Hey! Don't use a punishment game as an excuse to openly freeload!

Boom!

Neji put everything he had into his Eight Trigrams: Falcon Kick, and the ball instantly went wild, swerving left and right with erratic afterimages as it zigzagged toward Yu!

Well, damn. So Captain Tsubasa had been a realistic sports anime all along!

Yu raised his little hand. With a thud, the ball stopped in front of his palm, spinning furiously!

He could have caught it effortlessly, but Yu thought, That was Neji's all-out kick. Catching it like it's nothing would really embarrass him. Better put on a little show...

"Ugh... this is so strong! I'll have to use my secret technique!"

-Secret Technique: Gentle-Style Tai Chi!

Whoosh! Yu tucked his chest, straightened his back, lowered his shoulders, and dropped his elbows. As he moved his arms, a sticky force arose, guiding the ball around his body!

Swish!

Suddenly... Yu relaxed his waist, lowered his hips, and held his head poised upright, launching himself diagonally into the sky to the left, spinning like a drill!

Swish! Swish!

He performed the same motion once to the left, once to the right, and once more down the middle, then launched into an expressive martial dance against a suddenly abstract background!

It was a perfect distillation of everything awful about Journey to the West: The Sequel and certain early Chinese martial arts films!

"..." As Sasuke and Neji stared, dumbfounded, Yu floated back to the ground. The "unruly" ball finally seemed tamed, slowly spinning on his fingertip!

"As expected of you, Neji! Catching this ball took every ounce of skill I've gained in my entire... urgh!"

Before he could finish, Yu braced one hand against the ground and spat out a mouthful of ancient phlegm!!

Neji cried anxiously, "Little brother, are you all right?!"

Yu stood up. "I-I'm fine..."

Neji asked, "R-really?"

Yu said, "Really. This round's over. It's Sasuke's turn to serve."

Neji said, "It's all my fault. I got carried away and kicked too hard. I'll take it easier next time, Yu..."

Yu laughed inwardly. Pfft, maybe I really have talent. If I hadn't transmigrated, I could've auditioned in Hengdian. Who knows? I might've made my debut and become the next Wang Baoqiang...

"..." Sasuke caught the ball Yu tossed him, realizing how serious the situation was. I almost forgot. This game gives the Hyuga a huge advantage! They've practiced taijutsu since childhood! I need to come up with something too, or I might lose...

He looked up. "Say, you have to hit the ball when returning it, but that doesn't seem to apply to the serve at the start of a round or the catch at the end, right?"

Neji asked, "What are you getting at?"

Sasuke said, "I'm asking you!"

Neji said, "Hmph. The way we do things, anything the rules don't mention isn't prohibited."

Sasuke said, "Then that's a relief..."

Neji thought, Hmph. Let's see what tricks he can pull...

The corners of Sasuke's mouth lifted. Yū Hyuga, this isn't my first time dealing with you. You really do have a talent for innovation, but when it comes to adapting after a beating, I, Sasuke Uchiha, consider myself second to none!

He sat down and began stuffing shuriken into the seams between the ball's stripes!

Neji said, "You little...!!"

Sasuke smiled. "Heh. If the rules don't mention it, it isn't a foul. You said so yourself~!"

Neji clenched his fists. "Damn you, you cheat!!"

With shuriken sticking out all over it, the ball had become a cactus!

Sasuke stood, supporting the ball from underneath. "Well... besides that idiot Naruto, the Hyuga's young lady is in here too, isn't she? Can you bring yourself to hit her, Neji?!"

Swish!!

Without giving Neji time to think, Sasuke hurled the ball!!

Neji's thoughts raced. Stay calm! Sasuke Uchiha is playing mind games with me! He's banking on me refusing to hurt Lady Hinata over a game. It's despicable, but it's still a tactic...

But let me tell you, Sasuke Uchiha, you've still underestimated the Hyuga!!

Zzt!!

His Byakugan activated!

"The shuriken cover every part except where his palm was supporting it. Oh, that's right under Naruto's butt? Then I can stop worrying. Watch me shut down this filthy Uchiha trick with the Hyuga's inherited taijutsu...!!"

Whoosh! Neji locked onto the ball with his Byakugan, gathered chakra in his fingertips, and jabbed hard at its bare patch!!

-Gentle Fist: Pressure Point Strike!!

His fingers struck the vital spot precisely, sinking into the dough!

"Urgh..."

