On the field, the fifth fight was already being announced, this time it was the first civil war, Sakura vs. Shino.
Shino was calm on the field, but Sakura was sweating profusely and swallowing hard.
Fighting against so many insects... Sakura really wanted to visit the Aburame clan and suggest a change in their fighting methods.
She thought about this fight all month, but no matter how much she thought about it, she always imagined being drowned in a swarm of insects, she even had nightmares about randomly waking up during the night because of it.
Therefore, when the time finally came, Sakura just wanted to end this fight quickly, but unfortunately for her, Shino was a strategic fighter.
When Orochimaru authorized the fight, Sakura advanced as fast as she could, aiming a direct punch at Shino.
Of course, she wouldn't use much power against a Konoha comrade, just enough to break a few bones.
Konoha ninja: ... thank you!
However, as soon as the punch landed, all she hit was an insect clone that quickly separated. Looking down, there was a clear opening behind Shino, he had escaped to the ground!
Sakura noticed this and aimed her punch directly at the ground.
-Shannaro! - She yelled, punching without restraint.
Another earthquake struck the field, this time smaller than Karin's, but it still made all the stands tremble.
Fortunately, Shino had come out on the other side of the field, so he didn't take any direct damage, the insects began to emerge from his body, advancing towards Sakura.
Sakura swallowed hard, but she didn't want to lose! She wanted to show that she was no longer useless!
She grabbed a large chunk of earth from the ground and lifted it into the air, making the audience's eyes widen.
The next moment, she jumped and punched the ground directly. - Shannaro!
The earth fragmented, but it didn't remain still, thousands of pieces of compacted earth of varying sizes struck Shino's insects, causing most of them to be directly buried.
Shino frowned slightly, but didn't stop, controlling the remaining insects to divert them and continue advancing towards Sakura.
//-//
(Naruto's POV)
-Damn it! That guy Shino really doesn't know how to handle girls.- Naruto seemed eager to go down there and punch Shino in the head.
Kakashi rolled his eye at him and continued to focus on the fight. The fight had become a stalemate, Sakura ran and used earth to try and deal with the insects, while Shino didn't even need to move, maintaining his position and controlling the insects, more insects bursting out of him from time to time.
-The Aburame boy is quite calm.- Tsunade said.
-Yes, among them, after Shikamaru, he's the one with the best rationality.- Kakashi agreed.
-Her strength isn't bad either.- Tsunade nodded, she herself had trained Sakura. The girl already had everything it took to be a Chunin, except for her weak chakra, but that could be fixed with time.
-Oh, it looks like Shino caught Sakura.- Kakashi said.
//-//
In the field, Sakura was covered in insects moments before. While passing through an area where she had previously buried some insects, she was shocked to be directly submerged by them.
-My insects won't be defeated by the earth, that's because, they are excellent diggers.- Shino explained calmly, unfortunately, due to the volume of his voice, no one but himself heard.
However, Sakura, faithful to her strongest jutsu, used substitution, the insects only managed to grab a piece of wood!
Sakura appeared not far away, breathing heavily. With her chakra reserves, this kind of quick and wasteful fighting was the worst kind of fight for her.
Shino didn't care, he simply controlled his insects to advance towards her again.
Sakura gave a wry smile, she couldn't even reach Shino! How could she possibly win this?!
Sakura wasn't the only one who noticed, most of the ninjas in the arena had realized it.
Just as they expected, Sakura used Substitution 3 more times before finally being caught, screaming in extreme fright as she was engulfed by insects.
Fortunately, Shino, seeing that she had little chakra left, let her go quickly, but the trauma was still evident in Sakura's eyes, she fainted shortly after being released.
Shino stood there, unsure what to do. He looked at Orochimaru, who seemed quite amused, especially knowing that his current body was that of an Aburame. He wondered if he should get some insects to play with as well.
Shino felt a chill for a moment, taking a few steps back from Orochimaru.
-Examiner, she fainted...- Shino pointed at Sakura.
-So?- Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
Shino looked at him, he looked at Shino, Shino looked away at Sakura.
For a moment, everything was silent, even the audience.
Shino thought about how to wake Sakura, sighing, he bent down and went to her, using his finger to poke her cheek.
-Wake up, wake up, wake up...- Shino continued to repeat this, leaving the audience speechless.
But it worked, however, when Sakura finally woke up and saw Shino, she let out a scream of fear and fainted again.
Shino: ...
Audience: ...
For a moment, nobody knew what to say.
//-//
(Tsunade's POV)
Tsunade smashed the sake cup directly into her hands, anger evident in her expression. - That girl...
Kakashi also gave a tense laugh, scratching the back of his head, unsure what to say.
Even Naruto looked away, it was very sad to see.
-When we get back, it seems I need to give her some special training.- Tsunade said irritably.
Kakashi and Naruto broke out in a cold sweat for a moment, sensing that Sakura was about to have an unfortunate experience.