"You talk too much."
Daigan leisurely cleaned his ear, casually interrupting his opponent's taunt. "Your name is Sajin? What a coincidence. I, the great Red Sand Dust, think you should change your name."
***
"So it's you."
"You know me?"
Sajin sneered. "Your reputation has some fame among the Genin. A hopelessly mediocre unlucky bastard who foolishly pursues the proud Temari. Your level of shamelessness is truly unmatched."
"Good reputation or bad, at least I'm famous. A nobody like you shouldn't have a name so similar to mine."
"It's not like I want to. People used to mistake me for that idiot 'Red Sand Dust.' It was a pain to explain…"
"You really haven't thought about changing your name?"
"Compared to that, beating the crap out of the guy who's causing me trouble sounds much more enjoyable."
"You've made the wrong choice."
Negotiations had failed. Daigan's arm, which had been numb from the recoil of his heavy punch, felt normal again. "Being too stubborn will only get you hurt."
He bent his knees slightly, then exploded forward, launching a straight right punch.
*Smack!*
Sajin caught the punch with his left hand, and the two began to wrestle for dominance.
Daigan's left hand formed a knife-hand, stabbing toward Sajin's chest, but his wrist was caught at the last second by his opponent's right hand.
"I told you, don't compare me to those two idiots."
"Idiots? You hang out with them. How much better can you be?"
His left hand retracted from the knife-hand into a one-handed seal. Daigan's chakra flowed into the sand beneath his feet. "Earth Release: Sand Dance!"
A large patch of ground beneath them began to soften, like a terrifying maw, sucking them both down until they were submerged up to their waists.
"What is this…" Sajin looked at the smirking Daigan in surprise. "You buried yourself too. What are you thinking?"
"My time is precious. I don't want to waste it on you."
*I have to go reconnect with Temari later. Chances to see her openly are rare, so I can't waste a second.*
"We're both stuck in the sand. Are you that confident you can beat me in a close-quarters brawl?"
His movement was restricted, and many of his techniques were unusable, but when it came to a manly fistfight, Sajin was confident he wouldn't lose to this guy who started duels at the drop of a hat. "The thrill of a bare-knuckle brawl is a man's romance!"
"Who wants to brawl with you?" Daigan said with contempt. He grabbed both of Sajin's arms, completely sealing his opponent's escape. "A man's romance? You're not worthy."
As he spoke, something stirred on Daigan's broad back. A small arm emerged from beneath his somewhat large, flashy shirt, followed by a head, a torso, and two legs.
"You're a puppet master?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
"I've never heard you had a puppet!"
"Of course not. I've never used one before. It'd be a miracle if you had."
"You… you used a hidden trump card you've never revealed before just to defeat me?"
"Don't flatter yourself, kid. Even without my puppets, you're no match for me. I just wanted a quick finish, so I thought I'd see if a moron like you would fall for it. And what do you know, you really thought I was the moron."
The puppet, about as tall as his forearm, sat on Daigan's shoulder. It leisurely pulled out a folding fan from its back, slowly opened it, and pointed the sharp tip of its rib at Sajin's throat.
"Using tricks like this…" Sajin was still defiant. "You think you can win like this? Let me show you…"
*Thud.*
A sharp headbutt from Daigan cut off Sajin's trembling threat.
"Proctor, isn't the match over yet? The poison on my puppet is too lethal, and I don't have the antidote on me. Curing it is a hassle. If he refuses to surrender, I'm in a tough spot."
The completely concealed proctor spoke in a low voice. "At critical moments, a ninja needs to assess the situation. There's nothing wrong with talking big, as long as you can bear the consequences. As for whether you survive…"
The proctor's chilling tone sent a shiver down the spine. "This is just an internal test. If he dies here, it's just bad luck."
"Is that so…"
*Pfft.*
The sharp edge sliced through Sajin's armor and skin, piercing his upper arm.
In just a few breaths, Sajin's face first turned crimson, then deathly pale. His breathing became increasingly difficult, and soon he fainted.
"Winner, Daigan!"
After declaring the result, the proctor quickly shoved an antidote pill into Sajin's mouth and pulled them both out of the quicksand trap. "You're quite good."
"Thank you for the compliment. If I may be so bold, how should I address you?"
"You'll know when you're able to fight alongside me one day."
The proctor hoisted the unconscious Sajin onto his shoulder. "Your poison is no joke. The antidote barely had any effect. I need to get this kid to emergency care. As for the rest, go find Jonin Baki yourself."
"Sorry for the trouble!"
The words had barely left his mouth before the figure vanished.
"A Jonin's Body Flicker is so fast. I couldn't even react."
Daigan shook his head, patting the dust off his clothes. He had the lightly injured Yome support Chi, who had just woken up and was still weak, as they walked toward the center of the training ground where Baki was.
"We already won?" Chi, who had only seen the end, was still confused. Yome, who had watched Daigan make short work of both Mijin and Sajin, felt a complex mix of emotions she didn't know how to express.
"With me here, a test of this level is no problem at all."
Losing unclearly and winning incomprehensibly, the two kunoichi felt a sense of crisis creep in amidst their joy.
Before, they didn't know how big the gap was, so there was still some hope. Now that they knew, it was time to let go of any delusions. If they couldn't keep up with their teammate, it was only a matter of time before they were left behind again.
***
"So Otokaze's team won, too?"
Baki confirmed the qualifications of Daigan, Chi, and Yome and nodded in approval. "To have another substitute team win is a pleasant surprise. But have the guys in the intelligence department been slacking off? How could there be so many unexpected results in this year's strength assessments?"
Team Otokaze's victory hadn't been easy. Chi and Yome were in poor condition, while Daigan was virtually unscathed. It was likely a team with one core member and two support. "Go wait over there. After the last team's qualification is confirmed, I will explain the details of the exam."
Nearly half of the original candidates were already gone. As Daigan approached, a familiar figure came over.
"Daigan, you won too? I knew you could do it."
"Toki, what happened to you? You look awful."
His former teammate smiled bitterly, covered in blood and dirt. "We ran into a tough team. Almost lost."