The electronic board came to life again. The names began to flash in luminous characters while silence filled the stands.
Click. Click. Click.
SAKURA HARUNO VS. INO YAMANAKA
"Ehhhh!" The collective scream echoed throughout the tower.
"No way!" Kiba exclaimed from the upper stands. "They are going to fight each other!"
"The old rivals..." Shikamaru yawned. "What a drag."
Naruto turned toward Sakura with a huge smile that lit up his face.
"Sakura-chan! You can do it!"
Sakura's face turned a soft shade of pink. Her heart gave a small leap in her chest, and her hands tightened against her clothes.
"T-thanks, Naruto..."
"Hey, hey!" Ino appeared on Naruto's other side with her hands on her hips and an expression between annoyed and playful. "How cruel, Naruto-kun! Having a favorite in the family? What about me?"
"Oh, right," Naruto responded with the carelessness of someone who does not understand the danger he is getting into. "The best is Hinata. I had my first date with her."
Hinata, who had been watching everything from her usual position next to Naruto, turned redder than a ripe tomato. Her hands flew to her face, covering the lower half.
"N-N-Naruto-kun..." she stammered, steam practically coming out of her ears.
"Ah, it's true!" Naruto continued cheerfully, completely oblivious to the emotional crisis he was causing. "She even gave me a kiss on the cheek!"
Hinata made a sound that could have been a muffled squeak. Her knees shook dangerously, and Kiba had to grab her arm before she collapsed.
"Hinata! Stay awake!"
"Wait..." Ino looked at Hinata with eyes as wide as saucers. "You? The shy Hinata Hyuga? You were that bold?"
Sakura watched the scene with a small smile. She already knew about the date. How could she forget that embarrassing question from Naruto, asking her if he was already engaged to Hinata just because of a simple kiss on the cheek. The memory made her smile tenderly.
But now, looking at Naruto speaking with such warmth about his date with Hinata, something warm expanded in her chest. Hinata was her friend, part of her family. Seeing the two of them happy filled her with joy.
But also...
I would like to ask him out, Sakura thought, her cheeks warming up again as she observed Naruto's profile. To be the one who takes the initiative. I've made up my mind: after the Chunin Exams... I will confess my feelings to him.
"WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Inner Sakura screamed in her head, running in circles in a panic. "CONFESS TO HIM?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?! WHAT IF HE REJECTS YOU?! WHAT IF HE SAYS HE ONLY SEES YOU AS A FRIEND?! WHAT IF...?!"
Sakura looked at Naruto again. His blue eyes sparkled as he gestured animatedly, explaining something to Hinata that made her turn even redder. When he smiled, showing those white teeth, Sakura's heart raced.
How did I not realize how handsome he is? she thought with a silly little smile.
"SHANNARO! CONTROL YOURSELF!" Inner Sakura kept shouting. "YOU ARE DROOLING!"
"I want another date too," Ino declared, crossing her arms with a defiant smile. "Naruto-kun, after I win this match, how about you take me out for ramen?"
"Ino-pig!" Sakura snapped out of her daydream, narrowing her eyes.
"What's wrong, billboard-brow?" Ino shot back. "Jealous?"
"The participants of the third match," Hayate's voice cut the tension. "Come down to the arena. Cough."
Sakura and Ino looked at each other.
"I'm not going to hold back," Ino said in a low voice as she began to walk toward the stairs.
"Neither am I," Sakura replied, following her.
*****
The arena fell silent as the two kunoichi positioned themselves face to face. Hayate stood between them, coughing slightly.
"Ready?"
"Ready," Sakura said, taking her combat stance.
"Born ready," Ino replied, brushing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Begin."
Ino lunged forward with impressive speed, her hands already forming signs. Sakura responded instantly, jumping back while her own hands moved.
"Bunshin no Jutsu!" both shouted simultaneously.
Clouds of smoke exploded on both sides of the arena. When they dissipated, there were three Sakuras and three Inos looking at each other.
"Is that all you've got?" one of the Inos asked with a mocking smile.
"I could ask you the same," a Sakura replied.
The six figures threw themselves at one another. The illusory clones mingled in a visual chaos of pink and blonde hair, creating deliberate confusion. An Ino clone passed directly through a Sakura clone as if it were smoke, and vice versa. The clones could not hit or be hit; they were simple visual projections designed to hide real movements.
"Their ninjutsu is evenly matched," Kurenai observed from the upper stands. "But Sakura has better chakra control."
"Ino is more aggressive," Asuma added, lighting a cigarette.
Among the chaos of illusions, the two real kunoichi finally found each other. Their fists clashed with an audible thud, and both skidded back across the floor. The clones dissipated instantly, revealing the true battle.
