"That absolute bastard!" Ino exclaimed, seething so much that even the Shikamaru down there subconsciously shivered as he was leaving the arena.
Her hands clutched the railing so tightly that she left small indents in the shape of her fingers behind. Only when the metal started creaking did Ino realize what she was doing and control her grip.
"I guess this means I win the competition between us." Hinata mirthfully said, covering her light smile with her hand as small giggles burst out of her after seeing Ino nearly growl.
"I guess." Ino muttered in a tone full of unwillingness and with a stormy expression.
She was pissed beyond belief at Shikamaru.
For the past month, she had spent three to four hours of her life training him and Choji. Every. Single. Day.
She could have spent it with Ren. Sex, dates, cuddling, or even just being in one room together, doing their own things. It would have been enjoyable. But Ino put that to the side and decided to help her teammates.
In her humble opinion, the fact that her help was unwanted was a trivial thing.
She had helped Choji with his bouncing techniques. She had helped him figure out how to navigate and steer better in his Meat Tank technique. Her training had made him truly dangerous.
And Choji, bless his heart, was a simple boy. He was thankful for it. And he had shown he could be a good frontal assault ninja during today's Chunin Exams.
But it was Shikamaru whom Ino had put her bets on. It was Shikamaru who was supposed to beat Shino's performance! It was Shikamaru who was supposed to help her win the competition with Hinata.
And the bastard knew it! She had told him!
This was no doubt some sort of sick Nara-esque revenge on her for waking him early in the morning and then pushing him to train for hours!
Ino's eyes darkened.
But the boy miscalculated. Oh, how he miscalculated. If he thought she was going to leave it like this, he was a fool. 'Shi-ka-ma-ru! So, you hate being woken up in the morning, right? You love to sleep, right? Just you wait. I am going to stack so many mental debuffs on you that you shall turn into an insomniac for this!' Ino let out a small growl through her gritted teeth.
She had helped him practice and refine a magnificent taijutsu style that mixed close-quarters combat with his Shadow Possession techniques. Such a thing was nearly unbeatable for your everyday chunin-level ninjas.
His skill with shadow manipulation increased, and through a lot of exercise and sparring, she had bullied him into getting very good at throwing hands.
Usually, the Naras didn't even dream of going this route because their shadow manipulation techniques required a massive amount of focus. And fighting with taijutsu meant their focus could easily be interrupted.
Ino came up with a small mental technique that split the thought processes into two streams, and one could focus on taijutsu while the other could do the necessary mental mumbo jumbo for the shadow possession.
It was an invaluable thing. Even Ren and Hinata praised her for it and tried to learn it.
All she wanted in return from Shikamaru was a good show. A proper fight where he would do a performance worthy of her training.
Yes. He has shown he is an exceptionally capable and dangerous ninja. But he did it in such an underwhelming style that even Ino would say that insisting that his performance was better than Shino's would be simply shameless!
"Say it." Hinata suddenly spoke in a teasing way and bumped Ino with her elbow.
"..." Ino pursed her lips, lowering her head to hide her horrified expression.
She had totally forgotten but-!
"Go on. You promised, didn't you?" Hinata giggled in schadenfreude, her smiling eyes squinting so hard that they turned into a crescent shape.
Ino let out a small whimper.
She did boast that she would say something if she lost. But. But. But! That was only because there was supposed to be no way for her to lose!
Hinata did not train Shino!
She spent nearly a hundred hours training her boys this past month! This was NOT supposed to happen!
Ino glanced with the corner of her eye at Hinata, finding that she was expectantly grinning at her like a fox, waiting for her to deliver on her words.
Her face scrunched in heavy displeasure.
"S-Sister Hinata..." Ino slowly started, her tone betraying her immense reluctance. "You are truly the better trainer and the most awesome kunoichi between the two of us. I bow before your superior abilities." Ino gritted out.
'Are you? How come I am not seeing it?' Hinata sent Ino a teasing message through the telepathy seal, and Ino's fury flared.
