The Match Continues

Sarutobi Toru placed his hands on Yagura for a while. After one successful use of Absolute Reason, Sarutobi Toru still found it somewhat difficult to instantly use the Five Decay Technique in battle, but slowly undoing it was no longer a problem.

A moment later, Yagura finally calmed down. He let out a long breath. Though he was utterly exhausted, he felt as if he had come back to life. He had never felt so relaxed.

After resting for a while, Yagura refused the Medical Ninja who came to support him, slowly rose to his feet, and headed toward the waiting room.

Whenever he caught sight of Sarutobi Toru, his eyes were filled with terror.

Although the final match had been obscured by mist, the first two had been quite exciting and thrilling, so the atmosphere at the venue remained lively.

What remained was naturally the clash between Hatake Sakumo's team and the Sand Shinobi team.

Speaking of which, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had originally been crippled by Might Duy. This match just happened to pit Might Duy against Jinin Akebino and Suikazan Fuguki. However, Jinin Akebino, who had originally died at Duy's hands, was merely severely injured this time, while Suikazan Fuguki, who had originally escaped with his life, instead met the fate of being eliminated.

Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law from Sunagakure had originally died at Hatake Sakumo's hands. This time, they happened to face him as well. Who knew what the outcome would be?

This time, Kosa, his face grave, chose a team battle. Clearly, he had no confidence in facing Sakumo one-on-one.

Sakumo and the others had no objections. Their team possessed a rich variety of elements and no obvious weaknesses, so they did not fear a team battle.

The battle entered a fever pitch from the very beginning. The two Puppet Masters from Sunagakure held Sakumo back, while Kosa stood atop a mass of iron sand and slowly rose into the air, launching a sweeping assault on Hiruko and Aburame Ryoma.

Clearly, Kosa intended to deal with Hiruko and Aburame Ryoma first, since they could threaten him once he took to the air, before dealing with Hatake Sakumo, who lacked aerial combat ability.

In a one-on-one battle, Kosa would have absolutely no time to rise into the air before Hatake Sakumo. That was why he had chosen a team battle.

However, Hiruko's summoned beast and Aburame Ryoma's Insect Manipulation Technique could both fly. In a team battle, he had to defeat the two in aerial combat as well.

Magnet Release—the Iron Sand Technique—was both offensive and defensive, capable of sealing, and the iron sand was coated in deadly poison. It was truly troublesome to deal with.

Hiruko had been a little careless at first. After suffering only a slight graze, he became dizzy and disoriented. Fortunately, he was also an expert in the field of biology, and Konoha's Medical Ninjutsu was the best in the Shinobi World. After drinking a bottle of antidote, he managed to suppress the poison.

Having taken a hit, Hiruko no longer dared to rise into the air and become a target. He slapped the ground. "Summoning Technique!"

With a bang, a massive, transparent, Slime-like mass appeared on the ground, instantly enveloping Hiruko and Aburame Ryoma.

This creature that looked like a Slime was actually cultivated from an Aggregate Single-Celled Organism. It possessed little intelligence or combat power, but its defensive ability was astonishing.

Kosa controlled the iron sand and bombarded it several times, to no effect. He then shaped the iron sand into sharp weapons and thrust them inside, only to quickly feel the Chakra on the iron sand slip out of his control. The "Slime" even grew a little larger.

Hiruko had created this "Slime" after hearing Sarutobi Toru's ideas about non-Newtonian fluid. It possessed extraordinary resistance to blunt impacts, tolerated high temperatures, did not conduct electricity, was nearly immune to all Five Elements Ninjutsu, and could consume Chakra to recover and grow. It was a summoned beast specialized entirely in defense.

Its only drawback was that once it was used for defense, one basically could not use taijutsu or offensive ninjutsu.

However, it was a perfect match for Aburame Ryoma's Insect Manipulation Technique.

Kosa, who had been unleashing a relentless assault, suddenly felt a small piece of his Iron Sand Armor peel away. Only then did he notice a swarm of tiny insects the same color as iron sand clinging to his armor and constantly absorbing Chakra.

Startled, he hurriedly controlled the iron sand to crush the insects, only to discover that many Kikaichū hidden within the iron sand had flown out.

Perhaps Aburame Ryoma's Insect Manipulation Technique was inferior to Magnet Release in siege-breaking and defense, and even more incapable of matching Magnet Release in wide-area sweeping attacks. But in terms of flexibility, concealment, strangeness, and tenacity, Insect Manipulation Technique surpassed Magnet Release.

As long as he protected his Main Body, even Kosa could not underestimate the threat posed by Aburame Ryoma's Insect Manipulation Technique.

For a time, the entire arena darkened. Iron sand and flying insects whirled everywhere as the two sides fought to a standstill.

Of course, if things continued like this, Kosa would definitely win. Although the Aburame Clan's insects threatened his Main Body, their vitality was not especially strong, and he could easily wipe out large swaths of them.

If Aburame Ryoma wanted to replenish the swarm, he would have to consume a massive amount of Chakra. By then, Kosa could simply wear him to death.

Once Aburame Ryoma was exhausted, Hiruko would definitely be unable to hold out against an all-out bombardment with only the "Slime."

However, Kosa's teammates could no longer endure.

Although Puppet Masters, a newly emerging ninja profession, had long been popular in Sunagakure, this was still their first time making their mark in the Shinobi World.

Unfortunately for them, they had encountered Hatake Sakumo.

In Sarutobi Toru's view, Hatake Sakumo's most terrifying quality was not his swordsmanship, not his Nintaijutsu, nor even his so-called ninja talent. It was "focus."

It was like his own Absolute Reason, or perhaps something called "intuition" or "mind's eye." Hatake Sakumo in battle, especially in a battle of life and death, would seize even a one-percent chance of victory. No matter what kind of battle strategy was used, he could see through it at a glance. Unless his opponent possessed overwhelming strength, he could always find an opportunity to win.

Perhaps Hatake Kakashi had inherited a bit of his talent, allowing him to become the man who could fight anyone to an even match!

Thus, although the two Puppet Masters had countless schemes, and their eight Puppets plus their two Main Bodies made for ten ever-changing figures, Hatake Sakumo still found their Main Bodies after cutting down two Puppets. The White Fang Dagger swept across their necks.

Fortunately, Hatake Sakumo had not intended to kill them. He merely left a bloody line across each of their necks. Still, neither had the face to remain in the arena, and they directly conceded defeat.

Kosa sighed, but he still refused to give up. After all, Hatake Sakumo had no aerial combat ability. Though his Iron Sand Technique flew slowly, the aerial advantage it gave him was real.

Then Hatake Sakumo taught him a lesson by stepping on the iron sand Kosa had sent to attack him and leaping onto the airborne iron-sand platform.

"Damn it!" Kosa viciously pounded the ground.

After being beaten badly by Hatake Sakumo, slammed to the ground, and pinned with the White Fang Dagger at his throat, Kosa swore that he would develop a more advanced flying ninjutsu in the future. He would never again allow someone to get close like they had today!

What? Practice taijutsu? Are you trying to make things difficult for me, the Kazekage? Don't you know every Kazekage in history has been a taijutsu idiot?