Sasori walked onto the arena, and the ninja opposite him was a head taller and powerfully built.
He appeared to be older, his body already rippling with muscle.
Sasori, on the other hand, looked like nothing more than a child, with slender arms and legs, appearing very frail.
However, Tsuchikawa dared not underestimate him. This was the Kazekage's disciple, someone who absolutely could not be taken lightly.
The two first bowed to each other, then introduced themselves.
"Hello, I am Tsuchikawa, from Iwagakure."
"Hello, I am Sasori, from Sunagakure, grandson of the First Kazekage, and disciple of the Third Kazekage."
Well now, this wasn't just introducing oneself; this was clearly an opening challenge.
Although Tsuchikawa possessed decent strength, he was merely an ordinary talented ninja within Iwagakure, not from a prominent clan, nor had he received training from a Kage.
He was already a little intimidated facing the Kazekage's disciple, but he never expected Sasori to also be the grandson of the First Kazekage!
This made him even more flustered.
At that moment, he couldn't help but swallow.
Sasori's announcement spread throughout the arena, and the villagers were all surprised.
They hadn't expected Sasori to be the First Kazekage's grandson. Yet, they vaguely remembered that the First Kazekage didn't have orange-red hair.
Some slightly older men, who had witnessed the first Five Kage Summit, were now explaining who the First Kazekage was to their sons and daughters.
Even the Kazekage on the viewing platform felt a little embarrassed: "That Sasori, honestly."
Ōnoki, however, laughed heartily: "Haha, what's wrong with that? It's good for a child to be spirited. Besides, this little fellow is actually my contemporary."
The Kazekage was momentarily at a loss for words.
Upon reflection, it was true; he had always overlooked the fact that Ōnoki was the grandson of the First Tsuchikage.
If that were the case, then Sasori truly was of the same generation as Ōnoki, which would make him, Sasori's master, even further up the hierarchy?
The Kazekage dared not joke about this, lest he upset the Tsuchikage.
Torifu, meanwhile, simply smiled and remained silent, despite being the youngest among the Kage.
But Torifu was Hashirama's disciple, and Hashirama was practically a second father to Torifu.
This meant Torifu's seniority surpassed all of them...
"Alright everyone, let's focus on the match."
The Kage nodded and fell silent.
In the arena, Sasori's opening challenge clearly made Tsuchikawa feel constrained.
But his purpose in participating in this match was to achieve a good ranking and gain the appreciation of the Tsuchikage.
Therefore, he had to win!
"Earth Style: Earth Tremor."
Tsuchikawa launched the first attack, rapidly forming hand signs before slamming his hands onto the ground. Then, the ground beneath his feet seemed to come alive.
It quickly rose up and surged rapidly towards Sasori, leaving a trail of cracks across the ground.
Seeing the attack almost upon him, Sasori leaped sharply into the air, then unfurled a scroll.
Four puppets appeared in mid-air, and then pale blue chakra threads immediately connected to them.
One of the puppets spewed raging flames from its mouth, scorching the anomaly on the ground.
Another puppet directly targeted the spell-casting Tsuchikawa, ascending high into the sky under Sasori's control and beginning to spin rapidly.
Simultaneously, countless exploding tags and kunai flew out from the puppet!
The entire arena was instantly engulfed in rolling smoke and dust, mixed with flashes of fire.
Basically, nothing could be seen.
However, the sounds of fighting and crumbling rock could still be heard from within.
"What's going on? I can't see anything! How am I supposed to cheer?"
"I bet Sasori will be the one standing in the arena once the smoke clears."
"I think so too."
Although Tsuchikawa's performance in the first round was quite good, everyone still favored Sasori.
Besides his identity, his status as a puppeteer was also quite rare.
This ninja style, exclusive to Sunagakure, had rarely been seen traveling throughout the ninja world.
The villagers of Konoha also wanted to take this opportunity to observe the strengths and weaknesses of puppeteers, to avoid being caught off guard should there be any unforeseen circumstances or a future war with Sunagakure.
After about five minutes, a puppet flew out of the smoke, expelling a fierce gust of wind that cleared the dust from the arena.
Only then did the villagers sit upright again, staring intently at the stage.
However, by this point, there were no surprises; Sasori had undoubtedly won.
Sure enough, the spectating villagers saw Sasori standing in the center of the arena, completely unharmed.
And Tsuchikawa, lying beside him.
Nara Anka immediately went onto the stage to announce the end of the match and instructed medical ninjas to treat Tsuchikawa.
The entire match had lasted no more than five minutes.
"Excellent. Although we couldn't quite see how he fought, defeating Tsuchikawa in five minutes shows that Sasori's puppetry skills are quite advanced."
Ōnoki praised him again.
At this moment, Torifu also remarked, "This little fellow's strength is indeed impressive; he's already a standout among his generation of ninjas."
Upon hearing this, the Kazekage felt a surge of pride.
"Hahaha, you all flatter me. Honestly, I haven't taught Sasori much; his puppetry skills are mainly due to his own talent. Even Chiyo-sama only taught Sasori a few times."
Though he said this, his disciple's victory filled the Kazekage's heart with immense delight.
He just wondered how many more matches the boy's good fortune would last. He hoped Sasori wouldn't encounter Yahiko too soon.
In the arena, Tsuchikawa was almost in a semi-conscious state, carried off the field by several support staff for treatment.
Sasori, meanwhile, greeted the villagers who supported him, then retrieved his puppets and left the arena.
"Hmm, this little fellow's personality is quite similar to Reto's. Back then, even though Sunagakure was the weakest nation, Reto was incredibly unyielding. This grandfather and grandson truly are alike."
Hashirama said with a chuckle, while Mito stood beside him, her arm linked in his, listening quietly.
"I wonder who has better talent, this little fellow or Nawaki?" Tobirama spoke up.
This question truly stumped Hashirama: "It should be Nawaki, right? After all, Nawaki inherited my Wood Style, and he's developed it to a very high degree. Its potential is much greater than puppetry."
Hashirama spoke quite sincerely, neither boasting nor exaggerating, offering a relatively serious analysis.
"Speaking of which, wasn't puppetry developed by the Second Kazekage? So why did Chiyo become the foremost puppeteer? It couldn't be that it was surpassed as soon as it was developed, could it?"
Hashirama glanced at Tobirama with a smile: "You still have the leisure to worry about Shamon's puppetry? Your own Flying Raijin is about to be surpassed."