Shota vs. Megumi

[Mochizuki Shota vs. Mochizuki Megumi]

"Ugh... it's actually my brother," Megumi said, giving him a dead-fish stare.

"Heh heh, Megumi, even though you're my little sister, this is a match after all. I won't go easy on you," Shota said, hands on his hips.

Without waiting, Shota impatiently vaulted over the railing and jumped down.

"Sigh, what an idiot brother," Megumi whispered. She stepped onto the railing, leaped a great distance, and landed opposite Shota, turning to cross her arms with a look of disdain.

"Interesting, so it's the two of them," Zeyu said, watching the pair in the arena with great interest.

"Zeyu, who do you think will win?" Shimizu Nana asked from the side.

Zeyu pondered for a moment before answering.

"It should be Megumi, because Shota is an idiot."

"Uh..." Nana was speechless, the corner of her mouth twitching.

I thought he was going to say something technical, but it's just because of that? Nana thought.

Shota clenched his fists and said to Megumi with a confident expression, "Megumi, a match is different from our usual sparring. I might hold back later, so you should surrender immediately, got it?"

"You're so long-winded, brother. Don't cry when I beat you later," Megumi retorted.

"Ahem, are you both ready?" Hayate asked, watching them from the side.

Shota and Megumi both crouched down, staring intently at each other as they prepared for combat.

"Alright, begin!"

As Hayate announced the start, Shota charged directly at Megumi, and the two became locked in a scuffle.

Soon, Megumi began to struggle, her movements becoming frantic.

"Megumi isn't good at taijutsu; she'll lose sooner or later if she stays in close quarters," Nana said, watching the two in the arena.

"It's fine. Megumi likely knew that from the start, she just hasn't had the chance to create distance," Hinata said from the side.

Because their two teams were on good terms, they were standing quite close together.

"Mm-hmm," Zeyu nodded, using his fingers to tickle the palm of Hinata's hand as they held hands.

The tickling made Hinata's palm itch, and her face flushed red. She felt a strange sensation in her heart like a cat scratching at it; she accidentally let out a small moan, then quickly covered her mouth.

Nana reached over and pinched Zeyu's left ear, while Kurenai stepped up to pinch his right.

"There are so many people here, what are you doing, Zeyu?" Kurenai asked, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"Hey, hey, Zeyu, I heard you've been teaching those two ninjutsu. Tell us about it?" Nana said, her own mouth twitching as well.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Teachers, let's talk this out. I was wrong, please let me go!" Zeyu quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"Then why are you still tickling her?" Kurenai asked, looking at Zeyu's hand.

Beside them, Hinata was already biting her finger, trying hard to endure it with her head bowed, her face flushed all the way to her ears.

Zeyu gave a sheepish grin and helplessly let go.

Only then did Hinata let out a sigh of relief, clutching her chest and looking at Zeyu with eyes as soft as water.

Kurenai pressed down on Zeyu's head and said, "You, you only know how to bully Hinata. Hurry up and confess, what did you teach them?"

Nana also looked at Zeyu with curiosity.

"Well, you'll find out in a moment," Zeyu said, looking toward the arena.

At that moment, in the arena:

Megumi took a step back, and Shota followed up with a punch aimed at her chest.

Megumi stopped, immediately pulled a kunai from her pouch, and thrust it toward Shota.

Shota instantly activated the Rock Fist Technique, his right arm encased in hard rock, and the kunai struck it with a crisp metallic ring.

Megumi immediately kicked off Shota's arm, and Shota used his other hand to brace himself, exerting force to swing his arm and repel Megumi.

Only then did Megumi manage to put some distance between them, quickly weaving hand signs in mid-air.

She landed steadily on the ground in the distance.

Just as Shota was about to give chase:

"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!"

A barrage of wind-natured chakra bullets erupted from Megumi's mouth, shooting rapidly toward Shota.

Shota had no choice but to scramble to the side, small craters appearing in the ground where he had just been standing.

Megumi continued to fire the vacuum bullets at Shota, and it looked as though Shota wasn't fast enough to avoid being hit.

Shota activated the Rock Fist Technique once more, slamming a fist into the ground. The floor tiles shattered and tilted upward, and Shota crouched down, hiding behind the raised stone.

After a few thumping sounds, the attack ceased.

The upturned floor tiles were shattered as Shota rose to his feet, preparing to charge at Megumi once more.

Megumi quickly formed hand seals.

Shota had barely taken two steps when Megumi finished her seals, her attack following immediately.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Megumi held a single-handed seal and exhaled a gust of wind from her mouth, which surged straight toward Shota.

Oh no! I can't dodge this! Shota thought. The range of the technique was expanding, and it was already too late to get out of the way.

