Shizuka lunged forward, legs tightly together, her right fist clenched as wind-nature chakra rapidly gathered around it. The muscles in her thighs and calves tightened like steel cables, round and powerful, her skin-tight suit stretching perfectly without a single wrinkle.
"Nadeshiko-Style: Roaring Gale Fist!"
The moment Samui's kunai hit the ground, she exploded with speed. The earth beneath her feet cracked sharply, and she vanished on the spot.
Naruto, watching closely, froze in confusion — he couldn't even see her.
"Wh-where'd she go?! Where did that Shizuka ninja disappear to?!"
Even Killer Bee and Samui, acting as referee, struggled to track her movement with their eyes. Only Killer Bee managed to locate her through perception chakra.
"Behind Uchiha Hikaru's right side," he murmured.
Naruto looked that direction, puzzled.
"How was she crazy fast a second ago, but now she's slower when she's about to attack?"
Killer Bee explained calmly:
"Her first burst was pure physical strength. No chakra. Normally, humans can only use about ten percent of their muscle capacity."
"Trained shinobi can reach around twenty percent. Specialists in taijutsu can get to thirty or forty."
"Unless you use special techniques like Konoha's Eight Inner Gates, the only way to momentarily break limits is to explode huge physical power at once — but it causes severe muscle fatigue afterward."
"And she's focusing chakra into her fist while controlling every muscle. That slows her down."
Naruto thought hard, frowning.
"I feel like… I heard something like that before…"
At that moment, Shizuka appeared behind Uchiha Hikaru's right side, her whirlwind-wrapped fist smashing forward. Only a centimeter away, Hikaru leaned forward at an impossible angle — left shoulder forward, right shoulder back — letting her fist and the violent wind chakra skim past his back.
Even the Uchiha fan strapped to his back wasn't touched.
But Shizuka's explosive burst and the burning fatigue in her legs prevented her from turning properly. She stepped forward with her right foot, twisting at the waist, and launched a second punch toward Hikaru's chest mid-air.
Her sharp instincts surprised Hikaru.
In the anime, she'd been fooled easily by Naruto's shadow clones… but now she was stronger — far stronger.
This fierce, controlled taijutsu reminded him of Might Guy.
And the wind chakra wrapped around her fist? It resembled the structure of Lightning Blade no matter how he looked at it.
A hybrid between Might Guy and Kakashi.
Shizuka's lips curved faintly, almost relieved — and something about that expression triggered a warning inside Hikaru.
Something is definitely wrong…
Distracted for a moment, Hikaru instinctively received her strike, forgetting the situation.
He grabbed Shizuka's wrist with his left hand, pulled sharply, rotated using her momentum, and pinned her face-down to the ground. He sat on her lower abdomen to restrict movement, brought her arms together and held both wrists down firmly.
Samui's eyes widened, cheeks flushing pink.
Naruto cheered loudly from the distance.
"Nice!! Brother Hikaru caught her!!"
Killer Bee tilted his head downward behind his sunglasses to avoid the… overwhelming view (๑꒪ꇴ꒪๑).
Then he nodded in deep admiration.
Hikaru, you absolute monster… That movement was way too smooth… This position at a time like this… I'm ashamed of my skills!
Shizuka lay stunned beneath him — her mind blank.
How did I get captured instantly…? What just happened…?
Panic and embarrassment washed over her as she tried to push upward with her legs — but it was useless. Hikaru's weight and precision completely restrained her. They were barely ten centimeters apart.
The soft curve beneath his chest compressed tightly between them, the impact freezing both of them for a split second.
Hikaru jolted back into awareness, his expression twisting internally.
( …shit… I subconsciously used the grappling technique Tsunade taught me… )
Trying not to show panic, Hikaru spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.
"Just admit defeat. You have no chance of winning."
Shizuka's breathing trembled.
She had burned everything from the beginning, even breaking the rules by preparing ninjutsu early — and she still lost instantly.
A heavy sadness washed through her chest, swallowing the embarrassment.
"…I surrender."
Only when she said it aloud did Hikaru release her wrists and stand, helping her up.
"You seemed… really upset just now," he asked quietly. "What's going on?"
Shizuka brushed dust from her clothes, hesitating for a long moment. She thought of her master, who always spoke highly of Jiraiya… and she remembered that Hikaru had held back, refusing to injure her.
He deserves honesty.
"…Three years ago, the injuries Master accumulated while protecting Nadeshiko Village finally erupted. He knew he didn't have long left."
"He took me away to fulfill the promise he made with Jiraiya. Half a year later, a drug called the Healing Elixir appeared in the black markets."
"We discovered it was an extremely rare medicine from your Konoha. I thought… if I could defeat Jiraiya's disciple and marry you…"
"…maybe I could use that connection to get the medicine and save my master…"
Her cheeks burned red as she lowered her head, trembling slightly from humiliation and grief.
...
…
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