Ino vs. Haku
Chidori shattered one of the ice mirrors into pieces, and without stopping, it continued to destroy one mirror after another, turning them into powder amidst the buzzing sound of Chidori.
Sasuke shouted as he chased relentlessly.
Amid the fragments of ice mirrors flying everywhere, multiple Hakus could be seen shifting left and right.
Realizing that he couldn't shake Sasuke off, Haku had no choice but to change his strategy.
With a wave of his right hand, dozens of ice mirrors appeared, surrounding the three of them from all directions, arranged in three layers.
"Naruto-kun, I really don't want to fight you."
Seeing Naruto's cheeks twitch, as if he was about to unleash his S-rank Talk no Jutsu, Ino quickly activated her ninja technique.
"Leave this kunoichi to me! Don't interfere! Water Release: Super Exploding Water Shockwave!"
Naruto wanted to say that the person in front of them wasn't a woman, but seeing Haku dressed in female attire, he was at a loss for words. His Talk no Jutsu was abruptly interrupted by the overwhelming force of the Super Exploding Water Shockwave, which even startled Kakashi, Asuma, and Zabuza, who were fighting in the distance.
Zabuza was utterly confused. "What the hell? Who's using the Super Exploding Water Shockwave?" He could have used a technique of that scale himself, but he hadn't because he simply didn't see the need. Those stronger than him would win regardless, and those weaker than him could be dealt with with a single slash. Why bother with a Super Exploding Water Shockwave? Kakashi, using his Sharingan, sensed the intensity of the chakra from afar and sighed inwardly. Having a lot of chakra was indeed a good thing, a very good thing. Ino's "Super Exploding Water Shockwave" didn't reach Kisame's level of creating a lake out of thin air, but it far surpassed what an average ninja could achieve.
The overwhelming torrent of water surged outward from Ino, spreading in all directions.
The tightly arranged Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals were thrown into disarray by the rushing water. Sasuke and Naruto leaped through the gaps and took refuge on a nearby tree to watch the battle.
"Crack, crack, crack—" The crisp sounds of shattering ice mirrors echoed continuously as Haku's mirrors were destroyed one after another by the water.
Haku, holding senbon in his hand, had no choice but to move swiftly between the remaining ice mirrors. Each time he moved, he used his chakra to create a varying number of new ice mirrors, while Ino continued to control the water, relentlessly pushing forward.
Haku's Ice Release slowed the movement of the water, and the force of the Super Exploding Water Shockwave gradually diminished, losing about 30% of its power without anyone noticing.
Haku, still holding the senbon, took advantage of the weakened impact. He emerged from one of the ice mirrors, raised his arm, and threw the senbon.
Although the process involved entering an ice mirror, throwing senbon, and then moving to the next mirror to repeat the action, his incredible speed created the illusion that dozens of Hakus were throwing senbon simultaneously.
"Watch out!" Naruto shouted from a distance.
Ino slammed her hands on the ground. "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"A massive earthen wall rose from the ground, with the chibi-style portraits of Team 10's four members at its center." Ino had deliberately placed her own portrait in the prominent position. From a distance, the Earth-Style Wall even resembled the Hokage Rock. Although the precision of her Earth Release wasn't perfect, her chakra reserves far exceeded Kakashi's. The wall encircled her, blocking all the incoming senbon.
Senbon were tools used by medical ninjas for acupuncture and bloodletting, and their lethality was far inferior to kunai and shuriken. Although Haku was a man, his strength wasn't significantly greater than Ino's. The senbon merely left small dents in the earthen wall.
High-speed movement was a significant drain on both Chakra and physical stamina. Taking advantage of the brief interval when Haku was throwing Senbon, Ino gathered Water Release Chakra between her chest and abdomen, quickly forming hand seals to increase the pressure.
Standing on the earthen wall, she unleashed a Ninja Technique towards the Ice Mirrors: "Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
Under the pressure, the silver stream of water formed a sharp line, shattering one of the Ice Mirrors in a tenth of a second. Without pause, it continued to cut through the mirrors in a clockwise direction.
Haku, who was in the midst of adjusting his breathing, was startled and immediately shifted his position.
Ino had already created a Shadow Clone earlier. Now, the clone used its sensing ability to locate Haku among the numerous Ice Mirrors.
"Three o'clock direction."
"He's moved to the nine o'clock direction, the middle mirror."
"He's behind us!" In a chase and escape scenario, Haku's speed was impressive, but Ino's "Water Severing Wave" was even faster!
Haku had to constantly move between the Ice Mirrors, while Ino only needed to tilt her head slightly, and the silver water line would chase after him, slicing through the mirrors.
It was like one person running ahead while another stood still, firing a machine gun. The question was whether the runner could outpace the bullets.
This was the first time Haku had encountered such a formidable opponent as Ino. Anyone else might have panicked seeing their Ice Mirrors shatter one by one, with the water line closing in.
But Haku possessed high combat intelligence.
While moving at high speed, he formed a single-handed seal, utilizing the water created by the "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" to launch a Ninja Technique.
"Water Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles!" The surrounding water transformed into countless fine needles, densely packed like raindrops, piercing towards Ino, who was still controlling the "Water Severing Wave."
The moment Haku launched his attack, Ino also locked onto his precise location.
The Shadow Clone, using its sensing ability, erected a tall earthen wall in front of itself, and the dense barrage of needles struck the wall.
This was a genuine Ninja Technique, far more lethal than the previous Senbon.
When the effect of "Thousand Flying Water Needles" ended, Haku focused intently and noticed that the earthen wall was gone, and Ino behind it had vanished into a puff of white smoke.
Not good! Both were Shadow Clones! Just as he was about to move, he suddenly felt Ino emerge from the ground beneath him.
Ino smiled brightly: "Jio, you're quite the beauty, but you've lost! Earth Release: Headhunter Technique!"
She grabbed Haku's ankle and yanked him downward.
"It's you who's lost! For Zabuza-sama, I will not lose!"
Haku had also been setting up his own strategy. The fragments of the Ice Mirrors shattered by the "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" and "Water Severing Wave" were scattered around. These mirror fragments were inconspicuous amidst the sea of glass shards, but they still retained a portion of his Chakra.
As Ino activated the Headhunter Technique, Haku immediately gathered the scattered Ice Mirror fragments, reforming them into a complete Ice Mirror. Using his Ice Release ability, he leapt into the air, pulling Ino out of the ground with him.
Mid-air, he brandished a Senbon, aiming it straight at Ino's heart.
"Poof!" Ino turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
Haku spun around just in time to see Ino spreading her arms, a dense flow of water rushing towards him.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
Haku's strength was formidable, likely the strongest among his peers that Ino had ever faced. Yet, even he couldn't break through the Water Prison Technique from within.
Ino created a Shadow Clone to maintain the Water Prison Technique, then formed Hand Seals and aimed at Haku.
"Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Her will, enveloped in Chakra, surged into Haku's mental world and quickly gained control of his body.
She wanted to understand the intricacies of Ice Release and figure out what conditions she was missing to unlock this Release Technique.