Xun's Betrayal

Yashui nodded with satisfaction after looking at the words on the paper. He instructed the small crow to deliver the letter to the Three-Legged Golden Crow, then dispelled the Summoning Technique.

However, Yashui did not receive a summons from the Three-Legged Golden Crow until the bell-snatching test began the next day. It seemed the theory that "Yashui was barred from the Hundred Bird Nest because the Three-Legged Golden Crow despised him for leaving his zipper down" was invalid.

At nine in the morning, Yashui and Hachiko arrived at the training ground right on time. Yashui had prepared his ninja tools thoroughly, bringing ten kunai and twenty shuriken. This amount should be sufficient for a mock battle. Besides, Yashui had spent all his money preparing these tools.

Don't let the fact that kunai and shuriken are low-value consumables fool you; their prices are actually not cheap. But if one doesn't buy ninja tools, the probability of losing one's life increases significantly. Between life and wealth, most ninjas choose life.

As for why one never sees ninjas who forgo buying shuriken for the sake of money, it is because those ninjas have all died during missions.

Compared to Yashui's heavy ninja tool pouch, Hachiko's pouch was much flatter. Hachiko came from a poor family that had struggled to send her to the expensive Ninja Academy. Hachiko had yet to earn money as a ninja, but she had already spent a great deal of money in the capacity of one.

"You two are here quite early." Choza Akimichi had arrived at the training ground.

Seeing Choza Akimichi make his official entrance, one could truly feel how massive his physique was.

Choza Akimichi was like a small giant; both his height and build were significantly more prominent than those of other ninjas. He wore armor with the character "Food" written in the center. He held a staff that was a head taller than himself, looking quite formidable.

Just standing opposite him, one could feel the overwhelming pressure from his height and stature.

"Since everyone is here, let's begin." Choza Akimichi glanced at his two students; both were ready.

"But, Xun hasn't arrived yet." Hachiko raised her hand. "What if she died on the way here?"

After hearing Hachiko's words, Choza Akimichi let out a breath. "No need to worry, she won't die on the way. In fact, she arrived even earlier than the two of you."

After Choza finished speaking, he glanced toward the woods. A moment later, Xun walked out from the trees. Her weapon, like Choza's, was a long staff. "Hey! Hachiko! Are you wishing for my death or something?"

As soon as Xun appeared, she provoked Hachiko, pointing the tip of her staff at her with an overbearing attitude. Hachiko was so frightened that she hid behind Yashui, not daring to come out.

"She doesn't mean any harm... she just doesn't know how to talk... don't be angry, we'll all be teammates from now on." Since Hachiko was already hiding behind him, if Yashui didn't show some kind of reaction, it would hurt her feelings.

"Tch. If it weren't for the test coming up, I would have beaten you both up already. Even if you two found two more people, you still wouldn't be my match!" Xun continued to provoke them, this time firing shots at everyone at once.

Yashui and Hachiko both held back; how could they fall for such an obvious provocation? The only person in the entire Naruto world who would fall for such a trick was probably Uzumaki Naruto.

"Ahem..." Because of the commotion, Choza's presence was almost overshadowed by Xun. "Let me explain this test to everyone first."

"In the test shortly, you need to snatch these from my hands." Choza showed the three of them two bells, then hung them at his waist.

"Why are there only two?" Hachiko raised her hand to ask again. "Is it because the teacher has a bad memory and forgot to bring one?"

"No..." Choza wiped the sweat from his forehead. "There are only two bells because..."