"Did Naruto... get poisoned?"
In the spectator gallery, Sakura asked worriedly, watching as Naruto remained inside the cloud of poison smoke.
Given his speed, he should have been able to break out of the ten-meter radius of the cloud in an instant. Why was he taking so long?
"Don't worry. Naruto is smart. He won't fall for something like that so easily," Goku said from beside her, crossing his arms and watching the field with a smile.
On the field, seeing Naruto engulfed by his poison smoke, Kankuro wore a triumphant expression.
"Hehe, once you inhale my poison, no matter how strong you are, you're destined to lose to me!"
Laughing smugly, he commanded his Crow puppet to open its mouth. Inside, several needles glinting with ominous green poison were poised to fire.
'Once you come out, I'll hit you with a few poisoned senbon. I guarantee you'll be wailing in agony and begging for mercy on the spot!'
He stared intently at the edges of the smoke cloud, ready to deliver the fatal blow the moment his opponent emerged.
Meanwhile, inside the smoke.
Naruto pinched his nose, his large eyes scanning the swirling purple haze around him.
'This guy actually uses tricks like this!'
'Good thing I reacted fast and didn't breathe any of it in.'
Although he hadn't sensed any immediate danger from the smoke bombs before they exploded, he had remained vigilant, knowing his opponent wouldn't use a useless move.
So, the moment they burst, he had held his breath, avoiding inhaling even a mouthful of the poison.
But after ensuring his safety, he didn't rush to escape. instead, he stood quietly within the smoke.
'Goku-sensei said that ki has many uses. One of them is to manifest it as a tangible force and blast it outwards.'
'That time against Gato's men, Goku-sensei used that move to send them flying.'
'So, I can use that same move to blow this poison smoke away, maybe even send it right back at Kankuro so he can taste his own medicine!'
The reason he hadn't rushed out was that this idea had suddenly struck him. Rather than being chased around by the poison, it was better to return the favour and give him a taste of his own medicine!
With this thought, a smirk appeared on his face. He began to raise his ki, preparing to release it in an explosive burst once it reached its peak!
Outside, Kankuro, who had long since prepared his follow-up attack, was beginning to get suspicious. 'Did the poison knock him out immediately?'
He distinctly remembered his poison wasn't that potent! Or was this guy actually weak, and he had been hallucinating earlier?
He looked at the proctor, Hayate Gekko, and saw a strange expression on his face as well, but no sign that he was about to call the match.
So, Kankuro had no choice but to turn back and keep watching the smoke. Just then, a low shout echoed from within the cloud.
"HAAAH—!!"
In the next instant, BOOM!!
The smoke suddenly began to churn violently, as if a wild beast were thrashing inside, and was blasted outwards in all directions.
If someone were looking down from directly above, they would see a clear, eye-like void suddenly appear in the centre of the smoke cloud. In that void stood Naruto, his body enveloped in a flaring white aura.
WHOOSH—!!
Driven by the powerful currents of air generated from the center, the poison smoke dispersed rapidly, rushing towards Kankuro in the blink of an eye.
"What?!"
Kankuro's face filled with shock. Does he know Wind Style?!
Shocked as he was, he retreated rapidly. As the creator of the poison, he knew its potency. While it wouldn't kill, it would definitely put someone in the hospital for a while.
"What a reckless guy," Hayate muttered from the sidelines. Seeing the smoke spreading towards him, he drew his sword and swung it.
Whoosh!!
A portion of the smoke was instantly blown towards the exit by the wind from his sword, but a large amount still lingered in the arena, drifting towards the spectators.
On the gallery, Kakashi saw the smoke approaching and began to form hand seals for a Wind Style jutsu to blow it away. But someone next to him was faster.
"HUUUUH—!!!"
Goku took a deep breath and blew out forcefully.
In an instant, a powerful gale erupted, sweeping all the poison smoke out of the tower with lightning speed.
Kakashi stopped his hand seals and looked at Goku with a wry smile. "Goku, leave it to you."
Apart from Goku, he had never seen anyone use such a simple and crude method.
"Haha!" Goku rubbed his nose with a grin after being praised.
With the smoke cleared, Hayate glanced at Goku, then at Kankuro, who had retreated into a corner and barely avoided the cloud.
"Poison smoke is prohibited for the rest of the match unless you can guarantee it won't affect anyone else in the arena."
If this were an open-air arena, using poison smoke would be fine, as it would disperse quickly.
But this was a relatively enclosed space with only one exit to the outside world.
Once disturbed, like by Naruto's burst of air, the smoke would spread rapidly within the arena, easily affecting bystanders.
"Hmph. Understood," Kankuro replied impatiently, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
He had thought for a second he was going to inhale his own poison. Luckily, someone had stepped in to blow it away.
But he didn't care who had helped him. To him, this help was a humiliation. What kind of poison user almost gets poisoned by his own toxin because of his opponent?
"You bastard! I'm definitely going to kill you!"
He looked at Naruto, who was standing in the centre of the arena, giving a peace sign to the spectators, not even sparing him a glance. Anger boiled up inside him. Was this guy mocking him?
With old grudges and new hatred piling up, his rage reached a boiling point. He commanded his Crow puppet to attack Naruto fiercely.
"Secret Technique: Machine One Shot!"
Thwip, thwip, thwip!
As the Crow puppet charged, its mouth suddenly fired kunai in rapid bursts of three. These kunai, whistling through the air, not only targeted Naruto but also sealed off his dodge paths to the left and right.
"Let's see where you run now!" Kankuro smirked.
But in the next second, his smile froze. Upon seeing the attack, Naruto bent his knees.
BOOM!!
His body launched into the air like a rocket, perfectly dodging all the incoming attacks.
Then, like an eagle swooping down on its prey, Naruto dove towards the Crow puppet.
When he was directly above it, he raised his right leg and brought it down in a powerful axe kick aimed straight at its head!
It all happened too fast for Kankuro to react. He could only watch as Naruto's attack landed on Crow's head.
BANG!!
The Crow puppet was smashed to the ground by the blow.
A second later, several cracking sounds were heard. Cracks appeared on Crow's sturdy head, spreading rapidly.
CRASH!!
Before long, the Crow puppet's head shattered into dozens of pieces, scattering across the floor—much like Kankuro's heart.
"Hey! Got any other moves? Bring them out! That little trick wasn't enough!" Naruto said, thumbing his nose with a face full of confidence.