Chapter 188: Cyborg — Dosu Kinuta!
Chunin Exams Finals Arena.
The shockwave caused by Zaku in the previous match had not yet fully subsided. The smell of gunpowder and the complex emotions of the various factions still lingered in the air.
Genma Shiranui, his senbon needle still clamped in his teeth, walked forward again. "Cough. Next up, the second match of the Chunin Selection Exams finals!"
"Hidden Sound, Dosu Kinuta!"
As his voice fell, a Sound ninja slowly walked into the arena. He wore the standard Sound Village ninja uniform. His face was mostly obscured by his forehead protector and mask, revealing only a pair of seemingly calm eyes. As he moved, there was a faint, almost imperceptible sound of mechanical calibration.
"VS."
Genma paused, looking to the other side.
"Hidden Sand, Kankuro!"
Unlike Dosu's low-key entrance, Kankuro's arrival had more traditional ninja flair. His face was painted with purple markings, and he carried a massive, bandage-wrapped scroll on his back—his puppet, "Crow."
"Crow" was no ordinary puppet. Kankuro viewed it as a "masterpiece" into which he had poured his heart and soul, an extension of his will and skill, his pride as a puppeteer. He sized up the Sound ninja opposite him, whose aura felt a bit strange.
Dosu's eyes, shadowed by his forehead protector, calmly swept over Kankuro and the "Crow" behind him.
"Match begin!"
Genma quickly retreated, announcing the start of the duel.
Kankuro didn't hesitate. His hands formed seals rapidly, chakra threads springing from his fingertips to connect with the scroll on his back. "Puppet Jutsu: Release!"
The bandages unraveled quickly, and "Crow" sprang nimbly from the scroll, landing steadily in front of Kankuro. It was a jet-black, menacingly designed humanoid puppet. Its joints were polished smooth, its surface painted with exquisite dark red patterns, maintained meticulously.
"I'll show you what true artistry is!" Kankuro sneered, his fingers dancing.
"Crow," as if given life, suddenly spread its arms, revealing mechanical crossbows hidden beneath its arm guards!
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Several poisoned darts shot through the air, aimed straight at Dosu's face! Immediately after, "Crow" spewed a cloud of pale purple poison gas from its mouth, while sharp claws sprang from its fingertips, coordinating with the dart attack to seal off all of Dosu's possible evasion routes.
It was a fluid combination attack, demonstrating Kankuro's superb control skills as a puppeteer.
However, facing this airtight offense, Dosu's reaction was unimaginably fast. His body moved with inhuman precision and speed, weaving through the gaps in the poison gas and arrow rain. The attacks, originally tricky and ruthless, all missed.
He didn't even dodge a few of the darts, blocking them directly with his arm!
CLANG! CLANG!
Dull metallic impacts rang out! Sparks flew! The darts were deflected, their tips bent and twisted. And the sleeve on Dosu's blocking arm was shredded.
Revealed underneath was not flesh and blood, but a section of gleaming, cold metal, a structurally complex—mechanical arm!
Hydraulic lines were clearly visible on the metal limb, and faint electrical sparks flickered at the joints.
"Wh—what?! So hard?!" The confidence on Kankuro's face froze instantly, his pupils contracting sharply!
The audience erupted in even greater gasps and discussion.
"That guy—his arm is fake?!"
"Is it some kind of special armor? No—it looks like—a direct replacement?!"
"Too weird… that doesn't look like something a human should have!"
Kankuro tried to disrupt his opponent with more complex maneuvers. Under his command, "Crow's" arms suddenly extended, winding toward Dosu. At the same time, the puppet's body separated into several parts, launching a surprise attack from different angles!
"Die! Monster!"
However, facing this even more ferocious assault, Dosu merely raised his head calmly. His eyes, which had been hidden in shadow, were now clearly exposed to everyone.
They weren't human eyes at all! In their place were two multi-prism optical lenses glowing with an eerie red light!
The lenses rotated, seemingly locking onto the trajectory of every part of "Crow" in an instant.
