The Dilemma of Mission Choice, The Path to Breaking the Cycle with the Rinnegan

The next morning at the abandoned training ground, the mist had yet to disperse when the Anbu member in the fox mask, accompanied by two others wearing wolf and eagle masks, waited in the center. As soon as Su Ye stepped into the arena, he saw the fox-masked Anbu holding two sealed scrolls. Beneath the metallic mask, the voice sounded even more solemn than the day before: "The third stage, 'Mission Choice.' There is only one rule: two scrolls, you must choose one to complete, and you must accept the outcome corresponding to the other."

With that, he tossed the scroll on the left to Su Ye: "Task A: Infiltrate the enemy camp three kilometers to the west and steal the 'Green Scale Scroll' marked with Konoha's border defenses. Time limit: one hour. During the mission, regardless of what you hear or see, you must not deviate from your objective, or it will be considered a failure."

Before Su Ye could think it over, the scroll on the right landed at his feet: "Result B: Last night, we captured an 'enemy spy.' He is currently tied to a stone pillar in the valley to the east, rigged with a timed explosive tag that will detonate in half an hour. If you choose Task A, you cannot go to save him; if you abandon the mission to save him, Task A will be failed, and the assessment will be terminated."

Su Ye's pupils constricted, his fingertips tightening around the Task A scroll—the Green Scale Scroll concerned the security of Konoha's borders; if it fell into enemy hands, the consequences would be unthinkable. Yet, the combination of an "enemy spy" and a timed explosive tag felt more like a deliberately designed moral trap. He looked up at the fox-masked Anbu: "The so-called 'spy' is someone you arranged, isn't he?"

The fox-masked Anbu did not deny it, only saying coldly: "Anbu missions have no 'ifs' or 'exceptions.' The choice begins now." As the words fell, the wolf-masked Anbu took out an hourglass, and the pale yellow sand began to flow slowly.

Su Ye did not hesitate; he turned and sprinted toward the enemy camp to the west—he understood the duties of the Anbu, and the importance of border defense far outweighed a fake "rescue." But after running only a hundred meters, a faint cry for help suddenly drifted from afar: "Help... someone, please save me..."

The voice carried a childlike tremor, completely inconsistent with the identity of an "enemy spy." Su Ye's footsteps faltered, his Rinne Sharingan suddenly activating. The pale purple tomoe spun rapidly, his vision piercing through the mist to reach the eastern valley—tied to the stone pillar was a boy of about ten, and the explosive tag on his body was flashing with red light, with less than forty minutes left on the countdown.

It's a trap. Su Ye gritted his teeth and turned to continue running toward the enemy camp, but the boy's cries for help stung his ears like needles. He abruptly stopped, a thought flashing through his mind: if this boy were a true civilian and died because of an Anbu assessment, what would be the point of him joining the Anbu?

By now, nearly a third of the hourglass had run out. Su Ye's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly changed direction, sprinting toward the eastern valley. As he ran, he quickly formed hand seals: "Clone Technique!" Two clones split from his body; one sped toward the enemy camp to attract any potential "observers," while the other circled to the opposite side of the valley to provide support from the rear.

When he arrived at the valley, the explosive tag had only twenty minutes left. The boy was bound tightly to the stone pillar with coarse hemp rope. Seeing Su Ye, a glimmer of hope for survival erupted in his eyes: "Sir, save me! I'm not a spy, I was just passing by when they grabbed me!"

Su Ye didn't waste words. He pulled out a kunai and was about to cut the ropes when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of chakra behind him—the wolf-masked Anbu had appeared at the valley entrance, his kunai pointed directly at Su Ye's back: "Abandon the mission, and the assessment is failed. Come back with me now, and you can still retain your eligibility to join the Anbu."

"Eligibility?" Su Ye sneered, his Rinne Sharingan instantly locking onto the wolf-masked Anbu's movements. "Anbu eligibility is not earned by abandoning lives." Before the words were finished, he suddenly activated Heavenly Hand Power, swapping places with a large boulder beside the stone pillar to evade the wolf-masked Anbu's attack. At the same time, he shouted to the boy: "Don't panic! I will save you!"

