Kankuro was full of confidence. Puppet: Corpse Crow had been equipped with many new mechanisms, and now he needed to control the six blades from Black Ant to keep Ino occupied. Without being able to focus fully on Corpse Crow, he couldn't make any precise movements with the puppet, but he could still manage to attack using its built-in mechanisms.
Truthfully, Kankuro's original plan had been to win solely using Puppet: Corpse Crow. As for Black Ant and Sanshouo, he had intended to reveal them during the Leaf Destruction Plan. However, much to his dismay, Corpse Crow had proven ineffective against Ino. Left with no choice, Kankuro decided to deploy both Black Ant and Sanshouo. Although he disliked the idea of exposing his trump cards too early, his youthful pride refused to accept defeat in his very first match.
"Trying to hit me with poison needles? You must've forgotten something," Ino said, watching the incoming needles fly toward her at high speed. Her hands glowed brightly with Chaos Magic, radiating a deep crimson aura like splattered blood. "I'm not just someone who defends! When it comes to offense, I'm just as skilled!"
The six blades wrapped in Chaos Magic quickly moved before her, forming a small shield. The poison needles struck the blades, producing a series of sharp clinking sounds. However, due to their small size and reliance on poison rather than physical force, the needles failed to penetrate the blade-formed barrier. After three waves of attacks were blocked, the blades remained completely undamaged.
"How about I send your blades right back at you?"
With a powerful swing of her arm, Ino sent all six blades — along with the arms of Black Ant attached behind them — spinning straight toward Kankuro.
[Black Secret Jutsu: Puppet Shield]
Kankuro immediately abandoned his attempt to wrest control of the blades from Ino and instead connected to Sanshouo. In an instant, the shield on Sanshouo's back sprang up, securely protecting Kankuro behind it.
Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!
A series of six loud impacts rang out. The blades of Black Ant had failed to break through Sanshouo's defense, allowing Kankuro to finally exhale in relief.
[Black Secret Jutsu: Sanshouo]
At that moment, the ground beneath Ino suddenly trembled. The puppet Sanshouo unexpectedly emerged from underground directly beneath her feet, opening its shield to trap her inside.
Meanwhile, the Sanshouo that had just blocked the earlier attack transformed into a strange puppet with a pair of red horns on its head — the true form of the six-bladed Black Ant.
"First you used Sanshouo to block my attack, then quickly switched places by transforming another puppet into the appearance of Sanshouo while the real Sanshouo burrowed underground to ambush me. Then, when I was off guard, you burst out suddenly to trap me within your puppet shield and strike me?"
Realization struck her in an instant. Her frequent sparring sessions with Kakashi helped her instantly figure out Kankuro's strategy. As the puppet Sanshouo approached, Ino mid-leap displayed no sign of panic; instead, she appeared calm and composed.
"Chaos Magic isn't just useful for controlling physical objects. By harnessing its power, I can achieve brief midair hovering. It doesn't last long, but it's enough to evade Sanshouo's attacks."
Once again, the crimson glow of Chaos Magic appeared in Ino's hands as her body, already beginning to fall due to gravity, used the air itself as leverage and soared upward once more.
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two: Kankuro's Melancholy [End]
"What? She can actually fly? How is that even possible?"
Kankuro, who had been full of confidence moments ago, looked as if his eyes might pop out of their sockets in shock. According to his original plan, he was certain that Sanshouo's sudden underground attack would trap Ino. But at this crucial moment, just as she was about to descend, she suddenly shot upward again. Sanshouo wasn't a flying puppet, and after leaping up a certain distance, it naturally began to fall back down. The distance between them widened dramatically in an instant.
"Are you disappointed?" Ino landed on the ground not far from Sanshouo and looked at the stunned Kankuro. "Do you really think your plan has a high success rate? Let me be honest—we've long gotten used to these surprise underground attacks!"
Ino wasn't lying. Naruto often attacked by suddenly bursting up from underground—especially when combined with his numerous Shadow Clones, a move that was next to impossible to defend against. Kakashi also liked to use Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique as his go-to move against them. Truthfully, as soon as Sanshouo started moving beneath the ground, Ino had already sensed it. After getting taken down by that move so many times, they'd basically developed an instinctive reaction to it.
"Tch! Nobody knows who'll win or lose until the last moment!"
Kankuro had already lost his earlier overconfidence, but there was no way he'd admit defeat directly. He had already unleashed all his techniques, summoning all three of his puppets. Having not defeated his opponent yet, how could he possibly accept losing so easily?
"Then let's see what else you're capable of!" Crimson energy churned in Ino's palm. "If this is all Sunagakure's puppet masters are capable of, then I'm truly disappointed!"
"Don't underestimate Sunagakure's puppet masters!"
A flicker of displeasure flashed through Kankuro's eyes. Karasu, whose limbs had previously been shattered, stood up again—but this time, its arms were replaced with those of Black Ant. They weren't as smooth to control as the originals, but they still maintained enough lethality to fight.
[Black Secret Technique: Six Blades from the Trunk]
Rushing toward Ino at high speed, Karasu ejected six sharp blades from rib-like compartments in its chest as it charged forward to slash at her.
"Defending nonstop is getting old. Besides, I've already figured out the basic combat methods of puppet masters. Relying entirely on puppets for fighting strength makes them extremely vulnerable—if the puppets are destroyed, or someone manages to close in on the puppet master's real body, then the puppet master has nothing left but death!"
As she saw Karasu's attack coming, Ino showed disappointment. Puppet masters' offense and defense overly depend on their puppets. Once separated from them, or if an enemy bypasses the puppets to threaten the puppet master directly, then the puppet master has no choice but to face inevitable slaughter.
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