Red Nara

- Now, as far as village opponents are concerned, you've probably been told about them by your mentors, so I'll only go over Suna's most dangerous candidate, puppetmaster Sasori. Don't let his age put you off - this kid got the title of genin very early on, and even had some time to participate in the recent war, so he has more combat experience than the six of you combined.

Still, surviving the meat grinder of war is worth more than all the tutors and bandit hunting and caravan escorting. I've learned that the hard way.

- Given his father, the village's strongest puppeteer, and his grandmother Chiyo, a genius poisoner, you can be sure that any scratch he gets will be a point in the battle. As for his battle puppets - as far as I've been able to find out, there are two of them, and as in most cases, capable of disassembling right in the middle of a fight, becoming a separate weapon under the control of the creator. So get ready for the fact that the limbs and heads of the puppets will be able to separate from their bodies in an attempt to get you, senbon and kunai throwers will be built into different parts of them, gas attacks of atomized poison, explosive seals and the like are possible. Don't get close to the big doll - if you get caught in it, you're almost guaranteed to die, so keep a long distance, attack with ninjutsu dolls or Sasori himself, and if you feel the effects of poison even from a small scratch - give up at once, because the less time passed from the moment of poisoning, the more chances I have to cure you without serious consequences for your health. That'll be all.

- Thank you for the information, sensei," the genin bowed.

- That's what it means to make good use of information gathering on a target, - Sakumo said instructively, - let it serve as a lesson to you, and now everybody out - we have two dozen minutes left before the start.

- How did you manage to dig up so much in just one evening? - Kay grinned, walking beside me.

- You wouldn't believe how much you can glean from the chatter of two bored chunins who have to watch the crowd all day," I grinned, "and I've never complained about my hearing.

Of course, I didn't get the puppets' capabilities from just talking to them, but that information could be attributed to the source mentioned, and the genin got a chance to win or at least survive. Even though I had forgotten the names of the dolls, but I still managed to remember some of their features. Unfortunately, the further you go, the more you forget all sorts of little things.

- At least now I'll be a little less worried about my friends, - sighed my friend, - and for that I thank you very much.

- It's no big deal, I'm just reducing my workload," he dismissed the gratitude, "It won't be good if I have to patch up your Naoho-chan again after the battle with Sasori-kun.

- Not convinced," Shibatori grinned and lowered his voice, "I'm well aware of your attitude toward kunoichi deaths and injuries.

I chuckled my tongue in annoyance and didn't continue the argument. A friend is a friend to be aware of such nuances.

For the last stage, the Sunovians had built a nice dome-shaped stadium, even if the size and inferior to a normal soccer field, but no more than two or three times. At least, tens of thousands of spectators fit normally and there was still some space left.

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