'Don't push your luck!' Ino mentally bit back so strongly that it could have been classified as a mental attack, but Hinata just playfully mentally swatted it away and sent Ino the impression of a casual shrug.
'Can't blame a girl for trying.' Hinata mentally smirked.
Outwardly, however, Hinata leaned closer and gave Ino a meaningful look, "And...?" She led on.
"And..." Ino took a deep, shaky breath.
"Yes?" Hinata gleefully pressed on.
"Fine! I lost!" Ino loudly exclaimed, her tone full of exasperation as she threw Hinata a glare before continuing quietly, "You can have three nights alone with Ren. Have fun fucking, you insufferable bitch." She muttered with an unhappy huff.
Hinata happily nodded in acknowledgement, not minding Ino's cursing. She didn't care about the competition. She didn't make a bet with Ino. It was Ino who had a big mouth that wrote checks she was unwilling to pay.
Hinata was simply a great friend who pushed Ino to pay them according to her previous boasting, now that she had lost. And it felt so great!
'I hope you choke on it.' Ino's dry, mental voice resounded in Hinata's mind, making the Hyuga girl smile sweetly.
"Don't worry! I will, as you put it, have fun fucking, my dunderheaded blonde bimbo." Hinata patted Ino's shoulder with a low-key smug expression that was veiled in a deceptive humbleness.
Ino's eye twitched.
'Oh, don't you worry.' Hinata's victorious and playful mental voice appeared in Ino's mind. 'I will be happily choking, alright. Stay humbled in the corner, accompanied by your jealousy as you listen to it, bimbo.'
Hearing Ino's mental gasp was a delight to Hinata's ears, and it made her day. She glanced at her silently seething blonde bimbo, and her small smile widened into a small grin when she noticed Ino was restraining herself from making a scene outside their minds.
As for the mental swearing avalanche that Ino heaped on her? Hinata didn't mind. She weathered it like a soft breeze. It really was not any different from the times she had beaten Ino during a spar, making her angry.
Ino's bad mood shall pass. Hinata only wanted to get as much enjoyment from it as she could while it lasted.
Honestly... She inwardly rolled her eyes. Even her winnings of three nights alone with Ren did not matter. It wasn't as if Ren agreed on their bet. And if she knew Ino, and she did know her very well, the blonde was going to shamelessly come, naked and hips swaying, and wedge herself into these 'nights alone' during the very first opportunity with a smile on her face.
If only to be petty and vindictive, sore loser.
But Hinata did not mind. This was just a small, sisterly bickering between them. She even came to enjoy verbally sniping at each other. It certainly was something she could not experience with Hanabi.
"Oh, stop sulking already." Hinata easily said, nudging Ino. "Both of your teammates did great. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You trained them well." She sincerely admitted, visibly improving Ino's mood.
Flattered, Ino hummed. But she was not going to show how satisfied that acknowledgement made her! No way!
She cleared her throat and pushed down the blush creeping on her cheeks, "I guess, they were passable." She admitted with a small nod, feeling very pleased.
"You reduced the flaws in Choji's fighting style and made him into a truly dangerous melee fighter." Hinata continued, knowing exactly what to say to make Ino feel good.
And she was not lying. Helping the Akimichi learn how to maneuver with such versatility in his Meat Tank state, even giving him that bounciness, which practically increased his defenses manifold...
It was nothing short of exceptional. Ino had single-handedly outdone their Jonin Instructor and their clans, and she had done it in one single month.
That was the simple truth, and Hinata was not going to try to take that achievement from Ino.
Unfortunately, a frontal fighter is all Choji will ever be. He lacked the mental flexibility to be anything else. This was not a bad thing. But it pretty much made it impossible for him to win their little personal contest.
Which was why Ino put all her bets on Shikamaru.
"Even Shikamaru had shown that he was exceptional. So, don't be sad. Be happy for your teammates, Ino." Hinata continued.
