A chakra chain suddenly appeared in Naruko's hand.
At this moment, Gaara still hadn't realized the danger approaching him.
He continued destroying Naruko's Shadow Clones. Just then, two clones rushed forward to attack him, only to be smashed apart by Gaara's sand claws in an instant.
But—
The moment he destroyed the clones, a chakra chain suddenly shot toward him from behind.
Gaara sensed the danger and quickly turned around, but before he could react further, the chain wrapped tightly around him.
He tried to break free, but suddenly realized he couldn't muster any strength.
"What… what is this?!"
He attempted to draw upon Shukaku's chakra again to escape.
At that moment, Naruko's real body stepped forward and raised her palm toward him.
Three more chakra chains shot out from the center of her hand.
"Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
The three chains wrapped around Gaara as well.
Gaara immediately felt his Tailed Beast Chakra draining rapidly. Moments later, his Tailed Beast Chakra Mode — Version 2 completely collapsed.
Naruko pointed a kunai at the bound Gaara and said,
"Little raccoon, you lost."
Gaara understood his situation and nodded in resignation.
Daughter of the Hokage vs. Son of the Kazekage — the former wins.
Kushina Uzumaki: Ah—Naruko has even learned the Adamantine Sealing Chains, and she can control them directly from her hands. Excellent!
Naruto Uzumaki: Why?! Why can she use that technique?! Why can't I?!
Kakashi Hatake: Calm down, Naruto. First of all, your bloodline is basically the same—aside from gender. If Naruko can do it, then theoretically you should also be able to… although for you, it would be very difficult.
Naruto: Why? Why can she do it but I can't?
Jiraiya: First, your chakra control is terrible. Although the Nine-Tails' chakra interferes with it, you also never trained your chakra control properly as a child.
Naruko doesn't have those obstacles. She isn't constantly disrupted by the Nine-Tails' chakra, and she also had guidance from Nagi and Kushina. Naturally, her chakra control is far better than yours.
Minato Namikaze: ...
Teacher Jiraiya, you might as well just say it's my fault.
Kakashi: Second, Naruto, your comprehension is extremely inconsistent. You learned the Rasengan and Rasen Shuriken mostly through muscle memory. You probably still don't fully understand their underlying principles.
In other words, you learn without really thinking—your body just remembers.
For someone like that to master high-level Sealing Techniques… the odds are pretty low.
Naruto: ...
Am I really that dumb?
Jiraiya: Did you forget how I taught you the Rasengan in that video?
Konohamaru: Did you forget how you taught me the Rasengan in that video?
Rasa: Sigh… Gaara just happened to encounter Naruko, who perfectly counters Tailed Beasts. That's really unlucky.
Ōnoki: Luck is also part of strength.
The Screen Continues…
Third Match: Nagi vs. Ameno
The match began.
Ameno quickly formed hand seals.
"Medical Water Release: Water Mosquito!"
A large swarm of tiny water constructs shaped like mosquitoes rushed toward Nagi.
Nagi waved his right hand.
"Wind Release: Typhoon Sweep!"
A powerful gust erupted in front of him, blowing the entire swarm apart.
Ameno had already anticipated this.
At that moment, both of her hands transformed into mantis-like blades, and she charged straight at Nagi.
Nagi quickly formed a Chakra Scalpel made from Water Release chakra in his hand to counter her.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The collision between the blades and the chakra scalpel produced crisp metallic sounds.
As they exchanged blows, the fight gradually slipped into a familiar rhythm—almost like a training session. Nagi was unconsciously feeding Ameno moves, allowing her to practice in real combat.
Ameno crossed her twin blades and gathered strength.
"Iaijutsu: Rashōmon!"
She used the Body Flicker Technique and launched a lightning-fast slash.
Nagi calmly found the exact timing and tapped the intersection of her crossed blades with the tip of his chakra scalpel.
Her Rashōmon strike was instantly stopped.
No matter how much force she applied, she couldn't push forward even an inch.
Ameno immediately stepped back and swung her blades again.
After several more exchanges, she quickly created distance.
She formed several hand seals and then opened her palm.
"Medical Water Release: Senbon!"
Water-nature chakra condensed into dozens of senbon needles in her hand.
She clenched them and fired them rapidly at Nagi.
Nagi simply shifted his body slightly and avoided them.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ameno created several Water Clones.
The clones scattered instantly.
Some appeared behind Nagi, while others stood on the surrounding arena walls.
At the same time, each clone condensed senbon needles in their hands.
"Water Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
Countless senbon shot toward Nagi from every direction.
Nagi suddenly slapped his hand against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
A circular earthen wall rose up around him, blocking the attack.
However, Ameno's senbon—like chakra scalpels—were extremely sharp and durable. Under her relentless assault, the needles eventually pierced through the wall.
But at that moment—
Ameno suddenly felt something soft grasp her ankle.
She looked down.
A pale hand had grabbed her leg.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Nagi suddenly emerged from underground.
Before Ameno could react, she felt her body pulled downward.
When her vision cleared, she realized that her entire body—except for her head—was buried underground.
Nagi lightly tapped her forehead with his finger.
Ameno understood immediately.
"I surrender."
Seeing this, Shisui raised the flag.
"The winner—Nagi ."
Nagi then inserted his hand into the ground, preparing to pull Ameno out.
However…
When he reached for her right arm, he realized there was nothing there.
His hand brushed against her elbow before he finally understood her posture.
When she had fallen earlier, Ameno had instinctively crossed her arms in front of her chest in a defensive stance.
That resulted in her current position.
After estimating where her arm should be, Nagi reached forward—
—and grabbed something soft and elastic, like a water balloon.
Feeling puzzled, he squeezed slightly.
"Hm? Why is Ameno's arm so soft?"
At that moment, Ameno's face turned red.
When Nagi had first grabbed her chest, her mind had gone completely blank.
When he squeezed it, she felt a strange sensation she had never experienced before.
But to keep others from noticing her embarrassment, she tried desperately to maintain her composure.
She carefully moved her right arm so it brushed against Nagi.
Nagi finally understood what had happened.
He moved his hand upward, grabbed her actual arm, and pulled her out of the ground.
The two then walked side by side toward the contestants' area.
On the way, Ameno could still feel the lingering warmth from Nagi's hand.
For some reason… she almost felt reluctant for it to end.
When they arrived at the seating area and approached Shizuka and the others—
They suddenly saw Hinata, her Byakugan activated, staring at them with a terrifying killing intent.
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