Dosu Kinuta watched the purple-haired girl wearing a Sand Ninja headband, his eyes filled with doubt.
"Since when do Sand Ninja stick up for Konoha? As I recall, the Sound and the Sand have no quarrel..."
"That's true!" the Sunagakure kunoichi, Sana, replied, facing the aggressive Sound Ninja. "That Konoha ninja's lack of skill has nothing to do with us. The scroll, however, is another matter."
"Oh? The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Is that your game?"
Sana nodded. "In my lady's words, it matters little if we devour the mantis as well. It's all prey, after all."
"It seems you underestimate us Sound Ninja!" Dosu rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, revealing a strange, perforated arm guard.
"So eager to fight already? Ninja from minor villages truly have no composure! Well, my lady is just about ready. Let the show begin..."
As her voice fell, sluggish, grotesque puppets of sand and earth began to crawl up from the damp ground, one after another.
"There are so few of them. Outside the desert, my lady's Cursed Sand Puppet Technique seems to lack some of its power!" Sana said with a lovely smile, her words laced with cruelty. "In that case, let me make things a little more difficult!"
While the three Sound Ninja were distracted by the sand puppets, Sana began to form hand seals.
"Sandstorm Technique!"
Chakra whipped into a violent wind, mixing with the dust on the ground to unleash a raging sandstorm.
"This..." Sana's expression soured. She knew the jutsu would be weaker outside the desert, but she hadn't expected it to be this diminished. So many of the Sand's jutsu were heavily restricted by terrain. "Still, it should be enough."
Though weaker, the swirling sandstorm served its purpose. The Sound Ninja were not weak; having grown up surrounded by death, they were far more experienced in combat than the average genin. Kin's sound-based genjutsu and Dosu's resonant, armor-piercing attacks were useless against the sand puppets, which were only meant to drain stamina. In the raging sandstorm, Zaku's air cannons proved more effective.
"Decapitating Air Wave!"
His arms acting like cannons, he blasted jets of super-pressurized air from the holes in his palms, blowing apart the advancing sand puppets.
Unfortunately, brute force was of little use. The Sandstorm Technique and Cursed Sand Puppet Technique were designed to create a favorable environment and drain an enemy's chakra. Unable to locate the casters, the Sound team could only wear themselves out.
"Hey, Dosu, think of something!" Kin's sound wave genjutsu was almost useless in this environment. She could only cover her teammates while calling for help from Dosu, the strongest among them.
*This is not going well,* he thought. They had been so close to completing Lord Orochimaru's mission, only to be ambushed by these inexplicable Sand Ninja.
Though Sunagakure and Otogakure had a secret pact, it was not public knowledge, so the grunts at the bottom certainly wouldn't know. Besides, even if they were allies, ninja from the same village were still competitors in the Chunin Exam. Not to mention, weren't all the participants ostensibly allies of Konoha? That didn't stop them from beating each other bloody.
"Zaku, clear a path for me!" Though the Sound trio was not on the best of terms, they could set aside their differences for the mission to kill Uchiha Sasuke. "These Sand Ninja are on a different level from those Konoha rookies. Don't let your guard down."
"Got it! Watch this... Extreme Decapitating Air Wave!"
A violent blast of air mixed with ultrasound waves tore a path toward Sana. Seizing the opportunity, Dosu shot forward, about to break through the sandstorm's barrier.
Facing the sudden assault, Sana simply offered a mocking smile.
A sense of alarm flared in Dosu. A black shadow streaked through the air from the corner of his eye, and he quickly abandoned his attack to leap aside. A small, gaudily dressed but hideously ugly puppet shot past him, its momentum unchecked as it charged toward Zaku.
"Zaku, watch out!"
"I know! A puppet master, huh? Finally showing your hand!" Zaku, still at ease, spun and ducked under the attack. The puppet only managed to snatch a few strands of his hair as he escaped danger. "This puppet master is no good, maybe even worse than that loudmouth Daigan. This is easy!"
"Is that so? You bastard! You dare compare me to Daigan, that disgrace to all puppet masters? I'll curse you..." Lady Saya, whose original target had been the kunoichi Kin, was now incandescent with rage.
"And what are you going to do about it, you gaudy hag?" Zaku shot a dismissive look at the female puppet master who had just revealed herself nearby.
"You'll find out soon enough, you piece of trash!"
Sana fell back to protect her sister, whispering, "My lady, that's Daigan's catchphrase. Don't let that foul-mouthed oaf influence you!"
"Shut up. You, go stop that hunchbacked, bow-legged, one-eyed freak over there. I'll handle the rest."
"But... that guy looks really strong. I'm afraid..." Sana hesitated. Kin was one thing, but the perforated armor on Dosu's right arm could bypass defenses and damage internal organs. He was not an easy opponent. However, seeing her sister's foul mood, Sana swallowed the rest of her words.
Taking aim at the carelessly grinning Zaku, Lady Saya's face twisted into a snarl. "Secret Technique: Puppet Imitation Technique!"
In an instant, Zaku, who had been about to retort with another insult, fell silent. His sudden change in behavior alerted his teammates that something was wrong.
"Hey, are you alright, Zaku?" Kin asked, fending off the seemingly harmless sand puppets as she moved closer to him.
A moment later, the silent Zaku lifted his head, raised his left hand, and fired a Decapitating Air Wave, knocking the unprepared Kin to the ground.
"Zaku, what the hell are you doing?" Dosu yelled, rushing toward Kin. Unrelenting, Zaku seemed ready to deliver a finishing blow to the heavily injured Kin, aiming his other arm at the fleeing Dosu.
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