The oil-infused chakra had eroded a significant amount of sand, yet Gaara's gaze at Ino remained sharp and piercing, as if he were looking at a corpse.
"Do you think it's over? I hope your defenses are strong enough," Ino said, forming the "Mi" hand seal.
"Crack!"
The water bubble exploded instantly!
Initially, only the sand in contact with the bubble was eroded. But as Ino caused the bubble to burst from within, a large area of sand became contaminated with the oil-infused chakra. The sand then began to harden and slowly detach from the Sand Shield, turning the once impenetrable 360-degree defense into a sieve full of holes.
Kankuro and Temari exchanged panicked glances, unsure whether they should step in to help.
Gaara, on the other hand, was furious, though the reason for his anger seemed inexplicable.
For some reason, the sight of Ino—with her golden ponytail, bangs covering half her face, and her constant "crack, crack, crack" exclamations—infuriated him! He quickly adjusted his strategy, re-erecting the Sand Shield while using finer grains of sand to separate the contaminated sand. He gathered the polluted sand into a pile, attempting to re-sandify it.
Meanwhile, Ino continued to create oil-infused water bubbles, sending them flying toward Gaara with a series of "crack, crack" sounds.
Gaara was far from reaching the level of the future Fifth Kazekage, and Ino was no match for the Second Mizukage. Both of their techniques were formidable, but neither had yet unleashed their full potential.
If you're trying to re-sandify, I'll just pour more oil on it.
The two clashed back and forth for several rounds. Ino swiftly formed hand seals, and amidst the exclamations of Konohamaru and Moegi, a water dragon surged into the sky.
Gaara's face twisted in rage. Ino was not only eroding his sand but also pressuring him with the Water Dragon Bullet, pushing him to the brink of madness.
He clenched his teeth, his right hand raised as a massive amount of fine sand flew into the air, forming a vast sea of sand that coiled around and crushed the water dragon before bearing down on Ino.
"Sand Burial!"
"Gaara, stop!" Kankuro shouted in alarm. From his perspective, it was hard to understand why Gaara would resort to such a powerful technique so soon after arriving in the Hidden Leaf Village.
He thought his warning had come too late, and that the kunoichi from the Leaf would surely be crushed into a pulp by the sand.
But just as the Earth-Style Wall rose from the ground, blocking all the sand, the first wave of the Sand Burial was halted by the earthen barrier. Before it could gather energy for a second wave, Ino's Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave arrived.
A massive wave appeared out of nowhere, colliding with the Sand Burial. One side was frenzied, the other majestic. The sandstorm blotted out the sun, while the water surged like a tidal wave. When the two met, the sand was thoroughly soaked, and the clear water became murky. The two ninja techniques nearly canceled each other out.
Mud splattered down from the sky, turning the once pristine training ground into a muddy mess. Kankuro changed his mind again—this kunoichi from the Leaf seemed completely unfazed by Gaara.
"I'll kill you!" Gaara's emotions were on the verge of collapse after just a few exchanges.
Ino didn't tolerate his tantrums either. She quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a technique of the Second Hokage.
Chakra gathered in her chest and abdomen before being forcefully expelled.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
The silver thread, propelled by pressure, flashed a dazzling white light before the eyes of the group. In an instant, the water line crossed a distance of over ten meters and struck the Sand Shield.
The Sand Shield was sliced at a 45-degree angle, and the water line, driven by its remaining energy, hit Gaara squarely in the chest.
At the critical moment, Gaara took a step back, leaving behind a sand clone made entirely of sand. The Water Severing Wave pierced through the sand clone, finally exhausting its energy.
Gaara raised his head and looked at Ino with disdain.
Seeing this from a distance, Ino smiled brightly. In her own village, she couldn't use the Vapor Explosion, and the explosive power of the Water Release: Water Ball Technique was limited. She had to resort to smaller-scale ninja techniques.
On either side of her, two shadow clones appeared.
Ino's main body converted chakra into poison, while one of the shadow clones used Water Release and the other used Wind Release.
She had never seen Jiraiya's Sage Art: Goemon, but Jiraiya had told her some tricks about combination techniques. Asuma had also inherited this skill from his father and would occasionally explain it to Ino.
Both of their knowledge about combination techniques came from the Third Hokage.
With her "Ninja Skill" reaching level 10, Ino had developed her own understanding of many techniques.
The main body and the two shadow clones all began forming hand seals.
The Water Release would turn the poison into toxic water, and the Wind Release would expand the attack range of the toxic water.
Ino's eyes were intensely focused. Just as she was about to complete the technique, Kakashi suddenly appeared beside her and grabbed her right hand.
"Hey, hey, don't use such a large-scale technique in the village," he said.
Ino smiled sheepishly and promptly withdrew her chakra.
On the other side, Sunagakure's Jonin Baki also managed to calm down the enraged Gaara. The skirmish between the two had only reached halfway, and both were stopped just as they were about to unleash their ultimate moves.
Whether Gaara was happy or not, Ino didn't know, but she was certainly pleased.
Since her arrival, most of her opponents had been masters of Body Techniques—starting with Sasuke, followed by Raiga Kurosuki, Kankuro, and others. Their fighting styles were very warrior-like.
Only Haku could exchange a few ninja techniques with her, but after obtaining Zabuza's Samurai Sword, Haku also became more aggressive.
Ino had always felt lonely. Today, encountering Gaara made her particularly happy. He was also an enemy who liked to stand and fight, both of them remaining stationary while throwing powerful techniques. This suited her style, and she got a bit excited as the fight went on.
Both sides knew it wasn't the right time for a battle, so neither made any threats. Ino escorted the three children away from the training ground, while Gaara and his team also left under the urging of Jonin Baki.
As he left, Gaara didn't even glance at Ino, afraid he might lose control of his emotions. Women were just too annoying! After the two groups left, Kakashi scratched his head as he looked at the muddy mess of the training ground. How was he supposed to clean up this mess?
After the "small" incident, Ino took the three kids out for barbecue. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon were all thick-skinned and showed no fear from the earlier exchange of ninja techniques. Instead, they enthusiastically discussed it.
The barbecue was still paid for by Konohamaru's poor uncle, and Shikamaru and Choji also tagged along for a free meal.
Halfway through the meal, Asuma casually pulled out three application forms and asked them to sign.
It was just a formality, and none of the three, including Ino, took it seriously. They continued eating their barbecue while signing the forms.