With a thunderous boom, an endless surge of water flooded the competition arena, instantly transforming the soccer field-sized area into a vast swamp.
Acting as the referee, Shiranui Genma moved swiftly, climbing up a tree like a monkey before looking down with lingering fear.
The raging torrents surged violently, overwhelming everything in sight. Apart from the absence of living creatures, it was indistinguishable from actual seawater.
While the spectators in the stands could only watch in awe, the ninjas among them were utterly stunned.
One by one, they stood up to get a closer look.
Had this young lady from the Yamanaka Clan made a contract with the ocean itself? This was nothing like the Water Release techniques they were familiar with!
The waves rose over ten meters high, crashing against the arena walls with deafening roars, completely submerging the entire battlefield.
The chattering voices of the crowd were drowned out by the howling waves.
Many ninjas rubbed their eyes—such an enormous Water Release was something most of them had never witnessed before.
Old Man Kosuke, carrying his black pot, wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes. The familiar sight reminded him of the late Second Hokage.
Previously, many ninjas had regarded Ino merely as the Yamanaka Clan's genius—a label often inflated by flattery. After all, coming from the Yamanaka Clan, her starting point was naturally higher than that of ordinary ninjas. When discussing their daughter, a few polite compliments would suffice, and many didn't take it too seriously. How many so-called "genius" ninjas her age existed in the Shinobi World? Most were just products of hype!
But now, seeing the overwhelming deluge before them, they reconsidered. The Yamanaka Clan had been far too modest!
Was this still within the realm of genius? This was a monster!
Though perhaps not quite on par with a humanoid Tailed Beast, she had already far surpassed ordinary ninjas.
Inoichi offered some commentary on Ino's performance.
"That girl, always wasting chakra recklessly—completely undisciplined. I'll have to scold her next time."
His old comrades Shikaku and Choza could only nod in agreement. Yes, of course, whatever you say—right now, you're absolutely correct.
Meanwhile, Rino was busy showing off to the wives of other clan heads, rambling about how their Ino was just a bookworm or how she was terrible at household chores—nonsense, really.
The other ladies had no choice but to play along. One sighed, "If only my daughter were half as smart as your Ino," while another lamented, "My foolish son can't even handle a C-rank ninjutsu properly—I envy you so much."
Gaara was swept underwater by the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave. The immense pressure of the torrent threatened to suffocate him, forcing him to use the Tailed Beast Chakra seeping through his seal to reinforce his Sand Shield for defense.
Ino created eight shadow clones, and together with her real body, unleashed nine simultaneous "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Waves."
Whirlpools of water surrounded Gaara from all nine directions, the churning currents crisscrossing and pressing him deeper. Gaara held his breath, feeling completely trapped—water pressed in from every side, leaving him unable to move.
"Water Release: Great Water Prison Technique!" Ino had modified the Water Prison Technique.
At this moment, nine Water Release: Water Colliding Waves transformed into barriers, with currents exerting suction from nine directions to immobilize Gaara mid-air, neither touching the sky nor the ground. The Five Elements Seal had long been left with a backdoor. As the Water Colliding Waves spun rapidly, the chakra belonging to the One-Tail Shukaku unknowingly leaked out, absorbed by the seal, and then drawn out of his body by the Water Colliding Waves.
The surroundings were filled with water infused with Ino's chakra. Even the Byakugan couldn't detect her subtle movements.
"Father, this Yamanaka sister who often comes to play with my elder sister seems really strong?" asked seven-year-old Hyuga Hanabi, turning to her father, Hiashi Hyuga.
The Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave and the subsequent massive Water Prison Technique left Hiashi Hyuga utterly astonished. He had been on the battlefield and fought against Jonin from Kirigakure Village.
From his current perspective, many so-called Kirigakure Jonin couldn't match the sheer scale of this Water Release—some were even weaker. Those Kirigakure ninjas often relied on environmental advantages, using natural water sources to perform Water Release techniques. Yet here, Ino was creating vast currents out of thin air.
He had always assumed his daughter and the Yamanaka girl were evenly matched, often hearing about their back-and-forth victories. But now? The Yamanaka girl possessed such immense chakra reserves? And you still claim to trade wins with her? Are you joking?
Hiashi Hyuga pondered silently. If he closed the distance and leveraged his superior Body techniques to seize the initiative, victory would be within reach. He could likely defeat Ino within a few moves—her Body techniques were far inferior in his eyes. Conversely, if she managed to keep her distance and unleash ninjutsu of this scale, the outcome would be uncertain.
As the referee, Shiranui Genma also felt the same helplessness Hayate Gekko had experienced earlier. With such a colossal ninjutsu at play, was a referee even necessary? He had already leaped onto a tree, but the water's force was so overwhelming that the trunk beneath him was on the verge of snapping.
He glanced up at the Third Hokage, who gave a slight nod. Genma quickly retreated to the stands.
Numerous Jonin and dignitaries buzzed with discussion as Ino went all out, extracting the One-Tail's chakra.
The Akatsuki relied on the Gedo Statue as a foundation and the Phantom Dragon Nine Sealing Technique as their method, with nine members laboring for three days and nights to fully extract the One-Tail.
Ino's capabilities—both in terms of "software" and "hardware"—were nowhere near theirs. Forcing the extraction was like a tug-of-war, exhausting her strength. The nine Water Colliding Waves kept spinning, while the Five Elements Seal disrupted Gaara's original sealing technique. With both methods combined, after over a minute, she had only extracted a fist-sized cloud of mist-like chakra.
The One-Tail's chakra volume paled in comparison to the Nine-Tails, which could casually release chakra vortices as large as a washbasin.
"Such a weak Tailed Beast," she cursed inwardly before immediately sealing away the extracted chakra.
Regardless, she had obtained the One-Tail's chakra.
Dispelling the Great Water Prison Technique's confinement, she lifted the unconscious Gaara and gestured to Shiranui Genma.
Understanding her intent, Genma loudly announced, "Yamanaka Ino wins!"
At this point, all three contestants from Sunagakure had been eliminated, leaving only ninjas from Konoha. Of course, this was entirely fair—the matchups were completely random, with absolutely no underhanded manipulation involved.
"Strongman, here's your little brother back." Ino tossed Gaara over to Temari.
Seeing her brother, who never slept, completely unconscious, Temari couldn't help but feel distressed. She called out to Ino, "Hey! Release the seal on my brother!"
No benefit, just empty words expecting me to undo the seal? Who do you think you are?
Ino scratched her ear, playing dumb. "Seal?"
"Release the seal on my brother!"
"Whose seal?"
"My brother's seal!"
Ino looked at her with an innocent expression. "What's wrong with your brother?"
Damn you! Temari was furious, raising her ninja fan as if to attack, but Kankuro desperately held her back. "Big sis, stop making trouble! You can't beat her!"