A woman wearing a shinobi flak jacket and a black half-length skirt appeared before everyone.
With one hand on the doorframe, she panted heavily and looked at the people inside the classroom.
"Are Mochizuki Megumi, Mochizuki Shota, and Zeyu Nichiro here?"
Seeing the woman in a shinobi flak jacket, everyone understood that she was their squad leader.
Megumi, who was closest to the door, spoke up.
"Are you our squad leader?" Megumi asked, looking her up and down. Seeing how disheveled she looked, only three words came to mind:
Unreliable.
A look of disdain appeared on her face.
The woman put a hand to her chest and took a moment to catch her breath before speaking solemnly.
"My name is Kiyoko Nana, and I'm your squad leader. I only became a jonin last month, and this is my first time leading a squad, but I'll do my best. I look forward to working with you." After speaking, she bowed deeply to everyone.
Watching from the back of the classroom, Zeyu put a hand to his forehead and smiled wryly.
This is backwards, sensei. How are you even more like a student than we are? Zeyu thought.
Then he got up and walked toward the door.
"Well, at least she's better than nothing," Zeyu thought as he walked.
As he passed Naruto, he greeted him, then stopped in front of Nana.
"I'm Zeyu Nichiro. I look forward to working with you, Sensei Nana." Zeyu said, inclining his back slightly with a smile.
Shimizu Nana looked at the smiling Zeyu, her eyes sparkling.
This child is so polite. What a good kid, Nana thought.
Megumi and Shota had no choice but to follow suit. They bowed slightly and said, "We look forward to working with you."
After that, the four of them left together.
The three followed Nana to a small pond outside Konoha. Nana also took the opportunity to tidy herself up.
Then she asked the three of them about themselves.
They began introducing themselves.
Zeyu Nichiro, a civilian from Konoha, skilled in Fire Style, Shuriken, and Taijutsu.
Mochizuki Megumi, from the Mochizuki Clan. Her family ran a Beast Taming Group, and she was skilled in Wind Style.
(This meant buying and selling animals, capturing wild beasts, running circuses and zoos, and providing any other animal-related services, even training summoning beasts.)
Mochizuki Shota, Megumi's older brother, skilled in Earth Style.
Listening from the side, Zeyu understood what was going on.
So she's the heiress of a Beast Taming Group. No wonder she knew that name. What a hassle, Zeyu thought, frowning as he sensed that this would cause him plenty of trouble down the line.
"Okay, good. Now, let's play a game." Nana took two red-string bells out of her waist pouch.
She jangled them twice in front of the three and pushed up her glasses.
"Anyone who manages to snatch a bell from me will pass. Otherwise, you'll have to go back and repeat the Academy." As she spoke, Nana's expression turned smug.
Hmph, they're just three brats. Nana, show some spirit. You can do this, she told herself.
"Tch, this is way too easy." Megumi looked utterly disdainful. She didn't think Nana was all that strong.
"Oh, so one of us will be eliminated?" Shota said, understanding the rules. He looked excited. He'd get to spar with a jonin, and he couldn't help rubbing his hands together.
Zeyu was speechless at Shota's words. He gave him a dead-eyed stare and thought,
Just don't cry later.
Then the three began their attempt to snatch the bells.
Nana stood in the middle of an open area, while the three kids each prepared in the bushes.
Nana took off her glasses and put them in her pouch.
The once innocent-looking Nana seemed like a completely different person. Her eyes were sharp, and her movements crisp and decisive—a stark contrast to the clumsy, impulsive woman they had first met.
Shota charged first, rushing toward Nana. He held a kunai in his right hand, jabbing and slashing, while his other hand reached straight for the bells at her waist.
"Too naive." Nana grabbed Shota's arm and yanked him into the air with one hand, then tossed him behind her into the bushes.
"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!" From a tree on the other side, Megumi attacked Nana as she turned around.
Nana noticed the movement behind her and dodged to the side. Several shallow craters were left in the ground where she had been standing.
Hmm, the siblings work well together. One charges while the other moves into position to launch an attack. Not bad, Nana thought.
Megumi didn't stop after using Wind Style. She pulled out several shuriken and threw them at Nana, then leaped down from the tree and landed in the clearing.
