A swift victory

Ino quickly went into a taijutsu stance that she had been taught by Kurenai. Even though she had a lot of other possibilities, such as her clan jutsu and the few genjutsu Kurenai had taught her, she thought it to be best to first test her opponent with some taijutsu before deciding on a course of action. After all, her clan jutsu left her wide open if it missed...

Bzt her opponent didn't seem quite ready to fight yet. Instead, he rubbed his neck a bit. He was a tall boy, clad in a blue, striped jumpsuit that was somewhat baggier than Lees. "Eh, I didn't really want to fight against a girl. Especially one that's so cute...", he added with a smile towards Ino. Was he hitting on her?

Even if she knew what he was getting at, Ino seemed unphased by this remark. Quite the contrary, actually. "Oh, that supposed to be a compliment? I think the word you were looking for was 'dead sexy', right?", she taunted a bit as she stroke a pose, swinging her hips a bit and pushing up her bust some more.

Although obviously pleased by what he saw, the Kiri-nin tried to keep his cool and shrugged. "Yeah, that works, too. So, how about it?, "he asked her with a wink. Yeah, he was hitting on her alright.

But Ino shrugged his attempt at wooing her off as well. "Psh, yeah right! I already have someone I love! Besides, that scar? Not a turn on for me.", Ino declared, outright refusing him in a rather cruel manner that was so typical for her. Naruto was just glad to know that she could be different, too.

The Genin didn't seem too put off by her rejection however. Maybe he was already used to people avoiding him because of that scar. "Oh, really? Then how about a bet? I win, and you go on a date with me.", he proposed with a smile.

Ino cocked an eyebrow. This guy really had some guts. But she was interested. After all, being a competitive person, a challenge always made things more fun. "And what's in it for me?", she asked, intrigued on what he had to offer.

The Kiri-nin thought for a moment, Apparently, he was not seriously considering that she would be able to beat him. "Well... how about I give you some private lessons?", he offered with a grin. His intentions were painfully obvious though.

Ino laughed. "Like I'd need any. But a bet is always fun. It's on!", she decided as she punched the air a few times, getting herself pumped for this fight.

Naruto was now even more tense than before. Why had Ino done that? Was it to try and provoke this guy or was it just her way of toying with him? Either way, he hoped dearly his (inofficial) girlfriend would not lose this clash. Especially after he had given her the prospect of a reward earlier...

Naturally, Ino din't plan on losing. 'Believe in me, Naruto-kun. There's no way I will lose against this guy!', she thought before she settled into a fighting stance again.

But, yet again, the Kiri-nin didn't respond in kind. In fact, he had a self-secure smile all plastered over his face. "Okay, and I'm even going to be generous here. You get the first attack, babe.", he said.

But Ino wasn't the kind to pass up a chance like that. If he wanted it, he would get it. "Well, okay... if you insist...", she said as she flipped through her handsigns for her clans own jutsu. All the while, the Kiri-nin, though intrigued on what jutsu she might be preparing, given he had never seen those handseals, stood there motionlessly.

Ino finally ended and looked through her folded hands right at the shinobi. He still hadn't moved. This was going to be grand, Ino figured. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!", she exclaimed and her jutsu activated.

Both Ino and the Kiri-nin remained motionless, although it seemed more like the Kiri-nin was confused as to what happened that caused Ino to collapse like that. The judge, also somewhat befuddled, stepped closer to Inos body to check on what was going on.

Naruto gritted his teeth. 'Come on, Ino-chan...', he thought as he prayed that the jutsu of his girlfriend had worked. Everyone who knew how Ino's jutsu worked was thinking similarly.

Then, a movement. The boy held up his hand, signalling something. "I give up!", Ino said with the Kiri-nins voice and body.

The proctor looked at the boy, surprised. But, if a contestant wanted to give up, he would oblige. "Uh, okay... winner of this match due to the opponents surrender is Yamanaka Ino!", he announced loudly.

"Alrighty, that's it! Releasing jutsu... KAI!", Ino said and crossed her fingers. A moment later, the shinobi collapsed and in his stead, Ino began to move. Reacting to the cheers she got from her comrades, she responded by simply pumping a fist in the air.

Then, she sauntered over to her defeated opponent. "Uhn... what happened?", he groaned as he slowly came to and saw Ino standing right next to him, a smug grin on her face.

"Well, what do you think? I won, of course. Oh, I really don't need your lessons, but let me give you one: Never let your enemy get the first strike. Especially if your enemy is the # 1 Sexy Konoha Kunoichi Yamanaka Ino!"

Under the howling laughter of his team and the Sound team, the ninja returned to his comrades, having made himself the laughing stock of the exam. He had been eliminated quicker than anyone else before him.

Ino meanwhile rushed to his girlfriend and hugged her cheerfully. Maybe a bit too tight for teammates, but at this point, no one of the gathered seemed to care. "That was awesome, Ino-chan!", he congratulated her, making the girl blush a bit.

As they embraced, Ino took the chance to whisper in his ear. "So, have I earned my reward or what, Naruto-kun?", she asked coyly.

A broad grin appeared on Narutos face. "You sure did, Ino-chan. You sure did.", he replied.

But then, the Special Jounin overseeing this round coughed to draw everyones attention back to him. After a moment, everyone who had won their matches gathered in the ring and listened to the proctor declare that the final round of the Chunnin exam would take place in exactly one month from now in the big Konoha stadium.

After that part was over, Kurenai joined her students and also congratulated them on their victory. She was especially proud since her team was the only one who all had won their matches. In fact, Naruto never had seen Kurenai this happy before. So, he resolved to do his best to keep her happy. After all, that was the least he owed to her now...

But momentarily, the smile disappeared from Kurenai-senseis face. "Should we go to the medward? I'm sure Sakura is waiting for us already...", she asked her team, who naturally nodded solemnly. They remembered what happened to Hinata, and were all concerned for the shy Hyuuga girl. So, the entire Konoha Genin and Jounin hurried to the medward...