"Cough, cough… Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino—please enter the arena!"
Gekkō Hayate, cross-legged under the sculpture, coughed twice and called out the next pair.
When the two girls' names rang out, every Konoha ninja's face got weird.
Even if they staggered the matches to avoid peak crowds, pitting two best friends against each other? That's just cruel for kicks.
All the jonin leaders flicked their eyes up to the high platform where Hiruzen Sarutobi sat, calm as ever.
"Whyyy does it have to be me versus Sakura?!"
Ino slid down the wall in duck-sit position, clutching her head.
"It's fine," Chouji crunched a chip. "It'll be over quick—just like mine."
"Think positive," Shikamaru slung an arm over Ino's shoulder and tilted his head toward the medical bay stacked with unconscious ninja. "At least Sakura won't put you in the hospital, right?" He grinned like the little troll he is.
Betrayed by her own teammates, Ino's nostrils flared.
"Hmph! Don't underestimate me—I'll win and shove it in your faces!"
Fired up, she stomped into the arena, steam practically coming out her ears.
Behind her, Shikamaru and Chouji high-fived.
"Go Sakura-chan! Don't lose to Ino!"
Naruto was literally hanging off the railing, yelling his lungs out. Sasuke scooted away in disgust.
"Ino!"
Sakura brought her hands together in the confrontation seal, right in front of her chest.
A freezing wind howled through the indoor arena. Ice crystals swirled inside her boiling chakra.
Her hair and eyes bleached snow-white. Her black ninja gear turned pure, crisp white—like she was wrapped in the lost winds of a frozen tundra.
Shimmering ribbons of frost danced around her, beautiful and lethal.
The storm grazed the edge of the spectator stands—just a brush—and ninja hair and eyebrows frosted over instantly.
"That's the jutsu that flash-froze the exam grounds?! Konoha's monster!"
Ninja from other villages bugged out, grabbing the railing—only to find their hands stuck.
"Ino…" Asuma's face tightened. He tried lighting a cigarette; the match wouldn't even spark.
"Sakura, what are you thinking?" Kakashi shook ice off his hair, arms crossed, staring at the two girls.
"That kind of technique… you don't use it on teammates."
Onoki seized the moment to stir the pot.
The other two village leaders stayed silent, eyes locked on Hiruzen.
"No worries," the Third said serenely, ignoring Onoki's jab completely. "I trust that child's judgment—and her love for her comrades!"
"Ino, forfeit! You'll die out there!"
Shikamaru and Chouji were sweating bullets in the cold, yelling the second they broke free of the ice.
"NO!"
Ino's voice cut clean through the blizzard.
Stubborn, she pushed against the freezing current, throwing up her own confrontation seal toward the ice-queen in front of her.
"If I back down now, I'll never catch her shadow again!"
She yanked kunai, shuriken, and wire from her pouch—flinging the shuriken first.
Then she threaded wire through a kunai and hurled it at the ceiling.
Whoosh!
Sakura blew at the spinning shuriken.
The breath that came out was a torrent of sub-zero air. The steel shuriken froze solid mid-flight—then shattered into powder with a crystalline crack.
"Holy—Sakura hates Ino that much?!"
Naruto's eyes popped. He rubbed his arms, teeth chattering, and backed up.
"Hn. Idiot," Sasuke grunted, hands still in pockets despite the cold. "She's going all-out because she respects her."
Naruto rolled his eyes so hard they nearly fell out.
Mr. Tsundere Uchiha, what do YOU know about respect?
If this is respect, tomorrow he's asking Hinata out!
"Come on, Ino—what's the plan against an unbeatable enemy?"
Sakura clapped once. Four or five massive ice beasts roared up from the ground, charging the girl barely holding on in the snowstorm.
"Don't underestimate me! I trained my butt off to catch up to Sakura!"
Ino yanked the wire. Her light body shot upward, swinging through the air—straight at Sakura.
Ninja battles are about using every piece of intel.
Ino was betting everything on one fact: Sakura would never use lethal force on her. So she turned her own body into the blade and charged.
"Ha! Smart move!"
Sakura pulled the cold back—just enough—and punched at airborne Ino.
Ino had seen Sakura punch a hole through the planet. No way she was eating that. She jerked the wire, swinging wide.
BOOM!
The punch tore through the wall, blasting a gaping hole in the tower. Shockwaves rippled out.
Half the suspended walkway collapsed. Spectators chakra-stuck themselves to the walls.
Not a single complaint.
Ino caught the scene in her peripheral—gritted her teeth.
Fine, fine…
Stink-face Sakura, going THAT hard on your bestie?!
"Try the fruits of my training!"
Ino flipped mid-air, landing behind Sakura.
Hands shot under Sakura's armpits, locking around her neck in a grapple.
Chakra surged—then stabbed from Ino's palms into Sakura's body.
"Ninja Art: Mind Body Disturbance Technique!"
Ino wasn't delusional enough to try full control. She'd learned this from her dad—just enough to scramble Sakura's focus and buy time.
The feedback hit. It worked!
Yes—just keep distance now—
"Hey, Ino!"
A voice snapped her attention upward.
Silver-white eyes swirled with endless authority. Black lightning exploded in the air, dancing wildly.
Overlord's willpower roared. The sky and earth shook.
The blizzard turned solid—impact waves spider-webbed the walls like vines.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—are you KIDDING?! That's just presence?!"
Darui, silent till now, lost his voice in shock.
"Konoha… you want another fifty years of getting crushed?"
Onoki's gaze flicked between Sakura and Hiruzen, then he sighed long and heavy.
Center stage—Overlord's shockwave hit. Snow blasted upward.
Ino felt ice on her skin… and ice in her soul.
What kind of spirit is this… my mind's… slipping…
Her eyes rolled back. Her body trembled.
In the haze, she saw little-kid her, sitting beside a crying Sakura.
Back then you were a total crybaby…
When did you become a camellia blooming in winter?
But especially in front of that flower—this flower she'd poured her blood and tears into—she refused to look weak.
"SAKURA!!"
Her unyielding soul burned like hot coals, dragging her inch by inch from the dark.
Hoarse, she screamed her best friend's name—raised her fist with everything she had.
Betting it all.
PUNCH!