The Legend of Konoha's Shooting Star

Rivalry...!!

"Wow, wow!! Sakura-chan rules!!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Her basic chakra control is perfect for a rookie. Sakura has greatly improved," Kakashi remarked.

"Yeah... She's grown a lot during this exam..." April agreed, though she was sort of starting to feel a little jealous. She couldn't remember the last time he had praised her directly like that... She didn't want to be a brat about it, though. And she did manage to get him to carry her... Of course, the two males were oblivious to the troubles that plagued her delicate maiden heart.

"So she's better than me?" Naruto asked, frowning.

"Well, yes," Kakashi replied.

"..." Naruto stared at him. April kept her eyes on the fight.

"The ability to gather chakra from every part of the body and then using it with great timing. In just that, she's above Sasuke," Kakashi explained. 'The one with the best chakra control on the team is actually April,' he thought glancing at her back while she focused on watching Sakura's match. 'Without that, she probably wouldn't be able to use ninjutsu at all with her strange physiology... But it's such a strain for her to produce enough extra chakra for molding in the first place, that you would never know it looking at her...' He turned his attention back to Naruto. "Well, in Sakura's case, from the beginning... she was always great at the control of chakra."

'Beautiful movement, Sakura-san...' Lee thought, clenching his fist as he watched her dodge and move in for another attack.

"Go for it, Sakura!!" April shouted encouragingly. Regardless of her jealousy, she still wanted to support her teammate. She couldn't do a thing for Sakura while she was fighting on her own to protect them, so April at least wanted to cheer her on here.

Ino mirrored Sakura and the two leaf kunoichis clashed, forced into a stalemate when each caught the other's punch. They stood there, gritting their teeth and pushing against each other, trying to find a way to gain the upper hand.

'They look evenly matched...' April observed, furrowing her brow slightly.

Apparently, Ino and Sakura thought so, too, because they both let go and jumped back at the same time. While they were still in the air, both girls simultaneously drew a shuriken and threw it a her opponent. The two attacks canceled each other out.

'But her opponent is great, too...' Lee thought, coming to the same conclusion as April.

'... If they are even, this could be a long battle,' they thought as the two kunoichis landed and prepared to attack again.

Their prediction proved true. Sakura tried another rocket punch, but Ino had been expecting it and managed to dodge. The two kunoichis continued to exchanged blow after blow, attacking and counterattacking. Seconds turned to minutes. Neither girl was giving an inch.

'Since when did she become this strong?' Ino wondered as she clenched her fist and pulled her arm back again, amazed Sakura was even able to keep up with her for this long.

'Yes... I can do it,' Sakura thought with burning determination, preparing another punch.

WHAMM!!

"!" April's eyes widened slightly, impressed with the way Sakura had made adjustments at the last minute to let her fist slide directly under Ino's as she extended it, giving her a clear path to her opponent's face to avoid her attempt to stop it again. Unfortunately, doing so had left her open to damage, too. Each girl was sent flying in the opposite direction from the force of the other's fist colliding with their face. The landing was harsh.

"Whoa," Naruto gasped.

'This may never end...' Kakashi thought. Sakura and Ino were too evenly matched for one to gain a quick victory over the other.