The Schemes of Yashui

In this way, he could both save Hachiko, who was nearly finished off by Xun, and get Xun to cooperate obediently with Yashui. However, to keep up the ruse with Xun, Yashui had to constantly divert a portion of his chakra to maintain the previous Substitution Technique. Since only one Substitution Technique could be active at a time, he was unable to use it again and had no choice but to take Choza's punch head-on.

At this point, Xun was willing to cooperate. Hachiko, however, would not be so easily swayed. Like Xun, Hachiko placed extreme importance on the status and standing of a ninja; if forced to weigh her companions against her identity as a ninja, she would ultimately choose the latter.

To deal with a Hachiko like this, Yashui prepared another lie. He had his summoned crow deliver a letter to her, which read:

"Hachiko, it's Yashui. I've decided to give my bell to you. I was already set to graduate early anyway. Even if I don't pass, at worst I'll just graduate with the rest of our year. Besides, my grandfather is the Hokage; even if I don't pass, I might still be able to work alongside you as a ninja."

Of course, this letter was a deception, and most of its contents were false. Yashui only wrote it because he knew in advance that if they worked together, all three of them could pass. If Choza were to change the requirements later, Yashui could simply go back on his word and keep the bell for himself.

Yet, such a lie was more than enough to fool Hachiko. Hachiko had grown up in Ogicho, a place filled with all sorts of people, including no shortage of con artists. Theoretically, she shouldn't have been so easy to trick.

But when the offer is tempting enough, even someone like Hachiko will fall for it. It is the same as how many college students, despite being well-versed in fraud prevention, still get scammed in reality. It happens because the scammers provide something they desperately need and crave, making the temptation too great to resist.

By this point, both of them were under Yashui's deception and willing to cooperate. Next, he only needed to fool Choza into believing that the three of them were close, willing to cooperate, and ready to sacrifice for one another.

However, things took another turn.

After reading the letter, Hachiko wrote a reply to Yashui. This response arrived before Xun and Yashui had even begun their confrontation with Choza. Yashui's crow relayed Hachiko's intentions to him, which was why the crow had been whispering in his ear.

Once he understood Hachiko's intentions, Yashui also grasped the extent of her abilities. After assessing Hachiko's true strength, Yashui felt that they might actually be able to snatch the bell from Choza.

Following that came the great battle between Xun, Yashui, and Choza, which ended with Xun saving Yashui and fleeing the scene.

Judging by how Xun had been willing to block Choza's punch for Yashui's sake, and how she had remained calm even after learning that Hachiko hadn't truly been knocked unconscious by Yashui, he guessed that Xun would now be willing to cooperate even without the need for further deception.

With that, everything became much easier. As for Hachiko, as long as she received Yashui's bell, she would cooperate with anyone.

This time, even without tricking Choza, the three of them could build a foundation of mutual trust—even if it was built upon a foundation of lies!

"That way!" Yashui directed Xun as she carried him away.

After taking Choza's punch head-on, Xun's stamina had reached its breaking point. In this state, she couldn't maintain much speed. Furthermore, she was being weighed down by Yashui, who was acting as dead weight. After running for only three minutes, their movement speed had slowed to a crawl.

"Don't you think it's time you lost some weight?" Xun said coldly to Yashui.

Regardless, Yashui was a boy, and his weight was naturally higher than a girl's. Yashui gave an embarrassed laugh: "Just hold on a little longer, it'll be over soon."

Choza was already catching up. Do not assume that because Choza had grown larger, his speed would decrease; Choza was a nimble heavyweight. Generally, he did not run while in his giant form, because...