The sharp hiss of a Ninja Blade slicing through the air exploded beside Su Ye's ear. His Rinne Sharingan tracked the blade's trajectory. He planted a foot against the ground and shot backward like an arrow loosed from a bow, throwing two Kunai in a cross toward Fox Mask Anbu's wrist.
Fox Mask Anbu's eyes narrowed slightly. He flipped his wrist and knocked the Kunai aside with a precise flick of his Ninja Blade, but the blade's momentum didn't slow. Using the force of his turn, he swept the blade toward Su Ye's waist. Su Ye's heart tightened. That slash was nearly thirty percent faster than before. His opponent had clearly stopped holding back. Rather than meet it head-on, he immediately used the "Substitution Technique + Kamui" combination. As his body vanished in a cloud of smoke, his consciousness had already entered the Kamui Dimension. The next second, he appeared five meters behind Fox Mask Anbu.
"Oh? So you've got a movement trick like that hidden away." Fox Mask Anbu sounded a little surprised, but he didn't panic. He drove his Ninja Blade into the ground and rapidly formed Hand Seals. "Water Release: Water Shockwave!" A torrent of water surged up from the ground and swept toward Su Ye. Su Ye's pupils contracted. His Rinne Sharingan instantly picked out the weak points in the flow. He pushed off with both feet and darted through the gaps in the water, at the same time taking a smoke bomb from his ninja pouch and throwing it to the ground.
The moment thick smoke spread around them, Su Ye created three clones. Using the smoke for cover, his real body quietly circled around to Fox Mask Anbu's flank. The three clones simultaneously unleashed Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, sending three huge balls of flame hurtling toward Fox Mask Anbu. He snorted and drew his Ninja Blade. Chakra gathered along its length, and a fierce slash of wind cleaved the three fireballs in half. But he hadn't expected Su Ye's real body to use "Clone + Heavenly Hand Power" at that very moment. Su Ye switched places with one of the clones that hadn't been destroyed and appeared right in front of Fox Mask Anbu, driving a Kunai toward his throat.
"Not bad." A flicker of approval crossed Fox Mask Anbu's eyes. He bent sharply backward, narrowly avoiding the Kunai, while sweeping his right leg toward Su Ye's knee. Su Ye reacted instantly, dropping to one knee to dodge the kick and slashing his Kunai toward Fox Mask Anbu's lower leg. Fox Mask Anbu immediately leaped back to open some distance between them. Five minutes had passed since the test began.
"Combination techniques and clones alone won't get you through the remaining five minutes." Fox Mask Anbu's voice was cold. He formed Hand Seals again, this time several times more complex than before. "Lightning Release: Thunder Fang!" Chakra crackling with electricity coated his Ninja Blade, and sparks danced along the blade. He flashed forward like a streak of light, charging at Su Ye.
Su Ye felt the paralyzing effect of the Lightning Release chakra and knew he couldn't let the blade touch him. He took a deep breath. Faint lavender Tomoe emerged among the red markings of his Rinne Sharingan. He had deliberately kept this power hidden, but now he had no choice but to draw on some of it if he wanted to last through the test. As the lavender Tomoe turned, the flow of time around him seemed to slow, making Fox Mask Anbu's movements much clearer.
Su Ye leaned aside to dodge Thunder Fang's slash and stretched out his right hand, focusing a small amount of chakra at his fingertips. "Banshō Ten'in!" A faint gravitational force instantly acted on Fox Mask Anbu's Ninja Blade, slightly stalling its momentum. Seizing that brief opening, Su Ye used Heavenly Hand Power to switch places with a distant tree, putting a great deal of distance between them.
Fox Mask Anbu felt the sudden pull and his expression finally changed. "The Rinnegan's power? You've even got a trump card like that!" Su Ye didn't answer. He knew Banshō Ten'in consumed a great deal of chakra, and that one attack had already used up nearly a quarter of his reserves.
Over the next three minutes, Fox Mask Anbu's attacks grew more and more ferocious. He alternated between Lightning Release and Water Release, his Ninja Blade's slashes nearly sealing off every route Su Ye could use to dodge. Thanks to the Rinne Sharingan's dynamic vision and the boost to his perception from the lavender Tomoe, Su Ye narrowly evaded the attacks again and again. Every so often, he countered with a combination technique, just barely managing to keep from losing ground.
With only one minute left in the test, Fox Mask Anbu suddenly launched a killing move. He threw his Ninja Blade into the air and formed Hand Seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" A huge water dragon rose from the ground, jaws open as it lunged at Su Ye. Knowing he couldn't dodge it completely, Su Ye's eyes narrowed. He poured all his remaining chakra into his Rinne Sharingan, and the lavender Tomoe became instantly clear. "Kamui!"
He pulled the water dragon's head into the Kamui Dimension. The dragon lost its head and most of its power, and the remaining water only soaked his clothes. At that very moment, the ten-minute test came to an end.
Fox Mask Anbu looked at Su Ye, drenched but unharmed, and put away his Ninja Blade. His voice finally held a measure of approval. "You've passed the second test. The third will be the Anbu's ultimate trial: 'Mission Choice.' Come back here at this time tomorrow."
Su Ye breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the water from his face, and nodded. "I'll be here on time." He knew the real test had only just begun.
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