Chapter 76 Kankuro: Let’s Have a Hearty Puppet Showdown!

Kankuro, the examinee from Sunagakure, couldn't wait to make his pre-battle declaration.

Several Jonin from other villages also smirked openly.

Everyone has tolerated this yellow-haired Puppet Master for a long time.

And judging by the battered state of his puppet, it was clear the brat had already pushed himself to the limit during the earlier exam.

Whether that puppet could even function anymore was questionable.

Not to mention that he now has to face Sunagakure's Shinobi, who are famous for their Puppet Technique.

Konoha is indeed very strong...

But surely they couldn't surpass Sunagakure in Puppet Technique, right?

The Shinobi from other villages were all ready to watch the fun, but the Shinobi from Konoha were shocked when they heard Kankuro's passionate speech.

'Wait...'

'Is this Genin from Sunagakure stupid???'

'That Uzumaki Naruto...'

'Who on earth is spreading the rumor that he is a Puppet Master?!'

'And why were all the Shinobi from other villages looking so smug?'

The Konoha's Jonin could say with absolute confidence. While they may not know the situation of the children in the entire Konoha Village, this yellow-haired boy has grown up in front of everyone.

Breaking through the village barrier at age six, breaking Kakashi's arm at twelve…

His training methods, which were downright inhumane.

Even Guy had started referencing Naruto's routines… that alone spoke volumes about how terrifying he was.

And now this human-shaped monster...

Was being mistaken for a Puppet Master by Shinobi from other villages...

Would this even end well?

"Both examinees, please get ready!"

After hearing his name being called, Naruto rolled his shoulders and sauntered to the center of the arena.

He glanced at the edgy Pikachu standing across from him and sighed internally.

'I clearly put a sack on this kid yesterday and gave him those black eyes. Why hasn't he learned his lesson?'

'And also…'

'I'm not a Puppet Master.'

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

"Let me see what Konoha's Puppet Technique is made of!"

Kankuro placed one hand on his puppet that was tied up like a mummy, his face full of excitement.

Fighting with normal Shinobi would only arouse the fighting spirit in him.

But it is different if the other party was a Puppet Master.

This wasn't just a personal match anymore, as it was already about proving Sunagakure's Puppet Technique was unrivaled in the Shinobi World.

In this battle, Kankuro had to win!

"I…"

Naruto opened his mouth to explain, but found that it seemed useless to say anything, so he just let the other party misunderstand.

Seeing the puppet in Kankuro's hand, Naruto subconsciously took out a man-sized Totem of Undying from the system.

Kankuro is holding a mummy puppet, while Naruto is standing with a golden statue...

From a distance, it did look like a showdown between two Puppet Masters. Their aesthetics even synced up perfectly in that moment.

The Konoha's Jonin, who were watching the battle, were momentarily dazed.

'Wait…'

'Could it be possible that this child really knows Puppet Technique???'

'But why haven't we heard anything about that?'

All the Jonin of Konoha looked at Kakashi, as if they wanted to get some information out of him.

Noticing the surrounding gazes, Kakashi snapped his book shut, glanced at Naruto, who was holding the totem, and said calmly, "You think too much..."

"From what I know about Naruto..."

"That statue is probably just his weapon."

Konoha's Jonin: "???"

The Jonin all showed strange expressions when they heard Kakashi's words.

'I'd heard rumors about the Kyubi's Jinchuriki using a door as a weapon. Now that he's tired of door panels, has he started playing with statues?'

It's a bit strange, but everyone can already imagine the miserable state of the Sunagakure's Genin.

Hiruzen sighed, turned away, and pulled out three medicine bottles from his coat. He shook out six pills and swallowed them dry.

When he turned back and saw Naruto gripping the totem like a weapon, all Hiruzen could see was a glimpse of future-Konohamaru…

The thought made him took out a few more pills and swallowed them.

'Sigh…'

'Jiraiya...'

'When are you coming back to the village?!'

"Both examinees, form a Seal of Confrontation."

Following the order from the tuberculosis-ridden Gekko Hayate, the battle between the 'two' Puppet Master officially began.

With a sharp slap, Kankuro unraveled the bandages covering his puppet, revealing the true form of his puppet, Crow.

In his mind, going all out was the highest form of respect he could show his opponent.

Though it might seem underhanded...

Kankuro's plan was the same as everyone else's, which was to destroy the 'puppet armor' on Naruto that provided him with strength.

Once that was gone, Naruto would have no ability to resist!

Kankuro raised his palm, and used the Chakra Threads to control Crow's limbs.

Whoosh…

But in that instant, 'Puppet Master' Naruto appeared in front of Kankuro in an instant, carrying a 1.6-meter-tall golden statue.

The shadow of the statue loomed over Kankuro.

He turned his head in astonishment, his eyes widened in shock.

'Impossible!'

'When did he get here?!'

'And also…'

'Why is he holding his puppet like that?!'

'Why is Konoha's Puppet Technique a little different from what I imagined???'

Although he was confused, Kankuro reacted quickly and launched Crow's limbs at Naruto in an instant.

Each component of Crow was embedded with powerful Explosive Tags.

And Kankuro's target is the 'puppet armor' worn by Naruto.

Boom…

The detonation of Crow's parts sent a massive dust cloud billowing across the arena, obscuring the fight from spectators.

After a few seconds, Naruto's figure emerged first.

However, the Iron Man suit he was wearing could not withstand such an impact, and it crumbled into chunks of metal that clattered to the ground.

The observant Konoha's Jonin noticed something unsettling...

'The fragments actually cracked the floor upon impact.'

At this moment, the Konoha's Jonin suddenly realized that the weird contraption Naruto had been wearing wasn't armor… It was training weights.

"Ah... this..."

"That thing is actually a weight???"

"What kind of monster is this kid?!"

"He's been wearing that thing the entire Chunin Exams!?"

"As expected of a Genin that I'm optimistic about! Lee, I've decided! Tonight, we shall train by dragging five trees for 100 kilometers!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei!"

While everyone was shocked, the two idiots in the corner were so moved by Naruto's behavior that they burst into tears.

"Hey! Your training methods are getting weirder!"

"I remember this training was the training method used by Naruto and Thin Ice Bro, right?"

Tenten facepalmed as she watched her teacher and Lee spiral further into madness.

The training of these two people was already outrageous enough, but now, they have begun to imitate Naruto's crazy training methods.

She was genuinely worried that the whole village would adopt this aesthetic soon.

Sasuke, sensing something, turned his head and glared at Tenten angrily.

He is really fed up with this bun-haired girl!

'If it weren't for her calling me Thin Ice Bro back then, I wouldn't have been in this mess...'

Inside the arena, Naruto's secret was revealed.

Not only did everyone discover that the equipment on his body was missing, but they also discovered that the golden statue in his hand was missing as well.

Kankuro slowly pushed himself up from the ground, with a dazed look on his face.

He remembered that he was hit by Naruto with a statue just now...

So why was he unharmed?

'Whatever…'

'It must've been a Genjutsu.'

Kankuro didn't think much about it, just chuckled darkly and taunted the now-'unarmed' Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto...."

"What will you do now?"

"Your puppets are gone now!"

The Shinobi from other villages all smirked playfully when they saw this scene.

'Finally!'

'Finally, we get to see this kid get humiliated!'

They could already picture the yellow-haired brat kneeling down and begging for mercy…

But then...

The yellow-haired brat suddenly shouted, startling many Shinobi watching the fight.

"Release Seal!"