Liumu crouched on a treetop, watching the three below with an amused smile.
As ninja, once they formed a squad, they had to place unlimited trust in their teammates.
Liumu had never experienced this routine of forming teams among Genin, but he had understood teamwork and trust back when he watched Kakashi test the prince's team.
The answer to the test Liumu had mentioned was entirely fictitious. There was no answer, and he certainly would not have specifically given one to any of them.
What Liumu wanted to examine now was how the three below would treat their teammates when faced with the possibility that only one of them knew the answer.
The black-haired male Genin stood in a lunge, glanced at his companions on either side, and suddenly grinned. "Xiaojin, could it be you? Chunin Liumu told you the answer, didn't he?"
Xiaojin was the only female ninja among the three. If gender offered an advantage in this test, she was undoubtedly the most likely beneficiary.
"Me? No, he didn't. He really didn't!" Xiaojin hurried to explain, then turned to her brown-haired companion. "I think it must be Matsushita. He's usually the quietest. If Chunin Liumu were going to tell one of us the answer, Matsushita would definitely be the best choice."
"It wasn't me!"
The ninja called Matsushita denied it directly and succinctly.
"Hechi, are you pointing fingers to divert suspicion from yourself?" Xiaojin turned toward Hechi, who had spoken first, and said flatly, "If it's you, hand over the answer. It's so hot. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home."
Liumu had given the three only half a day for the test. Anyone without the answer before sunset would be eliminated.
As they watched the sun gradually sink westward, traces of sweat began to