This was mainly because Yakura had already mastered one nature transformation of Fire Release.
Mastering nature transformation is a requirement for promotion to jōnin.
At least under normal circumstances, one of the hard criteria for promotion to jōnin is to master nature transformation of two or more chakra natures, ensuring that one's techniques won't be easily countered in battle.
As a key fighting force for a ninja village, a jōnin can't have obvious weaknesses.
In other words, Yakura's Fire Release is already at the jōnin standard, and her overall combat ability basically meets the requirements for special jōnin.
Maki's abilities aren't bad, but there's no aspect where he can quickly reach jōnin level in a short time.
As for Hardy…
Being able to control three puppets at once is already barely at the jōnin standard for puppet technique.
For example, in the original timeline, Kankuro during the Fourth Great Ninja War was a jōnin.
Of course, that's assuming all three puppets are up to standard in combat.
"Ivan the Great is a whole tier stronger than Formentor. My combat ability is probably nearly twice as strong as before. Even if I face a jōnin, I might be able to put up a fight."
Hardy grinned, patting Ivan the Great's armor.
"Oh? You're quite confident!"
Just then, Kazekage Chiran walked out of the house and saw Ivan the Great outside.
"A spar? Let me see what you've learned from Elder Chiyo lately."
Kazekage Chiran crossed his arms, looking interested.
He really did want to gauge Hardy's current strength.
"Great! Where to?"
Hardy was more than eager.
Kazekage Chiran's strength was among the top jōnin, just below Kage level—a perfect test for Ivan the Great's combat abilities.
"How about the west side of the camp?"
That area was a flat, open plain—spacious enough for a spar, with good visibility…
Alright, if any real enemy actually managed to get close to the camp, even without sensory ninjutsu, we'd still notice them immediately.
No sooner said than done.
In no time, the four of them arrived at the agreed-upon battleground.
"Well, let's do it here," Kazekami Chiran said, stamping his foot on the muddy ground and turning his gaze to Hardy.
"You'd better be careful, Captain Chiran," Hardy replied, taking the sealing scroll from his back and spreading it out in front of him. With a summoning technique, he called forth the boy and the fat puppet.
But at that very moment, Kazekami Chiran had already drawn his blade and, with a flash of Iaido, closed the distance to Hardy.
"Clang—!"
A folding greatsword shot out from Dai Ivan's arm, propelled by pneumatic force, instantly intercepting Chiran's attack.
In the blink of an eye, the boy puppet had moved to Chiran's flank, aiming a spinning saw blade at his back, while the fat puppet activated its pneumatic fist and charged forward.
"That's quite a well-coordinated puppet lineup," Chiran remarked, dodging in a flash. Forming hand seals with his left hand, he breathed onto his ninja blade.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
Sharp wind chakra gathered along the blade, forming a long, glowing sword aura. With a simple swing, several wind-infused sword beams shot out.
The fat puppet raised its bulky arms, shielding Hardy. A faint blue chakra halo spread from its arms, and the Mechanized Defense Jutsu solidly blocked the sword beams. Hardy donned Dai Ivan, raised his left arm, and fired a barrage of compressed air senbon at Chiran. Hardy had considered other projectiles before, but standardized senbon could be bought in bulk anywhere ninja tools were sold, making them the most cost-effective and easiest to replenish.
Chiran lightly tapped the tip of his foot on a slender weed, calmly forming several hand seals in a second.
"Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!"
A violent gale erupted, countless wind blades swirling within the storm, scattering the airborne senbon.
"Amazing… Even if I had a Three-Star Fan, I doubt I could unleash wind release on this scale," Maki said from a distance, squinting against the oncoming wind.
The Three-Star Fan is a special ninja tool crafted in Sunagakure, capable of enhancing wind release techniques. It's quite rare, and the strongest one is currently in Karura's possession.
"Hardy's strength is leaving us behind. With his coordinated puppets, there's basically no chunin who could stand against him. Maybe he really could take on a jonin like he claims. At the very least, right now, Captain Chiran doesn't seem to be able to take him down quickly," Yakura said, playing with a kunai as she watched the intense battle ahead, her eyes showing a hint of eagerness.
"Hey, Yakura, don't tell me you're thinking of joining in too?" Maki asked, swallowing nervously as he watched the exchange of rockets and ninjutsu in the distance.
If it were an ordinary jonin, he might dare to step in, but Chiran was no ordinary jonin.
"No, this is their fight. But I do want to find a chance to spar with Hardy myself," Yakura replied.
Maki sighed quietly.
Guess I'm just not up to it.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Mouse Shock!"
A flurry of rapidly spinning shuriken shot out, connected by chains of lightning. They precisely sliced through several of Hardy's small rockets, bursting into little fireworks in the air.
"There's just no opening…" Hardy muttered, sitting inside Dai Ivan, feeling a bit of a headache as he looked ahead.
Whether it was speed, close combat, or ranged ninjutsu, Chiran excelled at them all.
His only real weakness was a lack of particularly strong defensive ninjutsu, but even so, it was more than enough.
Conventional attacks basically couldn't touch Chiran. His body flicker technique was so fast that even Hardy's eyes had trouble keeping up.
If he could continuously fire multiple small rockets to create a barrage, maybe he could get some results—but Hardy didn't have that capability.
Cost wasn't the main issue; he simply couldn't load that much ammunition, unless he could find a way to supplement it in the future, like using linked explosive tags.
But Hardy couldn't.
Chiran was nearly flawless—unless you had some unconventional secret technique, a kekkei genkai, or overwhelming numbers, beating someone like him one-on-one would probably take a kage-level powerhouse.
Still, there were advantages to Chiran's strength.
Hardy could test out all of Dai Ivan's new features without holding back. At full firepower, he could at least cause Chiran some minor trouble.
Chiran himself was a bit troubled, too.
Now that Hardy's strength had reached this level, he wasn't so easy to deal with anymore.
If he went all out, he could definitely win, but Hardy's puppets would likely be damaged—and Hardy himself might even get hurt.
It was just a sparring match, after all. There was no need to take it that far.