Two People Holding Each Other in Check, Telling Lies for Liuyun

"Haha, why aren't you keeping up the act? That surprised little expression already gave you away!" Kushina burst out laughing.

While they were chatting animatedly, even louder applause and cheers suddenly erupted from the field.

Like Liuyun, Minato threw three shuriken at once.

Two struck the bullseye, while one landed very close to it. He became the first person in the class to receive full marks, and the only one.

The elementary students instinctively compared him with Liuyun. They all felt that Minato was far more outstanding than Liuyun, and even the girls thought so.

Except for Kushina...

In fact, Kushina had not even glanced at Minato. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how incredibly clever she was...

Exposing Liuyun's disguise gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

From initial "self-doubt," to "self-denial," and finally to someone's "true colors being revealed"...

She ranked fairly high in the class when it came to fighting ability, but her brainpower was famously near the bottom.

Being able to see through Liuyun's disguise through subtle clues proved that she was not the stupid girl who only knew how to fight, as others said.

Victory through intelligence felt far more satisfying than victory through force.

Even her brain was praising her for being sharp-witted. With that kind of recognition, how could Kushina not be pleased with herself?

Normally, her brain only praised her body for being capable and her fighting for being impressive... Her countless victories had all been built on brute force.

Now she had already "won" twice with her brain!

Liuyun had no idea what complicated thoughts were running through Kushina's mind. Now, it was his turn to doubt himself...

"Anyway, those are my results. Believe it or not..."

In the end, Liuyun stubbornly pursed his lips.

Even if Kushina had figured this out, it was no big deal. Even if she told others, no one would acknowledge or believe it. And even if it were true, it did not really prove anything.

Both 90 and 100 were excellent scores. The difference was not that big.

"Alright, alright. It's not like I'm going to expose you in front of everyone..." Kushina said with a giggle, waving her hand.

"..."

The moment those words came out, Liuyun suddenly felt inexplicably annoyed... He had not felt that way before.

Soon, with the Outdoor Class over, the elementary students returned to the classroom.

This was the final class of the day, and it was also their homeroom teacher Xiaotian's class.

During class, Liuyun multitasked. He listened to Xiaotian's lecture while rapidly forming hand seals beneath his desk.

When ninja fought, the speed of their hand seals could sometimes affect the final outcome.

And if he wanted to use the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to copy ninjutsu, he needed sufficiently fast hands. After all, every second on the battlefield could affect victory or defeat.

Kushina occasionally cast sidelong glances at Liuyun. Finally, as though she had thought of something, she secretly tossed a small paper ball at him.

Minato Namikaze, seated behind them, stared blankly at Kushina's back.

He had seen it. This time, Kushina had taken the initiative...

"Hey, can you teach me Throwing Technique?" That was what the paper ball said.

She felt that Liuyun's concealed weapon throwing technique had to be very strong. If he was willing to teach her, she would definitely get a higher score in the next assessment.

When Liuyun read those words, he was clearly a little stunned.

Kushina felt uneasy. The moment she threw over that message, she regretted it somewhat, afraid that Liuyun would refuse her.

She wanted to see the expression on Liuyun's face, but she was also afraid of being caught. Her big eyes were sore from sneaking glances.

Liuyun looked thoughtful and did not reply for a long time. His hands stopped forming seals, and his index finger silently tapped against the desk.

Kushina could not help turning to look at him. She was impatient by nature and could not stand this kind of silence. She desperately needed to know the answer, whether he agreed or refused.

Yet Liuyun remained unhurried and composed, occasionally meeting her gaze intentionally or otherwise. His eyes revealed none of his intentions.

Seeing that he had not answered for so long, Kushina assumed that he had rejected her request, and a deep sense of disappointment rose in her heart.

She had thought that someone was willing to be friends with an "outsider" like her, but the result was still the same old "distance"...

She no longer had the mood to watch Liuyun's reaction, much less listen to what their homeroom teacher was saying.

Just as she was feeling sad and disappointed, a tiny paper ball struck her squarely on the head.

Kushina hurriedly glanced at someone, but her heart began pounding uncontrollably again.

She deliberately waited for a while before picking up the paper ball, as though doing so could "get back at" him. In truth, she was already dying to see the answer written on it...

In the end, she opened the paper ball with slightly trembling hands. "You teach me Sealing Technique, and I'll teach you Throwing Technique."

That one sentence made Kushina's ears turn red again, and no matter what she did, she could not suppress the upward curve of her lips.

The moment Liuyun saw Kushina's little expression, he knew that his goal had been achieved.

In this emotional tug-of-war, the little girl had ultimately failed to hold out... He felt that he had Kushina firmly in his grasp, and in fact, he did...

At that moment, Kushina had not even noticed a major problem: how did Liuyun know that she understood Sealing Technique?

It could not really be said that she understood it, but she had indeed mastered quite a bit of the basic knowledge.

She had never used Sealing Technique at the Ninja Academy, yet Liuyun knew that she possessed knowledge in that area... It was a terrifying question to ponder, but Kushina did not think about any of it right now.

The "clever wisdom" she had displayed not long ago seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

Her brain had quietly changed shape!

Kushina quickly wrote a single word on the paper ball. Then, with a flick of her soft little hand, she deliberately threw it at Liuyun's head...

Liuyun caught the paper ball with his toes, opened it, and saw the word "Okay."

Soon, the bell rang. Homeroom teacher Xiaotian announced the end of the final class, and the elementary students were overjoyed.

Just as Liuyun was packing his schoolbag to go home, Xiaotian called out, "Liuyun and Kushina, stay behind."

Several elementary students led by Sato wore mischievous grins.

"Oda-sensei, what is it?" Liuyun asked softly, lowering his head.

"You slapped Kameda this afternoon?" Oda-sensei asked with a stern expression.

Uchiha Liuyun was usually such a cowardly child. He would not fight back when hit or talk back when scolded. Why had he suddenly hit someone? Kameda had nearly had a tooth slapped out...

If Xiaotian had not had urgent matters to deal with, he would have dragged Liuyun to the office for a lecture long ago.

"Oda-sensei, listen to me..."

"Be quiet. I'm not asking you right now. Let Liuyun speak for himself first." Xiaotian glared at Kushina and interrupted her.

"He called me a little mutt and pulled my hair..." Liuyun answered truthfully.

"Is that so?" Xiaotian looked at Kameda.

"I only touched him lightly..." Kameda hurriedly explained.

Both sides stuck to their own claims, so Xiaotian turned his gaze toward Kushina and signaled that she could speak.

"Kameda pulled it, and he pulled hard. I saw it with my own eyes," Kushina answered in an extremely certain tone.

Actually, she had not seen anything at all. At the time, she had only been lowering her head in embarrassment. How would she know whether Kameda had pulled his hair or not...

She only knew because Liuyun said so, but that did not stop her from taking sides!

Telling blatant lies could both disgust those little brats and protect her deskmate. Why not?