Kushina's POV (Audience Section of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Kushina held her fury when she first saw Ino. That young little… friend of her baby had unintentionally or not harmed her child during a time when Naruto had been quite vulnerable. The little floozy had doubtless only done so due to the stress of the situation, the responsible adult inside of Kushina reasoned. The sudden elation quickly drowned that fury when the other blonde named Samui confronted Ino about it. Kushina had never been so happy to hear about the exams as she was now. A beautiful young lady had selflessly defended her child.
Kushina now desperately held in glee. It was almost as romantic as Minato saving her! A light in the sea of darkness that had become their life up until that point. Kushina had always pondered what would become of Naruto's dating life. Minato had been a rare prodigy in the academy. He had not had as many admirers as a full-on fan club. He had never been overly interested in any of them. Kushina, even without trying, had won over her love.
She had felt disappointed that Naruto's excellent worth hadn't been discovered in the academy's early days. But she should've known her husband's excellent genes would pass on. Naruto had bagged himself a blonde woman! Blonde grandbabies! 'This may be for the best. I have always loved Minato's blonde hair, and it would be nice for my grandbabies to have the same.' Kushina thought with a smile. She had been determining how best to assist Naruto in wooing the woman. Didn't Ino surprise her further.
"My name is Ino Yamnaka! I am a member of Team Seven and proud of it! I dedicate this fight to my teammate and one of the best guys I've known, Naruto Uzumaki!" Ino screamed boldly to the crowd. "I'M PROUD TO BE YOUR FRIEND!"
Kushina could no longer contain her joy as a delighted coo rang from her mouth. Mikoto nodded, also smiling at the warm scene.
"My my my," Mikoto said with an amused smile fanning at her face. "Who knew your little son was such a heartbreaker. He has two beauties fighting over him."
"Guaranteed Blonde Babies!" Kushina cheered now beyond reason. She went to ask a question, but Mikoto cut her off with amusement and patience.
"Yes, they would look adorable." Mikoto agreed. Kushina did not answer, merely squealing happily. "Don't get too excited now, old friend." Mikoto countered. "A battle of Kunoichi is never a pretty thing."
Kushina seemed to snap out of mother mode. She nodded her head grimly. "They both seem like the type to not quit easily. However, from what Naruto said, Ino isn't the combat type. This might be a one-sided bout."
"I doubt that," Mikoto said with a smirk.
"You know something I don't?" Kushina asked with a matching smirk.
"She knows Ino was taught by a certified bad bitch!" Anko roared as she sat next to the two. "I swore to never teach a snot-nosed brat, but that little blonde princess is special."
"You don't mean she has an edge?" Kushina asked.
"Of course, she wouldn't recognize it. She never saw herself as the bad bitch she was either." Anko said as she happily sipped a beer. "Remember when she nearly put me in the ER?"
"Of course I do. It took Tsume and me to pull her off you," Mikoto chuckled.
"It wasn't that bad…" Kushina said defensively.
"It was a good fight! Almost had you, too!" Anko roared happily.
"Sure, but that was before I suplexed you through the bar table," Kushina replied sweetly.
"Whatever you say. I could take you nowadays." Anko countered with a smile.
"You wanna bet b-" Kushina started as Anko drifted forward, eager to start a brawl before both were stopped by Mikoto's hands, her eyes spinning with her Sharingan as she regarded both slowly.
"If you two wish to brawl, do it elsewhere. We're all here to see our Genin succeed, not brawl." Mikoto said darkly.
Both glared at each other before erupting in laughter. Kushina had always loved Anko; she brought the fire out of her, and Mikoto kept her temper.
'Alright, Ino and Samui, I see plain as day that you're both interested in my son. You're both determined to do this for your own reasons. Show me what kind of kunoichi you are.
Samui's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Samui prepared herself as Ino slid into a stance of her own. The Yamanaka shifted into her own. Like herself, she lowered her balance yet favored a ranged stance. She held four kunai in each hand. Something was odd about the kunai; they were larger than most. Samui also inspected slots on the side, which was undoubtedly a nasty surprise. Samui was a close-range fighter. She needed to be in control. She would start the fight running and crush Ino before she could adjust. Such was the Cloud style.
Samui gauged the distance between her and Ino as Kakashi began his preamble. When he lowered his hand and gave the ok, Samui flooded her legs with electric chakra and shot forward. She saw Kakashi blink in surprise, and Ino flinched. She drew her tanto as she drew close, slashing for a blow that would not be immediately lethal. To her shock, Ino managed to barely sidestep the slash. She flicked a kunai at Samui, who deflected with ease as she eyed her opponent cautiously.
