Chapter 73: Hinata VS Temari
"Wind Style: Scythe Weasel Technique!"
A violent storm raged across the arena.
Temari waved her giant fan, stirring up gust after gust of hurricane-force winds, interspersed with the sharp blades of the Scythe Weasel, tearing at the heavens and the earth.
Crack— The layer of ice underfoot was slashed with cracks by the wind blades.
Rumble— The sheltering forest was shredded to pieces by the ninjutsu.
Whoosh—Swish—!
The fierce wind howled, sending sand and stones flying.
The wind blades cut countless shards of ice from the unmelted ice layer, which danced in the air, blotting out the sun and sky, and for a moment, the red sun lost its light.
Even the high-up spectator stands were affected by this fierce wind. It was as if they were in a sandstorm, their faces stinging from the sand and ice fragments mixed in the wind.
On the waiting platform, the young girl opened a water shield, blocking the annoying sand and ice debris, but her mood did not improve.
Below on the field, she saw it all—Temari's aggressive attacks and Hinata's struggling defense.
The situation was very unfavorable for Hinata.
Compared to Shikamaru, who could at least use the Nara clan's shadow secret techniques for mid-range attacks, Hinata's mid-to-long-range offense was much weaker.
Therefore, although Hinata was much stronger than Shikamaru in terms of raw skill, against Temari, she was suppressed at every turn, a completely different scene from the resourceful and brilliant performance Shikamaru had shown in the original story.
Both she and Hinata had severely underestimated the power boost the giant fan gave to Temari's Wind Style.
With that ridiculously large metal fan, Temari didn't need to form hand seals at all. She just needed to infuse chakra into the fan and give it a hard swing, and the giant fan could blow out a Wind Style ninjutsu.
With this giant fan, Temari easily used the Scythe Weasel Technique in succession. Hinata couldn't find any opening to get close and could only dodge miserably left and right or use her Gentle Fist palm techniques to shatter the wind blades.
The battle had completely fallen under Temari's control.
Below on the field.
The blonde girl stood proudly, relaxed and at ease, waving her giant fan unhurriedly, pressing Hinata step by step. It was as if she were not in a battle, but leisurely playing a game of Go with someone.
Though she had the upper hand, she was not arrogant or impatient, her expression calm, experienced, elegant, and dignified.
Her posture was graceful, and her delicate features held a sharp, heroic air. As expected of the Kazekage's daughter.
And opposite her, the state of the black-haired, white-eyed girl was completely different.
In the fierce, strong wind, the petite figure of the long, black-haired girl moved against the wind, but was repeatedly forced to give up halfway and retreat hastily.
Needless to say, this was because there was a hidden danger in the fierce wind. Semi-transparent chakra wind blades danced and swirled in the storm, their sharpness capable of cutting through gold and severing iron. Hinata's mere physical body, even enhanced with chakra, would be bleeding from the head if she took a single hit. The closer these wind blades were to Temari, the denser they became, finally forming an impenetrable defensive line. In the face of it, Hinata was at a complete loss.
If she couldn't break through, this battle would become a war of attrition.
Temari and Hinata, one attacking and one defending. The former was carefree and at ease, while the latter was in a sorry state.
Her glossy, shoulder-length black hair was already messy and scattered. Her exposed, jade-like fair skin also had a few more scratches. If the ice surface had not yet melted, and the ice layer was not clean and dust-free, Hinata would probably look even more disheveled.
However, although she was at a disadvantage, Hinata's gaze was still focused and firm. Her pair of blank, white eyes always stared at Temari with a stern look, her fighting spirit undiminished, as if she didn't care about the current difficulties at all.
On the contrary, it was her good friend, Sakura on the waiting platform, who was feeling indignant for her.
Seeing Temari able to use a powerful Wind Style ninjutsu with just a few casual waves of her giant fan, it took all of Sakura's willpower to resist the urge to report her for cheating.
"Referee, someone is cheating!"
"Unfair!"
"This game is unplayable! /ragequit!"
The girl's face was uncertain as she complained wildly in her heart.
She was even less calm than Hinata on the field. She wished she could go down there again and dominate this pay-to-win player, who was showing off with her godly equipment, with her Water Style.
In short, seeing her friend, who was obviously very strong, being suppressed so badly made her very unhappy.
"Tch! If it weren't for that fan, Hinata would have won long ago!" the girl pouted and said with disdain.
"Ninja tools themselves are also a part of a ninja's strength..." Shikamaru, who was also lazily leaning on the railing and watching the match, glanced at Sakura and retorted faintly. "And, even without the fan, that Sand ninja named Temari is still quite skilled. Her combat thinking is clear, and her rhythm with ninjutsu is also very good."
The girl was just about to say that over-reliance on ninja tools was a crooked path, but hearing Shikamaru praise Temari, she was reminded of the scene in the original story where the two of them became friends after fighting.
"Hey, Shikamaru, if you were fighting Temari in this match, what would you do?"
She looked at Shikamaru and asked with deep meaning.
