Hozuki Mangetsu vs. Sasori of the Red Sands
The first round of the competition entered its final stage. Toroi, number 5 from Kumogakure, faced off against Itoro, number 11 from Sunagakure. In the end, Toroi from Kumogakure was clearly victorious. His Magnet Release was extremely powerful, Yemo believed that even he would have a difficult time dealing with him.
The winners of the first round were Yemo Uzumaki, Hizashi Hyuga, Sasori of the Red Sands, Yugito Nii, Hozuki Mangetsu, Toroi. As the victors, Yemo and his six companions stood on a high stage, enjoying the deafening cheers of tens of thousands of spectators.
Yemo's gaze swept over the people beside him, and he felt a slight excitement in his heart. He knew that these people would become top-tier powerhouses who would be famous throughout the Shinobi World in the future.
The second exam then began, with the six of them divided into three matches. The first match was between Hozuki Mangetsu Sasori of the Red Sands, the second was between Yemo Uzumaki and Toroi, and the third was between the Yugito Nii and Hizashi Hyuga.
After assigning the battles, Yemo and the other three left the stage and returned to the dressing room, where they watched the battle between Sasori of the Red Sands and Hozuki Mangetsu through the glass.
Sasori of the Red Sands, Hozuki Mangetsu, and the Yugito Nii are the opponents that Yemo needs to take seriously among the Chunin Ninja Exams. As for the other participants, Yemo has never taken them seriously.
Sasori of the Red Sands vs. Hozuki Mangetsu: one was a future renowned member of the Shinobi World Akatsuki and the number one puppeteer, while the other was the most famous genius in the history of Kirigakure, capable of drawing and mastering all seven Ninja Blades. Unfortunately, he passed away due to illness; otherwise, he would have been the most dazzling genius in the history of Kirigakure.
Both are exceptionally talented ninjas, each a prodigy, incredibly powerful. Yemo was vaguely looking forward to seeing what kind of sparks these two geniuses would create.
It wasn't just Yemo who was looking forward to it; tens of thousands of spectators were also eagerly anticipating it. Both Sasori of the Red Sands and Kirigakure Hozuki Mangetsu were the strongest Genin in Sunagakure and Kirigakure, respectively, and were considered strong contenders for the championship.
Where there are people, there is a world of intrigue Chunin Ninja Exams, jointly organized by dozens of people, are an unprecedented event in the Shinobi World. Even before the Chunin Ninja Exams began, some people started betting on them.
The forces behind such a betting platform must be incredibly powerful. They've boasted that they'll take any bet, and it seems like the Five Great Nations' daimyo are behind it. Whether it's ninjas, ordinary people, or incredibly wealthy merchants, countless people have risked their lives for it. Rumor has it that the bets they've already received are already in the trillions.
This is a huge sum of money. You should know that S-Rank Mission only costs a million silver coins, and the annual income of the Five Great Nations is only a trillion. You can imagine how huge this gamble is.
The betting Eight Gates, ranging from how many villages would pass the first test to how many people would pass the second test, and which village would be wiped out the fastest—there were hundreds of different betting methods.
The complete defeat of Iwagakure, with not a single member passing the Chunin Ninja Exams, was an unprecedented upset. Countless people who had placed their bets on Iwagakure suffered heavy losses, because no one could have imagined that Iwagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, would fail the second round of the exams.
Of course, the vast majority of people placed their bets on the third match, especially on the champion. Among them, Yemo Uzumaki, Hozuki Mangetsu, Sasori of the Red Sands, and the Yugito Nii were all the favorites to win the championship.
The current battle between Sasori of the Red Sands and Hozuki Mangetsu has captivated countless viewers, with bets on both of them reaching tens of billions.
At this very moment, countless people in various places are watching the live broadcast on television, each holding their own bets.
With Orochimaru's red flag under his command, a fierce battle between the two was about to erupt.
Hozuki Mangetsu made the first move. Knowing Sasori of the Red Sands's strength, he immediately unleashed a powerful Water Release: Torrential Rain Cone, a powerful A-rank Ninjutsu, a very high-level Water Release Ninjutsu.
Sasori of the Red Sands also knew that Hozuki Mangetsu was difficult to deal with, so he immediately used three puppets. Sasori of the Red Sands controlled the three puppets to unleash countless attacks to block Hozuki Mangetsu.
