"Erm... now then." Hayate coughed. "I would like to get right to the next match."

"I don't like this. She's taking too long." Naruto grumbled.

Sakura opened her mouth to agree, but Kakashi appeared behind them in a small puff of smoke.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura turned and smiled at him at the same time.

"Yo!" He smiled slightly at them and raised a hand in greeting.

"No, not 'yo!' Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura put her hands on her hips. "What took you so long?!"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded along with her as she spoke, and then crossed his arms. "And where's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke's fine and resting in the infirmary at the moment."

Sakura looked down slightly and Kakashi stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Well, resting with several ANBU guarding him..."

"Say, say, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto scrunched his face in thought and turned to the Jonin. "Did you happen to see Natsumi on your way back? She's been gone a long time."

Images flashed in Kakashi's mind, of his lightning-infused hand piercing through the girl's chest, though her face shifted between Natsumi's and another girl's. He suppressed the memories, then rubbed the back of his head and gave a shrug.

"Can't say I did."

"Hmph." Naruto grumbled and thought. "Where is she?"

"Look!" Sakura pointed toward the monitor, which displayed two new names:

Tsurugi Misumi

vs

Kankuro

"Hm?" Naruto turned to where she pointed and read the names under his breath, then scratched his cheek. "Huh... one of those names sounds familiar for some reason."

"Hey." Temari nudged her brother's side and averted his eyes from the door

"Temari, what now—?" Kankuro blinked and looked over at the names, and then closed his eyes for a moment. "So, it's finally my turn?" He cracked open one eye and smirked. "Let's get this over with."

"Kankuro is completely underestimating this..." Baki raised his brow and looked at the boy with his brows furrowed deeply. "Not only that, but he keeps getting distracted because of that girl. Not a good combination."

"Idiot." Gaara glanced at Kankuro from the corner of his eye.

Kankuro stepped out into position in the center of the room and Naruto's eyes widened slightly.

"It's that guy!" Naruto looked at the other fighter. "And he was one of Kabuto's teammates, right?"

"She's still not back." Kankuro glanced up at the observation platform and frowned slightly. "...Not that I really care where she is. But it is kinda strange to just leave like that." He stopped walking when his opponent stood directly in front of him, with Hayate to the side.

"Unlike Yoroi, I don't get careless with kids." Misumi addressed him gruffly from behind his mask.

"Heh." Kankuro smirked slightly. "I don't need you to be careless for me to win."

"I'll give you just one warning. Once I do my technique, you would be wise to give up." Misumi adjusted his glasses. "This will be over quickly."

"In that case, I guess I'll also..." Kankuro tugged at the bandage that slung over his shoulder, removing the heavy object from his back, and then rested it on the ground with a thud. "End this quickly."

Misumi narrowed his eyes and Hayate coughed and looked between them.

"Now then, if you'll begin the third battle..."

"Not if I won't let you do anything." Misumi rushed at Kankuro and swung his arm at him. "The first to strike gets a surefire victory!"

Kankuro blocked Misumi's attack and his eyes darted toward the doorway as a familiar redheaded girl walked through. "She's finally back. Talk about timing."

"You can't afford to get distracted." Misumi chuckled and his body contorted. Kankuro's eyes widened as Misumi's arms and legs stretched and extended, then wrapped all around his body to immobilize him.

"Woah that's amazing, ya know!" Naruto's eyes widened and he gripped the railing. "Kinda weird, but totally cool! I don't really get what's with his body, but I don't think that clown-faced guy is going to get out of that."

That's really freaky. Natsumi made a face from where she continued to stand in the doorway as she watched the match unfold, and her cheeks blushed slightly as Kankuro met her eyes. He can't do anything like that.

"Damn it. I was wrong about the timing..." Kankuro met her eyes, then shifted and tried to move, though he couldn't. "She finally comes back and I'm here looking like a loser."

Misumi squeezed his arms and legs around Kankuro and chuckled again. "You should give up, brat. With my Chakra, I can soften my body at will, then stretch and contort is as I see fit. And then, I'll dislocate every joint in your body."

"With Chakra?" Sakura repeated to herself. "I didn't know you could use Chakra in that way."

"Like a serpent, I can constrict my opponents until their bones break or dislocate. Give up now, or you'll end up in pieces. I don't know what kind of Ninja Tool you were planning on using, but it doesn't make a difference if I break your neck right now. This is your last chance to give up."