In the original story, the one who had faced Temari was originally Shikamaru. Due to her butterfly effect, it had become a duel between Hinata and Temari here. It was a pity that she couldn't see the brilliant battle of wits between Shikamaru and Temari.
Shikamaru was right about one thing. Temari was meticulous and had a sharp mind; she was also a very smart person. That battle of wits was so winding and interesting precisely because she constantly broke through Shikamaru's attacks, giving him the opportunity to display his endless schemes.
If this battle were still Shikamaru versus Temari, how would it develop? At least the classic hole in the ground for Shikamaru to use was not left on the field. With Shikamaru's intelligence, what kind of scheme would he come up with?
The girl asked with great interest while paying attention to the development of the battle below.
With her IQ of one hundred and fifty, she couldn't see through Shikamaru's two-hundred-and-twenty IQ-level layout.
Shikamaru actually thought about it seriously.
"If it were me, I should still have a way... You know the characteristics of the shadow secret techniques. Actually, the key to solving the problem is already on the field. The crucial thing is that before using the trump card, I must first use two tricks to dispel Temari's suspicion and make her be outsmarted by her own cleverness."
Shikamaru turned his gaze to the two broken ice blades stuck in the ice layer.
The girl instantly understood. Using the ice blocks to form a mirror to reflect the strong sunlight behind Shikamaru, thereby extending his shadow on the field—this could indeed be considered a trump card. But in actual use, the timing would have to be very clever. It would be best to use it when Temari's wind jutsu had made the arena dark.
Just as Sakura was about to remind Shikamaru that although his plan was good, his chakra was not enough, the battle below suddenly changed dramatically.
Perhaps it was telepathy; Hinata also focused her attention on the ice blades at the same time.
In order to ensure that the ice sword would not shatter into countless pieces when it clashed with Gamabunta's blade, Sakura had used a lot of chakra to reinforce it when she created it. This made the broken sword incredibly sturdy. Mere wind blades were no match for it. The ice sword stood majestically amidst Temari's ninjutsu, unmovable.
Hinata pulled out the giant ice blade.
Although it was not a divine weapon like the giant fan, although its durability was not high, although its size was ridiculously large, it was still a good sword.
The +14/+15, Forged 8, Triple-Slotted, Diamond-Encrusted, Enchanted with Sharpness, Purple Weapon (Epic-grade) named the Wave-Parting, Water-Cutting, General-Slaying, Soul-Chasing, Battleship-Slicing Blade... ahem, no, this sword had no name.
Sturdy and sharp. That was enough.
Hinata smiled radiantly.
Temari's face was slightly stern. The giant fan in her hand urged on a greater storm, but it was forcefully cut open by the broken sword!
The momentum of offense and defense was instantly transformed.
One moment, Temari was leisurely casting her wind jutsu, forcing Hinata into a corner step by step; the next, it was Hinata holding a giant blade, cutting through the wind and parting the water, launching a counterattack all the way!
When Temari's wind jutsu became ineffective against Hinata, who was protected by the broken sword, the match was no longer in suspense.
Against an enemy with the Byakugan, it was useless for Temari to try to use tricks like the Clone Jutsu. She could only bite the bullet and face Hinata head-on.
By the time Temari entered the range of Hinata's Rending Air Palm, Sakura was already certain that Temari had no hope of a comeback.
Sure enough, in the subsequent close-quarters combat, although Temari's giant fan shattered the broken blade into pieces at the start, the unarmed Hinata easily defeated Temari in just a few moves.
"The winner of the second match... Hyuga Hinata!"
Genma Shiranui glanced at the fallen Temari and said melodiously, biting on his senbon—
"The winner of the second match... Hyuga Hinata!"
Then, the third match was Shikamaru versus Kankuro.
"Will the contestants for the third match, Kankuro and Nara Shikamaru, please come up!"
On the waiting platform.
Shikamaru had a reluctant look on his face.
"Tsk, this guy looks hard to deal with at a glance. He's weird, and his eyes are fierce..." Shikamaru turned his head and glanced at Kankuro standing not far away. The strange paint on his face made him look particularly ferocious.
"What a drag!"
Fighting this kind of mysterious opponent was the most uncertain. Looking at his fierce appearance, fighting him might be dangerous. It was better not to fight, right? Shikamaru thought without any motivation.
Sakura reached out and poked him in the ribs.
"Hey, you're not thinking of forfeiting, are you!"
She saw through his thoughts at a glance.
Shikamaru grimaced and rubbed his aching ribs. "Don't push so hard, it hurts like hell!"
But he did not deny that he wanted to forfeit.
Sakura immediately looked at him with contempt.
Just as Shikamaru was about to raise his left hand to indicate his forfeit, Naruto next to him slapped him hard on the shoulder, almost knocking the wind out of him, and forcefully pushed his left hand down. "Alright! Shikamaru, it's finally your turn! Go for it!"
Go for it, my ass. He's still thinking of forfeiting... the girl laughed secretly.
Just as Shikamaru was about to argue with Naruto about the appropriate force for a shoulder slap with a displeased look on his face...
A deep male voice came from the other side.
"This match... I forfeit!"
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