Assessment Begins, Practical Trial in the Forest

At the first light of dawn, Su Ye deactivated the Perception Rune in the cave. After a night of cultivation, his mastery over the two combo techniques—"Clone + Heavenly Hand Power" and "Substitution Technique + Kamui"—had grown significantly, and his total chakra reserves had increased slightly thanks to the nourishment of the hot spring's natural energy. Without delay, he followed the clues provided by the system for the Anbu assessment and headed toward an abandoned training ground on the edge of the forest.

Half an hour later, the abandoned training ground appeared before him. The area was overgrown with weeds and scattered with rubble; several rusted training dummies stood in the center, and the surrounding trees were still scarred with marks from ninja tools. The moment Su Ye stepped into the training ground, a cold voice drifted from behind a tree: "Three minutes late. The first stage of the assessment, 'Stealth and Infiltration,' is a failure."

Su Ye followed the sound and saw the fox-masked Anbu he had encountered yesterday leaning against a tree trunk, his ninja blade pointing diagonally at the ground. Behind him stood two others wearing wolf and eagle masks. He realized then—this was a deliberate test set by the Anbu; the assessment had begun the moment he stepped into the training ground.

"When executing an Anbu mission, one must arrive early to scout the environment, not arrive at the last second." The fox-masked Anbu stood up and tossed a black token to Su Ye. "The token contains the target coordinates. Within one hour, infiltrate the 'Guard Camp' three kilometers ahead, retrieve the red scroll inside, and do not be detected by the guards. If you are discovered, you fail."

Su Ye caught the token and channeled chakra into it. A simple map appeared on its surface—the Guard Camp was surrounded by three layers of perception lines, and there were five guards inside, each equipped with different ninja tools; two were elite genin, and three were ordinary genin. He put the token away, said nothing, and turned to sprint toward the camp.

After leaving the training ground, Su Ye immediately activated the Transformation Technique, turning himself into a grey-brown hare—small in size and low-profile, making him less likely to attract the guards' attention. At the same time, he scanned his surroundings with the Rinne Sharingan and quickly discovered the first perception line: transparent threads woven between tree branches, imbued with faint traces of chakra. Touching them would trigger an alarm.

Su Ye did not force his way through. Instead, he circled to the side of the perception line, channeled chakra into his soles, and clung to the tree trunk like a gecko, slowly crawling over the threads. The dynamic vision of the Rinne Sharingan allowed him to precisely avoid every strand; he could even clearly see the flow of chakra along them, ensuring he left no trace behind.

After crossing the first perception line, a patch of low shrubs appeared ahead. Beneath them, he sensed faint chakra fluctuations—the second perception line was an "Earth Spike Perception Array" buried underground. If anyone stepped on it, it would trigger earth spikes and sound an alarm. Su Ye stopped, his hare form tapping its front paws lightly on the ground, using the Rinne Sharingan to analyze the nodes of the underground array.

A moment later, he found the weak point of the array—a gap in the chakra connection between two nodes. Su Ye leaped, landing precisely on the gap, his body as light as a falling leaf, triggering no spikes. After landing, he continued toward the camp and soon reached the third perception line: the "Scent-Perception Ninja Dogs" surrounding the camp.

Three ninja dogs lay at the camp entrance, their noses constantly sniffing the air. Their chakra was linked to the guards, and they would sound an alarm the moment they smelled a stranger. Su Ye frowned, then thought of a countermeasure—he took a "Chakra Concealment Pill" (a bonus item rewarded by the system during yesterday's training) from his inventory. After swallowing it, his chakra was instantly masked, and even his natural scent became identical to the surrounding environment.

In his hare form, Su Ye strolled past the ninja dogs; they merely lifted their heads to glance at him before continuing to lie on the ground. Once inside the camp, Su Ye quickly scanned his surroundings: there was a tent in the center where the red scroll was likely kept, with two guards patrolling outside, while the other three guards stood watch at the east, west, and north sides of the camp.

Su Ye did not approach the tent immediately, choosing instead to circle to the east side to observe the guards' patrol patterns. The guard on the east was an elite genin holding a kunai who turned to check behind him every thirty seconds, leaving a three-second blind spot in his vision during each turn. Su Ye seized this gap, his hare form darting quickly across the east side to reach the back of the tent.

There was a ventilation opening at the back of the tent large enough for a hare to enter. Su Ye crawled through and landed on the floor inside, dispelling the Transformation Technique to return to his human form. On a table in the center of the tent lay the red scroll, with a trigger-type bomb placed right next to it—clearly a trap.

Su Ye did not rush to grab the scroll, instead using the Rinne Sharingan to analyze the bomb's structure. The bomb was connected to the scroll by a hair-thin chakra thread; picking up the scroll would trigger the explosion. He took out a kunai, carefully severed the chakra thread, grabbed the red scroll, and quickly dove back into the ventilation opening, transforming back into a hare.

Just as Su Ye prepared to leave the camp, footsteps suddenly sounded outside—the fox-masked Anbu entered with the wolf and eagle-masked members, clearly there to check the results of the assessment. Su Ye felt a jolt of alarm and immediately hid in a pile of grass on the west side of the camp, holding his breath.

"Captain, do you think that kid can pass the first stage?" the eagle-masked Anbu asked. The fox-masked Anbu let out a cold snort: "It would be impressive enough if he could just get past the first three perception lines. The traps and guards inside aren't so easy to deal with."

Just then, the guard on the east side suddenly shouted: "The scroll is gone!" The fox-masked Anbu's expression changed, and his chakra erupted instantly: "Someone has infiltrated! Seal the camp, search!" The guards sprang into action, and the ninja dogs began sniffing throughout the camp.

Su Ye knew he couldn't stay long. Seizing the moment of chaos among the guards, he bolted from the grass pile and sprinted toward the camp exit. The wolf-masked Anbu spotted him and threw a kunai, aiming straight for Su Ye's back: "Trying to run?"

Su Ye didn't look back; he activated Heavenly Hand Power, swapping places with a large tree ahead to dodge the kunai. Upon landing, he dispelled his transformation, held up the red scroll, and shouted to the fox-masked Anbu: "I have passed the first stage of the assessment!"

The fox-masked Anbu looked at the red scroll in Su Ye's hand, a flash of surprise in his eyes: "You not only retrieved the scroll but also avoided all the traps and guards?" Su Ye nodded: "When executing an Anbu mission, one must not only complete the objective but also ensure one's own safety and avoid exposing one's tracks."

The fox-masked Anbu was silent for a moment before saying: "The first stage is passed. The second stage, 'Live Combat,' begins now. Your opponent is me. As long as you can last ten minutes against me, you pass." No sooner had he finished speaking than the fox-masked Anbu drew his ninja blade, and a sharp gust of blade-wind slashed toward Su Ye!

Su Ye's pupils constricted. He dodged the blade-wind, drew his own kunai, and engaged the fox-masked Anbu in close-quarters combat. He knew this was more than just an assessment; it was a test of his true strength. Su Ye did not use the full power of the Rinne Sharingan, relying only on his dynamic vision and combo ninjutsu to respond, silently counting the time in his heart—the ten-minute confrontation had just begun.