Naruto returned to his seat, his excitement palpable. "Did you see that, Sakura? I'm going to be stronger than Sasuke and Hyuk! One day, I'll become Hokage!"
Sakura beamed at him, pride shining in her eyes. "You did great against Kiba, Naruto! If you keep this up, you really will become Hokage!"
Hyuk, seated beside Kurenai, chuckled softly at Naruto's proclamation. "Okay," he replied, his tone nonchalant.
Kurenai, finding Naruto's determination amusing, wiped her mouth after the intense popsicle session with Hyuk, her eyes sparkling with intrigue as she glanced at the young ninja's confidence.
---
The arena buzzed with anticipation as the next match was announced: Shino Aburame vs. Kankuro. The crowd settled in, eager to see how the two combatants would showcase their skills.
As the match began, Hayate signaled for them to start. Kankuro immediately activated his puppet, Karasu, launching it toward Shino. The puppet's rapid movements created a flurry of dust as it zipped across the arena. Shino remained calm, adjusting his glasses as he summoned a swarm of insects from his sleeve.
"Karasu, attack!" Kankuro shouted, pulling the strings expertly. The puppet lunged at Shino, who quickly commanded his insects to swarm and encircle the puppet, disrupting its mechanics.
Kankuro grimaced, realizing his control was slipping. "What the—?!" he exclaimed, watching in frustration as his puppet was momentarily halted by Shino's relentless bugs.
With a swift motion, Shino directed his insects to infiltrate Karasu's inner workings. "I've studied your techniques, Kankuro," he said coolly. "You won't catch me off guard."
Kankuro gritted his teeth and yanked on the strings, trying to regain control. "Karasu, don't give up!" he yelled, attempting to maneuver the puppet around Shino. But the insects were relentless, crawling into the puppet's joints and effectively shutting it down.
Kankuro took a step back, trying to devise a new strategy. "Fine, I'll just have to take you down myself!" He threw a handful of explosive tags toward Shino, hoping to create an opening. But Shino anticipated this and sent a wave of bugs to devour the tags before they could explode, rendering Kankuro's attack useless.
With Kankuro distracted, Shino seized the moment. "Now, swarm!" he commanded, and his insects surged forward, overwhelming Kankuro completely.
"Ahhh! No way!" Kankuro cried, as he was engulfed by the swarm. Struggling to escape, he finally fell to the ground, unable to continue.
"Winner: Shino Aburame!" Hayate announced, raising Shino's arm in victory.