Although the effect of Hundred Puppet Performance was solid and could serve as a powerful form of wide-area damage, it was obviously unsuitable to use it now—his teammates' health was already dangerously low.
Under normal circumstances, Sasori of the Red Sand had a maximum health of four points. That meant Gaara would need to sacrifice a total of four Ninjutsu Cards, before and after, to fully activate Human Puppet Creation.
With the four cards he started with and the two he had just drawn, Gaara's hand now contained only one Water Prison Jutsu (a Ninjutsu Card: after it is used on an enemy, a judgment is made during that target's play phase—if red, they escape successfully; if black, they lose their play phase that round), one Shuriken Attack, and three Substitution Jutsu cards.
These cards were just enough for him to activate Hundred Puppet Performance twice. Unfortunately, Rōshi was already hanging on by a thread, leaving Gaara with no room to unleash such a reckless move.
Even the Water Prison Jutsu in his hand couldn't be sacrificed. After all, he had just openly used a Healing Jutsu to revive Rōshi's Kakuzu—he needed this card to restrict the actions of the Shadow.
That meant throwing the Water Prison directly at Utakata's Sarutobi Hiruzen.
At that moment, Han immediately played a Sealing Jutsu (which can be activated when anyone uses a Ninjutsu Card, nullifying its effect on a single target), canceling out Gaara's Water Prison.
Gaara's heart sank slightly.
If only I'd known… I should've sacrificed that Water Prison earlier to stack the passive. Now all that effort's gone.
Four cards remained in his hand. He could still attack, but after a brief hesitation, he decided against it.
Better to hold on. Maybe I can find a chance to unleash Hundred Puppet Performance later.
Next, it was Han's turn.
The Danzō ninja card in Han's hand also possessed two skills.
[Root's Will]:
Usable once per round. Choose any character on the field and test their resolve. The target selects one card in their hand, and you guess its color.
– If correct, you plunder the card and add it to your hand.
– If wrong, Danzō flies into a rage. You may either discard one card to force the opponent to discard one card as well, or take the loss and give up this opportunity.
[Everything for Konoha]: Shadow Skill
When Danzō takes damage, he may redirect that damage to another Konoha character. As the cost, the substitute must discard one card. If they have no cards, they instead lose 1 additional health point.
Han immediately activated Root's Will, targeting Rōshi, who was left with only one point of health.
"Rōshi," Han said calmly, "let me see how strong your will really is."
Rōshi trembled as he raised the card in his hand.
This was his last one.
Han stared at Rōshi's expressionless face and the faint tremor in his fingers, then smiled knowingly beneath his mask.
"Black."
Cold sweat poured down Rōshi's face as he reluctantly handed the card over. After taking it, Han burst out laughing, clearly delighted.
With a racing heart and shaking hands, he immediately snatched the equipment card—the Executioner's Blade—from Rōshi's Kakuzu.
Bah. Tribute.
[Executioner's Blade]:
After equipping, attack range increases by 2. If the target has no cards in hand, damage dealt increases by 1.
Such a simple, straightforward effect—yet ridiculously effective. Simple and brutal, just like Danzō himself.
"Rōshi… I'm sorry," Han said solemnly, fully immersed in character.
"For Lord Third and for Konoha, I have no choice."
The atmosphere turned strange.
Even those not participating in the game stared at Han in disbelief.
What kind of twisted game are they even playing…?
Rōshi could only shake his head helplessly, his expression completely fucked-up.
What a shame. Earlier, Sarutobi Hiruzen had burned through all his health trying to kill Utakata and still failed. Such a waste~.
Rōshi's Kakuzu dropped straight to –1 health, requiring two Healing Jutsu cards to revive. He died instantly, and when his identity card was revealed, it turned out he was a [Traitor].
At the same time, Han's Danzō, having earned merit by killing a Rogue Ninja, immediately drew three additional cards.
His hand size jumped to seven.
He equipped himself with Chainmail Armor—each time he took damage, he could lose at most 1 health point; when the armor was removed, he could recover 1 health point.
He also summoned the beast Ape King Enma. By discarding one card, Enma could perform a Shuriken Attack on his behalf once. If Han had no Shuriken Attack cards, the summon couldn't be used.
Normally, Shuriken Attack could only be used once per round. With Enma, Han now had a second opportunity.
He immediately discarded one Shuriken Attack at Yukimaru's Granny Chiyo, then used Enma to launch another attack at her.
Yukimaru had no Substitution Jutsu in hand. He could only silently accept the hit, his health dropping to two points.
"Utakata," Han said earnestly, turning toward him.
"Even though you and Yukimaru are Jinchūriki from the same village, I truly am an [Ally] this round. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen Danzō to support you."
"It's all… for Konoha."
Han stared at Utakata intently, hoping he would believe him. Convincing Utakata wasn't easy, but it wasn't unreasonable either.
After all, Utakata had played the spy in the previous round and won mostly due to luck—everyone else had been unfamiliar with the rules and played blindly.
According to the game's mechanics, a spy needed to hide until the very end, eliminating all [Rogue Ninjas] and finally killing the [Shadow] to win. Although Yukimaru and Han had both shown loyalty, nothing could be concluded yet.
Utakata merely nodded faintly and said nothing.
After all, it was his turn next.
...
More than half an hour passed. After everyone gradually understood their skills and the effects of the cards in their hands, the game finally came to an end.
Unexpectedly, the final winner was Gaara's Sasori of the Red Sand.
In the fourth round, Gaara successfully completed Human Puppet Creation. Relying on absurd luck, he survived three consecutive empty-health judgments. With the protection of Han and Yukimaru, he equipped the ninja tool Konoha Gatling, allowing him to use Shuriken Attack without limit.
In the end, he directly killed Utakata's Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Gaara let out a long breath, finally relaxing his tense nerves. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"That was… a thrilling ninja showdown."
Utakata rolled his eyes at him and, after a long pause, only said:
"You're too lucky… way too lucky. I'm convinced." (=_=)
Fortunately, Gaara didn't hear those words.
Naruto watched the five of them with envy. They still had the energy to play cards like this.
And then there was Uncle Killer Bee, completely absorbed in his music, vibing on his own.
The Two-Tails' older sister who had taught him Tailed Beast Transformation was chatting happily with Fū.
And him?
He was the only one sitting there with absolutely nothing to do.
He sighed quietly.
Hey~ (´･ω･`)
Ten minutes later, Utakata and the others had already started another intense round of Ninja Kill.
Suddenly, an idea struck Naruto.
He jumped up, ran over to Killer Bee, slung an arm around his shoulder, and leaned in to whisper excitedly.
"Uncle Killer Bee."
"Guess what—yo~?"
"I've got an idea~!" 😆