Dosu stared at Sakura Haruno standing before him. Other than her unusually vibrant hair color, he couldn't understand why someone like her could even compete in the same arena as himself. He had been hoping to face Sasuke Uchiha much earlier.
Back in the Forest of Death, Dosu had already witnessed Sakura's abilities. Besides her unexpectedly strong Barrier Technique talent, she also possessed formidable Genjutsu. But what use was that under these circumstances? She was clearly on a completely different level from himself. The only reason she'd made it this far was through capable teammates and incredible luck, which Dosu believed marked the limit of Sakura's potential.
"Let's finish this quickly. I hope I can meet Sasuke Uchiha soon and accomplish my mission."
As soon as Hayate signaled the start of the match with a downward wave of his arm, Dosu eagerly rushed forward, swinging his right arm powerfully toward Sakura, attempting to knock her down with one punch.
"Too arrogant! Attacking recklessly without even knowing your opponent's true strength, not even bothering with basic probing moves—you're about to suffer consequences."
Mizuki, watching from the stadium seating area, shook his head seeing Dosu charge straight in like this. As leader of the three Otogakure ninja, steadiness had always been one of Dosu's better traits, along with maintaining an outward appearance of humility and courtesy. But recent changes must have placed great pressure on him for such a careless mistake to happen. It appeared that Sakura was about to gain an early advantage.
Sure enough, the Haruno Sakura that Dosu expected to hit effortlessly had strangely dodged his attack.
"Missed? No, it's Genjutsu. When did she use it? There wasn't even the slightest sign!" Dosu immediately recognized Sakura's countermeasure. Back in the Forest of Death, she had used similar Genjutsu techniques to trouble Sakon.
"That girl wasn't just skilled in Barrier Techniques—her Genjutsu was impressive too. I underestimated her."
But Dosu remained unfazed. His sound-based attack—Rupture Pulse—wasn't something one could simply dodge.
Unfortunately for Dosu, things wouldn't go exactly as he planned. Three shuriken streaked toward him from the right at blinding speed. Surprised, Dosu hastily raised his armored arm to block. But that wasn't all—he then noticed Sakura suddenly appear behind his left side, rapidly closing the distance. Her right arm sliced forward like a blade, infused with chakra, aimed straight at his heart.
"There's no way to dodge now. How could she be so fast?" Though caught off guard, Dosu's years of combat experience and survival instincts allowed him to narrowly avoid a fatal strike. He twisted his body desperately, but his right shoulder blade and upper left arm were still sliced open by Sakura's Chakra Scalpel, blood streamed steadily from the wound.
Rather than retreating, the experienced Dosu performed a half-turn and swung his Rupture Pulse again, sweeping horizontally toward Sakura's chest and abdomen area.
"This time it's not Genjutsu—it's real. Let's see how you'll dodge."
Even while enduring the intense pain from his injuries, Dosu wouldn't waste this rare opportunity to land a decisive strike. Among Genin, his strength truly stood out. Indeed, he truly was a battle-hardened warrior who had clawed his way to the top in Otogakure's brutal hierarchy.
However, Sakura lightly leaped aside, narrowly dodging Dosu's swinging right fist. Then she rapidly retreated to create distance.
Dosu didn't pursue either. Instead, he quickly backed off, using the strength of his right hand and teeth to swiftly bandage his wound.
"How is this possible? My [Rupture Pulse] really had no effect?"
If the first time could be blamed on his arrogance leading him to fall into a genjutsu without realizing it, this time was definitely Sakura's real body. Being hit by sound waves at point-blank range and suffering no harm went against all logic — it was truly shocking.
Many spectators probably found the match quite confusing. First, Dosu suddenly punched at thin air, then unexpectedly got injured by Sakura's attack. He swung again but missed once more, wearing an expression of utter bewilderment. Those unfamiliar with Dosu's [Rupture Pulse] technique might struggle to understand what was happening.
Only experienced ninjas could appreciate the subtleties of this duel.
First, while Hayate was signaling the start of the match, Sakura cleverly used the opportunity to bow respectfully as if showing courtesy, but actually activated a genjutsu secretly. Then she took advantage of Dosu's arrogant attempt to seize initiative, striking him down before he could react. Afterward, she twice mysteriously countered his insidious sound wave attacks that seemed to penetrate everywhere.
"Huh? Has Sakura's match started already?" Suddenly, Naruto with his loud voice appeared beside Mizuki.
"Why are you so late? Hardly anyone cheered for Sakura earlier. Your teammates and teacher weren't even here — your team's sense of unity seems pretty questionable."
"As long as smug Sasuke stops constantly showing off trying to impress Sakura, Team 7 won't have any problems," Naruto said. "I just wasted some time getting treatment from a medical ninja earlier. But judging by how things look now, Sakura seems to be doing great. That bandaged guy over there is really strong — he knocked out Choji who was so full of spirit with one strike, yet Sakura is actually gaining the upper hand. How did she do it?"
"Anyway, let's cheer properly for Sakura. If she wins, she'll face you in the next round."
"Eh, come to think of it, that really is the case." Naruto had always focused only on Sasuke and his current opponent Neji Hyuga, never expecting he would eventually have to fight Sakura. It was totally unbelievable.
However, the audience reaction remained somewhat dull. Their fighting styles and techniques weren't flashy, so the battle felt dull until blood was drawn during Dosu's attack, when the crowd finally showed some enthusiasm.
Even though the initial situation was disadvantageous and he himself sustained serious injuries, these hadn't yet affected his combat effectiveness. After several rounds of intense combat, Dosu finally realized his ultimate secret weapon — the Rupture Pulse — had absolutely no effect on Sakura.
It wasn't that it had no impact at all, but rather most of its power was somehow neutralized, failing to produce immediate effects like before. If he increased the speed and frequency of attacks, he could still injure his opponent — evidence of this lay in the faint bloody scratches now visible on Sakura's arms.
Watching Sakura Haruno using Medical Ninjutsu to heal the kinds of injuries that could've messed up the fight, Dosu suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through his head. The wounds on his left shoulder and arm felt like they were about to tear open again. If things kept going like this, regular bandages wouldn't cut it anymore. He didn't have access to Medical Ninjutsu like his opponent did. Things were definitely heading downhill fast.
Was it really as I feared—we're nothing but disposable pieces, easily thrown away? Is this where we fall—without even getting to face Sasuke Uchiha? I've always known my place, but I still can't accept it.
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