Chapter 74: Hiruko
Seeing the result, everyone on the Konoha side of the stands couldn't help but turn their gaze to the composed Hyuga Yōmyō.
"Yōmyō drew a really bad lot," Kyosuke sighed helplessly.
"Why? Is his opponent that strong?" Torune Aburame, who was standing to the side, asked curiously after hearing his sigh.
"In terms of raw strength, his opponent isn't that overwhelmingly powerful," Kyosuke paused for a moment, then said slowly, "The real trouble is the kind of deadly poison that kills on contact. If Yōmyō were to be hit by it..."
Although Kyosuke didn't finish his sentence, Torune understood his meaning.
To be injured is to be defeated, or even to die... While others might not understand the terror of this fighting style, Torune Aburame certainly did.
The characteristics of his poisonous insects were remarkably similar to Sasori's poison.
So, he looked at the somewhat blindly confident Yōmyō and also let out a sigh.
Good luck...
Soon, the two participants of the first match arrived in the arena.
However, Sasori's appearance this time was a bit strange.
The rather handsome young man from before was gone. In his place was a middle-aged man with a long tail and a severe hunchback.
Kyosuke knew that this was one of Sasori's early prized puppets, Hiruko.
Hyuga Yōmyō also saw Sasori, hidden inside Hiruko, with his Byakugan.
"Heh, you think you're safe just by hiding inside a puppet? Let's see how I break your shell," Hyuga Yōmyō said with a sneer.
"Let's get started," a low, hoarse voice came from inside Hiruko.
This was Sasori, using a special principle to alter his voice.
Though others might not understand it.
"Rasa." On the Sand's side of the stands, a middle-aged man, dressed in lavish clothes but with a slightly sleazy appearance, suddenly called out to Rasa.
"My lord," Rasa said, walking past numerous guards to the man's side and greeting him respectfully.
This man was, of course, the current Daimyō of the Land of Wind.
At this moment, he and the other four Daimyō were all seated in the highest section of the stands. Not only was the view excellent here, but it was also less likely to be affected by the intense battles.
Even if someone were to accidentally throw a ninjutsu their way, the ninja in front of them could promptly intercept it.
That was why these Daimyō were so leisurely watching the competition here.
Seeing Rasa's arrival, the Land of Wind Daimyō glanced at the others around him out of the corner of his eye, then waved his wrist at him, signaling for him to come closer.
"What I said before, have you passed on the orders?" the Land of Wind Daimyō whispered in Rasa's ear.
"Yes, and I have also contacted the other teams through my connections. They have all agreed," Rasa replied in a low voice.
"Very good, very good," the Land of Wind Daimyō said twice. He then turned to look at the opposite stands and said with a ferocious expression, "I want all the participating Konoha ninja in this exam to die a miserable death in front of me. Not a single one of them is to be spared."
"Yes, your will shall be done," Rasa said, bowing his head.
"Mm, you may leave now," the Daimyō said, turning back to look at Rasa.
At the same time, he suddenly felt that this man before him was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye. At least, he was much better than the Third Kazekage, who was always defying him.
Because of this, an idea quietly began to form in his mind.
"I won't repeat the rules. In short, try not to cause any casualties in front of the Daimyō. Do you understand?" the Anbu said to the two of them in a cold voice.
"Understood," Hyuga Yōmyō replied respectfully.
"..." No sound came from inside Hiruko.
"Then..." the Anbu referee took a deep breath, then said in a clear voice, "I declare the first round of the third Chunin Exam... begin!!!"
Hearing the referee announce the start of the match, the noisy venue suddenly fell silent.
Everyone, including the five Daimyō, couldn't help but turn their gazes to the two in the arena, waiting in quiet anticipation.
Hyuga Yōmyō, feeling the immense pressure of their gazes, took a deep breath and pushed his Byakugan to its limit.
Then, in an instant, he shot toward the bizarrely shaped puppet opposite him.
"Get out of there!" Hyuga Yōmyō roared, then raised a palm filled with a large amount of chakra and struck at it.
Just then, with a click, Hiruko's mouth suddenly opened, and a dense cloud of poisoned needles shot out from it.
This move was quite unexpected.
With Hyuga Yōmyō's charging speed, combined with the speed of the poisoned needles, an ordinary person would have been unable to dodge.
However, these people definitely did not include the ninja of the Hyuga clan.
"Hmph, a mere parlor trick," Hyuga Yōmyō snorted. Then, almost at the same instant Hiruko released the poisoned needles, he made his own evasive maneuver.
It was clear that he had anticipated Sasori's attack, which was why he was able to make such a preemptive move.
After dodging the poisoned needles, he continued to charge toward Sasori.
His actions were met with approval from everyone present, except for Kyosuke and the Sand ninja.
In their opinion, the outcome of this match depended on whether Hyuga Yōmyō could get close to his enemy before he was injured.
If he could, he would be the final victor.
If he couldn't, then the situation would likely be dangerous.
To be honest, this type of battle was not very fair to a puppet master.
However, there were many unfair things in this world, so even the Sand ninja said nothing. Naturally, the others would not meddle.
Unlike the others' optimistic view, Kyosuke was quite pessimistic about the outcome of this match.
It wasn't that Hyuga Yōmyō wasn't strong. On the contrary, his strength was enough to suppress most of his peers. Although he might not be as stunning as Hyuga Neji, he was by no means weak.
But it also depended on who his opponent was.
Kyosuke had roughly estimated that in this Chunin Exam, there were at least five people who could defeat him.
And Sasori of the Red Sand was among those five.
Relying on the usual methods of dealing with ordinary puppet masters would likely not be enough to deal with Sasori.
Even the still-young Sasori was no exception.
The reality was close to Kyosuke's estimation.
Just as Hyuga Yōmyō was about to get close to Sasori's Hiruko, an opening suddenly appeared at the bottom of its body.
At the same time, a large amount of chakra shot out from this opening.
And with the jet of chakra, it managed to dodge Hyuga Yōmyō's attack and create distance.
The surprise attack tactic had failed.
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