Chapter 176

When Zixu brought Aburame Hatsuizumi back, she still stubbornly refused to admit she was afraid of heights. She insisted that even if Zixu hadn't come out to pick her up, she could've flown back on her own beetle.

This time, Hatsuizumi had done quite well. Not only did she bring back Guren, who harbored deep hatred for the Akatsuki, but she also managed to swallow the Three-Tails.

Although he had suspected that Akatsuki had completed their mission when he heard the Three-Tails was missing a tail and that Tobi and the others didn't interfere, it didn't take away from Hatsuizumi's impressive performance.

"Was the Sanbi (Three-Tails) tasty?" Zixu asked, deadpan.

"It was alright. Tough like a brick and had no flavor," Aburame Hatsuizumi replied, scratching her head like she was trying to remember.

Hyuga Chinano couldn't take the nonsense anymore and cut in.

"Enough. The match isn't over yet."

Zixu stretched out lazily, totally unbothered. "It's basically done. Fighting one-on-one takes too long. Let's just do a melee match—winner takes all." He felt it was time to move things along, especially since Akatsuki was likely planning something behind the scenes.

"Who hasn't fought yet?" Aburame Hatsuizumi asked while lying sprawled across a chair.

"There's still Karin," Hyuga Chinano added as she stretched.

"I'll go check it out," Zixu said, waving to the two of them. He was curious how well Karin had mastered her Fruit ability.

"You're just in time," someone called out as Zixu returned to his seat. He looked up and saw Karin stepping onto the stage. At that moment, she looked like a lost child in a shopping mall, scanning the crowd in confusion.

But the second she locked eyes with Zixu, the confusion faded, replaced by determination.

"Please watch closely, Lord Zixu. I'll show you the results of my training."

Karin's opponent was Sakura, a fellow medical ninja trained under Tsunade. Both were known for stamina-heavy fighting styles. But Sakura also had terrifying strength and expert taijutsu.

Once the match began, Karin didn't rush into using her Fruit powers. Instead, several golden chains burst out from her body. Zixu recognized them immediately—it was the Kongō Fūsajō (Adamantine Sealing Chains), a technique he'd once favored.

However, Karin's use of the chains was different. Rather than relying on quantity and length to bombard her opponent, she anchored the chains into the ground behind her, creating a trailing chain shadow as she rushed toward Sakura.

Sakura wasn't the type to dodge. Her short pink hair bounced as she charged forward, fist glowing with chakra, aiming to clock Karin.

But Karin remained calm. Suddenly, small glowing bubbles—each shimmering with different colors—appeared around her in midair. This was her technique: Tōmuson Ripple Run (Thomson Ripple Run).

As Sakura's punch connected with one of the bubbles, multicolored chakra explosions detonated in a chain reaction, engulfing both fighters.

Whoosh~ The sound of crackling flames erupted as aura-blue fire ignited the stage. Karin kept pushing forward.

Both were sensory types, but Sakura's sensory ability was no match for Karin's Kagura Shingan (Kagura Mind's Eye). Before Sakura even noticed, Karin had already slipped behind her.

Sakura reacted instantly, leaning backward to strike with her elbow.

But Karin's speed spiked unnaturally. In a blink, she left only an afterimage behind.

"What the hell? Why is she so fast?" Sakura had no time to adjust and was forced to abort her elbow strike mid-move.

Zixu nodded from the stands, intrigued by the technique.

Bang! Karin's punch landed clean, sending Sakura flying. Karin flew after her, still connected by a golden chain shot earlier.

"Wait—is this a chain?" Sakura realized she was still linked to Karin, who was using the chain for high-speed movement.

"She's using the chain like a zipline… a method of accelerated mobility," Sakura muttered mid-air, trying to break free with a high kick.

"It looks like Sakura's discovered Karin's weakness and is using a high kick to break the chain!" the commentator outside the stadium called out. The crowd went wild.

"Too bad Sakura doesn't have the best figure. That kick could've been hotter. I'm giving it a six outta ten," the commentator added, fanning the flames. Sakura couldn't hear it—but the crowd sure enjoyed the drama.

Even after being kicked away, Karin didn't back off. The chain was still intact, and she sent aura-blue flames crawling across it toward Sakura.

Sakura panicked and sliced the chain, only for Karin to reappear at the last place the flame touched. Her entire body was now engulfed in emerald green fire, and a bird-like spirit shimmered within the flames.

A strange birdsong echoed from where Karin appeared. Half the stadium was now consumed in fire. She was releasing chakra in the most primal way possible.

Her breath became ragged, and a faint green glow surrounded her body.

"Is that… the Eight Gates?" Naruto asked from the sidelines. The aura was similar to Rock Lee's fighting style.

"No," Sasuke shook his head. "This isn't Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Released Formation). It's different. She's using controlled breathing to activate her body." He'd fought Guy-sensei and Lee enough to tell the difference.

"It's Ripple Breathing," Zixu muttered.

Karin's life energy surged, stimulating muscles and nerves. The emerald flames kept restoring her stamina, creating a self-sustaining loop.

Sakura didn't hold back either. "Byakugō no In (Yin Seal: Release)!" The diamond mark on her forehead spread as she activated Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth) for a head-on clash.

Both were freakishly durable, and the match dragged on far longer than others.

But eventually, Sakura fell. Despite her Byakugō regeneration, the technique healed everything, including the countless micro-cuts Karin had been creating with water blades from a distance. Each tiny wound used up chakra to heal, and that endless drain wore Sakura down.

Karin remained standing. It had always been obvious—when comparing the chakra pool of the Uzumaki clan to others, the winner was never in doubt.

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