Chapter 41: Preliminaries

After successfully completing the second round of the Exam, Tekku and Hana had to wait for over four days until the Chunin Exam continued, as they were the first ones to finish. Not being allowed to leave the Tower was quite restrictive, as there wasn't much space for a proper training session, and Tekku didn't want to exhaust himself unnecessarily. Instead, he used his time wisely, channeling his chakra into as many of his puppets as possible.

The second team to arrive, just a few hours after them, was the Iwa Team, consisting of Akatsuchi and Deidara. Tekku noticed that they would often cast glances in his direction whenever he was in the shared area. Sometimes he would work on one of his older puppets, like the Crashtest Dummy, in the public area to give his opponents a false sense of security. This was all part of the exam strategy, as outdated information about his puppets would work in his favor.

One day, Deidara approached him and asked, "So this is your kind of art?"

Tekku looked at the blonde, a future member of Akatsuki, for a moment before nodding. "Yes, the intricate movement of the fine mechanical pieces, the wonderful synergy of all parts working together, affecting and interplaying with each other. It has something truly satisfying. And each of my Eternal Puppets holds hidden secrets. It's an art form that deeply resonates with me, truly reflecting who I am."

"I understand you completely. Art has the power to help you forget the negativity around you. I can't wait to compare our art forms!" Deidara replied, nodding with realization.

Curious, Tekku asked, "What kind of art represents you?"

"Art is something that blossoms for an instant before withering away. Art is beauty that lasts for just a moment. To me, the essence of art is an explosion!" Deidara proudly declared.

"I see. That sounds truly fascinating. I've experienced that form of art before. I'm excited to see yours. I am Tekku, pleased to meet a fellow artist," Tekku said, extending his hand.

Deidara looked at it for a moment before taking it with a grin. "Deidara!"

- Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi -

"So, twenty of you made it through the second round? Not bad. But there are simply too many, so we will be holding a preliminary before the finals," announced the Konoha Jonin responsible for the exam, following the Hokage's speech about the Chunin Exams and the war.

"Each of you will have to fight one-on-one. To proceed to the finals, you must win your fight. The opponents will be randomly selected, and there are no rules. The contest continues until one side admits defeat. However, if I judge that continuation is impossible, the match will stop there. Do all of you understand?" explained the Jonin, outlining the proceedings of the preliminaries. When no one raised any objections, he began the fights.

Tekku used this opportunity to study each of his potential opponents, gathering more information for the final round. Watching them fight provided the perfect opportunity to learn about their fighting styles. What kind of jutsu did they use? Were they close combat or ranged fighters? How skilled were they in taijutsu? Were there any weaknesses he could exploit? He made sure to remember all these details as accurately as possible, intending to develop the perfect strategy later.

However, most of the genin in the exam weren't particularly noteworthy. The only interesting ones were the Iwa Team and a member of a team from Kumogakure that Tekku didn't recognize at first. The guy's name was Atsui. He had neck-length blond hair styled in an asymmetrical bowl cut and green eyes.

It took Tekku a while to realize that Atsui was the younger brother of Samui, one of the members of the team that came to Konoha after Pain's attack to gather information about Sasuke, who supposedly kidnapped Killer Bee during that time. Atsui was currently around 12 years old, the same age as Deidara, and the only notable member of his team. While not as impressive as Deidara, he still posed a slight challenge for Tekku during the fights, with his kenjutsu and fire style jutsu being quite decent.

After waiting for a while, during which Hana had already passed her round, it was finally Tekku's turn. His opponent was from Sunagakure.

"So, you're the famous puppet user from Konoha. I'll show you that your cheap copy is nothing compared to the real deal," mocked the genin arrogantly, while Tekku watched him as if he were an idiot.

Which puppet user announces their main fighting style? Most Sunagakure puppeteers are weak themselves and usually hide while their puppets fight from a distance. And here he was, standing in front of an idiot who was right beside his single puppet.

Through his sensing technique, Tekku could cover the entire arena with his standard version, and he could tell that there was no one hidden anywhere. The guy standing in front of him was the real deal.

"Three... Two... One... Fight!" announced the Jonin, serving as the proctor for their fight.

From the moment the fight began, everything happened quickly. Tekku didn't even bother summoning any of his own puppets from his storage scrolls. Instead, he immediately attached his chakra strings to his opponent's puppet.

In such close range, a skilled puppeteer could directly attach their strings to their opponent's puppet. But this only worked if the puppeteer was much stronger than their opponent. And from what Tekku could see and feel, that was absolutely the case. His chakra reserves were much higher, and his opponent could only control one puppet, while Tekku had a higher mastery of the puppeteering technique, being able to control five puppets simultaneously by now.

Tekku overpowered his opponent's control and struck him with his own puppet, landing a blow to the face. This disrupted the focus of the Suna genin, causing him to lose control of his chakra strings and giving Tekku full control over the puppet.

Without hesitation, Tekku activated one of the hidden blades in the puppet's arm, just like most Suna puppets had, and held it against his opponent's throat.

"Give up or die," Tekku said emotionlessly, pressing the blade closely to the throat. "You lost the moment you stepped into the arena. The difference in skill is just too high."

"I give up," muttered the Sunagakure genin, his face red with embarrassment. As he layed scared on the ground with a blade to his throat. Only the fine control of Tekku prevented him from being cut, with the poisoned blade.

"Winner, Tekku from Konohagakure!" announced the proctor loudly as Tekku released control over the puppet that belonged to his opponent.

"Next time, fight like a puppeteer. Don't stand beside your puppet. Use hidden tactics and deception. If you are physically weak, don't act like an idiot," scolded Tekku, unable to believe how foolish his opponent had been.

He then turned around and headed back to the balcony where Hana was waiting for him, grinning as she high-fived him upon his return. "That looked easy," she said.

"It was," sighed Tekku in utter disappointemnt, he had hoped he would learn something from a fellow Puppet User. But this wasn't the case.

- Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi -

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