Ino kept detonating water bubbles, making continuous "clack, clack" sounds, but water bubbles were not Deidara's Clay Bombs.
More often, they used the splash from the explosion to erode the sand over a wider area.
Gaara set up three layers of shields, and by the time the third layer was eroded, the sand that formed the first layer of defense had already dried.
This cycle repeated, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the Water Bubble Ninjutsu.
Gaara's face was distorted with rage, his eyes fixed on Ino, his heart filled with malice; the more beautiful something was, the more he wanted to destroy it.
Why do you all live so well, while I have to live in purgatory?
His malice was too strong, and Ino, sensing this thick killing intent, immediately stopped holding back.
She shot out like an arrow, without any fancy moves, and delivered a Super Strength Fist head-on.
Gaara's Taijutsu, strength, and speed were completely suppressed by her.
Especially in the areas of Taijutsu and speed.
Before he could even see what was happening, Ino's fist punched a large hole directly through the Sand Shield that was being eroded by water bubbles.
Ino changed her fist into a claw, used her arm strength, grabbed Gaara by his collar, and forcefully dragged him out of the Sand Shield.
Then, holding his collar with one hand and the cloth strap of his gourd on his back with the other, she lifted his entire body horizontally.
With a loud shout, a knee strike landed on Gaara's stomach, sending the future Fifth Kazekage flying over three meters high, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood while still in mid-air.
Gaara gritted his teeth, realizing that her speed was faster than his, and immediately waved his right hand, attempting to entangle her limbs with fine sand to restrict her movement.
Ino stomped her feet on the ground, taking a step forward before the sand could close in, her body like a drawn bow, and her left foot rose high again.
Gaara had seen this move when she fought Temari earlier, and now, being in mid-air, he couldn't dodge, so he could only cross his arms to protect his face.
"Painful Sky Foot!" Ino's left foot came down from above, heavily smashing onto Gaara's arm, instantly breaking his wrist and arm bones, forcing him to channel Tailed Beast Chakra to heal his injuries.
Before he could land, Ino shifted her feet, darted forward, grabbed his wrist in a backhand grip, pulled him towards herself, then clenched her left fist, swung her arm sharply outwards, and quickly threw a punch.
"Super Strength Fist!"
The fist, carrying immense power, smashed into Gaara's left cheek, sending him staggering back seven or eight meters, his feet stumbling, and a large amount of sand crumbling from his face.
In a critical moment, he had no choice but to use his Sand Armor for defense, which barely managed to mitigate most of the damage from that punch.
"You're glaring at me?"
"You want me dead?"
"Still not convinced?!"
Ino's fists rained down like a storm; Gaara tried to fight back, but his Taijutsu was simply too terrible!
Ino had never seen anyone with worse Taijutsu than him in all this time; did he never train at all?
She was often attacked with Taijutsu, and now, facing someone weaker than her in Taijutsu, her mood was exceptionally pleasant.
Facing this veritable "sandbag," she landed punch after punch, finding it incredibly stress-relieving, reducing the pressure Orochimaru had put on her by more than half.
Gaara had completely underestimated the rapid growth of her Taijutsu; his original plan of both sides standing still and throwing Ninjutsu at each other was now useless.
He also tried to throw punches back, but Ino, having been trained by Tsunade for a month, gave him no chance, keeping Gaara within her two-meter close-combat range and continuously hitting him.
Whenever the sand dried and surrounded him, Ino would use water bubbles to erode his sand, then continue her assault.
Temari and Kankuro, watching from the arena, were terribly anxious but had no good solutions.
The "Fourth Kazekage" high in the stands was also very disappointed.
No wonder your Sunagakure Village has become the disgrace of the Five Great Ninja Villages; you're truly lacking in strength.
Was that fierce Jinchuriki really only at this level?
His son, whom the Fourth Kazekage spoke of with a constipated expression, was now being pressed down and used as a sandbag?
He knew that Ino still had a particularly "overpowered" move she hadn't used yet; she was currently fighting the enemy entirely with her weaknesses.
All preparations for the Konoha Crush were complete; at this moment, he couldn't add any extra drama and could only watch patiently.
Ino beat Gaara for three minutes, and he continuously relied on Tailed Beast Chakra to restore his body.
As she was hitting him, the guy even sneered, implying, "If you've got the guts, kill me! If you can't kill me now, I'll kill you later!"
Ino couldn't kill anyone in this setting, and she was also annoyed by the Tailed Beast's recovery ability.
You're getting on my nerves, aren't you?
Water, Earth, and Wind—three types of Chakra appeared simultaneously on her fingertips, then she replaced Lightning with Yin Release and Fire with Yang Release.
Without a word, Ino tore open Gaara's upper clothing, her right hand formed into a claw, and her five fingers, imbued with five types of Chakra, branded down onto the thin boy's stomach.
"Five Elements Seal!"
Her five fingers were like five branding irons, directly piercing through his body; Gaara felt immense pain, a pain he hadn't experienced in a very, very long time.
"Ah—!" He let out a pained scream.
With the Five Elements Seal applied, Gaara's connection with the Tailed Beast inside him was instantly severed by more than half, and his recovery ability plummeted.
Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances, both seeing the horror in each other's eyes.
"That wild boar... no, that Konoha Female Ninja, she's not trying to seal the monster inside Gaara, is she?" Temari's face was filled with disbelief.
Sealing, unsealing—in her impression, these were jobs for the Village's higher-ups and Jonin; she couldn't imagine that her opponent from half an hour ago possessed such profound Ninjutsu mastery.
Naruto, with his hands clasped behind his head and eyes squinted, found Ino's movements just now extremely familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen them before.
The Jonin of Sunagakure in the high stands immediately became restless.
Good heavens, the Tailed Beast was sealed?
How were they going to launch their attack later?
They couldn't just slink back like this, could they?
What would they say when they returned? That a Genin's Sealing Technique from Konoha Village scared them so much that they didn't dare to move and simply returned?
The Sunagakure Ninja didn't know what specific Sealing Technique it was, but the "Fourth Kazekage" recognized it at a glance: it was the Five Elements Seal, a Sealing Technique he himself knew.
At this moment, he truly couldn't remain a bystander; he could only protest to the Third Hokage on behalf of the Sunagakure Ninja: "Your Village's Ninja's Sealing Technique is truly impressive..."
Even he couldn't in good conscience call it a low-level Ninjutsu, so he offered a few praises, then changed his tone: "Is it really appropriate for your Village's Ninja to seal the Ichibi like this?"
The Third Hokage's smile was full of a Versailles-like flavor: "Sealing Technique is also Ninjutsu, and the Chunin Exams do not have a rule prohibiting the use of Sealing Technique, do they? At least, I don't recall one.
Since Ino knows how to use it, we can't just stop her from using it now, can we? I will have her unseal it after the match, Kazekage-sama, so please rest assured."
I'm not at all reassured!
The "Fourth Kazekage" felt that today's big show had not even begun, yet there had already been an unexpected and strange turn of events.
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