Back at the starting position, Mieko and Hodaka observed each other. Hodaka was analyzing.
“So what should I do? Should I also hide until Feng Zheng comes out? Or should I track Feng Zheng first and then fight? Or should I defeat her first, and then defeat Feng Zheng?”
“No, that would be very difficult. Moreover, Feng Zheng loves to ambush. He won't miss an opportunity to attack when we are fighting.”
On the other hand, Mieko had similar doubts. But compared to Hodaka, she was much more arrogant. She cast aside all doubts and made a decision.
“I just need to quickly defeat Hodaka before Feng Zheng acts. In a one-on-one fight, I can easily defeat both of them.”
After making her decision, Mieko activated her Sharingan and rushed towards Hodaka. This snapped Hodaka out of his thoughts, and he prepared for battle.
He cautioned himself.
“I must avoid looking directly into her eyes. Although I can easily break her Genjutsu, it's difficult to do so quickly.”
Mieko flickered a few meters in front of Hodaka, quickly performed a few Hand Seals, and launched a Fireball Technique at him.
Hodaka quickly dodged, then ran towards Mieko, intending to use Gentle Fist to seal her Chakra points. Mieko quickly flickered out of the attack range and launched Shuriken at Hodaka.
Knowing that she used strings on her Shuriken, Hodaka also threw his own Shuriken, which collided with hers and deflected them.
Mieko used this opportunity to close the distance and used Fire Release: Four Technique on Hodaka.
Hodaka barely dodged, but the Ninjutsu grazed his shirt, burning it. A small patch of skin on the side of his abdomen was also burned.
He endured the pain and closed the distance. This time, Mieko did not retreat but engaged him in Uchiha Taijutsu.
She used her Sharingan, ensuring she would never be hit by his Gentle Fist.
Instead, she tried to use her Fire Release: Four Technique on Hodaka multiple times. However, Hodaka noticed it every time and kept dodging.
During this time, Mieko also kept trying to put Hodaka under Genjutsu, but it never worked on Hodaka. Hodaka's Byakugan could determine when Mieko was about to cast Genjutsu.
So, whenever she prepared to cast Genjutsu, Hodaka would avoid looking directly into her eyes and slightly disrupt his Chakra. This prevented Mieko from ever casting Genjutsu on him.
But this also distracted him, which allowed Mieko to be evenly matched with him in close combat.
However, after a few minutes, Mieko encountered many dangerous situations, and a few times Hodaka almost hit her.
So she flickered backward. Hodaka followed her, but she flickered again, starting a game of hide-and-seek.
Mieko's control and skill with Body Flicker Technique were much higher than Hodaka's. Thus, she regained the advantage.
Hodaka couldn't keep up with Mieko's flickers, gave up the chase, and stood still, thinking.
“With her arrogance, she will come to fight me no matter what. So there's no need for me to chase her.”
Seeing that Hodaka was no longer chasing, she approached him while performing Hand Seals.
However, contrary to Hodaka's expectations, she maintained a medium distance and used Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique!
With nothing to counter, Hodaka Body Flicker Techniqueed away from the Fire Dragon's line of attack.
Hodaka finally grew tired of the idea of engaging her in close combat and used Stone Shuriken Technique.
This Ninjutsu completely surprised Mieko, but thanks to her Sharingan, she was able to dodge or block all the Stone Shuriken.
Unfortunately, she ignored Hodaka, who had now appeared in front of her and thrust two fingers at her.
Seeing this, Mieko was startled.
“Damn it, I have to block it!”
In her haste, she put her arm in between, and Hodaka hit a Chakra point on her arm.
As soon as her arm was hit, she flickered away.
Hodaka originally thought she would come back, but she ran away, which greatly surprised Hodaka, who thought.
“I didn't expect her to run away.”
He waited there for a few seconds, thinking.
“Both of my opponents ran away. So shouldn't I be the winner?”
He sighed and muttered to himself.
“Alas, the next step depends on Feng Zheng. Mieko and I are finally far from each other, and we're both tired and even injured from the fight. So the question is, who will he attack?”
About a kilometer from where the battle took place, Feng Zheng had been sensing their Chakra throughout the entire conflict. When they started fighting, he wished he had some popcorn and a TV to watch the match.
Unfortunately, he had to hide far away. The battle lasted for over seven minutes, and he felt Mieko's Chakra signal moving away from Hodaka.
Feng Zheng concluded.
“Oh, so Mieko lost and ran away? Who's the coward now? Hmm, who should I attack now?”
“Since Mieko ran away, it's certain she's injured. Hodaka most likely managed to seal some of her Chakra points. Maybe one, maybe two. Any more, and Hodaka wouldn't have given her any chance to escape.”
Hodaka was thinking at the same time.
“Feng Zheng will most likely attack Mieko because she's the one who ran away. After he fights her for a while, I should be ready to attack him.”
After retreating to the other end of the Training Grounds, Mieko sat on a tree to rest. She was annoyed with herself.
“I let my guard down, that's why I got hit. Otherwise, I could have defeated him, because I was suppressing him throughout the entire battle.”
She looked at her left arm; it was swollen.
“He sealed the Chakra points on my left arm. I can't perform Hand Seals. Even just moving this arm hurts.”
She began to administer first aid to her left arm. She didn't bother to hide, knowing that Feng Zheng and Hodaka would have no problem tracking her.
While giving first aid, she thought.
“Feng Zheng will most likely attack me soon, I need to be ready.”
Hodaka's Byakugan remained activated. He watched Mieko while waiting for Feng Zheng's move.
Soon, he noticed something moving at an extremely fast speed.
The next second, he saw Feng Zheng approaching him.
“So fast! Why is he coming towards me? He's already here.”
Hodaka looked straight ahead, where Feng Zheng was already standing on a tree branch. He took a fighting stance.
Unfortunately, the moment he arrived, Feng Zheng released a 5% enhanced Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Technique at Hodaka.
Hodaka quickly erected a rock shield to protect himself. He was shocked by the power of the Great Breakthrough Technique.
“Why is it so strong? Did he learn some Rank B Ninjutsu? Oh no! This is bad!”
The rock shield obviously couldn't provide Hodaka with complete protection. And at this moment, Body Flicker Technique was not a good option either.
So he burrowed underground, using Earth Body Flicker Technique, and successfully moved one hundred twenty-five meters south.