No chit-chat after that st bit of icy dialogue, not for Kuro. Nope. He was already moving before the words even finished eg. "Targets of opportunity" robably fshing in his ninja brain like neon signs.

  And bam, just like that, he was a blur of motion again, spinning around towards the shorter Cloud dude, the oill wearing that oh-so-clever smirk like it was the test fashion accessory. Big mistake, Mr. Smirk. Because that smirk? It was about to undergo some aggressive remodeling, courtesy of Kuro's fist.

  Imagine a kangaroo on a triple espresso, deg to rewrite someone's facial structure. That's kinda what happened. Kuro’s fist shot upwards – Kangaroo Cut ining! This wasn’t just your average uppercut, oh no. This was a bone-jarring, face-rearranging masterpiece delivered with the force of a turbed marsupial kick. And then – thwack! That gloriously satisfying, almost musical thud as fist met jaw. You could practically hear the smug grin crag like cheap pottery.

  Yep, that grinning ninja's feet? They went airborh this… arming ck of elegance, let's put it that way. One minute he's Mister Smug, the he's doing an involuntary impression of a ragdoll being flung out of a toy chest. And that grin? Oh, it pletely refigured itself into this silent scream of pure shod 'oh dear god, what have I done' agony.He went flying upwards and backwards, less like a graceful ninja and more like a poorly programmed video game character actally unched across the s. A strangled "Blegh!" escaped his lips – a sound that perfectly encapsuted surprise, pain, and the sudden dawning realization that maybe, just maybe, he'd miscalcuted his life choices. Then, ot a graceful ch, more of a siing, tree-on-ninja kind of ch as he bounced off a rather robust oak.He ended up in a crumpled heap on the forest floor, looking less like a fearsome ninja and more like a discarded pile of undry. Possibly cussed? Highly likely. Definitely regretting a whole bunch of life decisions, but especially that smug grin? Absolutely top of the list rets. “Huh,” Kuro thought to himself, in that totally uated way he has. “Guess those kangaroo kicks? They really do deliver.”

  Alright, up on the 'Cloud Ninja Takedown' show: the… 'slender' model, shall we say? Bless his heart, he was still standing there blinking like a fused oarently, ninja reflexes don’t always ki when you're witnessing your buddy get unched into orbit by a surprise kangaroo attack. He roperly deer-in-headlights-ing it, or maybe deer-in-headlights-of-pure-agonizing-pain-ing it. Either way, bad timing for a staring test, buddy.And before Mr. fused Owl could even decide if he was more fused or more worried, whammo! Kuro's fingers became this blur of motion. Snake Jabs in 3… 2… 1… A rapid-fire flurry aimed right at the pressure points on the guy's arm and shoulder – you know, for maximum 'ow' effect. "Subtlety? Yeah, not really in my ninja skillset brochure," Kuro mused internally, a mental shrug apanying each perfectly pced jab. "But hey, a little… spice… in the mix never hurt anybody. Too much." And by 'spice', I think we all know Kuro meant 'a dash of lovely poison, just for that extra oomph'. You know, ninja hospitality and all that.

  This time, when the Cloud ninja's eyes widened, it wasn't just deer-in-headlights fusion. his was a whole new fvor of 'oh-crap' arm. Because a wave of numbness was suddenly flooding his arm, but not just any numbness. Oh no, this ecial numbness, ced with this distinctly… unpleasant venomous sting, like a thousand tiny fire ants throwing a rave on his nerves.Suddenly, moving was… challenging. His movements went all jerky and uncoordinated, like his arm had decided to spontaneously secede from the ninja union and start staging its own solo protest against his brain. Ten quick, precise strikes in, and bam! Suddenly, his legs were just… nope, not doing the leg thing anymore. Turning into jelly, apparently, was on the agenda. He swayed, he gasped – the whole dramatic falling-over routine. And then, with a surprising degree of face-first grace, he nose-dived straight into a lovely patch of ferns.So there he y, thhly and effitly poisoned, and probably deeply p the existential question of how exactly a few pointy fiaps could result in such rapid and prehensive system shutdown. “Right, mental ime,” Kuro mused to himself, a tiny internal smile pying behind his eyes. “Snake Jabs: surprisingly effective. Like… ninja acture, but with added iive."

  Now, the st two of our Cloud cohort, bless their cotton socks – well, ninja socks, probably – they actually grasped the cept of ‘teamwork’! Or, more likely sario, they’d just run out of solies that weren't ending in fats and poison-induced paralysis. So, teamwork it was. They charged in, all coordinated-ish, for o, desperate shot at overwhelming this single guy who, let’s be real, roving to be somewhat discertingly effit at ninja-dismantling. First dude came lunging with a kunai, right for the jugur – cssija 101, 't fault him for stig to the basics.

  The other one, pumping himself up with some serious inner rage (ain, more likely, sheer panicked adrenaline), wound up for this chakra-boosted punch aimed square at Kuro's side. "Ambitious," Kuro probably mused, maybe even with a little mental golf cp. "Let’s see how this pys out." Spoiler alert: not well for them. Instinct kicked in, lightning fast. Arms snapped up, bam! - perfect ‘X’ of defense. And hello there, trusty Crab Arm, activated and oen seds of ‘oh, you’re hitting me? Are you sure?’ level of damage redu. Always handy when fag… enthusiastic amateurs.

  The kunai scraped against his forearms – more like a fingernail gently scratg paint, really – the whole attack just… celled itself out. pletely and utterly ed. As if he’d casually raised his arms, which happeo be vely encased in sbs of industrial-grade, crab-themed reinforced steel. Oh wait, they kind of were.Right on cue, whumpf! The chakra-punded square on his side. A... well, holy, about as impactful as being pyfully nudged by a slightly enthusiastic kitten wearing mittens. 60% damage redu, you say? Yeah, more like 99.99% effective against these particur brand of 'formidable' ninja warriors. Kuro probably stifled a mental yawn.Time for the ter-attack portion of this highly educational demonstration. A’s make it… knee-tric, shall we? Seemed appropriate for the occasion.