Inside the ball, Naruto's expression instantly turned utterly bizarre, and his body involuntarily pitched forward in the darkness!

Smack...!!

"Huh...?" Hinata's mind went completely blank!

Neji shouted, "Begone!!!"

Clang, clang, clang...!

The chakra injected through his Pressure Point Strike knocked every shuriken off the ball!

Neji flicked the back of his hand. "Yu, catch this! Show that jerk what's what!!"

"Heh...!"

Yu leaped up and whipped his sleeve!

Bang...!!

The ball flew toward Sasuke with a tremendous sideways spin!

Sasuke said, "It's a variation of his Side-Spin Shuriken! Not good, it's curving too sharply! I won't make it..."

In desperation, he formed hand seals!

-Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Fwoosh...!!

The tail of the flames struck the ball, slowing its descent!

Swish...!

After sprinting at full speed, Sasuke rolled and caught the ball securely in his arms. "Heh. Caught it..."

Neji said, "You even used ninjutsu..."

Sasuke said, "Hmph. The rules didn't say we couldn't use ninjutsu either. As long as the ball doesn't touch the ground, it's fine..."

Hiss, hiss, hiss...!

But smoke suddenly began seeping through the cracks in the ball Sasuke was holding!

Startled, Sasuke dropped it onto the ground with a plop.

Neji said, "The ball touched the ground! You lose!!"

Sasuke said, "Hey, it counts even after I've caught it?"

Yu said, "We said right at the start that the ball couldn't touch the ground. Think back to when we switched servers. Didn't I toss it to you instead of rolling it?"

Sasuke pounded the ground in frustration. "Damn it, I guess you did...!!"

But... where had that smoke come from? Had the Fire Release cooked Naruto? Surely not. Even the dough hadn't cooked!

Yu stopped in front of the ball and thought, It's about time I let them out. Any longer, and Boruto might come out instead...

With a gurgling sound, the ball opened.

The truth was revealed: Hinata's face was bright red, smoke rose from her head, and her eyes had turned into @-@.

"Hah, hah..." Naruto was breathing hard.

Neji demanded, "Hey, what did you do to Lady Hinata...?"

"I-I..." Naruto's face flushed red. How could he admit that his butt had been hit with a Pressure Point Strike, and in the confusion, he'd ended up kissing Hinata?!

Naruto said, "Don't ask. I'll take the punishment willingly..."

Neji said, "What about Sasuke?"

Sasuke said, "Fine. It's not like this guy can get away with it either!"

Neji said, "Since Lady Hinata has fainted, Naruto and Sasuke will take the punishment. Little brother, do you want to decide what it'll be?"

Yu said, "You do it, Neji..."

"All right."

Neji didn't decline. He gave Sasuke a dangerously benevolent smile. "Sasuke, you pulled that little stunt just now, didn't you? Then don't blame me for playing a few tricks on you too..."

Sasuke said defiantly, "Hmph. A bet's a bet. Bring it on! If I so much as flinch, I'll take your surname!"

His heart thudded. I went too far... He won't make me eat shit, will he??

Sasuke Hyuga, huh... Has a nice ring to it!

Neji said, "I was going to make you eat shit, but then I decided that would be letting you off too easily..."

Sasuke's heart lurched. Worse than eating shit?? Does he mean taking a dump in front of everyone at the Ninja Academy's Training Ground???

Neji found a hollow bamboo tube.

"I was going to catch a cricket and put it in this tube. You and Naruto would each hold one end in your mouth and blow as hard as you could. Whoever blew the cricket into the other's mouth first would win..."

"Are you a demon?!!!"

Neji shook his head. "But unfortunately, I couldn't find a cricket, so..."

He tossed aside the bamboo tube and took out a stalk of sugarcane.

"You two will bite opposite ends of this sugarcane and keep chewing, gradually getting closer. Whoever chickens out or bites through it first loses. But if neither of you gives in, you might accidentally kiss when you get too close. That'd be awkward. Little brother, what was this game called again...?"

Yu said, "The Pocky Game~!"

Neji grinned wickedly. "Right, the Pocky Game. You can refuse this punishment, actually. Just kiss once and you're done. You've already kissed before, so think of it as reliving the moment..."

"No way! I'd rather die!"

"...Believe it!"

The two spoke in unison.

"Then... let's begin!"

Neji offered them the sugarcane.

Gulp... Naruto and Sasuke each swallowed, took opposite ends of the sugarcane into their mouths, and glared fiercely at each other!

"Begin...!!!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch...!