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The volleyball was passed onto Ino, who hit it towards Hinata, then back to Sakura as soon as she struck it onto the ground, causing the guys to cheer and whistle.
"Team 1 wins the fourth round! The girls are playing as hard as they can get," Temari exclaimed when Kankuro wrote the score on the page.
Naruto yelled out after raising his fists triumphantly. "Yeah! That's our best girls right there! They are ready to kick your ass!"
Ino suddenly popped two veins on the side of her foreheads and glanced at him, growling in fumes. "Shut your fucking trap! This match isn't over, so get off of your high horse, dumbass!"
Naruto's eyes widened fearfully and went blank. He slowly sat down in embarrassment, whereas Gaara, Neji, Sasuke, and the others began to chuckle at his stupidity.
Sakura and Tenten were trying to stifle their laughter with their hands covering their mouths.
Hinata rubbed the back of her head and giggled nervously in thought. "He's cute and all, but he can be really dense sometimes…"
"Poor Naruto. Always trying to piss off girls," Kankuro shook his head, snickering.
"I couldn't agree more. Man, he's literally the same as before. However, he is slowly maturing," Shikamaru stated.
"Pfft. You could say that," Kankuro snorted and looked at the front.
"Alright, we are heading onto the final round, so we will determine to see which team is a winner and will get the opportunity to cut the watermelons in half. Who's ready?!" Temari announced loudly, making the boys cheer merrily. "The last person serving is Tenten. Go for it."
The brunette kunoichi with two buns nodded curtly. She was lowering the ball down and bending on her knees before she bumped the ball forward.
Hinata immediately hit it back on Tenten. Then, Sakura tiptoed on her feet and smacked the ball. Ino hastened her pace and struck it, resulting in their first score.
The others began to applaud for them, whereas Sakura stumbled onto the sand in a soft thump.
Gaara became startled, along with Naruto and Lee. As for Sasuke, he doesn't seem to be fazed.
She quickly pushed herself up and patted the solid dust off of her legs.
"Are you alright?" Ino asked worriedly.
"Yeah. This is nothing," the pink-haired kunoichi said, shrugging. She looked around her, which she almost laughed. "You are all too serious. I'm not some princess who needs to be looked after."
"Okay. If you say so, but I can't promise you I can't hold back," Ino gaped her mouth surprisingly.
Sakura smirked and gestured her arms out determinedly, saying. "Bring it."
On the other hand, the rest of the guys became stunned at how tough a player she seems to be. Of course, they can never underestimate the skills she possessed as a girl. Not to forget that the former fifth Hokage has taught her so many ways to fight, aside from medicine and healing. There was no comparison as to who works ten times harder when it comes to sports.
Naruto knitted his eyebrows anxiously and raised his fist forward encouragingly. "Come on, Hinata! You can do this!"
She got startled and glanced at him with a smile and nodded in thought. "Thank you, my love." She then looked back at the front and held the ball to serve.
Once it was flying in the air, Tenten ran up a little and bumped it back.
Sakura jumped and struck it with her fist, causing the other guys to cheer.
"5 points goes to Team One. Great job, ladies," Temari declared when Kankuro flipped the scoring card.
"Hehe. She wasn't bamboozling. She really meant about what she said," he said, chuckling.
"There's no doubt about that," Shikamaru shrugged, then rested his elbow on the table. However, he doesn't seem to be spacing out, nor being bored at all. In fact, he was starting to care more on what was going on around him.
Half an hour later, both teams won in the third and the fourth rounds, which led them to determine the final winner of the match. Tenten and Hinata were somewhat a bit worn out and didn't want to continue on further with the game. As for Sakura and Ino, they won't forfeit right away since they want to keep a head to head towards each other.
"And now we are in the last course. Who would be the champion?" Temari stated tacitly.
"Tsch. It's going to be my team," Ino flipped her pony-tail.
"Keep flattering yourself," Sakura said, smirking.
"Wah. I'm kidding," Ino shrugged and shook her head in disregard.
Then, she waited for Tenten to serve. The ball was flying over the net and Hinata tossed it onto her.
"Go!" Tenten exclaimed, where Ino began to jump to spike it forward.
Sakura also noticed this and hovered in the air before she extended her arm out. Both of them were reaching towards the ball while everything became a slow motion. The others were watching them intently, but the intensity of their bodies were heightening at the same time.
"Cha!" She growled aggressively, using the last bit of strength she has.
Precipitously, the ball landed on the sandy ground in a quick thump, causing an uproar between the men.
"Yeah!" They hollered in unison, whereas Ino plummeted and wailed in annoyance.
Tenten dropped onto her knees and exhaled out in disappointment.
"And Team One wins! Congratulations to Sakura and Hinata!" Temari announced noisily.
"Heh. What do you know?" Neji smiled half-heartedly and chuckled.
"Woohoo! That's my boo and my best friend right there! Right there! Take that, bitches!" Naruto cried out triumphantly and bumped his fists.
"Quit it, you ass!" Ino shouted angrily as her veins popped up around her forehead.
"Wah! Okay…" Naruto said as he sweat-dropped nervously.
Everyone was applauding, except for Sai, who scribbled the drawing hastily and crumpled the paper and threw it behind him. He was expecting his girlfriend to win, but he knew that the pink-haired kunoichi is still very active.
"Awesome job, ladies," Temari smiled and gave them high-fives.
Tenten waved her hand dismissively with a sullen look, saying. "Eh. Don't mention it. Thanks, though."
Ino walked up to Sakura and smiled. "Looks like you are the strongest among us."
"Not really. I still have a lot to learn," the pink-haired kunoichi said.
"Whatever you say, gal," Ino smirked, patting her lightly on the shoulder.
"Alright. Next up are the boys' teams. Team 3 and Team 4," Temari announced.
"Aww, man. I was hoping we would go last," Choji whined, mentally slapping himself.
"Any chance we can withdraw?" Sai asked blankly.
"Oh, guys. Don't be such a wimp. This is thrilling and I've been waiting for this day to come," Kiba stated as he placed his hands on his hips with a puffed up expression.
"Then clearly, there is something wrong with you," Shino said quietly and walked towards the area.
"What?! Ugh, not you too…" Kiba mumbled.
"Let's just get this over with. We have a lot of activities to do on the island," Shino noted.
"What could possibly be important? There's so much time," Kiba pointed out.
"Not at all," Shino disagreed as they stood on both sides of the field, facing the net while they were a few metres apart. He was casually resting his hands inside his pockets, whereas Sai was holding the ball before Temari counted up to three.
Sakura and her friends were sitting next to each other, making giggle fits and slightly teasing like they usually do. As for the guys, they were half-watching the teams play and trying to eavesdrop on the girls' conversation.
"I always wonder what they talk about," Lee said.
"Too much curiosity can kill you," Naruto stated.
Lee then glanced at the red-haired Kazekage, who was staring wistfully at the pink-haired kunoichi. He became puzzled and asked in concern. "Gaara…?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah…" He got startled and smiled gently.
"You sure? You seem to be wandering your gaze off towards Sakura," Lee said.
"I just couldn't wait. That's all," the red-haired Kazekage muttered.
"I know. We feel the same as well, but give her some time and we'll help you," Naruto reassured.
"No. What's important is we help her because if we don't, then things will be more complicated..." Gaara said solemnly.
"You're right," Naruto agreed, including Lee.
On the other hand, the dark-haired ninja was standing a little farther away from them. His arms were crossed and heard about what they were conversing. Nonetheless, he began to slightly form a smirk and yet, he revelled into his own thoughts.