Chapter 68: Ino’s Match
Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 68: Ino's Match
"Looks like it's my turn," Ino said.
"Ino… be care—"
Sakura was about to warn her when Sasuke made his way upstairs.
"Sasuke!" Ino ran towards him. "Make sure to watch my fight! I'll show you what a real female ninja can do… unlike that one…" She gave Sakura a smirk.
"Go get yourself beat up already!" Sakura shouted in response.
Naruto observed her opponent as he walked into the arena.
Zaku Abumi was one of three ninjas from the newly founded Sound Village. His teammate was the one who attacked Kabuto during the first exam.
"Looks like he had a rough time in the forest," Naruto commented.
The young ninja had a very inconspicuous appearance, with his camouflage clothing and short black hair. But what caught the most attention right now was his terrible state.
His clothes were cut and torn in several places. He had bruises on his face, and it looked like he was missing an eye, due to a large cut that went from his forehead to his chin. If that wasn't enough, he was also limping on his left leg.
"That's one of them!" Sakura pointed at him.
"One of them?" Naruto asked.
"Him and his team attacked us on the second day of the exam." Sasuke arrived at his side and rested his arms on the wooden railing.
"So, I guess that was your doing." Naruto gestured toward the gravely injured Sound ninja, and Sasuke nodded.
"I should have done worse," Sasuke huffed, while Sakura looked at him with a complicated expression.
Once Ino and her opponent stood on the arena floor, the jonin acting as referee approached them.
Hayate observed Zaku carefully.
"You sure you're in… cough… cough… are you good to fight?"
Zaku frowned.
"Worry about yourself, old man."
"I'm… cough… twenty-two…" Hayate said.
"Well… fine, start at my… sign."
"This should be an easy fight. Her opponent is almost dead." Kiba smirked.
"Don't underestimate him, Kiba." Shino stared at the Sound ninja.
"A desperate animal is always more dangerous."
Zaku was clenching his teeth hard enough to make a noise when Hayate gave the sign to begin.
Their attack on the Uchiha didn't go as planned. Sasuke had been much more dangerous than they had estimated with the information given to them by Kabuto, and they were also helped by another Konoha team on top of that.
He had lost an eye and almost his life.
As much as he would have liked to give up on the exam, he couldn't do it without his Master's permission. And they had received no more messages since the start of the exam, so they had to continue with the original plan…
A barrage of kunai came his way. Zaku's left leg was hurting like crazy. He had received several deep cuts on it and was barely able to use it now, depending mostly on his right one.
Because of this, he was almost unable to avoid the kunai.
"Ahhrggg!" He screamed when he put some weight on his bad leg and fell down.
Ino stopped her attack after seeing this.
This may be a foreign ninja she knew nothing about, but she still felt a bit bad attacking someone in such bad shape.
"Maybe you should give up…"
Zaku's anger exploded at her.
"Mind your own business, bitch!" She had no idea about his situation. If he were to surrender here, Lord Orochimaru would certainly kill him. He had no need for weaklings… that was something he had learned during his early days at the secret village.
He stood back up and looked down at his hands. At least his main weapon hadn't been compromised.
"I can do this…" All he had to do was get a bit closer, and then he could destroy this girl for sure.
Ino frowned.
"How rude… I was just trying to be nice."
She went back on the offensive.
Since her opponent couldn't move well, her best bet was to circle around him while throwing some kunai and shuriken, and when she got a good hit, she could get closer to finish him off.
Zaku grunted in pain when one of Ino's attacks landed on his shoulder. And following this, another one hit his good leg, making him fall to one knee.
"Now!" Ino saw the opportunity. She grasped the kunai in her right hand with force and charged in.
A subtle smile appeared on Zaku's face.
Ino got behind him and jumped in the air, aiming her attack at his neck.
"Be careful, you fool!"
Naruto's voice broke through the audience's silence just in time as Zaku turned around to face Ino.
He raised his palms up and aimed them at her.
Ino knew something was wrong. With nowhere to go, she crossed her arms in front of her to protect her vitals, and a moment later, she felt the impact of the air blast that came out of Zaku's palms.
She was pushed with tremendous force and ended up hitting one of the few columns that supported the upper floor.
"Urgg…" She was hurt but still conscious.
"Tsk…" Zaku glanced at the girl with annoyance. He had hoped to end this in a single attack. He even allowed her to get a few hits so she would get closer.
Now the surprise factor was gone, but it wasn't like he didn't get anything in exchange.
Ino's legs trembled as she tried to get up. Blood poured from her mouth. The hit against the stone column had caused some internal damage.
"I… I'm not done yet…" Despite her injuries, her eyes were filled with determination.
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