"Heh. I don't think so." Kankuro smirked and turned his gaze from Natsumi to look at Misumi from the corner of his eyes.

"Do you want to die?" Misumi constriction tightened.

"You're the one who's going to die." He glanced at Natsumi and winked. "Enjoy the show."

With a snap, Kankuro's head hung limp and eyes widened all around the room.

Natsumi froze as his head dangled from the joint and covered her mouth to suppress a soft squeak of shock.

W-What?! W-Why did he...?! Just like that..?!

"His neck... is broken." A bead of sweat rolled down Lee's temple.

"W-What?!" Naruto and Sakura turned to him— Sakura with her mouth gaping, and Naruto with his jaw clenched.

"How ridiculous." Gaara scowled and looked away.

"Well, that's that." Hayate let out a breath.

"Idiot." Misumi scoffed and loosened his grip on the boy's body. "I ended up going overboard and actually killing you."

W-Wait a minute... Natsumi blinked and narrowed her eyes. Cracks formed over Kankuro's face, and flesh-colored pieces fell to the ground.

"What?!" Misumi's eyes widened as the body twitched and the head suddenly turned around and revealed the wooden face of a puppet.

"Alright, now it's my turn." The puppet's mouth clacked as it spoke in a guttural, echoed version of Kankuro's voice.

Four wooden, segmented puppet arms burst out of his clothes and wrapped around Misumi's middle tightly, constricting his arms entirely. The remainder of the false face fell off and the puppet's mouth clacked quickly as if laughing.

"I-It's a puppet?!" Misumi struggled against its grip to no avail.

A hand stuck out of the bandaged object on the ground. With a tug, the bandages unraveled and revealed Kankuro kneeling. His eyes were closed as he smirked with his back to his opponent, and Misumi's eyes widened.

"That's the real body?!" Misumi looked at the boy's hands, where nearly-invisible threads of Chakra connected to his fingertips. "He's a Puppet Master!"

A substitution? Natsumi relaxed slightly. He switched places with a puppet... that's impressive. And a relief.

Kankuro's fingers flexed and he closed his fists, and the puppet responded in turn, tightening its grip around Misumi.

"Incredible! He's controlling the puppet with Chakra from his hand." Sakura murmured.

Misumi grunted and his bones creaked from the puppet's increasing pressure.

"Now, then... this puppet is equipped with blades along each of its arms, in addition to its obvious crushing capabilities. I can use my Crow to snap you in half or slice you until you die from blood loss... or a messy combination of both." Kankuro smirked and looked over his shoulder at him. Misumi gritted his teeth and glanced between the puppet and its master stubbornly, and Kankuro flexed his fingers to tighten Crow's embrace.

"If that's how it's going to be, then..." Serrated blades popped out of the puppet's arms and pierced into Misumi's flesh.

Misumi shouted in pain, blood dripping to the floor and Kankuro chuckled.

"What'll it be? Do you have a way to pitifully attempt to get out of this? Or are you going to be smart and forfeit? If you'd rather die, I'd be happy to arrange that for you. Then again... if your body is crushed, then you'll be able to bend even more, right?"

Hayate brought a hand up to muffle a cough as he looked between the Ninja. "For once, I was close to stopping a match in the middle.

Misumi groaned and then slumped forward slightly. "I-I... g-give up! I give up!"

"Heh. Child's play."

Kankuro closed his eyes and the puppet fell to the floor, limp. Misumi lost consciousness on impact, and Hayate coughed again and held up his hand.

"The winner, by an inability to continue the match by the opponent, is Kankuro."

Kankuro looked at Natsumi from the corner of his eyes, then stood and put a hand on his hip. "Pretty cool, right?"

Temari shook her head slightly, touching her forehead as she sighed and muttered under her breath. "What a show-off."

A pair of Medics carried Misumi away on a stretcher and Kankuro turned to retrieve his puppet, quickly cleaning it of blood as he channeled his Chakra and the puppet shuddered. The blood splattered onto the floor, and Sakura shuddered slightly.

"Two against one is kind of unfair, isn't it, ya know?" Naruto squinted, pointing at the puppet and then looking at Kakashi. "Does that seem fair to you, Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's not necessarily two against one. It is a puppet, after all. It's no different than if you were to a Kunai in your own match, Naruto." Kakashi replied.

"That's the Puppet Matter Technique." Sakura held up her finger to lecture Naruto. "You control the puppet with Chakra. It's considered to be a difficult technique to master, and from what I've read before, the skill of the puppet master is displayed by how many puppets he can control at a time."

