Chapter 72: Dominating the Battlefield

Dosu Kinuta looked at the seemingly insignificant Sakura Haruno before him. Apart from her striking pink hair, he couldn't fathom how someone like her had made it this far in the Chūnin Exams. He should have been facing Uchiha Sasuke by now.

He had already gauged Sakura's abilities during the Forest of Death. Aside from her unexpectedly strong grasp of barrier techniques and a decent aptitude for genjutsu, she didn't seem like much of a threat. How had she even reached this stage? Pure luck, coupled with strong teammates, must have carried her through.

"Let's end this quickly. I need to face Sasuke soon and complete my mission."

As soon as the proctor, Genma Shiranui, signaled the start of the match, Dosu wasted no time. He lunged forward, swinging his right arm, aiming to knock Sakura out in a single strike.

"Too reckless. Attacking without properly assessing the opponent's strength? Not even a basic probe? He's going to pay for this mistake."

Watching from the stands, Mizuki shook his head. Dosu had always been known for his cautious approach—at least outwardly, he maintained an air of politeness and discipline. However, with the immense pressure he had been under recently, this level of rashness showed a major lapse in judgment.

Sure enough, the moment Dosu's strike was supposed to connect, Sakura disappeared from his vision.

"Did I miss? No—this is genjutsu. When did she cast it? There was no warning at all!"

Dosu immediately realized that he had fallen for one of her illusions. Back in the Forest of Death, she had used genjutsu to put his teammate, Zaku, in a bad spot.

"So it's not just barriers—her genjutsu is this refined too? I underestimated her."

However, he remained unfazed. His signature technique, Soundwave Strike (Otokagura: Requiem), didn't rely on direct hits. Sound traveled omnidirectionally—his attack didn't need to land cleanly to be effective.

But things didn't go as smoothly as he expected.

Before he could follow up, three shuriken flew toward him at breakneck speed from his right flank. He barely managed to raise his gauntlet to deflect them, but the real threat was yet to come.

Sakura suddenly appeared on his left and closed the distance with astonishing speed. Her right hand formed a blade-like shape, enveloped in a faint chakra glow—Chakra Scalpel!

"She's aiming for my heart?! How is she this fast?!"

Even with his battle-honed instincts, Dosu barely twisted his body in time to avoid a fatal wound. But her attack still struck home, slicing a deep gash across his shoulder and upper left arm. Blood spurted from the wound.

Despite the searing pain, Dosu refused to retreat. With a half-turn, he swung his right arm once again, unleashing another Soundwave Strike aimed at Sakura's midsection.

"This time, it's real—no illusions. Let's see how she dodges this!"

He wasn't about to let a perfect opportunity slip away, not even while injured.

Yet, to his horror, Sakura barely exerted any effort to evade. She leaped lightly into the air, dodging his strike by mere inches before flipping backward to increase the gap between them.

Dosu, now bleeding, decided to fall back momentarily. Using his teeth, he tore off a strip of bandage and hastily wrapped his wound.

"Why…? Why didn't my attack affect her at all?!"

The first time, he had assumed it was due to his own overconfidence, failing to recognize the genjutsu. But this second attack had undoubtedly hit her real body. Yet, she remained completely unscathed.

The audience seemed confused. From their perspective, Dosu had been swinging at the air before suddenly getting injured himself. Unless one was familiar with his Soundwave Strike, the battle looked one-sided.

Only experienced shinobi in the crowd recognized the true nature of their battle.

Sakura had stealthily cast genjutsu at the very moment Genma signaled the match to begin. Taking advantage of Dosu's arrogance, she had used the illusion to create an opening and inflicted a serious wound. Then, she had managed to neutralize Dosu's sound-based attack—not just once, but twice.

Meanwhile, Naruto had finally arrived, bursting into the stands with his usual loud energy.

"Huh? Sakura's match already started?"

"You're late," Mizuki remarked dryly. "No one was here to cheer her on. Your team spirit is seriously lacking."

"It's all Sasuke's fault! Always hogging the spotlight!" Naruto complained. "I got held up by the medical team, but it looks like Sakura is doing great! That bandage guy totally destroyed Chōji, but Sakura's actually winning. How is she doing it?"

"Just cheer for her, Naruto. If she wins, you'll be facing her in the next round."

"Wait… what?! I have to fight Sakura?!"

Naruto had been so fixated on Sasuke and Neji that he had completely overlooked the tournament bracket. The thought of going up against his teammate caught him completely off guard.

Meanwhile, the audience's reaction remained lukewarm. The battle lacked flashy ninjutsu, relying instead on precise tactics and counters. It was only when Dosu started bleeding that the crowd showed any real engagement.

Despite his injuries, Dosu was far from out of the fight. He now fully understood that his trump card, Soundwave Strike, wasn't working as usual.

Not that it was useless—Sakura had minor cuts on her arms, showing that the technique still had some effect. However, it had been heavily mitigated, drastically reducing its lethality.

"She's doing something to weaken my sound-based attacks… but how?"

While Dosu pondered his next move, Sakura nonchalantly activated Healing Jutsu, mending her minor injuries.

Dosu clenched his teeth. His left shoulder was beginning to ache again—the wound was worsening despite the bandages.

"Damn it. She can heal herself while I just keep bleeding out. This isn't looking good."

For the first time, the reality of his situation dawned on him.

"Are we really just disposable pawns? Are we nothing but expendable tools for Orochimaru's plans?"

He had always known that he was a mere instrument for his master. But the idea of failing before even encountering Sasuke left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I refuse to go down like this."

"If you Konoha brats have only experienced ninja games, then let me show you what a survivor of the hellish Sound Village can really do."

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