Desert Flower

Preliminaries Pt. 1

  Shino, the boy with the chakra devouring insects, won the second battle after severely injuring the Sound ninja's arms. So far, no one was in the condition for the redemption round at the end of these battles, and the preliminaries continued on.

  Next was Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro, and the boy with purple paint on his face moved towards the stairs. Glancing at him, I saw that he had a confident smirk on his lips while carrying that puppet on his back. I only knew what it was because he had used a puppet in the first exam to cheat with.

  As soon as the battle had begun, the Sand ninja was being wrapped up by the other ninja as he moved his limbs like a snake wrapping around prey. The man demanded that the boy give up, but he refused, and a loud crack filled the air before his head was hanging limply from his shoulders.

  I tightened my grip on the rails. The ninja had broken Kankuro's neck....

  "How ridiculous...." The redhead next to me grumbled. Gulping, my eyes were glued to the scene below. Something wasn't right, but what?

  As the man loosened his grip, broken chips fell from the Sand ninja's face before his head turned around 180 degrees with a large grin on his face. It was a puppet! 'Then where's Kankuro?' I thought before eyeing the large thing wrapped in bandages on the floor. The puppet in the man's hold no longer looked like the Sand ninja as it took hold of him, and Kankuro emerged from the thing wrapped up on the ground.

  The boy won, and the man had to be taken away as he was unconscious on a stretcher.

  The fourth battle was between the pink-haired girl and the blonde who had been shouting at each other before the first exam. They seemed to be evenly matched as they fought, but neither of them won when they punched each other out.

  Next was Temari vs. Tenten, and the blonde girl sighed before going to the stairs. Neither of the two girls from the previous battle had to be taken away by medics, but both were out of chakra, and it was still unknown who of the losers would be chosen to have their redemption.

  Temari was mostly quiet as Tenten jumped back a few feet, her team shouting for her to do well. They were rather loud, but my focus remained on the battle itself.

  "As always, she's being disagreeable." Kankuro said after the fight had started.

  "How foolish...." The redhead said lowly while his arms remained crossed. Furrowing my brows, I leaned my head down a little. These fights were going so quickly, and every loser was being toted off after they were knocked out. I felt a bit on edge, not knowing what I'd do if I was next.

  I knew that Kami-sama may try to interfere again, but I doubted I could win with my physical strength alone. I'd have to use some level of chakra, and Kami-sama would come as soon as I did that... Would I be able to hold them back enough to win without losing control?

  Temari won with her giant fan, blowing away any weapon Tenten threw at her until the very end. ....What were these Sand ninjas made of? Glancing at the two next to me, I wondered what the boy with the blank expression would do when he fought. Before Temari could return, she threw Tenten off her fan, and another boy tried to pick a fight with her.

  "Temari." The redhead raised his voice, speaking firmly. "Come up quick, you've been declared the winner. Don't keep company with that awful-looking guy and his chaperone forever." And the blonde obeyed as the teacher below warned of the kid's strength as he stood next to him.

  The sixth battle was won by a boy named Shikamaru with his wits and Shadow Jutsu. He was smart, showing his intelligence with his carefully laid-out plan.