The battle ended as swiftly as it began.
Sand Serpent's blade dripped with blood, its steam vents hissing triumphantly.
Eiji flicked his sword clean, while Aki's fans snapped shut with finality.
The two remaining Tanigakure genins lay motionless, their tokens already confiscated, their lungs havind drawn their last breaths.
[You have killed [Lv. 20 Tanigakure Shinobi]. You have earned 390 EXP]
[You have killed [Lv. 21 Tanigakure Shinobi]. You have earned 420 EXP]
[Tokens acquired: 94/100]
Jaito's team watched in stunned silence. Kirito muttered: "Incredible..."
"Efficient," Kaito corrected, sealing the tokens, "We move. The rest area is a trap. I mean, we will make the rest area a trap. This way, we will be able to accumulate even more tokens and ascend to the finals directly"
The labyrinth's central plaza buzzed with exhausted genins. Konoha teams huddled defensively; Amegakure shinobi lurked in shadows. When Team 146 arrived, chaos followed.
Aki's fans moved repeatedly. Eiji's blade gleamed in chakra. Kaito's puppets—Jinx, Sand Serpent, and Crow—loomed like specters, farming the coming shinobi as if they were mobs. Because, at the end of the day, this scene was a hunting zone for Sunagakure.
This stage had been built to favour teamwork.
The more teams Kaito encountered, the stronger their forces became. First with Jaito, then with Koharu's team. In turn, the more damage they dealt to enemies, the weaker they became.
Chaos erupted.
Konoha's Inuzuka clan member lunged, fangs bared. Sand Serpent intercepted, steam-powered fist cratering the ground. Aki's wind vortex scattered Amegakure's water clones. Eiji danced through Konoha genins, disarming them with surgical precision. Following the trio, four teams from Sunagakure supported them with wind, fire and puppetry arts.
[Katon: Petrifying Smoke (D)] billowed, trapping three Otogakure genins mid-sneak attack. They collapsed, muscles petrified. Crow rained fire shuriken from above, herding panicked targets into Jinx's barrage, dealing a devastating blow.
[Tokens acquired: 100/100]
[Hidden Stage Clear! Proceed directly to Finals]
Soon enough, as the last token slotted into Kaito's scroll, a horn echoed. The labyrinth walls shuddered, sunlight piercing through cracks as the ceiling retracted. They had completed the stage, with flying colours.
===
[Observation Deck]
Kazekage Rasa leaned forward, fingers steepled. On the holographic map, Team 146's icon blazed like a comet, leaving trails of defeated red markers. As time passed, they made an alliance with the rest of the Sunagakure teams, something that the other villages failed to do.
While Konohagakure possessed huge talents, most teams were looking at their own interest first. More people meant more tokens to gather, and thus increased dangers.
But Kaito? He had more than enough tokens to spare.
"Your genins are… enthusiastic," Third Hokage Hiruzen remarked, pipe smoke curling. His tone was light, but his eyes hardened. The efficiency of Sunagakure's army was undeniable. Strong. Resilient. Experienced.
The difference between Konohagakure and Sunagakure was evident. Konoha should have been stronger. Most likely, they were stronger individually. However, in this battle stage, the results proved that Sunagakure was superior. The other kage present in the observation deck stayed silent, surprised by the Sand village's rise in strength. Years ago, they doubted Sunagakure's strength as one of the five hidden villages.
Now, however, they realised why they were so feared despite having less shinobi, and less famous clans.
Rasa's lips twitched. "Sunagakure invests in practical education. Survival breeds strength. They don't attend the academy with text books and joint training. As soon as they are ready, they are allocated to operations"
Hiruzen gestured to the carnage. "That boy's puppetry—A new genius in the puppetry brigade?"
"Who knows?", Rase answered, "The desert teaches resourcefulness. He possesses exceptional resilience. Even I did not expect such a brilliant display of our hidden arts. I suppose he had been waiting for this stage to unleash his trump cards"
With that, the Tanigakure Underground Stage was finished.
In the shadows, however, Sunagakure shinobi were already beginning to move.
The operation had already begun.