Naruto: Reborn as Sakura with Manyuu Chifusa Template

"You'd better slow down," Ino drawled, watching in morbid fascination as Sakura practically inhaled the date-filled pastry she'd bought at one of the Sand's little food stalls. "Or you'll end up like Chōji in no time."

"What's— nom— that supposed to—snarf— mean?" Chōji mumbled between two bites, glancing at Ino's flattened chest. "Y'know— gulp— men like a woman with a bit of meat on her bones."

Or at least, that's what Shikamaru had told him, and Shikamaru was always right.

"Are you saying I'm flat!?" Ino bristled.

"Can't be helped," said Sakura offhandedly, brushing crumbs from her shelf-like chest with the back of her hand. "I need to replenish my energy for our next match."

There was only so much anyone could do without energy, after all. Besides, after running nonstop for three days and three nights from the Hidden Leaf Village to the Hidden Sand Village with minimal food supplies, they had all lost a bit of weight, especially Chōji.

…

The trio returned to their seats, snacks in hand. After queueing for nearly an hour, the break between the quarter-finals and the semis was more or less over— but luckily, Team Kurenai and Team Mei were still due to fight before it was their turn. That gave them a little time to eat... depending, of course, on how long Akamaru and company could hold their own against a Kage-level opponent.

"The first match of the semi-finals is about to begin!" Baki roared into his portable radio, his magnified voice rattling the venue's walls. "Team Mei of Kirigakure versus Team Kurenai of Konohagakure!"

The seven combatants dropped from the competitors' box and made their way to the centre of the arena, coming to a stop just before Baki.

"Hinata's got a real bounce to her chest," Sakura commented.

"Don't you mean step?" Ino said, frowning.

Down below, Baki was discussing something in a low voice with the six ninja (and one dog). He then retreated to a safe distance along with five of the contestants, leaving two figures in the centre of the arena: Hinata and Chōjūrō; a blue-haired fellow wearing glasses, with a large, flat object wrapped in bandages strapped to his back.

The two of them sized each other up… and down, before simultaneously looking away from each other, blushing faintly. It seemed they'd both taken minor psychological damage from the effort of staring each other down and trying to look tougher than they actually were.

"READY?" shouted Baki. "FIGHT!"

Sakura had no idea how Hinata had trained over the past two years to remain a ninja without her Dōjutsu and overcome her handicap, so she was looking forward to seeing this unfold!

Chōjūrō wasted no time drawing his weapon from his back. He channelled chakra through it at once, reducing the bandages wrapped around it to fluttering shreds, revealing the gleaming chakra metal underneath. Sakura scratched her head, frowning. Surely there was a more sensible way to unsheathe a sword that didn't involve spending a fortune on toilet paper rolls?

On her part, Hinata took a Gentle Fist. Sakura leaned in, watching closely. How was she planning on using the Gentle Fist without the Byakugan?

"Hiramekarei, Release!"

Like the Kabutowari and the Kiba, the Hiramekarei were twinswords— a matched pair designed to be wielded together. But what separated it from the others was that it could be used as a single unit, with the two halves fused along their flat sides into one single blade. This was its default mode.

But as opposed to the ultra greatswords (the chakra-devouring Samehada, the giants' bane Kabutowari and the explosive Shibuki— which were designed to hunt Tailed Beasts), the Hiramekarei, along with the dual lightning blades Kiba, the sewing needle Nuibari and the executioner's blade Kubikiribōchō were made to hunt the most dangerous game— man.

Chōjūrō swung the Hiramekarei at Hinata, releasing from its blade a thin, shimmering wave of chakra. But instead of dodging or jumping over the attack, Hinata simply raised her hand and crushed it. Yes, that's right— she crushed the Getsuga Tenshō with her bare hands. Taken aback, Chōjūrō's mouth hung slightly open.

"How did she do that?" asked Ino in surprise, turning to Sakura. "Did you see what happened?"

Sakura shook her head— to save chakra, she had decided against using the Sharingan when it wasn't her turn to fight. That is, unless she saw something cool that she wanted to copy.

"Such chakra!" gasped Ino. "Can't you feel it?"

"What's happening?" asked Sakura urgently.

She couldn't use her Area Scanning Jutsu to sense what was happening in the arena below; the technique worked like a sonar pulse, so using it would almost certainly get her disqualified for interfering in a match that wasn't hers.

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"

Hinata released a sharp burst of chakra from her right palm, compressing the air into a shock wave. The air between them shimmered— Chōjūrō dodged— and a split second later, the solid concrete wall behind him cracked, as a massive palm print sank into its surface, at least ten centimetres deep.

"That's my technique!" Sakura blurted out in dismay. "That's my Gale Palm Jutsu!"

"Again!" shouted Hinata, lifting her left arm. "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"

This time, Chōjūrō couldn't dodge, as he was still already in the middle of dodging. Helplessly, he could only call upon the deep reserves of chakra stored inside his blade and hope to weather the attack by blocking.

"TAG OUT!" he shouted— just as the shock wave slammed into him, lifting him off his feet and hurling him into the wall at his back. The force of Hinata's strike embedded him deep in the concrete, a second imprint of a palm forming cleanly around him.

"Hm, so close," said Chōji in disappointment. "That's a bit annoying..."

A few medics quickly prised poor Chōjūrō out of his hole and carried him off before the match was allowed to resume. As soon as the signal was given, Haku— looking as radiant as ever— left Baki's side and strode towards Hinata, who took up a fighting stance.

Apparently, he was next in line to fight, according to the turn order rules. In Sakura's opinion, this match would be much more difficult for Hinata. Haku's greatest strength wasn't his Kekkei Genkai, but his speed, used in conjunction with his Ice Style…