Frankly, she had no idea how to praise Shikamaru's performance without making Ino angrier, so she had decided to steer away from discussing it.
To be fair, as a ninja, Shikamaru did better than Shino, in Hinata's opinion.
He failed to show that he was a good combatant, letting Shino win, but his performance was exactly what these Chunin Exams were made for.
There were many small intentional loopholes in the rules. And the rule book was given to the contestants to find these loopholes.
For example, Naruto could have easily flooded the arena with his shadow clones before the match started, giving the proctor and his opponent a smug, clever smile, just daring them to say something. And it would have been allowed.
Sure, the audience would call him a cheater. It would make people disdain him. And even ninjas would deadpan at him for being so blatant about it. But according to the rules? It was fair play.
He should have recognized that.
Filling the arena with traps? Allowed.
Filling it with pranks? Allowed.
Bringing thousands of bugs and hiding them in the crowns of the trees as Shino had done? Allowed.
Casting techniques before the match even started? Also allowed as long as it does not affect the opponent. The caveat being that it should really be sneaky. Being blatant about it would do the contestant no good. Ninjas were supposed to be subtle.
Doing it subtly would show potential in their profession.
Doing it blatantly would show you are an idiot.
Naruto could have easily sent a clone to the arena while his real body could have been hidden underground underneath Shikamaru's feet, jumping him the second the proctor started the match. And that, too, would have been allowed. Even praised.
Cheating was not only expected. It was subtly encouraged.
Being a good combatant was great. But there was more to being a ninja. Winning because you are stronger is fine. But winning because you are smarter and sneakier? That's exactly what the judges are looking for.
That kind of talent has the potential to confront a stronger foe and not necessarily lose.
Shikamaru's decisiveness was also spot on. It was something Ino should be praised for, but Hinata deliberately refrained from it to not give the blonde bimbo a big head.
She knew Ino beat the mindset of, 'End it before it starts' into Shikamaru. It took blood and tears, his blood and tears, but he had clearly learned it well.
And sure. Naruto-kun was a strong ninja, Hinata inwardly admitted. He could have broken the Shadow Possession Jutsu if given enough time. He could have done it easily, too.
His chakra was extremely potent. Shikamaru got much better with Ino's training, but he still could not properly compete with the density of Naruto's chakra. Hinata's Byakugan could see that as plain as day. Shikamaru would eventually lose the war of tug between their chakra.
So, Shikamaru simply did not give Naruto the necessary time. While he was still shocked from being caught, he put that knife to his neck.
Somebody might think the proctor called the match too early. What if Naruto in the arena was a clone, right? But he wasn't. Hinata's Byakugan might not be able to distinguish between the real Naruto and a shadow clone, but such a thing didn't matter when there is only one chakra signature.
The same could be said about the proctor who was certainly a sensor ninja himself. He knew, so he called it.
Naruto lost the second he let Shikamaru put a kunai to his throat. It didn't even matter that he was a jinchuuriki, and the proctor knew it. These matches are meant to simulate real combat in a semi-safe way.
A knife put to the neck here? That signified a knife inside the neck in real combat. Nobody should ever get close enough to do that. Even for a moment.
Naruto was tough. He was resourceful. He might have gotten out of that situation. He might have struggled and eventually won! But… so what?
In a real situation? His throat would have been slit right there.
He had lost. No ifs or buts. The proctor could not give Naruto preferential treatment just because he was a boisterous boy who would not quit even when he had a kunai pressed against his neck.
Acknowledging all these points, Hinata gently shook her head, feeling a bit bad for Naruto. He was so happy to be in the finals... She let out a small sigh for his sake.
Sadly, Hinata did not have the time to go and cheer him up with a few words. After all... her white eyes locked with Ino's blue ones... her match with Ino was next.
---
Author Note:
If you wish to support me or read 23 advanced chapters ahead of time:
ko-fi.com/kasicair
or
patreon.com/kasicair
And if not, that's totally fine. I hope you will enjoy the story.
Have a nice day.