When Sakura steps into the ring across from him, Kiba can 't help a nervous swallow.

She 's not one of their three demons for nothing ' the muscle wrapped around her arms is corded, lean and defined, and doesn 't even begin to demonstrate the true extent of her physical strength. It also doesn't help that maturity-wise she 's several years ahead of him, already beginning to show signs of the growth-spurts and hikes in physical power that grace Kunoichi long before they grace Shinobi.

Kiba has every right to be more than a little nervous, thank-you-very-much. He takes a moment to thank every deity he doesn't believe in that their demon sensei 's rulebook prevents Sakura from using the reinforcement latices that allow her to level whole hillsides in one blow.

Which would be more reassuring if she couldn 't still easily muster strength enough to crush his skull.