"You've improved," Ino admitted, shaking her hand. "The training with Tsunade-sama has done you good."
"You've improved since our last battle too," Sakura replied, though there was a new determination in her gaze. "But I was the second to receive the Falna from Naruto. I've had more time to develop my skills."
Ino's eyes narrowed. "You think that gives you an advantage?"
"I don't think so," Sakura smiled. "I know so."
Sakura lunged forward, but this time there was a difference in her speed. A difference that made Ino blink in surprise. Sakura's fist went directly toward her stomach, and although Ino managed to block with both arms, the impact was...
CRACK!
An explosion of concussive force erupted at the point of contact. Ino was thrown back, rolling across the ground until she stopped several meters away.
"INO!" Choji shouted from the stands, grabbing the railing.
"What was that?" Tenten murmured, her brown eyes wide open.
Ino got up slowly, spitting blood. Her arms trembled where she had blocked the blow, and she could see bruises forming under her skin.
"Fine," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I see how this is going to be."
Sakura advanced again, giving her no time to recover. She launched a combination of low and high blows, forcing Ino back step by step. Every block made Ino's arms shake from the impact. The difference in raw strength was evident.
"Damn it!" Ino jumped back, creating distance. Her hands came together in front of her chest, forming a triangular seal. Her chakra began to accumulate.
"Ino has her mental attack ready," Hinata whispered, leaning forward. "Her chakra just changed nature."
Sakura felt it too. A chill ran down her spine, the same one she had felt in their training match. She stopped, adopting a more cautious stance. She already knew the Psychic Needle. She had already experienced its pain.
"Psychic Needle," Ino whispered, and her hand moved as if she were throwing an invisible projectile.
The air vibrated. Sakura could not see it, but she knew exactly what to expect. She threw herself to the side before Ino completed the movement, rolling on the floor. Where she had been standing a moment before, the air seemed to distort.
"Got used to it already?" Ino smiled dangerously. "That won't save you, Sakura."
"I know," Sakura replied, staying in constant motion. "That's why I don't plan on dodging forever."
"Go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice echoed from the stands. "You can do it!"
"Ino! Don't give up!" Choji shouted as well.
The two girls looked at each other, and for a moment, there was a silent understanding between them. This was about personal pride.
Ino launched three Psychic Needles in rapid succession, her hands moving with precision. Sakura dodged them with a series of fluid movements, her body twisting and sliding. But the arena space was limited, and Ino was creating a pattern, cutting off her escape routes.
This time Ino did not throw the needle directly. Instead, she threw several in a calculated pattern, creating an invisible web around Sakura. The pink-haired girl moved, dodging one, then another, but the third one grazed her.
"Ah!"
The pain was instant and agonizing. Sakura grit her teeth, refusing to scream.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto gripped the railing, his knuckles white.
"Don't intervene," Hinata put a hand on his shoulder. "It's her fight."
"You already hit me with that before," Sakura whispered through her teeth, channeling chakra to her legs. The pain was still there, throbbing in her left arm, but she pushed it back with pure willpower. "Did you think I wouldn't find a way to overcome it?"
Ino narrowed her eyes, preparing another attack. "Talk is easy when you're hurt."
"I trained with a Sannin," Sakura replied. "Pain is part of the training."
The ground under Sakura's feet cracked.
BOOM!
Sakura disappeared from her position. Her speed was blinding, a result of channeling all her chakra into her legs in a single instant. Ino barely had time to process the movement before Sakura was upon her.
"Shit!" Ino tried to back away, desperately launching another Psychic Needle.
But Sakura had already learned from the previous fight. She moved in a zigzag, making it impossible for Ino to track her visually fast enough to aim. In a blink, she closed the distance completely.
"Get away!" Ino screamed, and her long blonde hair came to life, attempting to tangle around Sakura.
Sakura spun, dodging the chakra-enhanced strands of hair. Her right arm was already in motion, her fist aiming directly at the center of Ino's chest.
Ino crossed her arms in front of her chest in a desperate block.
BOOM!
The Point Break explosion was devastating. Even blocked, the concussive force threw Ino several meters back. She landed heavily, rolling several times before stopping. Her arms were completely numb, and she could feel that fractures were inevitable.
"Ino..." Sakura advanced slowly, her left arm still hanging weakly from the previous Psychic Needle attack. "Give up. I don't want to hurt you anymore."
"Give up?" Ino laughed, though the sound came out broken by the pain. She stood up with difficulty, her arms shaking. "In front of Naruto-kun? No way."
"INO! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Asuma shouted from the stands.
