Snatching the Bell

A woman wearing a ninja tactical vest and a black knee-length skirt appeared before everyone.

She rested a hand against the doorframe, panting heavily as she looked at the few people inside the classroom.

"Are Mochizuki Megumi, Mochizuki Shota, and Zeyu Nichiro here?"

Seeing the woman in her ninja gear, everyone realized she must be their lead teacher.

Megumi, who was closest to the door, spoke up.

"You're our lead teacher?" Megumi scrutinized her, taking in the woman's disheveled appearance, and only three words crossed her mind: Unreliable.

A look of disdain appeared on her face.

The woman placed a hand over her chest to steady her breathing and said solemnly, "My name is Kiyoko Nana, and I am your lead teacher. Although I only became a Jonin last month and this is my first time leading a team, I will do my best. Please treat me well." With that, she bowed deeply to everyone.

Zeyu, who was at the back of the classroom, held his forehead and offered a bitter smile.

It's backwards, Teacher. How are you acting more like a student than the students themselves? Zeyu thought to himself.

He then stood up and walked toward the door.

Well, it's better than nothing, he thought as he walked.

He greeted Naruto as he passed by and arrived in front of Nana.

"I am Zeyu Nichiro. Please treat me well, Teacher Nana." Zeyu said, bowing slightly with a smile on his face.

Shimizu Nana looked at the smiling boy before her, her eyes sparkling.

This child is so polite. He's a good kid, Nana thought to herself.

Seeing this, Megumi and Shota had no choice but to follow suit, bowing slightly and murmuring their own requests for guidance.

The four of them then left together.

The three followed Nana to a small pond outside Konoha, where Nana took the opportunity to tidy up her appearance.

She then asked the three of them about their individual backgrounds.

The three began their self-introductions.

Zeyu Nichiro, a commoner from Konoha, skilled in Fire Style, shurikenjutsu, and taijutsu.

Mochizuki Megumi, from the Mochizuki Clan, whose family business was the Beast Taming Group, skilled in Wind Style.

(This refers to everything related to animals: buying and selling, capturing beasts, circuses, zoos, and even training summoning animals.)

Mochizuki Shota, Megumi's older brother, skilled in Earth Style.

Zeyu listened from the side and understood the situation.

So she's the daughter of a Beast Taming Group. No wonder she knew that name. What a pain, Zeyu thought, his brow furrowing as he had a premonition that things would be troublesome from here on out.

"Alright, good. Now, let's play a game." Nana pulled two red-corded bells from her pouch.

She shook them twice in front of the three of them, pushed up her glasses, and said, "Whoever manages to snatch a bell from my hand passes. Otherwise, you'll be heading back to the academy to repeat the year." As she spoke, Nana's expression became smug.

Hmph, they're just three brats. Nana, show some spirit. You can do this, she couldn't help but think.

"Tch, that's way too simple," Megumi said with a look of utter contempt; she didn't think Nana was impressive in the slightest.

"Oh~ so that means one person is going to be eliminated, huh? I see. Sorry, Zeyu, but I have to stick with Megumi. My sister ordered it." Shota, realizing this, was full of excitement. He couldn't help but rub his hands together at the prospect of sparring with a Jonin.

Zeyu was speechless after hearing Shota's words. He gave him a deadpan look and thought, Just don't go crying later.

The three then began their attempt to snatch the bells.

Nana stood in the center of the clearing, while the three little ones prepared themselves in the bushes.

Nana took off her glasses and tucked them into her pouch.

The once innocent-looking Nana seemed like a different person; her gaze was sharp and her movements were clean and efficient, a stark contrast to the clumsy, reckless person they had met earlier.

Shota took the lead, rushing toward Nana. He held a kunai in his right hand, slashing and stabbing, while his other hand reached straight for the bells at her waist.

"Too naive." Nana grabbed Shota's hand, lifted him up with a single motion, and tossed him backward, where he landed in the bushes.

"Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Megumi launched an attack from a tree on the other side at Nana, who had just turned around.

Nana noticed the movement behind her and dodged to the side, leaving several shallow craters where she had been standing.

Hmm, the siblings have decent coordination. One charges while the other moves to a favorable position to launch an attack. Not bad, Nana thought to herself.

After using her Wind Style, Megumi didn't stop. She pulled out several shuriken and threw them at Nana, simultaneously jumping down from the tree to stand in the clearing.

Nana pulled out a kunai to deflect the shuriken, and at that moment, the ground began to tremble.

