Doss stared at the seemingly unremarkable Haruno Sakura in front of him. Aside from her unusual pink hair, he couldn't fathom how someone like her had made it this far—let alone become his opponent. He should have fought Sasuke Uchiha directly instead.
He had already assessed Sakura's abilities back in the Forest of Death. Aside from her surprising talent in genjutsu and chakra control, she barely had any combat strength to speak of. In his mind, she'd only gotten this far thanks to lucky teammates and sheer fortune. This—he was convinced—was her limit.
"Let's finish this quickly. The sooner I beat her, the sooner I can face Sasuke Uchiha... and complete my mission."
The moment Genma Shiranui raised his hand and signaled the start of the match, Doss rushed forward without hesitation. His right arm cocked back, reinforced with chakra-augmented gauntlets, he lunged in for a decisive, brutal blow meant to knock Sakura out cold in one punch.
"Reckless. Charging in without probing the opponent's strength, without even a feint… He's at a disadvantage already."
In the stands, Mizuki couldn't help but shake his head. As captain of the Otogakure trio, Doss was usually cautious and calculating, with a polite demeanor that masked his ruthlessness. But the recent pressure from Orochimaru's shifting plans must've thrown him off balance. This reckless aggression wasn't like him at all. Sakura, it seemed, would land the first blow.
And sure enough, to Doss's surprise, Sakura vanished just as his punch should have landed.
"Did I miss?"
"No… This is genjutsu. When did she cast it? There were no signs…"
Doss gritted his teeth. He recognized it immediately—an illusion. He'd seen her use it to disable Zaku in the Forest of Death. He had underestimated her again. She wasn't just skilled in barrier formation—her genjutsu was sharper than he gave credit for.
Still, he wasn't worried. His signature attack—the Resonating Echo Drill (Senpūonkyō) launched from the speaker embedded in his right arm—wasn't something that could be avoided easily. Even illusions couldn't mute pure sound.
But before he could unleash it, three shuriken zipped toward him from the right. Doss blocked them just in time with his armored forearm—but it was a feint.
In a flash, Sakura appeared on his blind side—low, fast, and already mid-strike. Her hand, coated in a thin veil of chakra, had taken the form of a scalpel. Her aim was precise, slicing cleanly toward his heart.
"No time to dodge—she's too fast!"
But Doss's instincts, honed by countless life-or-death missions, kicked in. He twisted his body at the last second, avoiding a lethal strike. Still, her chakra scalpel carved a deep gash across his left shoulder, blood spilling immediately.
Instead of retreating, Doss retaliated. Mid-spin, he swept his sound blaster in a wide arc at Sakura's chest.
"This time it's real. Let's see how you dodge this!"
Even wounded, Doss's strength was formidable. His sound-based taijutsu attacks had knocked out Chōji Akimichi in a single hit during the preliminaries.
But Sakura narrowly evaded the strike with a nimble leap, flipping back to gain distance. Doss, panting, didn't give chase. Instead, he landed and, gritting his teeth, quickly wrapped his bleeding shoulder in bandages.
"What the hell… My Senpūonkyō didn't land?!"
If the first failure had been due to an illusion, this time he was sure—Sakura had tanked the sound wave and kept moving. She was hit at point-blank range, yet seemed unscathed.
The audience, mostly unaware of the mechanics behind Doss's technique, seemed confused. First, they saw him swing and miss, then get slashed unexpectedly, and then miss again—only to wear an expression of pure shock.
Only a few perceptive ninja in the stands understood what had happened.
Sakura had activated a silent genjutsu the moment she bowed to Genma—taking advantage of the formal gesture before the match. She then used her medical training and exceptional chakra control to disrupt Doss's auditory-based attacks, likely using sound-dampening chakra layers to neutralize their resonance before they could damage her body.
"Whoa, Sakura's match already started?"
Naruto appeared beside Mizuki, panting slightly.
"Why weren't you here earlier?" Mizuki asked, raising a brow. "No teammates cheering her on—your squad's team spirit seems a bit… lacking."
"As long as that stupid Sasuke isn't always showing off to get Sakura's attention, we're fine," Naruto muttered. "I got held up by a medic treating my ribs, but Sakura looks like she's doing great! That bandage guy's the one who KO'd Chōji, but she's still holding her own. How's she doing it?"
"Why don't you try cheering for her first?" Mizuki smirked. "If she wins, she'll be facing you in the next round."
"Wait—me? I thought I was fighting Neji!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. He hadn't considered facing Sakura. His sights had been locked on Sasuke—and Hyūga Neji, who stood across the bracket.
But in the arena, despite Doss's injuries and setbacks, he wasn't out yet. While Sakura healed the shallow gashes on her arms with quick bursts of medical chakra, Doss wrapped his shoulder as best he could. He noticed her medical ninjutsu—something only a handful of genin could use effectively—and his frustration deepened.
"Damn it. Normal bandages won't hold much longer. And I don't have healing jutsu like her…"
It was becoming clear: his greatest weapon, the Resonating Echo Drill, was being nullified. Not completely, but enough that it no longer incapacitated the target outright. The scratches on Sakura's arm proved it still had bite—but not nearly enough.
"Was Lord Orochimaru right? Are we just disposable pawns? Castaways to test the waters…?"
"I haven't even faced Sasuke Uchiha yet. How did I end up struggling here…?"
Doss gritted his teeth. Even if he had known the truth from the beginning, even if he was resigned to his role—he wasn't ready to fall here.
"Fine. If that's how it is—then I, Doss of the Sound, survivor of carnage and shadow, will show you spoiled Leaf brats what true fear feels like. Let's see if your little games can survive a taste of real war."
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