Strength alone doesn't always decide the outcome of a battle. There are far too many unpredictable factors in combat. A moment of arrogance or carelessness had left Dosu at a serious disadvantage.
If he had played it right from the beginning, there would still have been a good chance of victory. Unfortunately, his injuries affected his performance. When two fighters are evenly matched, even small disadvantages can be crucial. Worse yet, Sakura Haruno was exactly the type of opponent most difficult to handle—a medical ninja. If soundwave attacks proved ineffective, the only remaining option was a war of attrition, relying on physical stamina advantages to defeat her. Regretfully, the serious injury at the start made all other considerations irrelevant. Continuing like this, Dosu himself would collapse first.
Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared beside Mizuki in the stadium seating area where the fight was being watched, revealing Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi.
"What the hell are you two doing here? I thought you were supposed to be looking after the bigwigs upstairs," Mizuki said. He wasn't unfamiliar with them—considering Asuma's experience as a Guardian Shinobi and being the Hokage's son, he was perfect for interacting with VIPs.
Asuma lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, then replied, "We're shorthanded down here, so we came to lend a hand. Most of the honored guests upstairs already have their own bodyguards, so it's not too much of a concern right now."
"Oh, I thought maybe you came down just to cheer for Shikamaru."
"No need. Shikamaru's smart—he always finds a way to win if he wants to. The Chunin Exams won't be any problem for him." Asuma clearly had great confidence in Shikamaru Nara's abilities. "Honestly though, when did Sakura get this strong? Completely dominating Dosu—who earlier left Choji unable to fight back at all. Kakashi's team really is impressive. This is Kakashi's first time leading Genin, and look how impressive they are—it makes other Jonin feel downright inadequate."
"The timing and technique she used to break that genjutsu at the beginning were truly perfect," Kurenai Yuhi added. As a genjutsu specialist herself, her observations of details were more sensitive and refined. "And that swirling chakra covering her entire body—what exactly is that? It actually managed to block the damage from sound wave attacks?"
For skilled ninja with good chakra control, maintaining chakra over their entire body isn't that hard. What was remarkable was maintaining such continuous chakra flow while allowing flexible variations. Even Jonin could do something similar, though combining such flexibility with effective combat ability was extremely challenging.
Seeing Sakura steadily overpower Dosu brought Mizuki some relief. Her success proved his plan was working. Actually, Mizuki had more than just one or two countermeasures available against Dosu's Rupture Pulse attack. Sound-based techniques at this level were practically insignificant before true experts. However, most advanced countermeasures were just beyond what average Genin could handle.
Given Sakura's level of training, Mizuki knew only Breath-Sealing Art and Chakra Shield would be practical options for use in the Chunin Exams. Considering these techniques' characteristics, what Sakura actually managed was quite impressive.
Breath-Sealing Art creates an omnipresent chakra source throughout one's body, whereas Chakra Shield is a chakra-control technique incorporating sealing methods. Because of Breath-Sealing Art's nature, no-hand-seal techniques like Chakra Shield could be activated without forming hand seals.
Creating a shield similar to Gaara's Sand Cloak Technique wasn't difficult for Sakura. However, since both jutsu were newly learned, the protective capability remained fragile. Plus, Sakura's chakra nature lacked the hardened density of Gaara's compressed sand—perhaps even a single heavy punch could pierce through it.
But against wave-based attacks like this, nothing worked better. Although soundwave attacks carried immense power, they were fundamentally just air vibrations. More complicated countermeasures were beyond the scope of Sakura's current abilities. However, by using water-natured chakra shape transformation combined with noise-canceling principles, greatly weakening the impact became surprisingly simple. Whether through vacuum noise cancellation, porous noise reduction, or resonance suppression—guiding the chakra according to the direction of attack, the power of Rupture Pulse lost most of its effectiveness after passing through the Chakra Shield. As long as Sakura reacted in time and adjusted her chakra accordingly, Dosu wouldn't find any opportunity.
Those without insight might think the battle intense; those who understood instantly recognized Sakura's strength. Unless something unexpected occurred, victory was merely a matter of time.
"Huh? No, something's wrong. Dosu's going all-out," Mizuki clearly observed the battlefield changes below.
Subtle shifts often signaled impending change. Dosu, continuously on the offensive, now seemed to lose momentum and gradually fell into defense.
[Bait them deeper—looks like he's making one final gamble.]
Growing stronger with each clash, Sakura gradually pushed Dosu into a desperate situation.
Eventually, Dosu appeared gravely injured and unable to resist further, his left shoulder pierced directly by Sakura's Chakra Scalpel. The previously bandaged wound ripped open once more, worse than before.
"I win," Sakura confidently declared upon witnessing this.
"You win?" Dosu gave an eerie grin. Suddenly, his seemingly immobile left hand shot out, tightly grasping Sakura's right arm. "This time you won't escape me."
Before his words faded, his right fist flew straight ahead, piercing through the thin layer of chakra protecting Sakura, striking heavily into her abdomen. No longer relying on soundwave attacks, this blow was pure physical force—direct and brutal. With the barrier shattered, Rupture Pulse resumed its effect. The sheer force wrenched Dosu's left arm away from the grip as Sakura was blasted backward through the air.
For the first time in quite a while, Dosu seized the initiative. Quickly closing in, he aimed to deliver a decisive blow while Sakura had yet to land properly, hoping to ensure his win.
The sudden turn caught Sakura off guard, but fortunately not enough to throw her into panic. Her left palm rapidly activated Mystical Palm Technique to heal her abdominal wound midair, while her right hand swept outward, forming a thread of chakra that extended toward a nearby tree branch. With a strong pull, she swung sideways, dodging the follow-up strike Dosu launched upward from below, then crashed heavily onto the ground, sliding several meters away.
Meanwhile, that series of rapid moves had exhausted Dosu's remaining strength, leaving him temporarily incapable of chasing further.
The rapid shift of events stunned spectators in the stadium seating area. Especially because what had been a slow-paced fight suddenly intensified with shocking violence, igniting intense excitement among the crowd.
Listening to the ignorant crowd shouting their cheers, Mizuki watched Sakura struggle to her feet after having just suffered a serious defeat.
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