ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

The End of the Preliminaries!

"Well, looks like you're finally up next!" Naruto remarked cheerfully. "You've got this Naruko-chan — kick his ass!"

Naruko saluted playfully. "Hai!" she cheered before leaping backwards, summersaulting in midair before landing gracefully on the arena floor.

Turning around fully, she was faced with a smirking Kankurō, who was giving her a condescending look.

She smirked inwardly. Best to let him keep thinking along the same vein, after all an overconfident opponent was always the easiest to overcome. One of the most important lessons Naruto had imparted into her through their sessions was to never underestimate an opponent, no matter how weak they appear.

Shinobi Golden Rule Number 1: deception is a shinobi's greatest weapon.

"Are the fighters ready?" Hayate called as he raised both his arms. Seeing the nods, he dropped them. "Begin!"

Kankurō started first, removing the straps from the brown-furred bundle behind his back before setting it beside him. With a cocky smirk, he directed his gaze towards Naruko who was still standing where she was before.

"I'd suggest you give up, girl," he began. "But then again, I wouldn't be able to pay you back for embarrassing me that day in the village if I had done so. Your unlucky day I guess ..."

Naruko raised a delicate eyebrow, flipping out a kunai as she dropped into her ready stance. "I find words are empty when one doesn't have the strength or skill to back them up." She declared.

She swore she heard Naruto snort in both her mind and back on the railing, causing her to grin as an angry look overcame the war-paint wearing boy's face. There were several chuckles coming from her fellow Konoha-nin as well.

"Why you little ...!" he said, before being swiftly cut off by Naruko, who had an all-too-innocent look on her angelic features.

"What brand of makeup did you wear?" she asked, causing Kankurō to glare daggers at her as his face turned red. "It's a good one when it makes you look like a sissy!"

"Hah!" came a bark of laughter from none other than Temari. "I told you!"

"Shut up!" Kankurō yelled indignantly. "It's not makeup — it's war-paint! Why does everyone keep saying that it isn't?!"

Naruko rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, pretty boy." she said before rushing forward, aiming a slash at the older boy's head which he easily dodged, and the match truly began.

Naruto only looked on in pride as he watched his sister fight, easily noticing that their daily training sessions had paid off tremendously with interest.

Her every move, every step, every jab and every slash was preordained and utilized the least amount of force possible to achieve maximum results. No energy was wasted as every single movement was exploited to the fullest — it looked like a graceful dance routine rather than a taijutsu style.

This was what he had Naruko working on to perfect in the past few weeks, her own signature taijutsu technique: the Fūmuchi no Mai, or 'Dance of the Wind Goddess'.

A fluid and graceful taijutsu style that suited Naruko's lithe form along with her agility, allowing her to create a literal whirlwind of continuous attacks without sacrificing each strike's speed and power, while also allowing her to twist around any attacks coming at her at the same time.

It was basically a superior form of the Snake Style taijutsu used by Orochimaru. While it certainly emphasizes fluidity in the user's attacks, it also encourages the user to think on their feet and incorporate unpredictability in their attacks — which was perfect for one Uzumaki Naruko.