Gaara's eyes snapped open, and time seemed to slow down.
He saw Ino's arm descending on him, and he knew what to do.
He thrust his palm upward with blinding speed. The wind whipped up around him, cloaking him and augmenting his strike.
The heel of his palm struck the leading edge of Ino's arm with a resounding crack. Cracks appeared in Ino's arm.
"What the hell?!" She jerked her arm away.
In his head, Gaara heard Karura's voice.
The Will of Wind, Gaara. Let it direct your blows straight and true. He could almost see Karura's arm pointing towards his target. There. Destroy her heart so she may rest in peace.
But, mother...her body is-
The heart is what truly holds the spirit, Gaara.
...I'll trust you, mother. Gaara formed three quick hand signs, then launched toward Ino with blinding speed.
"Wind Style! Fujin's Sword!" The wind around Gaara's hand formed into the shape of a blade. He took a slight sidestep to get the angle right...
And slashed, straight through Ino's body and the wind mask.
"Agh!" Ino clutched at her side. "D-dammit..."
Gaara let his arm drop. "It is done." The winds dissipated. "I'm finished...but Temari is with mother now."
Ino glared at him. "Damn right you're finished." She lifted her arm, and black tendrils began writhing about between gaps in her stitches. "Your heart will replace hers." The muscles in her arm bunched up.
She's getting ready to shoot it.
"Say goodnight, you pathetic shit." She launched her arm.
For the second time, Gaara closed his eyes and waited for death.
Then, suddenly, something hit him hard and knocked him out of the way.
Once he gathered himself, Gaara turned back to look at his savior.
He wished he hadn't.
Kankuro was now in the indiscriminate grip of the heart-stealer, and her tendrils were slowly entering his chest.
"Kankuro! No!"
"G...Gaara...go! G-Go...to the Leaf...tell them...what has happened here..."
"But-"
"GO! Maybe they can be better prepared than we were!"
Gaara hesitated just a moment longer. He made his escape.
YOU THINK THAT WILL SAVE YOUR BROTHER, KANKURO? Ino chuckled as she reeled him in. HE WILL DIE.
Kankuro smiled as he felt the strings pulling on his heart. "Yeah...we all will, eventually. Even you, Ino Yamanaka." He yanked aside one side of his collar, revealing a paper bomb stuck to his body. "Hey, thanks for the hamburger steak."
"Gh!" Ino yanked her arm back, tearing out Kankuro's heart. It was too late, though. The bomb blew, blowing her back into the wall.
"Grr...I don't need your heart!" She took Kankuro's heart and crushed it in her hand. "You watch me. I'll find Gaara's girlfriend or whatever and take hers. And trust me when I say that I will make her death long and painful. I hope you're satisified." She spat on the ground. "I hope you're fucking satisified."