in her feet and dodged to the side. Facing the continuous attacks of the poison needles, Sakura dodged in a zig - zag route.
"Click!"
A fierce look flashed in her eyes. This was the moment.
During the preliminary round, she noticed that the puppet would pause briefly after using a move. This brief pause was her best chance for a counter - attack.
The concentrated chakra was released from the soles of her feet, making her soar into the air. In the air, she raised her fist and slammed it into the puppet.
Kanpō instinctively sensed something was amiss and immediately retracted the chakra thread in his hand, pulling the [Puppet: Corpse Crow]'s body back too.
"Don't even think about running away!"
Sakura's fist chased after the puppet relentlessly and would never let it escape so easily.
"Bam!"
After a loud bang, the left arm of Kanpō's [Puppet: Corpse Crow] was completely smashed, leaving a deep pit on the ground.
Seeing his most important combat tool being destroyed like this, Kanpō could no longer stay calm. Damn it, it was no longer the time to hold back his strength.
He must teach this woman in front of him a lesson! He immediately abandoned the broken left limb of the [Puppet: Corpse Crow].
"Black Secret Technique: Bayonets at the Limbs' Ends"
Poisonous bayonets protruded from the limbs of the Puppet called Corpse Crow. Under Kanpō's manipulation, the Puppet: Corpse Crow spun like a top and stabbed at the rival.
Sakura took out several Kunai from her backpack and quickly threw them at the approaching puppet.
"Don't underestimate me! This kind of thing can't damage my Corpse Crow at all!"
Hearing this, Sakura looked at Kanpō's arrogant and self - satisfied look and a smile curled up on her lips.
"That's not necessarily true~"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Several Kunai exploded the moment they approached the Corpse Crow. A huge flame accompanied by high temperature licked the puppet's body. This added insult to injury for the already dilapidated puppet.
After the explosion, the puppet seemed to lose contact with Kanpō and fell heavily from the sky. Its whole body was charred black by the fire and it seemed unable to move anymore. Without hesitation, Sakura took a quick step forward, raised her fist, and struck towards Kanpō's true form.
Kanpō didn't even have time to grieve for his puppet before he had to busy himself with dodging. It was just ordinary Taijutsu, but getting hit by it might make him pass out immediately.
Damn it! He shouldn't have acted so impulsively! Now not only was the Corpse Crow destroyed, but he might even lose to this woman.
His face was full of anxious expressions, but then his facial expression suddenly changed and he smiled sinisterly.
"Do you think you've won like this?"
The fingers he hid behind his back moved slightly, and the Chakra threads connected to his hand instantly connected with his puppet.
The Puppet: Corpse Crow, which had been burnt down to just its head, opened its large mouth again, and the tubes inside fired several Poison needles at Sakura in quick succession, hitting her back forcefully.
The thrill of victory was about to send him over the top, but the moment he turned his head, he saw the fluttering of pink hair and the determined look in the girl's eyes.
"Impossible!"
Looking at Sakura, who appeared behind him out of nowhere, he opened his eyes wide in disbelief. Because this woman had clearly been hit by his Poison needles, why did she appear behind him as if nothing had happened?
This moment of stupefaction gave Sakura a chance. She punched him with a straight punch, making his face distort. His whole body slammed into the wall around the match field at high speed.
After a loud noise, he struggled to open his eyes on the wall. Looking at the place where his puppet had just attacked, there was no sign of Sakura, only a withered log.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
It was actually such a simple lower - level Ninjutsu. He struggled, his face contorted, showing a look of unwillingness. No, he didn't want to lose like this. Losing to a woman in front of so many Onlookers, where could he put his face in the future?
Thinking of this, Kanpō moved again. He reached for the Poison in his waist bag, intending to die together with Sakura.
But a cold blade was placed on his neck. The cold and gloomy feeling made him come to his senses all at once.
He opened his eyes wide and watched as the Corpse Crow threatened him with its last remaining blade.
How could this be possible?
He wasn't operating the puppet at all. Then who was operating the Corpse Crow now?
"Hey, look~ I tried operating the Puppet, and it's surprisingly easy."
Five thin Chakra Threads extended from Sakura's hand. As her fingers moved dexterously, the Corpse Crow made corresponding movements.
"How is this possible!"
Kanpō was so shocked that his jaw dropped. As a Puppeteer, he knew all too well how precise the Chakra control needed to be to operate a Puppet.
And this girl, Sakura, in front of him managed to succeed on her first try so easily. Then where would his reputation as a genius go?
.................
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