The Gap Between Jonin and Pre-Kage Level!

That being said, having the strength of Jonin is more than enough to join the Anbu! Among ordinary ninjas, they are already top-tier figures worthy of admiration.

Of Konoha's hundreds of thousands of ninjas (including those in administrative and logistical roles who generally don't participate in combat), there are only a few hundred to a thousand Jonin most.

If a newcomer has the Jonin level of a Jonin, then he is definitely at the very top of the pyramid.

However, Sakura Haruno, as an elite among Elite Jonin, is close to the very pinnacle of the pyramid.

However, as the examiner, she must suppress her true strength and engage in a contest of equal strength with the newcomer at the Jonin, so that White Fox can display her full power.

On the field, she and the newcomer were exchanging Ninjutsu one after another, continuously.

"Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!" "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"...

Rocks flew everywhere, ice shattered; fireballs exploded, and waves surged...

Amidst the dazzling clashes of Ninjutsu, clones or the real person also engage in Taijutsu and ninja tool exchanges with the newcomers.

The sounds of Ninjutsu booming and ninja tools clashing echoed continuously, indicating an exceptionally fierce battle—at least that's how the ninjas in the stands perceived it.

"These two are incredibly strong!" The Anbu Ninja leaned against the railing of the stands, his upper body unknowingly leaning out over the stands, watching the battle below intently.

He wasn't surprised that the rising star Sakura Haruno, who had recently become a hot topic of discussion, possessed such strength; he had long accepted the fact that Sakura had such high strength at such a young age. However, the newcomer's performance was also quite remarkable, which was truly beyond his expectations.

"He must have been promoted to Special Jonin a few years ago. Judging from his current strength, he's definitely at the Jonin level. If he trains in the Anbu for a while and then takes the Jonin Exams, he'll become a newly promoted high-ranking ninja." He thought to himself, basically giving this newcomer a passing grade.

However, Yuichi, the clerical ninja, saw something more—although he wasn't particularly strong, his eyesight was quite good after being trained in the personnel department for so long.

"Sakura Haruno is basically suppressing most of her strength in this battle," he said confidently after observing her closely for a while.

The battle off the field appeared intense, but in reality, Sakura dodged each of her opponent's Ninjutsu at the last moment. Once or twice could only be a coincidence, or Sakura narrowly dodging, but it happened every time, which could only mean that her opponent's Ninjutsu had a huge gap in her eyes. So what seemed like Ninjutsu that others could barely dodge was actually completely easy for the girl, without her showing any sign of being embarrassed.

On the contrary, the few Ninjutsu she casually unleashed were swift and fast, often forcing her opponents into a frantic state. Even a simple Wild Water Wave, when executed by her, possessed extraordinary power, capable of turning the impossible into the possible.

There was a huge gap between the two in terms of speed, power, and skill in using Ninjutsu.

That's for sure. After being bombarded with Ninjutsu like Kakuzu's, she now finds dealing with Jonin -level battles rather uninteresting.

The pace of Jonin's battles is naturally slower than Kakuzu's. They are methodical and precise, making few mistakes, but also offering few surprises.

Utterly tasteless.

If this battle between the two was a fight to the death, then it could be described in one word.

"Tease".

Sakura Haruno was completely toying with her opponent, not using her full strength, but simply watching with great interest as her enemy struggled in her hands.

Of course, this is Anbu assessment now.

Therefore, describing it as a game is inappropriate. It should be that the examiner deliberately left some room for maneuver, not trying to overwhelm the candidate right away, but rather allowing the candidate to demonstrate their full potential.

This is precisely the proper way for a higher-ranking ninja to examine a lower-ranking ninja.

The difference in strength was so great that even after the girl used the Ice Substitution Technique to dodge the rookie's all-out Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique, her graceful figure as she descended from the sky appeared particularly elegant and serene.

The newcomer, standing not far away and panting heavily, also realized that there was a considerable gap in strength between the two.

He had done his best, and even under Sakura's pressure and guidance, he performed beyond his usual level, but he still couldn't defeat his opponent.

The newcomer wiped the sweat from his brow, his hair and tight-fitting clothes completely soaked, yet he couldn't even touch the examiner's Kakuzu.