Nana drew a kunai and deflected several shuriken. Just then, the ground began to rumble.
"Earth Style: Fissure Palm!"
As the ground shook, cracks spread across it toward Nana's feet.
Nana immediately jumped away from the area.
After using Earth Style, Shota charged out of the bushes with a kunai and stabbed at Nana. She couldn't dodge in midair, so she could only block with her kunai.
"Clang!" The two kunai struck with a sharp ring.
Shota's lips curled into a grin. He thought,
Got you!
Nana noticed his smug expression and felt a chill run down her back. She looked behind herself.
"Wind Style: Whirlwind!"
Megumi blew a fierce gust of wind from her mouth, sending it straight toward Nana.
Nana was about to dodge, but Shota grabbed her arm.
Shota grinned wickedly and held on tight.
Just as the attack was about to hit Nana, she turned into a thick wooden log.
Shota was still dumbfounded and hadn't had time to react when the whirlwind hit and swept him away, sending him flying a long distance before he splashed into the pond.
Hidden in the bushes, Nana thought,
Not bad. As expected of siblings, their teamwork is excellent. The brother is decisive, and the sister shows no mercy. They're both talented. Rin's worries were unnecessary.
Then she used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Megumi, intending to end the game.
She was just about to strike Megumi with a chop to the neck.
At that moment, Zeyu, who had yet to appear, rushed out from the side and kicked at Nana.
Nana reacted in time, pulled back her hand, and leaped backward, dodging the kick.
Still in midair, Nana thought,
Zeyu, that guy finally showed up? I thought he'd given up. That kick felt pretty powerful.
After landing, she realized Zeyu had disappeared again. Her eyes swept over the area.
Megumi reacted as well, turning around and drawing a kunai to face off against Nana.
That kid Zeyu seems like no pushover, Nana thought. She planned to move in and take Megumi out first, but she didn't dare let her guard down for a moment.
Just as she was about to step forward, the ground beneath her feet suddenly broke open, and a hand shot out and grabbed her left ankle.
No good! Nana realized.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
A sudden force yanked hard on the leg that had been caught.
Nana was buried in the ground, with only her head sticking out.
Zeyu emerged from the earth, stopped in front of Nana, and slowly crouched down.
"Sensei, I win."
Nana smiled when she heard him.
Then a kunai came up from behind and rested against Zeyu's neck.
Another Nana appeared behind him and said, "Not bad, Zeyu. You managed to push me this far." As she finished speaking, the Nana buried in the ground turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
But Zeyu, still crouched down, showed no reaction and ignored Nana.
"Hmm? Zeyu, why aren't you saying anything?"
Just as Nana was puzzling over it, the sound of bells came from behind her.
She turned and saw another Zeyu standing not far away, already holding both bells. He dangled them from his right hand and gave them a light shake.
"Huh?" Nana stared blankly, her eyes returning to their usual vacant look as she stood there, blinking in a daze.
Then the crouching Zeyu stood up, scratched his head with his right hand, and spoke to the stunned Nana.
"I told you I won, Sensei Nana." Then he turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
Only Nana remained, the corner of her mouth twitching as she stood there, utterly bewildered.
Megumi finally came to her senses. Zeyu had actually done it.
From Nana's performance, she had already known that their teacher was nothing like she appeared. During the battle, Nana had seemed like a completely different person. And she was a jonin, even if she had only just been promoted. Her strength had to be considerable.
Megumi had used several moves without gaining an advantage, and her brother had even been caught in the crossfire and sent flying.
Looking at Zeyu, who was playing with the bells beside her, she felt a little awed.
Zeyu noticed Megumi staring at the bells and understood what she was thinking.
He immediately held up one finger toward her.
Megumi was bewildered by the sudden gesture and asked,
"What does that mean?"
"You want a bell, right? Ten thousand ryo each," Zeyu replied.
Zeyu wasn't short on money. He hardly bought anything, and he often hunted game while training, earning money by selling the pelts.
But he needed to prepare a gift for Hinata, and the two of them would need money for all sorts of things once they were together, so he wanted to save up. He wasn't about to pass up a chance to make some extra cash. Money was useful everywhere, so if there was a chance to earn some, he'd take it.
Besides, rich kids like her had money to spare. What was wrong with making a little off them?