Naruto: Princess of the Moon

CH 27: PUPPET MASTER

Kankuro and Ren looked at one another. The former was arrogant and confident while the latter was cautious and serious. As different as their personalities were, neither knew anything about the other party. They wanted to see who would make the first move and what that move would be.

Kankuro smirked and grabbed the straps that were around his shoulders, keeping the item on his back in place. "No need to worry so much. I'll end this quickly."

"You're pretty confident, aren't you...?"

"Heh! I have no reason not to be against the lot of you." Kankuro placed the item on the floor, a thud sound echoing loudly. The item was covered in a white strip of cloth that wrapped around it, making it look like a mummy. Only the top was uncovered, but the only thing that was visible was a mop of brown hair or straw. It was hard to tell what it was.

Ren glanced at the item that was likely a weapon from the corner of his eye then at the leisure Kankuro. He couldn't tell for certain whether it was a trap or if the Suna Genin was underestimating him that much.

At the same time, unlike his teammates, Ren wasn't a strategic fighter like Kenzou or a silent killer like Aoi. He was the type who wasted no time in pleasantries and directly beat up his opponent. Since he couldn't figure out if the other party was setting up a trap, then Ren wouldn't waste any more time on it. He would just deal with things as they came.

Ren squeezed his fists, accumulating chakra within them. Unless one looked carefully, they wouldn't be able to see the thin film that was forming around his hands.

If it was that Kakuro was underestimating him, then Ren would quickly beat him up before he could use his weapon. If it was a trap, then Ren would still beat him up. It was a pretty simple strategy.

Pushing some chakra to the soles of his feet, Ren propelled himself forward with a fist raised. Ren's speed was close to Takashi's and Lee's level, not something that was easy to dodge.

As his left fist met Kankuro's right cheek, a cracking sound followed and Kankuro went flying back, slamming against the wall under the platform where his teammates were.

Naruto held his cheeks, rubbing them continuously, "That sounded painful..."

Kakashi laughed as he leaned against the wall, "Don't cry for him just yet. He didn't break anything."

"W-What do you mean, Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto was the one who asked but both he and Sakura glanced back at the Jounin with confusion reflecting in their eyes.

"Just wait and see."

The two wanted to keep asking but did as their sensei asked. With their attention back on the arena, they didn't notice Asuka drawing closer to Kakashi, her voice full of playful teasing. "Do you like showing off that much in front of them? You nearly missed it yourself."

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Only for one second. That kid from Sunagakure is not bad."

"It isn't him I'm worried about, though. The other boy with red hair is the truly troublesome one. I don't think any of our kids are ready for him just yet."

Ren stayed where he was, waiting to see if the other party was just that weak despite talking big and was directly knocked out or if he would stand up and keep fighting.

The dust created by the collision cleared out and Kankuro's figure became clearer. Kankuro was standing but his body bent forward, his arms hanging as if they had no bones.

The image of Kankuro walking forward in that posture made Ren's skin crawl. This was even worse than the bugs from the last match. "If you can't walk, don't do it. It's creepy to look at you."