"Not at all! It was just an impulse..." Daigan quickly denied, insisting he had no such strange predilections.
Just then, the match below officially began, capturing everyone's attention and freeing Daigan from the "hell of their gazes."
***
Aburame Shino, with his extremely low-key presence, didn't leave much of an impression.
With his cool high-collared jacket and black sunglasses, he spoke in a detached manner and rarely showed emotion, to the point that even his classmates of many years would sometimes unintentionally overlook him.
Though his appearance was a bit strange and unsociable, he was actually a very reliable teammate.
His meticulous observational skills, combined with a rational way of thinking, allowed him to make an impact in ways others never expected.
As members of one of Konoha's most mysterious clans of insect users, the Aburame family was renowned throughout the ninja world as master insect manipulators.
They used their own bodies as nests and offered their chakra as tribute to nurture their Parasitic Destruction Insects in exchange for the insects' aid in battle.
"A kunoichi, and a puppet master?"
Kankuro had been the first to fight, but his opponent, Yamanaka Ino, had been defeated so quickly that it was hard to get a clear picture.
Then the physically imposing taijutsu user Rock Lee had unleashed a stunningly powerful technique, only to be defeated by Daigan, leaving a deep impression on the inexperienced Konoha rookies.
"Do you have a problem with kunoichi, or with puppet masters?"
Lady Saya proudly released the puppet she was holding, and it darted nimbly toward Aburame Shino.
"No, I'm merely curious. It seems that every Sand puppet master has a different fighting style."
Shino calmly dodged the puppet's lunge. The dreaded puppet mechanisms and traps he'd been wary of didn't seem to be activating at all.
"Then you've likely been misled by Daigan. He isn't a pure puppet master, just a ninja who uses puppets to fight."
"Is that so? I think I understand a little better now. However, I would still like to see what special moves you, another puppet master, possess."
Shino weaved around the puppet's patrol route.
Neither ninja excelled at taijutsu. Shino had a slight advantage in stamina due to his gender, but he lacked the experience of the slightly older Saya.
After a brief close-quarters exchange, both knew that the key to victory lay not in taijutsu, but in whose secret technique was superior.
The composed Shino remained patient, but the prideful Lady Saya was done waiting.
"Cursed Sand Puppet Technique!"
Several ugly, slow-moving sand puppets rose from the ground, surrounding Shino, gradually closing in to restrict his movement. Then, she manipulated her swift humanoid puppet to dart past him, snatching a lock of his hair.
*Got it!*
Utterly unaware of his predicament, Shino was still dodging the sand puppets when he saw Saya flash him a sinister smile as she formed a hand seal. Her eyes were unsettling.
"Puppet Imitation Technique!"
Shino felt a sense of dread, but before he could react, his consciousness was enveloped in darkness, and he knew nothing more.
"That was easy!"
Saya, having completely taken over her opponent's body, smiled in satisfaction. She was about to make him raise his hand to forfeit when she suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Wait, what is this?"
Having taken control of his body, she naturally sensed the unusual nature of the insect-using clan.
Even a bizarre spiritual secret technique required chakra to execute.
The Parasitic Destruction Insects had a strong resistance to negative effects, providing some measure of defense against genjutsu, poison, paralysis, and foreign chakra invasion.
Lady Saya's expression changed as she felt her spiritual energy, which had invaded Shino's body, being devoured by the insects along with his chakra. Her control was weakening by the second.
Then, she suddenly noticed an object fall before her eyes. It was the puppet that had just taken the lock of Shino's hair.
"What happened?"
Before she could figure it out, Lady Saya was forced to release the Puppet Imitation Technique.
Shino, who had been under her control, suffered some mental damage. He felt a bit dizzy and dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.
"I see. A spiritual secret technique channeled through a puppet... quite impressive. However, you are no match for me."
Shino stood up resolutely, his voice calm and steady. "The reason is that you have underestimated the Aburame clan's Parasitic Destruction Insects!"
From the mouth, nose, and joints of the small, ugly puppet on the ground, tiny insects crawled out one by one. They not only jammed its moving parts but also gnawed away at the chakra threads, making it difficult for Saya to control. It was only natural that the Puppet Imitation Technique had failed.
As he spoke, Shino swung his arms, and a swarm of insects burst from his body, flying toward Lady Saya like a sheet of black silk.
The female puppet master from Sunagakure, facing an insect user for the first time, lost her usual composure. She could only watch as the insects landed on her, one after another, devouring her chakra.
A short while later, the insects retreated at Shino's command, revealing Lady Saya, who had lost the ability to resist and collapsed helplessly to the ground.
"The winner is Aburame Shino!"
Gekko Hayate quickly announced the result of the match.
The heir to the Aburame clan had proven to everyone that the mysterious and low-profile family of insect users remained a formidable pillar of Konoha.
Saya hadn't really made any mistakes. It was simply a case of mutual unfamiliarity, and she had been caught off guard.
Any ordinary ninja hit by the Puppet Imitation Technique would have been at her mercy.
But the Aburame clan's insects were different. Even if their host was temporarily incapacitated, they could continue to fight.
"Lady Saya!"
Sana jumped down into the arena, helped her sister up, and took her upstairs to rest.
Aburame Shino hadn't used excessive force. Lady Saya had merely exhausted her chakra and was suffering from fatigue; she wasn't injured.
The Konoha ninja had won two in a row, tying the score with the Sand Ninja at three wins apiece.
The next match was one to look forward to.
A moment later, the first name appeared on the electronic screen: "Gaara." The Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, who had long been waiting impatiently, instantly used a body flicker technique to appear in the arena.
A few seconds passed, and the second name appeared before everyone.
-----
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