Seeing that Su Ye refused to give up, the wolf-masked Anbu quickly formed hand seals: "Earth Style: Earth Wall!" A thick wall of earth instantly blocked the space between Su Ye and the boy, separating them. Su Ye's brows furrowed, his Rinne Sharingan analyzing the structure of the earth wall—there were three chakra nodes inside; as long as he destroyed the nodes, the wall would collapse.

He took out three kunai, infused them with chakra, and threw them with precision at the three nodes of the earth wall. A "crack" sounded, and the wall shattered on cue. But at that moment, the voice of the eagle-masked Anbu suddenly came from afar: "Abnormality detected in the direction of the enemy camp! An 'intruder' has infiltrated!"

Su Ye's heart sank—his clone had been discovered. The voice of the fox-masked Anbu followed, carrying a hint of cold mockery: "Su Ye, your clone won't last long. It's still not too late to turn back and complete the mission."

Su Ye did not look back, his kunai already cutting the first hemp rope on the boy. With only ten minutes left on the explosive tag's countdown, he looked up at the valley entrance, suddenly thinking of a way to break the deadlock—he shielded the boy behind him, the pale purple tomoe of his Rinne Sharingan glowing intensely: "Banshō Ten'in!"

A powerful gravitational force instantly acted upon the boulder at the valley entrance, causing it to crash down and roll toward the wolf-masked Anbu. The wolf-masked Anbu scrambled to dodge, and Su Ye seized the opportunity to pull the boy up, activating "Substitution Technique + Kamui." His body dissolved into smoke, and a second later, he reappeared in the dense forest outside the valley.

"Hide here for now and don't make a sound." Su Ye hid the boy in the bushes and then turned to sprint toward the enemy camp. He knew his clone wouldn't last long; he had to retrieve the real scroll before the Green Scale Scroll was "reclaimed."

By the time he reached the enemy camp, his clone had already been defeated by the eagle-masked Anbu. Using the cover of the dense forest, Su Ye activated the Transformation Technique, turning into an enemy ninja to blend into the camp. Relying on the perception of his Rinne Sharingan, he quickly found the tent where the Green Scale Scroll was stored—there were two elite genin guarding the outside, and a chakra trap was set inside the tent.

Su Ye did not force his way in; instead, he threw a smoke bomb into the distance to distract the guards. Taking advantage of their momentary lapse in attention, he quickly slipped into the tent. His Rinne Sharingan instantly analyzed the trigger mechanism of the trap—it was connected to the placement of the scroll; moving the scroll would trigger an alarm.

He took a deep breath, concentrated a small amount of chakra at his fingertips, and carefully detached the chakra threads connecting the scroll to the trap. The moment the scroll was freed from the trap, the voice of the eagle-masked Anbu came from outside the tent: "Not good! Someone has infiltrated the tent!"

Su Ye did not hesitate; he grabbed the Green Scale Scroll and activated Heavenly Hand Power to swap places with a large tree outside the tent, then sprinted toward the valley. With only ten minutes left on the Task A time limit, he had to return the scroll to the training ground within the deadline while ensuring the boy's safety.

When Su Ye returned to the abandoned training ground with the Green Scale Scroll, the fox-masked Anbu was standing by the hourglass, the sand nearly depleted. Seeing the scroll in Su Ye's hand, a flash of surprise crossed the fox-masked Anbu's eyes: "You actually managed to save the person and retrieve the scroll?"

Su Ye handed the scroll to the fox-masked Anbu, his tone calm: "The duty of the Anbu is to protect, not to make multiple-choice questions between missions and lives. If one cannot even protect the life right in front of them, how can they speak of protecting Konoha?"

The fox-masked Anbu was silent for a moment, then suddenly removed his mask—revealing a familiar face. It was one of the high-ranking members of the Konoha Anbu, codenamed "Gen." He looked at Su Ye, his eyes filled with a bit more appreciation: "Third stage, passed. From today on, you are officially a member of the Konoha Anbu, codenamed 'Lun'."

Su Ye felt a weight lift from his heart, the anxiety that had been hanging over him finally dissipating. He knew that joining the Anbu was only the beginning, and more challenges awaited him in the future. And his Rinne Sharingan would shine with an even more dazzling light in the missions to come.