Nii Yugito was full of heroic spirit, her gaze sharp, and as she stood there, she was like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed.
Tsunade also possessed a heroic spirit, but previous experiences and her hemophobia had always troubled her. Now, she was like a sharp sword dulled by dust, and being older, she had no intention of competing with the younger generation, so her aura appeared slightly weaker.
Ino would not set restrictions like, 'Your Tailed Beast is powerful, but if you're so capable, don't use it,' or 'Your claws are formidable, but if you're so capable, don't use them.' Her opponent wouldn't agree to such terms either. Since a Jinchuriki endured an unfortunate childhood and countless hostilities, and spent a great deal of time communicating with her Tailed Beast and deepening their emotional bond, then the Tailed Beast was naturally a part of her power and could, of course, be used in battle.
It was the same for her. Sealing Technique, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Steam Impurities Explosion—at this moment, she would use whatever she had. With a top-tier Medical Ninja nearby, as long as it wasn't instant death, she would be fine. One could say there were no restrictions.
Upon learning that Ino was ready, Yugito flicked her braid, her form like lightning, instantly covering over ten meters. Her right hand's five fingers splayed, her nails growing long like five sharp short swords. She lunged her arm forward, fiercely stabbing towards Ino's chest.
So fast!
Even if it was just a test, Yugito's speed was still terrifyingly fast. In comparison, the battles in the Chunin Exams were nothing more than child's play.
Ino's current'Speed' of 7 points could barely keep up with Yugito's movements. She tapped her toes on the ground, retreating swiftly, while simultaneously firing three Kunai.
Yugito's balance was astonishingly good. During her lunge, her body defied all logic, twisting, ducking, and bending, avoiding the flying Kunai with almost no impact on her lunge speed.
The gleaming sharp claws extended forward, just one step away from piercing Ino's heart. Ino's cheeks suddenly puffed out, and without any hand signs, she continuously spat out several streams of Chakra water, like fine needles, towards Yugito.
This was a Water Release Ninjutsu learned from the Second Hokage that did not require hand signs.
"Water Release: Heavenly Weeping!"
Yugito had never seen this Ninjutsu, nor had it been mentioned in the Village's intelligence reports. The distance between them was too close. The moment before she felt the chilling cold of the Chakra needles about to pierce her eyeballs, she twisted her waist to the extreme, quickly bringing her toes down, then her heels, and forcefully leaned back, narrowly avoiding the Chakra water streams.
Ino's right hand reached into her waist pouch, and a Kunai appeared in her palm. Gripping the hilt, she stabbed it towards Yugito's toned abdomen.
Using the force of her backward lean, Yugito used both hands for support, simultaneously engaging her waist and knees, performing an agile backflip. Her two long legs moved from bottom to top, drawing a silver crescent arc.
Like a feline, not only did her hands transform into sharp claws, but her feet also became sharp weapons. Her toenails grew long at this moment, becoming twenty-centimeter blades, which she then swept towards Ino's chest and abdomen.
Her two long legs, combined with her foot claws, had an enormous attack range. Ino quickly changed her move, turning her Kunai from a stab to a slash, shifting her center of gravity backward, and retreating sharply. In the nick of time, she retreated five steps, re-establishing distance.
A small three-centimeter section of her bangs was cut by the foot claws, and golden strands of hair floated in the wind. Yugito's shirt on her chest was torn, revealing a ten-centimeter long wound on her fair skin, and a third of each of her two semicircles was exposed.
Yugito had no intention of covering herself. Most of the people present were women, so was there any need to cover up?
What? You mean the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee? Those two who had trained their brains into muscle—it would be difficult for them to subjectively comprehend the concept of a woman. Fitness equipment was their focus. Women? Sorry, no.
"Your Taijutsu is better than expected," Yugito praised sincerely.
Ino nodded, "You're not the first person to say that."
"Next, I'll go all out."
"Good."
The next second, the two clashed again.
Yugito's entire body was a weapon—claw attacks, kicks, and spinning kicks after a brief mid-air pause. She could often launch attacks from incredible angles. Her attack speed was fast, and the seamless transitions between her skills made Ino feel like she was fighting a wild beast.
Two left and right claw attacks, followed by Muay Thai-like knee strikes and kicks, then a forward charge attack. Ino had to jump to dodge, which put her back into Yugito's attack rhythm. Yugito's body was extremely light, and she was skilled at launching fluid spinning kicks and claw attacks.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over twenty moves.
To break her opponent's attack rhythm, Ino used Water Release: Heavenly Weeping three times and Water Formation Wall once.
The area slightly above Yugito's brow bone was grazed by Water Release: Heavenly Weeping. She used Tailed Beast Chakra to recover her body. On Ino's side, five deep gashes were cut into the outside of her right arm. She used the massive water flow at the scene to partially liquefy, and quickly healed her wounds.
Yugito exclaimed, "You are indeed a strong person. It is an honor to fight you."
"...Well, it's my honor too."
Yugito's movements were erratic, and her speed grew faster and faster. One second she appeared to be directly in front, but in reality, she had already used her high speed to circle to the side. The next second, one might expect her to attack from above, but Ino felt a chill down her spine and quickly turned around, using a Kunai to block the sharp claws.
She felt like she was dealing with an enhanced version of Kimimaro, fighting very cautiously.
Yugito was wary of her Water Release: Heavenly Weeping and dared not stay in the same spot for too long.
The Shadow Clone Technique was a good Ninjutsu for bullying weaker opponents, but facing a Jinchuriki like Yugito, splitting her Chakra would be too foolish.
Ino took a moment to unleash a Water Severing Wave, which Yugito easily dodged with two consecutive backflips like a gymnast. Her opponent clearly had a vast amount of Chakra, yet she consistently fought using Taijutsu, which was much more intelligent than Gaara, who was also a Jinchuriki.
Ino, mimicking Lee's tone, shouted, "Teacher! I'm going to use that forbidden Jutsu!"
Tsunade, from a distance, impatiently yelled, "Hurry up! I'm going drinking later!"
She turned to the Fourth Raikage, "You don't want the news of your arm-wrestling trickery to get out, do you?"
The Fourth Raikage was very annoyed, and more so, perplexed. Why do you Konoha people speak so ambiguously?
He asked in a muffled voice, "What's wrong?"
Tsunade, with the air of a grandmaster, said, "Don't let any information you see later leak out. This is my unique secret technique."
Originally, Yugito bullying a smaller opponent was not a glorious matter. According to the Hidden Cloud Village's internal saying, Konoha Village Ninja are no good! Hidden Cloud Village Ninja are good! Since his own Jonin was having such a difficult time fighting Konoha's Chunin, he certainly wouldn't publicize it.
"Hmm, I promise."
While they were talking, Ino continuously used three Water Surging Waves.
She forced Yugito back from three directions, then quickly formed hand signs, ending with the'Serpent' seal, gathering all the Chakra in her body.
"Flower World Advent!"
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