He immediately formed hand seals and slammed his palms onto the ground.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Shota crouched low as an earthen wall erupted from the ground, blocking his front.

The wall had barely risen when the gale followed, slamming into it and carving several jagged gaps into its edges.

Once the wind subsided, the wall collapsed with a roar, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Megumi drew a shuriken, her eyes locked on the smoke.

Suddenly, Shota burst out from the haze, charging straight at her.

"You're out of options now, Megumi!" Shota shouted.

Megumi immediately hurled the shuriken in her hand at Shota.

It was easily deflected by Shota's rock-covered fist. Shota raised his fist high, bringing it down toward Megumi.

Megumi hurriedly raised her kunai to defend, and with a crisp metallic ring, she barely managed to parry the blow.

Her hand went numb from the impact, yet she offered a faint smile.

"You have too many openings, big brother!" Megumi yelled, throwing a punch toward Shota's chest.

Just as the blow was about to land, Shota smiled slightly.

Megumi's fist punched straight through Shota's chest, her face filled with shock.

At that moment, another Shota charged out from the smoke that had yet to fully dissipate, heading straight for Megumi.

"I'm over here!" Shota shouted, his face full of triumph.

Megumi realized what was happening and tried to pull her hand back, only to find she couldn't move.

The Shota in front of her began to melt, his color fading into a dull, earthy yellow, and her arm was firmly trapped, unable to budge.

"A Clay Clone?" Megumi said, surprised.

"That's right, sorry about this, little sister!" Shota said, raising his fist to strike at her.

Megumi squeezed her eyes shut in fear, shrinking her neck.

Shota laughed at the sight, and just as he was about to land the hit, he slid underneath her with a low sweep.

He immediately turned around, grabbed Megumi by her calves, and hoisted her into the air.

Megumi let out a shriek, her eyes snapping open.

"You idiot brother! How dare you do this to me! I'm going to tell big sister when we get back!" Megumi fumed.

"Hehe, sorry Megumi, I win this time," Shota laughed triumphantly.

Megumi, still dangling in the air, stopped struggling as soon as she heard him, looking down at Shota with a smile.

"Oh? Is that so, you idiot brother?"

Shota looked at her with disdain and shook her legs again.

"What else could it be?"

No sooner had Shota finished speaking than he noticed his shadow on the ground growing larger.

Before he could even wonder why, he was kicked in the back, his entire body pinned beneath a foot.

The ground cracked under the force, sending up another cloud of dust.

As the smoke cleared, Megumi stood with her foot on Shota's back, arms crossed, her face full of annoyance.

"Damn it! You idiot brother! How dare you lift me up! You're dead when we get back!" Megumi said, twisting her toe into his back for good measure.

By now, Shota had passed out, lying face-down on the ground, completely unconscious.

When Shota's Earth Wall had created the smoke, he had used it to deploy a clone, but Megumi had also created a clone of her own.

She had used her clone to leap to the ceiling, focusing her chakra into the soles of her feet to stand there and observe the situation below.

To the other spectators, this had been easy to see.

Once Hayate announced Megumi as the winner, she finally moved her foot.

She tossed her head, flicked her hair, and walked away with a huff toward the viewing stands.

"That was amazing, Megumi, you were so cool," Hinata said, clapping her hands to celebrate.

"That's right, Megumi, you've improved a lot, you were really impressive," Nana added from the side.

"Well, it was just so-so," Megumi said, twirling her ponytail with a look of feigned indifference, though she actually held her head high, clearly enjoying the moment.

She then stole a glance at Zeyu, hoping to hear his praise, after all, he had taught her so much.

At that moment, Zeyu was watching Shota being examined by a medical ninja down on the stage; after Shota received some basic treatment, Zeyu finally felt relieved.

That was a bit heavy-handed... Zeyu thought to himself.

Nana nudged Zeyu with her elbow, prompting him to finally turn his attention back to the group.

He saw Megumi standing before him with her chin tilted up, sneaking glances at him while her fingers fidgeted with the ends of her ponytail and her lips were pursed.

Nana leaned in close and whispered, "She's your student, after all. It wouldn't kill you to give her a little praise, would it?"

Hinata also blinked her eyes at him expectantly.

Zeyu rubbed his forehead and said, "You did well, Megumi. You've made great progress; that was impressive."

Upon hearing this, the corners of Megumi's mouth curled up uncontrollably, so she quickly turned her head away and said, "Well, obviously."

"You have to do your best too, Hinata," Megumi added, wrapping her arm around Hinata's.

"Mm, thank you. I'll do my best as well," Hinata said with a smile, half-raising a fist.

Zeyu gave them a deadpan look, thinking, Just keep spoiling her, why don't you.