But Ino wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on Sakura with fierce determination. She formed the seal with her trembling hands, gathering all her remaining chakra.
"One last time," she whispered. "Shintenshin no Jutsu."
Her body fell forward, inert, as her consciousness shot toward Sakura like an invisible arrow. It was her most dangerous technique, the one that defined her as a kunoichi of the Yamanaka Clan. If it connected, she could control Sakura's body completely.
Sakura felt it coming. The mental projection tearing through the space between them.
Ino's consciousness hit her mind.
For a moment, Sakura felt Ino's presence trying to take control. She felt her rival's determination, her desperation to win, her need to prove her worth.
But Sakura had been trained by Tsunade. She had molded her mind until it became pure steel.
"NO!" Sakura shouted mentally, pushing back with every ounce of her will.
The invasion was violently rejected. Ino's consciousness was expelled, bouncing back to her body.
In the arena, Ino's body gasped, her eyes snapping open. The chakra exhaustion and the violent rejection of the technique had left her completely empty.
She fell to her knees, breathing heavily, totally exhausted.
"I can't..." Ino gasped. "I can't... move anymore..."
"The winner," Hayate announced, appearing between them. "Sakura Haruno. Cough."
Silence filled the arena for a moment. Then the stands exploded in applause and cheers.
"THAT'S IT, SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto was jumping up and down. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!"
"Well done, Ino!" Choji shouted as well. "You fought amazing!"
In the arena, Sakura walked toward Ino and extended her hand. Ino looked at her for a moment, then smiled and took it.
"You won," Ino said as Sakura helped her up. "This time."
"You were incredible," Sakura replied sincerely. "That Psychic Needle almost defeated me."
"Almost doesn't count," Ino murmured, but there was no real bitterness in her voice. Only exhaustion. "But next time..."
"Next time will be different," Sakura finished with a small smile.
The medics came running to attend to Ino, but she refused the stretcher. With Sakura's help, she began to walk toward the stairs, limping slightly.
When they reached the stands, Naruto was waiting for them.
"Ino! That was incredible!" he exclaimed, moving to help her sit down. "That mental needle technique is still super scary. You improved it since the last time you used it."
Ino's face turned a light shade of pink as Naruto helped her get settled.
"T-thanks, Naruto-kun..."
Then Naruto turned to Sakura, and his smile grew even wider if that was possible.
"Sakura-chan! That was the most incredible battle I've seen so far!"
Sakura blinked, heat immediately rising to her cheeks.
"R-really?"
"Totally!" Naruto approached her with enthusiasm, gesturing animatedly. "That explosion in your punches was super cool. And the way you dodged those invisible needles, and that speed at the end... It was epic! You two were epic. This was definitely the best battle so far."
"Naruto..." Sakura felt her heart beating so hard she was sure everyone could hear it.
"Seriously, Sakura-chan," Naruto continued, his blue eyes shining with genuine admiration. "You've improved so much since we started as a team. Tsunade-baachan must be super proud."
From her position in the upper stands, Tsunade smiled slightly.
Sakura couldn't help it. She smiled so widely that her cheeks began to hurt.
"Thank you, Naruto. That... that means a lot to me."
"Of course!" Naruto gave her a thumb up. "We're family, remember? Families support each other."
Hinata watched everything with a small smile on her lips.
He's going to have to choose eventually, Hinata thought with a mix of amusement and empathy. Poor Naruto-kun. He has no idea.
From another sector of the stands, Temari watched everything with her arms crossed. Her green eyes were fixed on Sakura, analyzing her with the same intensity she would use to evaluate an enemy on the battlefield.
That pink-haired girl is dangerous, Temari thought. Explosive power in every hit, exceptional chakra control, good combat instincts. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.
Then her gaze slid toward Hinata, the shy girl who was always near Naruto. There was a detail about her that made Temari's instincts prickle. The way she moved, so silent and seemingly harmless. The way her eyes observed everything without appearing threatening.
But it's her, Temari realized with a shiver. That's the dangerous one. I don't know why I feel it, but that shy girl is a greater threat than the pink-haired one.
She shook her head, trying to disperse those thoughts. It was not the time for distractions. She had to focus. Soon it would be her turn to go down to that arena, to show what she was made of.
The electronic board came to life again, preparing to reveal the next match.
"Fourth match," Hayate announced. "Get ready. Cough."
The names began to flash again. In the stands, the Genin watched with anticipation mixed with nervousness. Each battle had been more intense than the last. Sasuke with his Sharingan dominating Zaku. Shino with his chakra-devouring insects overcoming Kankuro. And now, Sakura and Ino had proven that kunoichi could be just as fierce as any man.
******
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