"How many you can control at a time, huh?" Naruto scratched his head. "Well, he's only got one, so I guess that means he's nothing special, right?"

"I would not be so quick to underestimate his skill." Hasu interjected politely. "Those who are puppet masters also commonly use a variety of poisons, some they craft themselves. Not only that, but the primary method of puppet combat is with ambush or deception. The puppets themselves are designed to have any number of hidden weapons, ranging from blades to poisonous gas. Their variety is quite fascinating, and each puppet master should be taken seriously as a formidable opponent."

"That's exactly right." Kakashi nodded slightly at Hasu.

"Huh?" Naruto crossed his arms and looked at the boy. "How did you know all that?"

"I have been doing quite a bit of reading of late." Hasu smiled sheepishly. "I've been acquainting myself with the histories of the Shinobi villages and the three Great Shinobi Wars."

"You're studying all that?" Naruto blinked. "Why? You're not even a Ninja."

"It might sound strange, but I am fascinated by Shinobi culture. It's very different than anything I have seen or experienced growing up."

"Hasu's also apparently an expert on the history and construction of this tower." Kiri's mouth twitched in a faint smirk and she held up a hand. "I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you all about it."

Hasu's eyes lit up for a moment, and Sakura and Naruto shared a look before rubbing their heads.

"N-No thanks."

"M-Maybe later."

Natsumi watched Kankuro return to the upper level and stand beside the other Suna Ninja.

That was really unexpected, but a good match. I've never seen anyone use a Puppet in person, but that was cool.

Her cheeks flushed as he caught her eye, and she quickly looked away and hurried up the opposite stairs to join her brother again.

I don't know why he keeps looking at me, but it feels almost embarrassing, as if... he was trying to show off in front of me.

"Natsumi!" Naruto beamed and called out to her as she approached, waving as he did. "What took you so long?! You missed the match!"

"No, I saw it." She smiled and shook her head. "I didn't want to interrupt anything by coming back in the middle of the fight, so I waited until it was over."

"Man, you took so long, ya know." Naruto groaned. "What were you up to, anyway?"

"U-Uh..." She pressed her lips together, then glanced at Kakashi before quickly averting her eyes. "Nothing, really. I'm back now, though, so that's what matters."

Sakura furrowed her brows slightly and looked around the room as she thought. "Everyone here is so good with their Chakra. I thought I could make it pretty far with the level of Chakra control that I have now, but...these Shinobi are all on a completely different level."

"I wonder who's gonna fight next?" Naruto looked around, then crossed his arms. "I hope I get called soon. Watching these matches is getting me really pumped up."

"Don't be too eager to rush into a fight, Naruto." Kakashi looked at the blond. "It's best to use what time you have to prepare as best you can."

"But that sounds so boring." Naruto complained. "Fighting's supposed to be about action, ya know."

"Naruto, there is more than one way to fight." Natsumi smiled faintly and shook her head. "Fighting smarter means less wasted effort."

"Yeah, yeah, but..." He scratched his head. "How am I supposed to prepare for a fight anyway? I don't even know who I'm gonna be paired against."

"That's why you should observe all the different examinees left and see what you can learn about them. Even their appearance could reveal a lot of important information." Natsumi crossed her arms. "How a Ninja wears their hair or how they dress can tell you about their fighting style."

"Eh? I'm supposed to try to figure out all that about all of these guys that are left?" Naruto counted the remaining Genin left and then let out a heavy sigh. "You're asking for too much, ya know."

"Well, then it's a good thing your sister is here." Natsumi stood next to him and winked. "I can help."

"Really? Yes!" Naruto grinned and crossed his arms behind his head. "I'm sure we'll come up with a surefire way for me to win together."

Kakashi and Kiri looked down where the Hokage stood, watching him speaking quietly to Hayate and the other Chunin.

"What's that about?" Kakashi put his hands into his pockets, and Hayate stepped out in the center of the floor and cleared his throat.

"If I can have your attention... we will be having a brief intermission before we continue with the matches. We will resume in thirty minutes. That is all."

"Huh? A break?" Naruto asked. "Aw, man."

"Well, let's not complain." Kakashi turned to him. "After all, it's important to rest as well in order to reserve your energy for your own fight."

"I guess so."

"A thirty-minute break, huh?" Sakura stretched slightly and smiled. "Well, I won't complain."