"SAKURA, DODGE!"
Ino shouted to Sakura as she leaped aside.
In Pokemon, "Dodge it!" might sound like an incredibly simple instruction, but in the Shinobi World... it proved just as useful.
Sakura dove forward, narrowly avoiding the Human Bullet Flame Chariot's attack.
Both girls were only scorched by the radiant heat and burning grease flung off by the high-speed rotation.
"Just as I thought," Ino murmured, sighing in relief as the massive flaming boulder careened toward the spectator stands like an untamed stallion.
As a member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, she was well-versed in the three clans' techniques and their coordinated attacks.
One such collaborative ninjutsu was the Human Bullet Yo-Yo.
It required the Yamanaka Clan to provide a telepathic radar to lock onto the enemy, while the Nara Clan used their shadows to tether the Akimichi Clan's Human Boulder, creating a perfect three-in-one assault.
All three elements were indispensable.
Without the Yamanaka Clan, it would be impossible to pinpoint the enemy's exact location and relay it to the Nara Clan in time.
Without the Nara Clan's shadows, even with the intel, the Human Boulder couldn't change direction swiftly enough.
The moment Ino saw the Akimichi kunoichi preparing for a coordinated attack, she recognized the weakness.
This is the flaw.
The Human Boulder required the user to spin at high speed, creating immense inertia.
This made it nearly impossible for the user to think about precise turns. Therefore, as long as you dodged the initial charge, you were completely safe.
As for the Human Bullet Flame Chariot hurtling toward the spectator stands?
With so many powerful shinobi present, surely someone will react in time and jump down to block it, right?
"EARTH RELEASE: EARTH FLOW WALL!"
Kurotsuchi leaped down from the high platform, slammed her hands onto the ground, and a thick earthen barricade rose to block the flaming chariot's impact.
However, the attack's momentum was truly immense, a single wall couldn't completely stop it.
The stone began to crack.
Standing behind it, Kurotsuchi gathered dense rock around her right arm and fist, preparing to personally punch the flaming boulder to a halt.
The Raikage remained on the high balcony, observing without intervening.
He was confident that if Kurotsuchi failed, he could instantly activate his Lightning Armor and block the attack at maximum speed.
But he didn't think Kurotsuchi would fail, she was the Tsuchikage after all.
It would be completely humiliating if she couldn't block an attack from two Genin participating in the Chūnin Exam—even if she was a full generation younger than them.
The Raikage's main reason for not acting was to gauge the new Tsuchikage's true strength.
The previous international conflict had ended so abruptly that the Intelligence Division hadn't managed to gather any useful data on her.
"Should I help?" Gaara asked, glancing at the other Kage.
Against an attack like the 'Human Bullet Flame Chariot', Gaara's sand defense was undeniably the most suitable to stop it.
Hearing Gaara speak, the Raikage's brow tightened.
His division had long since gathered intel on Gaara's strength. He demonstrated it numerous times while claiming the Kazekage title and during the power transition in the Land of Wind.
The Raikage couldn't openly stop Gaara, that would be too obvious.
"NO, NO, NO! LET ME TRY!"
Hanabi scurried over from the sidelines and leaned eagerly over the edge of the high platform.
"A Hyūga..."
Seeing the little girl run over, the Raikage recalled the reports about the Main Family heiress Makoto had spirited away from Konoha.
"Little girl, what are you planning? Be careful not to harm the contestants, they're still in the middle of a match. It's just an ordinary combination ninjutsu. Even if its power were ten times stronger, Kurotsuchi could still block it. There's no need to worry."
Mei Terumi had unknowingly walked up beside Hanabi and placed a hand on her arm.
As someone who experienced Primal Reversion firsthand, Mei sensed the exact same aura radiating from Kurotsuchi.
This means Makoto gave 'it' to Kurotsuchi too.
'Ugh, why does that sound so strange?'
In any case, having felt the power of Primal Reversion herself, Mei knew that if Kurotsuchi truly unleashed her strength, she could easily shatter the entire arena.
So what's there to worry about?
"Fine, I'll be honest! I don't want to help, I just want to try it out!" Hanabi grew anxious.
If she didn't act now, the earth wall below would break and she'd lose her chance!
Without waiting for anyone's approval, she activated her Byakugan.
"Locked on!"
"EIGHT TRIGRAMS AIR PALM!"
Hanabi swiftly locked onto a highly specific target—who knew what—and fired a concentrated blast of wind from her fingertips toward the arena below.
"AHHHHH!"
Akimichi Rianko, spinning at high speed and completely engulfed in burning oil and flames, couldn't hear anything from the outside world.
But the moment she was hit, she let out a strange, agonizing cry.
Her rotation stopped abruptly.
She stumbled out of the flames and awkwardly clutched her rear, looking around in frantic confusion.
Who the hell was that?!
How did someone manage to use an unknown technique to snipe her Vagina while she was spinning at high speed?!
"HEY, SAKURA, INO! YOU KNOW MEDICAL NINJUTSU, RIGHT? COULD YOU HEAL HER A LITTLE? JUST STOP THE BLEEDING! THEN YOU CAN KEEP FIGHTING!" Hanabi shouted down to them.
"Heal her?"
Sakura and Ino exchanged a glance, then looked over in confusion.
They saw the Akimichi kunoichi clutching her backside, which was already starting to bleed.
'Ugh...'
"Fine, I'll do it," Sakura sighed, her lip twitching.
She stepped forward to begin the treatment.
'After all,' she thought, 'Ino's warning to dodge just saved me from getting flattened. I'll consider this repaying the favor.'
"Huh?" Akimichi Rianko followed the shout and looked up, freezing when she spotted the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan watching from the balcony.
'So it's not just us who developed new techniques. Even the old-fashioned Hyūga Clan hasn't been stagnating.'
'The Hyūga Clan, with their long-range attacks, perfect aim, and X-ray vision... they're just too treacherous!'
"..."
Sarada felt like she couldn't watch anymore.
'Mom...'
Faced with healing an enemy's Vagina wound, Sakura didn't even argue.
She just stepped forward and, before the opponent could react, eagerly started the treatment.
'What is she doing? Is she that eager to touch her?'
Sarada recalled the Fifth Hokage's earlier answer to her question, "Are they partners?"—"I suppose so."
'So... the Fifth Hokage wasn't lying.'
"Thanks," Akimichi Rianko mumbled, blushing slightly.
"Don't thank me. I'm just ensuring a fair fight," Sakura replied smoothly.
With the awkward treatment complete, Rianko and Sakura returned to their positions, ready to resume the battle.
"Fatty, the opponent is a Yamanaka. She knows our clan's weaknesses. Switch to another technique," Sarutobi Umazane advised his teammate with a serious glare.
"RIGHT!"
"PARTIAL EXPANSION TECHNIQUE!"
"FIRE RELEASE—"
Once again, Umazane used the classic move of unleashing Fire Release on a teammate.
But this time, it wasn't the hard-to-control Human Boulder.
Instead, the flames engulfed Rianko's massive, expanded hands.
She instantly transformed, wielding giant flaming fists as she swung relentlessly at Sakura and Ino.
"Hiss, so hot! BILLBOARD BROW, STOP HOLDING BACK! IT'S TIME WE USED OUR COMBINATION ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE!" Ino yelled to Sakura after barely blocking a punch and skidding backward in the dirt.