This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 78 One move?

"Tsunade!"

"black!"

"Hinata-chan Mukai!"

"silver!"

"Uchiha Setsuna!"

"Ryuuji Ayaki!"

Ryuji and Sarutobi wrote their names on playing cards, then drew cards from each other's hands one by one, finally choosing their duelists and the order of the duels.

However, both of them were slightly surprised when they saw each other's lineup.

Ryuji anticipated that Konoha's representatives would be Tsunade, Minato, and Setsuna Uchiha.

But the result was that Minato didn't go, and instead a completely unknown Kohyuu Mukai went.

To Sarutobi's surprise, Sunagakure did not send Karura, but instead sent Kuro, whose information was completely blank.

Although we already knew from last night's meeting that Black might be a variable, we only felt that he might replace Silver.

Unexpectedly, Gallo was replaced.

Is this Black Guy even stronger than Garuru?

Ryuji was also thinking about the same problem.

Konoha would rather skip Minato Namikaze and send in this unheard-of Mukai Kohyuu. Is it because he's stronger than Minato?

However, thinking of Minato's exploits and fame in the Third Shinobi World War in the anime, he dismissed the idea.

If Minato, with that level of performance, wasn't even the strongest in Konoha, then the Fourth Shinobi World War wouldn't have been so arduous.

Perhaps this little Hinata possesses some special ability, which is a special arrangement prepared by the Third Hokage to target "Kō".

(Luckily, I didn't ask you to do anything underhanded, otherwise this cunning old man might have really messed things up for you.)

Thinking of this, Long Er secretly felt somewhat fortunate.

While the two were lost in thought, Minato, as the referee and host of this duel, entered the center of the arena.

"First duel, enter the arena!"

"We can finally begin." Tsunade cracked her knuckles, then turned to look at the opponent, Kuro, with interest. "Don't end it too quickly. It's a rare opportunity to fight, so it wouldn't be fun if it ended too soon."

Hei kept his head down and remained silent.

Tsunade wasn't angry; she simply flipped over and jumped off the stands.

Go!

Karura encouraged him from beside Kuroi.

Hei glanced back at him, then turned back, braced himself against the railing, and jumped down.

The two walked towards each other from the sidelines and eventually stopped in the middle of the field, about three or four meters apart.

Minato glanced at the two men and, seeing that they were both ready, said, "Although the rules don't restrict life and death, I still hope that both of you can restrain yourselves and stop when you've made your move."

"So verbose!"

Tsunade glared at Minato, clearly annoyed. "When have I ever acted without restraint?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in Konoha twitched their eyes a few times.

What's wrong with you? Don't you know your own limitations?

However, while Konoha's words boosted morale, Sunagakure saw them as blatant contempt.

In particular, Kuro was taciturn and didn't utter a single word in the face of such provocation, which made the Sand Village ninja who came to watch the duel very unhappy.

Some hot-tempered people were already shouting things like "Give her a lesson" from the sidelines.

but.

The people below were anxious and unhappy, but Long Er remained calm.

He smiled and said, "It seems the princess of Konoha has a lot of confidence in herself!"

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi felt a little smug.

"Tsunade is, after all, the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage, and she has been taught by me since childhood, so she naturally has some confidence."

In fact, Sarutobi was somewhat dissatisfied with his three disciples.

They believed that their talents were still limited and they had not fully inherited their abilities to the extent that they were satisfied with (the official book's words).

However, one should not belittle one's own disciple in front of outsiders.

Ryuji was unaware of these matters, but remained noncommittal.

"Is that so? Then let's wait and see!"

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi paused slightly, then frowned.

After hearing his own humble evaluation of Tsunade, he can still be so confident. Is this villain really that strong?

For some reason, Sarutobi had a premonition.

Today's duel will not go as I had envisioned.

……

"Both fighters are ready. The duel begins!"

The moment the sound of the water gate fell, thunder roared in the arena.

Black, crackling with electricity, pierced towards Tsunade like a thunderbolt.

As if she had expected this, Tsunade raised her long, fleshy legs high and then brought them down suddenly.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the earth cracked open and shook violently.

Centered on Tsunade, the ground cracked open within a 30-meter radius, the impact sending debris flying everywhere and blowing Kuro away.

A few seconds later, the smoke cleared and the dust settled, and the people in the stands could see the situation on the field.

Two-thirds of the entire arena has collapsed.

Tsunade stood unharmed at the center of the collapse, while Kuro was embedded in the wall at the edge of the field like a decoration.

Upon seeing this, the people of Konoha all wore knowing smiles.

The people of Sunagakure were all dejected.

Sarutobi breathed a deep sigh of relief. Ryuji's tone and attitude had made him uneasy, as he thought the other party was confident, but it turned out to be just a bluff.

He took two puffs of his cigarette and smiled as he comforted her, "Lord Kuro of Sunagakure is definitely not weak; it's just that the opponent he faced was too powerful. Tsunade was born with divine strength, and even I, the Hokage, couldn't withstand a single punch from her."

(With a build like yours, you'd probably die on the spot if you took a punch.)

Ryuji thought to himself with a wicked grin, but on the surface, he calmly feigned confusion. "Hokage-sama, what do you mean by this?"

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi was also somewhat bewildered.

What does that mean?

Is it possible for this situation to turn around?

"You'll find out, Naruto-sama, just keep watching."

Ryuji gave a mysterious smile, making Sarutobi's heart, which had just settled down, start to race again.

……

In the arena, seeing her opponent embedded in the wall, eyes vacant, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds, Tsunade felt somewhat disappointed.

She shook her head and said, "Men who rush things are annoying. What a disappointment!"

Tsunade is not a warmonger.

But she has been working at the hospital since the war with Amegakure ended a few years ago.

The long hours spent treating the wounded and sick, the daily cries of patients, and the sight of countless deaths fueled her growing resentment.

In addition, the impending war added to the immense pressure, making her extremely irritable.

She had originally thought today would be a good match, and she wanted to vent her pent-up frustration by moving her hands and feet during the duel. However, it ended in just one move.

Black did not respond to this.

He stared blankly at the white clouds drifting across the sky, muttering to himself, "I'm no match for you. I've disgraced my master. Now, come on, Red!"

The sound travels through the ocean of the spirit.

The scarab puppets along the way carried the message back to a mud house in Sunagakure.

The red-haired maid looked up, a hopeful smile on her face. "This is my first time fighting for my master outside. Thank you for the opportunity, Black."

(End of this chapter)