Naruto vs. Kankuro!

Naruto vs. Kankuro!

Just as Sakura was about to leave, she suddenly heard Konohamaru shout:

"Ah! I get it! Boss, you're amazing!"

"She's Naruto's girl, isn't she? Hehe." Konohamaru grinned mischievously and raised his pinky finger.

In Japanese culture, the pinky finger refers to a girlfriend or lover.

Would my taste really be that bad? Sakura fumed.

"Oh my, you little brat. You may be young, but you're pretty sharp!"

Not only did Naruto fail to deny it, he shamelessly accepted it!

Sharp my ass!

Sakura flew into a rage and sent him flying with a punch.

Just as she was about to leave, Konohamaru cursed angrily behind her, "What did you do?! You ugly freak! Ugly freak!"

Sakura felt like the top of her head was on fire. Just as she turned to give those brats a proper beating, trouble broke out.

Konohamaru and the others fled in terror, clutching their heads. In their panic, they ran into a stranger at the corner.

"Hey, that hurt."

The newcomer was Kankuro.

Konohamaru bounced off him and fell to the ground, rubbing his badly bruised backside.

"What, didn't anyone teach you to apologize?"

Kankuro grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and lifted him into the air.

"I'm sorry, it was all my fault for fooling around."

Seeing that things were going badly, Sakura hurried forward to smooth things over.

But as the Third Hokage's grandson, when had Konohamaru ever suffered such humiliation?

"Put me down! Bad guy! Let go of me!"

Konohamaru smacked Kankuro's arm with one hand while his feet flailed wildly, kicking hard at Kankuro's chest.

"You've got some strength." Kankuro sneered.

"Bastard! Stop it!"

Seeing his little brother being bullied, Naruto's anger flared.

"I hate bratty kids the most. You're obviously younger than me, yet you're still so cocky."

Kankuro muttered to himself, seemingly referring to Konohamaru, though perhaps he meant more than that.

Konohamaru's face was turning blue. Naruto could no longer hold himself back and charged forward with a shout.

In an instant, Kankuro's left fingers twitched subtly, and Naruto inexplicably fell to the ground the next second.

"What? Are Konoha's Genin really this weak?" Kankuro mocked again.

"Bastard!" Naruto raged, wanting to charge forward again, but unable to figure out what had happened, he did not dare act rashly.

Suddenly, a stone flew through the air and struck Kankuro's right hand—the one holding Konohamaru.

Kankuro cried out in pain, and Konohamaru quickly seized the chance to escape, scrambling and rolling over to Naruto's side.

Everyone looked toward where the stone had come from. Standing in the tree was Uchiha Sasuke.

Thinking back to that moment, Kankuro could not help rubbing his right hand.

At that moment, he was quietly hiding in the shadow cast by the Bandage Cocoon.

As for the one standing in the hall facing Naruto, it was actually his puppet—Crow.

Tch! He had originally wanted to repay that stone for stone.

Kankuro's gaze swept over Uchiha Sasuke in the stands.

Then he quickly refocused on Naruto before him.

For a puppeteer, when battle approached, the most important issue was how to conceal one's real body well.

Today, sensing that a match might take place, Kankuro had wrapped himself inside the Bandage Cocoon he usually carried on his back well in advance.

Meanwhile, he used Ninja Art Sand Transformation to cover his puppet Crow with a layer of sand, controlling it to disguise itself as him while keeping his real body, disguised as a puppet, on its back.

The initial plan was to use a substitute to deceive the enemy, then strike with Crow and kill them once they relaxed their guard after believing they had won.

The greatest threat to this tactic was an opponent with exceptional observational skills or an experienced, seasoned ninja.

And the one standing across from him was clearly an idiot.

Kankuro thought this, a cruel smile appearing on his lips.

All he had to do next was wait for his opponent to get close, then find a chance to have Crow strangle him to death.

However, Naruto refused to make a move for a long time, staring fixedly toward the Bandage Cocoon.

His brows were deeply furrowed, as though he were pondering something.

Could he have seen through it?

Kankuro's scalp began to tingle under Naruto's stare, and he gradually started feeling guilty.

Naruto raised a hand, pointed toward the Bandage Cocoon, and shouted:

"Referee! Does this count as cheating? Why does he get to bring such a huge thing?!"

Everyone nearly collapsed.

Naruto really was an idiot.

"Cough, cough. The rules do not restrict the size of ninja tools, so there is no issue." Hayate Gekko replied.

"Hmph, I'll just say I'm letting you have it!" Naruto said unhappily.

Although he did not know what exactly Kankuro had wrapped in those bandages, as long as he knocked him down with all his strength before he could use it, it should be fine!

Remembering how he had been inexplicably tripped earlier, Naruto used an S-shaped running pattern as he charged straight at Kankuro.

"Huh? Hahaha! Why is he attacking in such a weird way? What an idiot!" Kiba Inuzuka was initially stunned, but Naruto's opening stance quickly had him laughing so hard his stomach hurt.

What the hell do you know!

Naruto felt annoyed, but he could not explain himself. He could only pour all his fury into his fist and attack Kankuro—Crow.

He took the bait. Kankuro's real body chuckled inwardly.

Considering the tremendous force behind that punch, Crow probably could not withstand it, so Kankuro decided to dodge first.

Still, as long as he could draw Naruto into close combat, he would definitely have a chance to restrain Naruto in one go.

"Take this!!"

Naruto leaped high into the air, and Kankuro—Crow—quickly dodged to the side.

Naruto could not pull back his fist in time, and his punch slammed heavily into the Bandage Cocoon standing behind Kankuro—Crow.

"Urgh!" Kankuro felt sweetness rise in his throat as a mouthful of blood threatened to surge up.

He clenched his teeth tightly, not daring to make even the slightest sound.

Kankuro—Crow—stared at the scene in horror.

"Why are you hitting my ninja tool?!"

"Then why did you dodge?"

Naruto replied.

"You were hitting me, so of course I dodged."

"You dodged, so I hit the ninja tool."

Naruto shook out his hand, wondering what sort of secret weapon his opponent was hiding.

It was pretty soft, though.

Kankuro—Crow—was speechless. He raised a hand to signal the referee and had the Bandage Cocoon moved farther away from the battlefield.

Then he turned around and resumed his fighting stance.

Naruto charged forward again, and the two soon became locked in combat.

Good.

Now I just need to find a chance to bind you.

Don't worry. I'll make sure you suffer for a while.

In the shadows, blood at the corner of his mouth, Kankuro's real body endured the pain.

As he manipulated the Chakra Threads, he thought viciously.

However, Naruto's Taijutsu was even worse than he had imagined.

Kankuro—Crow—spun around with a sweeping kick, sending Naruto flying outright.

Not good! Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

He noticed that his landing spot would likely be right by the Bandage Cocoon.

If he fell over there, something terrifying might burst out from the bandages immediately.

Meanwhile, Kankuro's real body let out a shrill inner scream:

"Don't come over here!!!"

The contract has been signed. I'm so happy and wanted to share this good news with everyone right away. Grateful for everything, and wishing you all the best.