VZZZT—!
Pale blue jets of air suddenly erupted from Dosu's leg prosthetics, and his body shot forward! His speed far exceeded the limits of what the naked human eye could track!
"Bad move!" Alarm bells rang in Kankuro's mind. But before he could react, Dosu had appeared in front of "Crow's" main body. His mechanical arm shot out, fingers gleaming with cold metal light, and grabbed "Crow" directly by the neck!
CRACK!
Pure, brute force! "Crow's" neck, crafted from special wood and metal, was crushed! Sparks and debris flew!
"Bastard!" Kankuro roared, frantically pumping chakra threads, trying to make "Crow's" other parts attack Dosu.
But the shoulder armor on Dosu's other arm suddenly slid open, revealing a dark cannon muzzle!
VMM!
A scorching beam of energy shot out instantly!
BOOM!
One of "Crow's" attacking parts was hit directly by the energy beam and blasted into fragments!
"Impossible!" Kankuro panicked completely. His proud puppetry was so fragile before this "steel monster"! What made him even more desperate was that he felt his chakra threads being interfered with by some invisible force! Dosu's mechanical arm seemed to emit a specific frequency of chakra pulse, making his threads sluggish, even showing signs of breaking!
"It's over," Dosu said in a raspy, emotionless voice.
The weapon ports on his arm opened again. This time, several high-speed vibrating alloy blades popped out!
"Crow's" once agile body was rapidly dismantled amidst the dense cutting sounds!
"No—! Crow!" Kankuro let out a despairing roar.
Just then, the prosthetic mounting points on Dosu's waist suddenly opened, releasing several palm-sized, spider-like multi-legged metal creations! These were "Hound" drones!
They moved swiftly, flashing with dangerous red lights, and immediately scattered. Then, they pounced on the remaining parts of "Crow" and Kankuro himself from different angles!
Some "Hounds" extended sharp cutters from their heads, precisely severing the remaining chakra threads. Others used powerful electromagnetic claws to pin down "Crow's" wreckage, rendering it completely immobile. And a few pounced directly at Kankuro!
Kankuro tried to resist with taijutsu, but his punches and kicks landed on Dosu's torso, covered in composite armor, like scratching an itch. Instead, he was sent flying by a heavy punch from Dosu, crashing heavily to the ground, coughing up blood.
The "Hound" drones surrounded him, their cold metal limbs and weapons aimed at him.
Dosu walked slowly toward Kankuro. The red light of his prosthetic eyes flickered more intensely, and wisps of steam rose from his joints due to the overload of his prosthetics. His mouth, hidden behind the mask, seemed to grin. Or perhaps it was just a spasm of facial muscles caused by disordered neural signals.
"Crow" had been turned into a pile of scrap metal scattered across the arena. Kankuro, covered in injuries, looked at his opponent in despair.
Genma Shiranui took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. After checking Kankuro's condition, he announced loudly:
"Winner—Hidden Sound, Dosu Kinuta!"
Dead silence fell over the arena. Then, an unrest that was even greater than when Zaku won began to stir.
In the spectator stands, many ordinary civilians showed fear and physiological discomfort on their faces. This fighting style of "parts-ification," transforming a living human into a cold weapon, chilled them to their souls.
In the Hidden Sand's seating area, Temari's face was ashen, her fists clenched tight. Baki's eyes were terrifyingly dark.
The Jonin on the Konoha side also wore exceptionally grave expressions. "Just how much technology is the Hidden Sound hiding?"
Dosu calmly recalled his "Hound" drones. His prosthetics emitted a soft cooling sound as he turned and silently left the arena.
The murmurs in the venue grew louder, people's fear of these "cyborgs" mixing with worry for the future.
Genma Shiranui coughed loudly a few times, trying to draw everyone's attention back. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Quiet! Everyone!"
"Next up, will be!"
His gaze turned to two directions in the participant seating area.
"Konoha Genin, Naruto Uzumaki!"
"VS."
"Konoha Genin, Neji Hyuga!"