He stared intently at the girl whose stand-in had calmly landed elsewhere.

It was noticed that she was wearing casual shoes for everyday use, which were exquisite and pleasing to the eye, but were by no means suitable for combat— Sakura Haruno's shoes and mask had been destroyed in the battle with Kakuzu, and new ones had not yet been issued.

These sandals, which would have snapped at the slightest pressure, are still perfectly intact; and those delicate, fair feet, exposed to the elements, remain spotless to this day—it's clear how lenient the examiners were with them.

I felt utterly dejected.

When Sakura Haruno saw the change in her opponent's eyes, and realized he seemed to be losing his fighting spirit, she knew that the assessment should end. No matter how much she suppressed her strength and pretended to be evenly matched with him, she ultimately forgot to act out the feeling of a tense and evenly matched battle, and the newcomer saw through her disguise.

The opponent's skill level is roughly equivalent to Jonin; his Taijutsu is passable, but his Ninjutsu is quite good—a typical Ninjutsu- based ninja.

If her examiner wasn't blind, they would naturally be able to see that Sakura's strength far exceeded the level required by the Special Jonin assessment.

"The assessment is secure."

She thought to herself, regardless of whether it was her opponent or herself.

"Examiner, I've already lost this battle," the newcomer said with a wry smile. "But could I witness your true abilities? That would at least offer some consolation."

Sakura Haruno shook her head. This ninja is good in every other way, but her mental fortitude needs a little improvement.

However, since the candidate has made this request...

"Alright, since you insist, then keep your eyes peeled and watch closely!"

He used a little of his real skill.

"--Don't blink."

Before the newcomer could react, Sakura had already appeared behind him in Body Flicker Technique, her ice blade, radiating a chilling aura, pressed against his neck.

Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!

The medium was the Ice Release Ninjutsu we had just tested.

The White Fox had already followed her advice and widened his eyes, but he didn't react at all. He only saw the girl suddenly disappear, and then he was grabbed in the groin.

"I lost." The newcomer was stunned for a while before uttering these words.

"Is this how it felt when facing the Yellow Flash ninjas back then?" After the ice blade was removed from his neck, he couldn't help but touch the spot where it had been pressed against. Even though he knew the examiner wouldn't hurt him badly, a sense of relief and fear of escaping death still welled up inside him.

"The Fourth Hokage is much faster than me." The girl walked to the side and said with a smile. She wasn't being modest; it was the truth. In terms of Body Flicker Technique, she was far from reaching the level of Minato Namikaze.

After the battle on the field ended, low murmurs of discussion arose in the stands.

"Hmm, this new Anbu recruit is strong enough, qualified." The speaker was the neatly dressed, unfamiliar Anbu Kenichi, Kenichi, who made a checkmark on a piece of paper as he spoke. "Shino, what do you think?"

"Joining teams ranked 70th or lower is no problem. Once he gains more experience, we can consider joining a team in the top 50," Shino said, stroking his chin. "But joining my Fourteenth Squad is out of the question; he's still far from good enough. Besides, after Yugao retires, I'd like to recruit another Taijutsu- type newcomer, or a balanced or Genjutsu- type would also be fine. I just don't need Ninjutsu- type ninja. I already have Sakura Haruno; I don't need another one."

"Tch~ Why didn't you want that Sai from earlier?" Kenichi scoffed, "He's a well-rounded type, and he has a Secret Technique. He seems pretty strong. If we weren't already full, I'd like to recruit him into my team too!"

"We don't want anyone from Root." Shino shook his head firmly in opposition. He turned to look at his colleagues in the personnel department and casually teased, "Our team's Sakura Haruno is strong enough to Elite Jonin. You're not going to prevent her from passing the Special Jonin assessment, are you?"

"Of course not," said Yuichi Taketori, who was in charge of assessing Sakura Haruno, waving the document in his hand that also had a checkmark on it. "Her strength is fine. Let's end the assessment here for today. I'll take her with me then."

"Shouldn't we let her play a few more matches?" Shino asked with a mysterious smile. "It'll be very exciting!"

Yuichi Taketori put away the documents in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Hmm?"

At that moment, the door downstairs opened again.

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