He then manipulated the three puppets to quickly approach Hozuki Mangetsu. It must be said that Hozuki Mangetsu was very powerful. Using the Hydrification Technique, he fought the three puppets alone with ease and soon seized an opportunity to defeat them.
It must be said that the Hozuki family's Hydrification Technique is extremely powerful. Just by liquefying the body at will, they can nullify any physical attack and easily evade attacks in close combat.
Of course, the Hozuki family's Hydrification Technique also has obvious weaknesses. Lightning Release is their biggest nemesis, turning the user into a jelly-like sculpture when encountering Lightning Release.
Unfortunately, Sasori of the Red Sands's puppets were all made of materials, not the kind of Human Puppet created using the powerful bodies of dead ninjas, and thus lacked the ability to perform powerful Ninjutsu.
With the three puppets destroyed, Sasori of the Red Sands knew he had to use his full strength. He took out a scroll and summoned six giant puppets, which greatly shocked everyone watching the battle.
Puppet masters require exceptional talent, and their power is determined by their control over puppets. The strongest puppeteer in the world today is Chiyo of Sunagakure, who once used the renowned Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets to destroy a ninja village, shocking the world.
Sasori of the Red Sands, a mere Chunin, can summon six puppets. One can only imagine how terrifying this puppet boy will become when he grows up—a super-powerful force capable of destroying a village.
Seeing Sasori of the Red Sands summon six puppets, Hozuki Mangetsu also used his full power, employing Summoning Scroll to summon four Ninja Blades: Kabutowari, Kiba, Samehada, and Kubikiribōchō.
With the power of four special Ninja Blade and the Water Splash Technique, Hozuki Mangetsu withstood the attacks of six puppets. He used his greatsword Samehada from the puppets, manipulated the lightning sword Chakra to release lightning to disrupt Sasori of the Red Sands's control, and finally manipulated the sword Kabutowari to destroy the puppets' defenses.
With his four Ninja Blades, Hozuki Mangetsu seized an opportunity to destroy one of the puppets. Originally, six puppets were already difficult to stop Hozuki Mangetsu, but now that one was gone, the five puppets were even more difficult to stop. Hozuki Mangetsu seized the opportunity and destroyed three more puppets in succession.
Just when everyone thought Sasori of the Red Sands was about to be defeated, the shattered puppets on the ground suddenly reassembled into a giant puppet and launched a sneak attack.
Hozuki Mangetsu had no idea that the puppet fragments on the ground could reassemble. Caught off guard, he was injured by the puppet, his right foot pierced and a large hole pierced in his shoulder.
After the successful sneak attack, the reconstructed puppet lost its last bit of power and fell to the ground. Hozuki Mangetsu was injured, and Sasori of the Red Sands naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass.
Sasori of the Red Sands controlled the two puppets beneath him to launch a fierce attack on Hozuki Mangetsu. The injured Hozuki Mangetsu's fighting power was greatly reduced, and he was suppressed by Sasori of the Red Sands. The battle situation took an unexpected turn and turned around.
However, Hozuki Mangetsu ultimately emerged victorious, unleashing the powerful S-rank Lightning Release: Sky-Rending Lightning Snakes using his Raito Kiba.
Hundreds of small snakes, their bodies coiled around lightning, were released and crawled toward Sasori of the Red Sands the Sasori of the Red Sands at incredible speed, instantly striking him hundreds of times with electricity. How could Sasori of the Red Sands withstand such a powerful Lightning Release? He was directly electrocuted and passed out.
Hozuki Mangetsu was clearly shocked by Sasori of the Red Sands's power. He manipulated the hundreds of snakes to transform into hundreds of lightning rapiers, each attacking Sasori of the Red Sands from different angles, hoping to kill him and eliminate a powerful enemy for Kirigakure Sasori of the Red Sands.
In the end, Orochimaru intervened in time, breaking Hozuki Mangetsu Lightning Release and saving Sasori of the Red Sands. Although Orochimaru was happy for Sasori of the Red Sands's death, Teacher Sarutobi clearly stated that no one could die in the third exam.
Moreover, even if he didn't intervene, the Third Kazekage wouldn't let a genius like Sasori of the Red Sands die. The Third Kazekage was about to intervene, but Orochimaru stop him, he sat down again.
Although Hozuki Mangetsu Sasori of the Red Sands, he also paid a heavy price, using his last bit of strength to unleash an S-rank Lightning Release that he could not control. He suffered a backlash from the Ninjutsu and fell into a coma. Both of them were sent to the Konoha Medical Center.