Rivalry…!!

Sakura and Ino keep trading punches, so evenly matched that neither can pull ahead, and both begin to tire. Sakura taunts her old friend for fussing over looks and vanity instead of sharpening her skills as a kunoichi, and Ino seems to lose her temper, slicing off her own hair and casting it to the ground. Looking cornered, Ino attempts her Mind Body Switch Technique to bully Sakura into quitting, even though she knows the jutsu is easy to dodge and would leave her helpless on a miss. Sakura evades it and believes the match is hers, only to discover she cannot move: the severed strands of Ino's hair, laced with chakra, have wound around her like a rope. It becomes clear that Ino only feigned her meltdown, using the failed technique as bait to steer Sakura into the snare. With her opponent bound and unable to escape, Ino fires off the Mind Body Switch again, this time certain of her aim, and takes command of Sakura's body.

Sakura and Ino fight to an exhausted stalemate. Sakura provokes Ino over her vanity, and Ino cuts her own hair as if snapping. Ino's first Mind Body Switch appears to fail, but the discarded hair, infused with chakra, binds Sakura in place. The outburst is revealed as a deliberate ruse, and Ino lands a second, unavoidable Mind Body Switch to seize control of Sakura.

This is chapter 72, gathered in volume 8 during the Chūnin Exams. Viz released it under the title Rivals. The bout captures the personal history and lingering competition between the two former friends.