'She managed to react to my Cool Finish technique?' Samui thought curiously. 'A change in tactic, perhaps?' She sprinted forward now at regular speed towards Ino. Even then, it was clear Ino was slightly slower as she desperately backpedaled and threw kunai with haste. 'She hyped up this performance?' Samui easily deflected all three thrown kunai as she closed the gap and went for a slash at Ino's legs. Ino managed to back-flip, aiming her feet for Samui's chin as she did so. Samui managed to lean back into her own backflip, narrowly dodging such. Both glared at each other before they now charged at once. As they did so, Ino threw all her odd kunai at her. 'Surely this is a strategy; I'll have to avoid the kunai; impossible to know what traps they have.' Samui thought as she slashed at Ino; the Yamanaka met it with another unique kunai. The edge curled and longer, unlike most. They tested their strength against one another, and Samui smirked as she slowly pushed Ino back. She suddenly stopped resisting, causing Ino to stumble forward. Samui savagely exploited the mistake with an elbow that had Ino stumbling back. Samui flowed through hand signs as Ino fell to her knees. "Lightning Style: Electric Sprinkler," Samui said as seven beams of electricity shot out horizontally. Ino managed to bend herself around impressively as she slashed with her kunai several times, causing small bits of flowers to spread out around Samui. Her eyes widened as Samui realized Ino's intent. She willed herself to flicker directly up. Her vision blurred as she suddenly fell towards Ino, watching the miniature explosions that went off. 'The kunai spreads plant matter, which explodes with a flex of chakra. Admittedly cool to see but uncool to deal with.'
Ino's head snapped up suddenly as she smirked at Samui. She sealed with surprising speed. "Water Style: Nature's Beauty!: She said as two groupings of water shot into the sky. Samui raised a brow in confusion at the move before she observed the water closer. Were those flower petals inside the water… uncool. "Part two! Nature's Wrath!" Samui flew through hand signs as explosions filled the sky above the arena. Samui suddenly cut through the smoke and fire with a slash of lightning. Her tanto coated in lightning had managed to part the explosion. She fell forward towards Ino, her eyes cold as she prepared her following technique.
"Lightning Style: Explosive Depth Charge," Samui said as she stabbed her sword into the ground while landing. Ino scrambled back, and suddenly, the ground beneath them crumbled, and arcs of electricity burst through. One managed to glance at Ino, who screamed in pain as she rolled away, spasming slightly from the powerful volts. Samui smiled grimly as she stalked forth to end the fight. Ino had been somewhat better than expected, but nothing she couldn't handle. But as she did, Ino suddenly formed two different hand signs with each hand, one into a pointed finger and the other into a simple one-handed rat. Samui flinched as Ino suddenly called out.
"Ninja Art: Instinct Suppression Jutsu!" Ino yelled as a blue beam hit Samui, who suddenly froze as her instinct to create distance was suppressed. Ino smirked as she finished her channeling for her other jutsu. "Beautiful Binding: Rope Circus!" Ino called suddenly. The discarded odd kunai hissed with smoke before suddenly launching a thick rope. Each rope was tipped with a claw, which shot into the surrounding area. Some stabbed and lodged themselves into trees, the arena wall, and even the ground. It quickly surrounded the two young women. Kakashi appeared at the edge of the odd trap.
Samui flinched as the trap settled; the kunai instantly launched the trap. Samui could now see that she and Ino were surrounded by a thick rope web. It would take some maneuvering to get out of the odd construct. So quick and random the trap had been that she even spied a rope between her legs. Samui lashed out with her tanto, attempting to sever the nearest rope. To her surprise, it bounced back; without missing a beat, she allowed her electric chakra to flow through her blade as she swung again, yet once again, the sword bounced back harmless against the rope. 'The kunai had been her strategy from the start. Rigged to set off the rope on a timed release. Seems to be enforced with her chakra, hardening it and repelling chakra. Perhaps it was why she waited to use such. Surely, it cannot last for long to summon this much chakra-enforced rope; it must be costly.'
"An interesting technique in both cases, Yamanaka, but I fail to see how you plan to take advantage of this. Furthermore, how do you plan to defeat me before this technique drains you utterly of chakra? Cool look, but what's the pl-" Samui could not finish her sentence as Ino somehow flowed through the ropes. There were no better words for it; despite the tough rope making it indeed a headache to traverse, she did so with ease. Ino ducked, weaved, and jumped around them. Managing to punch Samui in the face as she surged to her. 'She can move that quick; that's c-' Samui fell through the ropes as they unbalanced her; Ino kicked her in the ribs, knocking her into the ropes above. Samui could not even breathe as the ropes suddenly wrapped around her, keeping her in place as Ino suddenly surged upwards, smashing her own head into Samui. Samui grunted in pain as she bounced off the ropes painfully before hitting the ground. How was she to fight back here? The ropes limited her mobility and made Ino's approach hard to predict.