"Earth Style: Earth-Splitting Palm!"

The ground shook as a fissure raced toward Nana's feet.

Nana leaped away instantly, putting distance between herself and the spot.

Having finished his Earth Style technique, Shota burst from the bushes, kunai in hand, and lunged at Nana. Caught mid-air, Nana had no time to dodge and could only block with her own kunai.

Clang. The two blades collided with a crisp ring.

At that moment, Shota's lips curled upward, and he thought, Gotcha!

Noticing Shota's smug expression, a chill ran down Nana's spine. She glanced behind her.

"Wind Style: Whirlwind!"

Suddenly, Megumi spat a gust of wild wind from her mouth, aiming it straight at Nana.

Just as Nana prepared to dodge, Shota grabbed her arm.

Shota smirked, holding on for dear life.

Just as the attack was about to strike, Nana transformed into a thick wooden log.

A bewildered Shota didn't even have time to react before the incoming whirlwind swept him away, sending him flying a long distance until he splashed into the pond.

Hidden in the grass, Nana thought, Not bad. As expected of siblings, their coordination is impeccable. The brother is bold, and the sister shows no mercy—they're both talented. Rin's worries were unnecessary.

She then used Body Flicker to appear behind Megumi, intending to end the game.

Just as her hand-chop was about to land on Megumi, Zeyu, who had been absent until now, rushed out from the side and kicked toward Nana.

Reacting quickly, Nana pulled back her hand and leaped backward, narrowly dodging the blow.

Still in mid-air, Nana thought, Zeyu, that guy, he finally showed up? I thought he'd given up. That kick—it felt like it had some serious power.

After landing, she realized Zeyu had vanished again, and she scanned her surroundings.

Megumi also recovered, turning to draw her kunai and face Nana.

Zeyu, this kid... he's not simple, Nana thought, preparing to step forward and take out Megumi first, though she didn't dare let her guard down for a second.

Just as she lifted her foot, the ground beneath her suddenly broke open, and a hand shot out, grabbing her left ankle.

Oh no! Nana realized, thinking, Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!

A massive force surged from her trapped foot, dragging her downward with brutal strength.

Nana's entire body was buried in the earth, leaving only her head exposed.

Zeyu emerged from the ground, walked up to Nana, crouched down slowly, and said, "Teacher, I won."

The buried Nana chuckled upon hearing this.

Suddenly, a kunai reached out from behind Zeyu's neck and pressed against it.

Another Nana appeared behind him and said, "Not bad, Zeyu. To be able to push me this far." As soon as she finished speaking, the Nana buried in the ground turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

However, the crouching Zeyu showed no reaction; he didn't even acknowledge Nana.

"Hm? Zeyu, why aren't you saying anything?"

Just as Nana was feeling puzzled, the sound of bells rang out from behind her.

Nana turned her head to look and discovered that another Zeyu was standing not far away, holding the two bells in his right hand and shaking them gently.

"Eh?" Nana looked completely bewildered, her expression reverting to her usual dazed state as she blinked, standing there in a stupor.

The crouching Zeyu then stood up, scratched his head, and said to the confused Nana, "I told you I won, Teacher Nana." He then dissolved into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

Only Nana remained, her mouth twitching as she stood there in the wind, utterly disheveled.

Megumi also came to her senses, realizing that the Zeyu before her had actually pulled it off.

From Nana's performance earlier, she knew the teacher was far from as easy to deal with as she appeared. During the fight, she seemed like a completely different person. Plus, she was a Jonin—even if she had just been promoted, her strength shouldn't be underestimated.

She herself hadn't gained any advantage despite using several moves, and her brother had even been caught in the crossfire and blown away.

Looking at Zeyu beside her, who was playing with the bells, she felt a hint of awe.

Zeyu sensed Megumi staring at the bells and understood her intent.

He immediately held up a finger to Megumi.

Megumi was left bewildered by this sudden finger-pointing, and she asked, "What do you mean?"

"You want the bells, right? Ten thousand ryo each," Zeyu replied.

In truth, Zeyu was not short on money himself, as he rarely bought anything and often hunted wild game during training, earning extra income from selling furs.

However, he needed to prepare gifts for Hinata, and since they would need money for everything once they were together, he had to start saving up. Zeyu didn't want to miss a single opportunity to fleece someone; money was hard currency everywhere, so he would take what he could get.

Besides, these wealthy scions weren't lacking for cash, so what was the harm in fleecing them a little?