Under the doubled gravity, the earth crumbled, sending dust billowing into the air.
Yagura raised a hand to shield his eyes, squinting slightly. Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique—this was the jutsu of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōhnoki.
His mind sank slightly as he observed the tall Iwa-nin standing before him.
The man's forearms were wrapped tightly with multiple layers of weights. His rugged, tanned hands firmly gripped his prize—a broken mechanical scorpion tail. His muscular legs, thicker than Yagura's arms, tensed visibly as he stomped down on the tail to prevent it from retracting into the ground.
The Iwa headband was strapped slightly below his right shoulder. Given the use of Added-Weight Rock Technique, it wasn't difficult for Yagura to deduce this ninja's origins.
Noticing Yagura's scrutinizing gaze, Akaiwa grinned and raised a hand in greeting.
"Yo, didn't scare you, did I?"
Yagura remained silent, instead glancing toward the two Iwa-nin sprawled behind Akaiwa.
Take a look at your downed comrades and guess whether I'm scared or not.
Since the Second Hokage established the three-man squad system, every village had copied the structure. Ninja teams were almost always composed of three members.
This Iwa-nin who had "saved" him must be the third member of that team.
"Guess not."
Akaiwa chuckled, unfazed by Yagura's reaction. There were more pressing matters at hand.
Snap!
Realizing it couldn't escape the brute force of this physically formidable Iwa-nin, the mechanical scorpion tail abruptly detached under its puppeteer's control, retracting at lightning speed.
The rapid maneuver caught Akaiwa off guard. By the time he reacted, all he had left in his hands—and underfoot—were two broken mechanical segments. He immediately let out a string of curses.
Yagura remained silent, scanning the pit beside Akaiwa's foot before shifting his gaze to their surroundings, wary of the enemy's movements.
This was concerning.
That tail was unmistakable—he recognized it instantly. It belonged to none other than the future Akatsuki member, Sasori of the Red Sand.
And Sasori was participating in this Chūnin Exam.
Recalling the killing intent he had sensed earlier, directed straight at him—
Sasori had been aiming to kill him. No doubt about it.
But why?
If it was to avenge the two Sunagakure ninja, that didn't make sense—Yagura hadn't even done anything to them.
In fact, they were the ones who had attacked him first.
On second thought, it was highly likely that those two Sunagakure ninja had attacked without warning because Sasori was controlling them with chakra threads.
Besides, Sasori wasn't the type to help "comrades."
Which meant the reason Sasori wanted to kill him was clear.
Until now, Yagura had only clashed with Sunagakure over one thing—Pakura.
"Pakura must have given away my intel."
Yagura quickly pieced together the reasoning. "And the only person she could have reported to—the only one who could order Sasori—"
The answer was obvious.
The Kazekage.
In just a few seconds, he had unraveled the core of the situation. But now wasn't the time to dwell on Pakura's actions.
The problem at hand was far more urgent: Sasori of the Red Sand, and most likely, the Third Kazekage, wanted him dead.
Just thinking about those two names sent a shiver down his spine.
Being in the open while the enemy lurked in the shadows was already an enormous disadvantage for any ninja. But when the enemy was Sasori, it was even worse.
His poisons were lethal in a single strike, with no antidote. Even among the ninja world's most dangerous foes, he ranked near the top.
Water Clone Technique!
Lightning Release!
In an instant, two jutsu were unleashed in succession.
Along with his main body, Yagura's three water clones scattered in different directions, expanding the search area.
Puppeteers controlled their puppets remotely through chakra threads, but there was a limit to the distance—likely around a hundred meters.
For a ninja, searching a hundred-meter radius was trivial.
Not to mention, Sasori's Hiruko puppet was his personal defense puppet—wherever it was, he had to be inside.
And that mechanical tail was part of Hiruko's arsenal; it couldn't stretch beyond a hundred meters.
...
At the same time, seeing Yagura's rapid movements, Sasori decided to retreat.
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue in irritation, he acknowledged his failed assassination attempt.
He had unexpectedly run into his target. Originally, he thought he could eliminate him in one swift move and be done with it.
Then that damn Iwa-nin had interfered.
According to Pakura's intel, this Mist-nin wasn't easy to deal with in a head-on fight. Sasori immediately decided to withdraw.
As long as he stayed hidden, there would always be another opportunity to assassinate his target.
Unfortunately for him, Yagura found him faster than he had ever anticipated.
Roughly thirty meters away at the ten o'clock position, Hiruko's distinctive form was impossible to miss.
A single glance was enough for one of Yagura's clones to lock onto the hunched, four-legged puppet. In a flash, the clone lunged forward with a water blade, slashing in a swift motion!
A dozen gleaming slashes flickered in the blink of an eye!
The first strike severed Hiruko's head, but the attack didn't stop there. The remaining slashes shredded the puppet's head into fragments!
The sheer speed of the attack, Yagura's decisiveness, and his precise targeting of Hiruko's key mechanism—Sasori was utterly caught off guard.
Receiving intel from the clone, Yagura and his remaining two clones swiftly changed direction, converging on the scene.
Four Yaguras surrounded Sasori from all sides.
Assessing the situation, Sasori quickly realized he was in deep trouble.
Hiruko's head was one of its primary attack mechanisms. Not only had it been destroyed in a single strike, but its remains had been reduced to dust.
As Hiruko's creator, Sasori knew this well. And so did Yagura, who had watched Naruto.
Sasori didn't know that Yagura knew. But now, he strongly suspected it.
Otherwise, how else could Yagura have immediately identified Hiruko as his hiding place and obliterated its most vital mechanism?
Had his intel been leaked too?
More concerning, Sasori was troubled by Yagura's blade technique.
Pakura's intel hadn't mentioned this.
His target, Yagura, wasn't just a long-range fighter—his close-combat prowess was terrifying.
With half of Hiruko destroyed, how was a fragile puppeteer supposed to escape from this melee fighter?
Conclusion: This was bad.
The headless Hiruko twitched, its tail segment automatically detaching as a backup scorpion tail clicked into place.
Poison dripped from its tip as Yagura raised his blade. "Sasori of the Red Sand—show your real face."
Tch.
Sasori scowled in frustration. What the hell kind of intel was the Third Kazekage collecting?!
Just as he prepared to strike, footsteps echoed behind him.
Konoha's security forces had arrived.
Sasori's face darkened.
He clicked his tongue. Tch.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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