As Neji and Hinata left the sparring area, Hayate called for the participants of the next match. Temari and Kiba both arrived in the sparring area and sized up each other.
"Haha, looks like an easy win for us. Right, Akamaru?" Kiba asked while patting the pup.
"Ruff!!" Akamaru replied excitedly.
Temari looked at the overexcited kid in front of her and smirked. With her Special Tessen Fan complimenting her Wind Release, there were not many in this competition that she was cautious of.
The moment Hayate gave the signal, Kiba took a four-legged pose, "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All Fours Jutsu!!"
Kiba's features became animalistic and Akamaru jumped aside. With a dog-like growl, Kiba ran towards Temari with incredible speed. He clenched his clawed hands into a fist to punch her, thinking that she won't be able to react in time.
"Fool," Temari muttered as she smashed Kiba away using her Tessen with incredible ease. Kiba went lying and bouncing like a pebble skipping on the lake's surface.
"Ruff!!!" Akamaru barked as he rushed to Kiba.
"It's fine Akamaru. I am okay." Kiba stood up shakily while patting Akamaru's head. Gathering himself again, He threw two smoke balls at Temari's feet, covering her surroundings with smoke.
"Get ready Akamaru!! Here we go!!" Kiba said as he and Akamaru rushed into the smoke. However, before they could attack her, Temari came up with her counterattack.
"Tessen Ninja Art: First Moon!!" Temari muttered as she swung her Tessen after opening it to the first moon slot. A buffet of wind expelled the smoke away, while also throwing away Kiba and Akamaru.
Temari looked at Kiba and Akamaru with ridicule while resting the Tessen on the ground in its open state.
"Could you guys grow more pathetic? Smoke and feints? That is child's play. Show me something actually impressive or I will just end this match hereby knocking you out." Temari said.
"Grrrr!! You want impressive? I will show you the impressive!! Akamaru!" Kiba called out to Akamaru while taking out a few food pills. He ate one himself while feeding the other to Akamaru.
Immediately, berserk chakra emerged within their bodies, empowering them by increasing their strength by more than twice.
'Food pills? This ought to be interesting.' Temari thought as she griped her Tessen tighter.
Akamaru, with his now red fur and wild aura, jumped onto the crouching Kiba's back. Together they executed their signature combination Jutsu. Akamaru transformed into Kiba, while Kiba's senses and strength increased even more.
"Man-Beast Clones!!" the two identical animalistic Kiba growled.
'Hmm… Interesting,' Temari thought as she opened yet another moon on the Tessen.
"Let's go Akamaru!!" Kiba and Akamaru ran towards Temari. Temari dodged their initial attacks before jumping up into the air.
"That is it!! she has turned herself into the perfect target!! Let's go Akamaru!!!" Kiba called out as he and Akamaru jumped up to attack Temari.
However, while midair, Temari unleashed the second attack of her Tessen, "Tessen Ninja Art: Second Moon!!"
A blast of wind, even stronger than before, struck Kiba and Akamaru. They both flew towards the ground like missiles and crashed onto the floor hard. Temari somersaulted midair and landed perfectly on the ground.
"Ahck!!" Both Akamaru and Kiba spit out blood as they stood up again.
"So, ready to surrender? Or do I need to kick your butts even more?" Temari smirked at the two of them.
"Not Yet!! Akamaru!! Let's go!!" Kiba and Akamaru rushed towards Temari again, with their speed increasing even more.
'Huh, it's like fighting two rabid wolves. More I hurt them, wilder they become.' Temari thought as she prepared to unleash the Two Moon attack again.
"Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang over Fang!!!" Kiba and Akamaru rotated rapidly and transformed into two drill-like giant twisters as they attacked Temari.
'This is new..' Temari thought as she rapidly dodged the attacking duo. She finally unlocked the Tessen to the third moon.
"Good job!! You finally made me release the Third moon. Tessen Ninja Art: Third Moon!!!" Temari said as she swung the Tessen with all her strength after filling it with chakra.
A huge blast of wind hit the two attacking twisters, that were Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba and Akamaru resisted the wind blast for a little while, but eventually, they were overwhelmed and were thrown back.
They flew the entire distance of the hall before smacking hard at the wall on the far side of the hall. As the dust and wind cleared, everyone saw two human-shaped dents on the wall, one of which still had Kiba. Akamaru was lying knocked out below the other dent.
"Match is over. Winner: Temari." Hayate announced. Temari closed off her Tessen with a smirk and went back to the stands. Medics were called to take Kiba and Akamaru away.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
After a bit of time to clean up the area, Hayate called the next two participants to come down. Mubi from Team Oboro and Shikamaru Nara came down. However, their attitudes could not have been farther apart.
While Mubi was eager to take revenge for his teammate's defeat, Shikamaru took every step lazily and deliberately, as if convincing himself to go to a futile endeavor unwillingly.
"What a drag…" Shikamaru muttered as he stood with his hands stuffed in his pocket and looked at Mubi, who eagerly held a Kunai and was in a stance to fight.
As soon as Hayate announced the start of the match, Mubi rushed towards Shikamaru while holding the Kunai tighter. He attacked Shikamaru wildly, leaving the reluctant Nara with no choice but to defend.
They both fought well using Kunai, Shuriken, and basic skills like substitution. No flashy techniques were used but both displayed a good mastery over the basic skills.
After a few minutes of this battle, Mubi decided to employ his Ninjutsu. Somersaulting away from Shikamaru, he quickly went through the hand signs.
"Water Clone Technique!! Haze Clone Technique!!" Mubi released two techniques one after another. A hazy mist filled the sparring area while hundreds of Mubi emerged around Shikamaru.
Haze Clone technique created hundreds of non-substantial clones, similar to the basic academy clone. They had no substance and were only a trick of chakra. However, disguised among them were Mubi's Water Clones, who attacked Shikamaru with Shuriken.
While Shikamaru tried to determine which of the clones were the actual substantial ones that were attacking him, the real Mubi hid underground with an Earth Release technique.
Shikamaru fought very well, better than anyone thought the lazy Genin could fight. He managed to defend against all Kunai and Shuriken attacks done by Mubi's clones, despite the feints employed by the clones.
However, Shikamaru finally ran out of weapons, leaving him with a single Kunai. He was also exhausted after fighting so long. As Shikamaru looked around to see where the next attack will come from, Mubi silently emerged from the ground.
Mubi emerged right behind one of his Haze Clones, positioning himself such that Shikamaru won't be able to see him. Right then, Shikamaru turned to look in a different direction, leaving his back vulnerable to the real Mubi.
'Now this is over!!' Mubi shouted inwardly as leaped towards Shikamaru with a Kunai in hand. The next moment, a sound of a weapon piercing the flesh was heard and blood dripped down to the ground.