Suigetsu swore as he went down, the chains that bound him catching him completely by surprise. Unable to liquefy whilst bound by Karin's chakra chains, he hit jagged ground heavy, already feeling the rocks below digging harshly into his skin.

For a ninja, she had surprisingly delicate hands. Hands that were fisted and raining punches on his struggling form. He had to admit, Karin wasn't one to show mercy mid spar and with chakra reserves like hers, he was in trouble. Still the girl was clearly out of her element, the lack of any finishing blow evident in her assault.

Twisting precariously on his free arm he aimed a solid kick at the red heads abdomen, sending her flying to the ground with a sharp cry. Taijustsu usually wasn't he's forte, but against the sensor type kunoichi, he fared well. Although not yet free, he glanced around for Kubikiribōchō, knowing full well that Karin would not stick to close combat should he be armed. Spotting the blade a mere foot behind Karin's form, he staggered towards her.

Sensing his approach the girl lashed out, tightening the chain towards her. Even in his chakra drained state he could see the effort she made was going to be in vain. Karin simply wasn't a fighter and at this range even with one arm incapacitated he could just reach down and grab her by her neck. It may be oddly satisfying to win that way. He can't count the number of times he's wanted to wring the life out of her. Did he really need to resort to using his swordsmanship against such a weak fighter?

Opting to use brute strength, he ignored the Kubikiribōchō and grabbed for Karin's neck as she swatted at him. Red nails raked into his forearm viciously as she struggled against his hold. Her crimson eyes were glaring at him with malice as her oxygen supply began to dwindle and he found the chain on him push painfully. A Kunai was suddenly buried in his waist and he found himself surprised, not having his ability to liquefy was rather uncomfortable. Still he held firm against her struggle despite his fatigue. When it came to raw strength he knew she'd have no choice to yield to him, besides with his chakra nearly depleted it was unwise to wield Kubikiribōchō against her. He simply couldn't match her legendary Uzumaki stamina in a drawn out battle.

Crimson eyes glared at him as she struggled for air, those delicate hands once again on him, trying to pry his grip of her. Seeing her eyes widen he mentally prayed she'd yield and stop this ridiculous farce of a spar. It wasn't like he really wanted to murder the woman, prodigy or not.

"Time!" Juugo's announcement was welcomed as the two tired ninja stopped their attacks.

Suigetsu glanced up in relief as he slackened his grip on the redhead allowing her to fall to the ground in a heap. He felt her chains uncoil from his torso as she drifted into unconsciousness and finally let himself relax whilst he staggered towards his Kubikiribōchō, unwilling to let the sword out of his sight in his fatigued state.

He winced as he picked up his sword, eyes lingering curiously on Juugo. Normally a spar between himself and Karin wouldn't have been allowed to go this far. What had he been thinking?

"She almost had you." Juugo answered his unspoken question whilst picking up the unconscious kunoichi.

"As if, the bitch is out cold and I'm still walking," Suigetsu growled at Juugo's audacity. Sure Karin got lucky this time. Nullifying his ability to liquefy and disarming him was a rare feat but it didn't overcome one glaring fact.

"I'm built for the kill Juugo. She's literally made to heal and search. In a battle between equally skilled ninja, the one with killer intent wins."

He left Juugo pondering on his words as he paced to a nearby spring. Suigetsu hadn't lied about killer intent being a deciding factor in a fight. He was a prodigy in the art of murder after all. However, one glaringly obvious fact remained, Suigetsu hadn't won this battle. Technically, it had been a stalemate at best.

Did he, against Karin Uzumaki of all people, just loose his killer intent?