At the first hint of dawn, Su Ye deactivated the Perception Rune in the cave. After a night of training, he had grown more adept at controlling his two combination techniques: "Clone + Heavenly Hand Power" and "Substitution Technique + Kamui." The Natural Energy from the hot spring had also nourished him, increasing his chakra reserves slightly from the day before. Without wasting time, he followed the clues for the Anbu assessment provided by the system and hurried toward an abandoned training ground on the edge of the forest.
Half an hour later, the abandoned training ground came into view. Weeds and rubble littered the area, and several rusted training dummies stood in the center. Marks left by ninja tools still scarred the surrounding trees. The moment Su Ye stepped into the training ground, a cold voice came from behind a tree. "You're three minutes late. You failed the first stage of the assessment: 'Stealth Infiltration.'"
Su Ye looked toward the voice. The Fox Mask Anbu he had encountered yesterday was leaning against a tree trunk, his ninja sword angled toward the ground. Two others, wearing Wolf and Eagle masks, stood behind him. Su Ye understood. The Anbu had deliberately set this test, and the assessment had begun the instant he entered the training ground.
"When carrying out a mission, Anbu must arrive early to scout the target location, not show up right on time." The Fox Mask Anbu stood and tossed Su Ye a black token. "The target is marked on it. In the next hour, infiltrate the 'Guard Camp' three kilometers ahead and retrieve the red scroll inside without being spotted by the guards. If they see you, you fail."
Su Ye took the token and fed chakra into it. A simple map appeared on its surface. Three lines of detection surrounded the Guard Camp. Inside were five guards, each carrying different ninja tools: two elite Genin and three ordinary Genin. He put the token away without a word, turned, and ran toward the camp.
As soon as he left the training ground, Su Ye used the Transformation Technique to turn himself into a gray-brown hare. Its small size made it a low-profile target, unlikely to draw the guards' attention. At the same time, he scanned the area with his Rinne Sharingan and quickly spotted the first detection line: transparent threads stretched between the branches, infused with a faint trace of chakra. Touching one would trigger an alarm.
Su Ye didn't force his way through. Instead, he circled to the side of the detection line and gathered chakra in his feet, clinging to the tree trunk like a gecko as he slowly climbed over it. The Rinne Sharingan's keen dynamic vision let him avoid every thread with precision. He could even see the chakra flowing along them, ensuring he left no trace.
Past the first detection line, he came to a patch of low shrubs. Faint chakra fluctuations stirred beneath them. The second line was an Earth Spike Perception Array buried underground. Anyone who stepped on it would trigger a spike attack and set off an alarm. Su Ye stopped. In his hare form, he lightly tapped the ground with his forepaws, using the Rinne Sharingan to analyze the positions of the array's nodes.
After a moment, he found a weak spot: a gap in the chakra link between two nodes. Su Ye leaped and landed precisely on it, his body as light as a falling leaf. Not a single spike was triggered. He continued toward the camp and soon reached the third detection line: the "Scent-Perception Ninja Dogs" surrounding the camp.
Three Ninja Dogs lay at the camp entrance, constantly sniffing the air. Their chakra was linked to the guards, and if they caught an unfamiliar scent, they would sound the alarm at once. Su Ye frowned, then came up with a plan. He took a Chakra Concealment Pill from his system inventory—an extra reward from the system after yesterday's training—and swallowed it. His chakra was instantly concealed, and even his scent became indistinguishable from the surrounding air.
In hare form, Su Ye strolled right past the Ninja Dogs. They merely lifted their heads to glance at him, then went back to lying on the ground. Once inside the camp, he quickly surveyed the area. A tent stood in the center, and the red scroll was likely inside. Two guards patrolled outside it, while the other three kept watch to the east, west, and north.
Su Ye didn't approach the tent right away. Instead, he circled to the east side of the camp to observe the guards' patrol pattern. The eastern guard was an elite Genin carrying a Kunai. Every thirty seconds, he turned to check behind him, leaving a three-second blind spot each time. Su Ye seized that opening, darted past in hare form, and reached the back of the tent.
There was a ventilation opening at the back, large enough for a hare to fit through. Su Ye slipped inside and landed on the tent floor, then dispelled the Transformation Technique and returned to human form. The red scroll lay in the center of the table. A trigger bomb sat beside it—clearly a trap.
Su Ye didn't grab the scroll right away. Instead, he used the Rinne Sharingan to analyze the bomb's structure. A chakra thread, fine as a hair, connected the bomb to the scroll. Picking up the scroll would set it off. Su Ye took out a Kunai and carefully cut the thread, then grabbed the red scroll and quickly slipped back through the ventilation opening, transforming into a hare again.
Just as Su Ye was preparing to leave the camp, footsteps suddenly sounded outside. The Fox Mask Anbu had entered with the Wolf Mask and Eagle Mask, apparently to check the results of the assessment. Su Ye's heart leaped. He immediately hid in a pile of grass on the west side of the camp and held his breath.
"Captain, do you think that kid can pass the first stage?" the Eagle Mask Anbu asked. The Fox Mask Anbu gave a cold snort. "If he can get past the first three detection lines, that's impressive enough. The traps and guards inside the camp won't be easy to deal with."
Just then, the eastern guard suddenly shouted, "The scroll's gone!" The Fox Mask Anbu's expression changed, and his chakra flared. "Someone infiltrated the camp! Seal it off and search!" The guards sprang into action, and the Ninja Dogs began sniffing around the camp.
Su Ye knew he couldn't stay. Taking advantage of the chaos, he burst out of the pile of grass and raced toward the camp's exit. The Wolf Mask Anbu spotted him and threw a Kunai straight at his back. "Think you can run?"
Su Ye didn't look back. He used Heavenly Hand Power to switch places with a tree ahead, dodging the Kunai. Once he landed, he dispelled the Transformation Technique and held up the red scroll as he called to the Fox Mask Anbu, "I passed the first stage!"
The Fox Mask Anbu looked at the red scroll in Su Ye's hand, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "You retrieved the scroll and avoided every trap and guard?" Su Ye nodded. "Anbu must not only complete their missions but also keep themselves safe and avoid exposing their whereabouts."
The Fox Mask Anbu fell silent for a moment, then said, "You passed the first stage. The second stage, 'Combat Trial,' starts now. I'm your opponent. Hold out against me for ten minutes, and you pass." As soon as he finished speaking, the Fox Mask Anbu drew his ninja sword and slashed at Su Ye with a fierce blade wind!
Su Ye's pupils contracted. He dodged to the side, avoiding the blade wind, while drawing a Kunai and engaging the Fox Mask Anbu in close combat. He knew this was more than an assessment; the Anbu were also testing his strength. Su Ye held back the full power of his Rinne Sharingan, relying only on his dynamic vision and combination techniques to respond as he silently kept track of the time. The ten-minute trial had only just begun.
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