Sakura had been far too focused on her relentless assault of Azumi for her own good. The pink-haired kunoichi aimed to take advantage of the confusion created by Sagiso and did not want to give Azumi time to breath but her desire for this gave her tunnel vision as she had failed to take Ryo into account and that was about to cost her.
Woosh!
As Sakura descended on Azumi, the needles that Ryo tossed through the some came flying at her. Sakura only managed to catch sight of them at the last possible second; as she her efforts to curl up did little to limit the damage as one needle struck her left shoulder and another struck her left arm which caused Sakura to wince in pain.
Sakura had little time to react to this, as Azumi had heard her cry and caught sight of the real Sakura who remained airborne as she quickly lunged her umbrella forward with the intent to slam it into Sakura's gut with a sudden stabbing attack. What the umbrella lacked in traditional piercing power Azumi knew it made up for with bone crushing blunt force. Sakura just managed to suck in the pain of the needles that pierced her left arm as she held up her twin kunai with the intent to block the strike. However, her left arm seemed rather stunned by the attack as her nerves seemed shot which caused it to weekly lift up which limited Sakura's defense strength as Azumi knocked Sakura forward and sent the kunoichi flying as she crashed back-fire into the tree ahead of them.
"Gah!" Sakura gasped out in pain as she slumped to a branch as she took a moment to shake the cobwebs out as she faced Azumi and Ryo who in turn had a better view of her now that the smoke faded. Sakura frowned, with Kenji still busy with Sagiso she was left on her own but Sakura's determined look showed she was not about to back down.
I made a promise with Ino that we'd become top kunoichi together. I made a promise to Kakashi-sense I would give it all I had in these exams and I would not quite. I won't let them down....I won't let myself down!
Sakura quickly pulled out the needles in her arm, which caused a little blood to drip down said arm, as she stood up and faced her two opponents. Her left arm seemed a little limp still, but it had just enough strength to help Sakura flash a series of hand-signs before she turned back and ran up the tree she was on to the very top as she used the leaves as cover for her next jutsu which she whispered just as quickly as she flashed the signs for it.
"Forest Fragrance...Dance of the Leaves Jutsu!"
Azumi had opted to not remain passive as she jumped from one tree to Sakura's with the intent to give the Konoha-nin chase, but her efforts came to a halt when from the tree top dozens and dozens of leaves came poring down as if they were thrown projectiles. Given this was more subtle than demonic tree branches Azumi had no way to tell if this was a Ninjutsu or a Genjutsu Azumi brached herself as she used her sword as a shield, but this time she had not been Sakura's target. Sakura instead used the leaves of her jutsu as a distraction, moving within them as a near invisible blur, as she moved behind Ryo, kunai in hand, as she aimed to deliver a slash Ryo's in an effort to hinder his movements & stun him with the damaging blow which would have left him open to a follow-up attack. Sakura had felt guilt over such a...drastic action against a former classmate, but mentally justified that she was mainly aiming at the flesh and not the bone or organs so should the attack have managed to connect so he'd be able to recover. Besides, given the circumstances she was in Sakura had not been in a position to hold back.
Sorry Ryo, I didn't want it to come to this, but it's every ninja for themselves. And besides, you attacked me first...
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Indeed, the look that Sagiso had given Kenji made even the normally reckless if not fearless ninja's hair stand on the back of his neck. Kenji never guessed that a fellow Genin could radiate this kind of killing intent, but that proved to be the least of his worries.
Kenji saw Sagiso as she shot her knee forward as he only just managed to get his guard up, though that proved to be a poor defense as Sagiso's chakra-infused blow blew past the guard which offered minimal protection.
"GAH!"
Kenji coughed violently as the force of the blow sent him flying back, though Kenji had been able to regain his bearings much more quickly given the timely guard; though that only seemed to give him time to see Sagiso charge at him as Kenji once again had been nailed with another strike; this time a roundhouse which caused blood to drip from Kenji's jaw as he had been sent flying back further; with only another weak guard having managed to lower the damage...but whatever minimal margin.
Kenji barley had a moment to so much as process what was happening before he barley caught sight of Sagiso as she dashed through the air after him for what he presumed was another follow up blow. If Kenji had to guess, he presumed that Sagiso aimed to complete this bone-breaking combo to deliver the finishing blow.
Well, Kenji was not about to allow that to happen. As he flashed some hand-signs as quickly as he could while he gritted his teeth to work past the pain he felt as he prepared his desperation jutsu.
"Thunder Style, Electric Wave!"
Kenji hated his use of this jutsu, which shot electric from his body in all directions in his immediate surroundings, as it damaged himself almost as much as whoever happened to get hit by it. However, it was the only jutsu he both could think or and make the hand signs for before Sagiso closed the distance completely. The question remained whether the electricity would build up and disperse from his body before Sagiso managed to deliver her combo blow. While it only took a moment or to do do this, given the speed Sagiso had moved at, Kenji may not have had the time.
But he had no other options, and any option had been better than to allow Sagiso to decimate him. Kenji only had the capacity to hope that the jutsu would release in time.
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This caught Madoka's attention, so this Kabuto guy craved knowledge and was eager for their blood. But not Zaku's? Given Kabuto's headband signified he was a Konoha-nin so she doubted that Kabuto and Zaku had met before and it seemed Zaku had not already given his blood given he was prepared to offer it then and there.
"Is there a reason you don't want his blood as well?" Madoka asked Kabuto, as there had been something about his request and his decision to decline Zaku's blood that had caught her curiosity.
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Tomiko overheard Yasu's assessment or rather guess that there were objects out there. If Tomiko had to guess, she presumed they were traps as Tomiko considered their options.
"Well, typically my senses work better when the object is moving around. I got the same impression you did as far as a general area is concerned, but I think I have a way around this." Tomiko said with a grin as she quickly flashed a series of hand signs.
"Earth Style, Traverse Tunnel Jutsu!"
With that Tomiko jumped into the ground and much like the mole-side of her mole-bat nickname that she had given herself she traveled underground and by extension under whatever traps that had been set. Tomiko aimed to try and feel the vibrations of those above ground as she tried to scout out whoever this Genin was so she could attack him from below.