Kankuro's Ordeal

Fortunately, Naruto desperately steadied himself in midair. Though he landed on the Bandage Cocoon, the impact was not too severe.

Could it be some kind of protective ninja tool, like a cushion?

Naruto could not help feeling around on the Bandage Cocoon a few times.

Suppressing his disgust, Kankuro prayed for Naruto to get lost already.

Then, it was his turn to attack!

Naruto braced both hands against the ground and assumed a starting stance.

Finding a spot on the bandages where he could get better leverage, he stomped down hard and launched himself forward.

Snap.

It broke.

Kankuro only heard a faint crack by his ear, and two streams of hot tears slowly ran down his face.

"Wait a moment!"

Facing the charging Naruto, Kankuro (Crow) called another halt to the match.

He picked up the bandages, jogged in small steps to the wall farthest from the battlefield, carefully set down Kankuro's real body, then turned and returned to Naruto, signaling for the match to continue.

"Cough, cough. One warning. Please maintain the continuity of the match." Hayate Gekko reminded them.

Kankuro (Crow) did not respond. He merely glared viciously at Naruto before charging straight at his face.

Naruto hurriedly pulled out a kunai and held it before him, startled and confused.

Kankuro had been the one bullying Konohamaru, yet he was fighting as if Naruto had some blood feud with him.

Kankuro (Crow) leaped high into the air and lunged at Naruto. He was fighting as though he intended to perish together with him, directly trying to grab Naruto around the waist.

Naruto did not dare meet the attack head-on. He kicked off the ground and leaped backward.

Then Naruto flung out his kunai with a backhanded throw, then scattered a handful of shuriken, attempting to block off every path Kankuro could use to evade.

However, Kankuro (Crow) did not dodge at all. The kunai lodged in his chest, yet his movements did not pause in the slightest. In the blink of an eye, he was already before Naruto.

Unable to evade in time, Naruto could only choose to take the attack head-on.

Just as everyone held their breath, Kankuro (Crow) stopped moving.

Naruto looked ahead in confusion, only to discover in surprise that no blood flowed from the kunai embedded in Kankuro's chest.

How was that possible?!

Had it not pierced through?

And he had clearly succeeded just now, so why had he stopped attacking?

Not far away, the Bandage Cocoon was covered in shuriken, with thin traces of blood slowly seeping out.

Naruto stared dumbfoundedly at the scene before him. His brain had completely shut down.

Fortunately, Kankuro did not leave Naruto confused for long.

"I've had enough of this!!!"

A furious roar came from within the Bandage Cocoon.

Kankuro burst out of the cocoon, clutching his thigh, his body covered in wounds and blood at the corner of his mouth.

He no longer had the strength to stand. He sat on the ground, his upper body leaning against the wall.

Yet his gaze was fierce, and his fingers danced nimbly up and down.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Naruto's daze, Crow shook off the sand and dirt covering it to reveal its true form. Its joints let out a teeth-grating clattering sound.

In an instant, Naruto was tightly bound.

"Die!"

Kankuro roared, murderous intent boiling in his eyes.

As Crow's restraint tightened further and further, the hearts of those in the stands tightened as well.

This was bad! Naruto would die!

"Surrender, Naruto!"

In the stands, Sakura first muttered softly to herself, but in the end she could not help shouting aloud.

On the other side, concern also appeared in Sasuke's eyes.

"I'm the man who's going to become Hokage! How could I lose in a place like this?"

Naruto struggled with all his strength, but Crow's grip around him was extraordinarily sturdy.

The more he struggled, the tighter it constricted.

Amid his struggle, Naruto suddenly spotted the kunai that had struck Crow earlier right in front of him.

Stretching out the only part of his body that could still move—his neck—he reached forward and clamped the kunai in his mouth.

"That kid still isn't going to surrender?"

"What can a single kunai change in this situation?"

"At this rate, he'll die."

The stands buzzed with discussion, everyone captivated by the fierce battle.

Everyone's breathing fell into sync, as if they themselves were the ones competing.

Naruto struggled onto his tiptoes, forced his ankles down, and launched his entire body—Crow included—into the air. At the same time, he violently swung his head and fired the kunai from his mouth.

After that series of movements, Crow's constricting space rapidly shrank even further.

Naruto heard his ribs snap. He could no longer breathe at all.

Even if he wanted to surrender, he could no longer speak.

All his hope rested on that kunai.

It shrieked through the air as it shot rapidly toward Kankuro's face.

"Tch!"

Kankuro tilted his head aside to evade it. The Chakra Threads in his hands faltered slightly, but quickly reconnected.

That was enough!

Taking advantage of that instant of loosened control, Naruto rapidly formed the Ren hand sign, pressed his hands together, and crossed them into a cross:

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

In an instant, over a hundred Narutos filled the entire arena.

"Is this really that Dead Last?"

Shikamaru Nara's face was filled with shock. He was shocked not only by the impact of the technique, but also by the courage and decisiveness Naruto had shown.

"He did it!"

Sakura clenched both fists and exclaimed excitedly.

"Way to go!"

Kiba Inuzuka could not help cheering for this desperate strategy that had brought Naruto back from the brink.

"Naruto, you're amazing!" Hinata Hyuga finally let out a sigh of relief.

Tears of tension still clung to the corners of her eyes, but her cheeks were flushed as she murmured happily.

In the arena, every part of the puppet Crow had an Uzumaki Naruto hanging from it.

Dozens of clones used both hands and feet, pulling and tugging, kicking and stomping, pounding and biting, doing everything they could to free the original body.

The remaining Narutos charged rapidly toward Kankuro.

Seeing the danger closing in and Crow's body being pulled apart bit by bit, Kankuro gritted his teeth and moved his fingers slightly.

"Black Secret Technique: Divide and Conquer!"

Crow rapidly shook, accompanied by a teeth-grating clattering sound. It released its arms and began spinning rapidly in place.

Dozens of Naruto clones popped like balloons.

Meanwhile, seven or eight clones had already rushed before Kankuro. Kankuro frantically manipulated his fingers.

"Black Secret Technique: Hidden Daggers!"

Its limbs, separated into several pieces, danced wildly around him. The clones were continuously knocked down, and wherever Crow's limbs swept, "POON!" sounds rang out in succession.

Even so, several clones still managed to reach Kankuro's side.

Enduring the pain, Kankuro dodged with all his strength.

"Black Secret Technique: Mouth Kunai!"

Crow's head flew up on its own, facing toward its master as it fired kunai in rapid succession, three at a time, temporarily defusing the crisis.

"Don't mind it! Get him!!"

Naruto, who had just broken free, had no time to catch his breath before roaring out the command.

"Yes!!"

Over a hundred Naruto clones roared in unison, ignoring the kunai barrage as they surged toward Kankuro one after another.