At dawn the next day, in the abandoned training ground, the mist had yet to lift. The Fox Mask Anbu stood waiting at the center with the Wolf Mask and Eagle Mask Anbu. The moment Su Ye stepped onto the grounds, he saw the Fox Mask Anbu holding two sealed scrolls. Beneath the metal mask, his voice sounded even more grave than the day before. "The third trial is 'Mission Choice.' There's only one rule: two scrolls, choose one and complete it. You must accept the consequences of the other."
As he spoke, he tossed the scroll on the left to Su Ye. "Mission A: Infiltrate the enemy camp three kilometers west and steal the Green Scale Scroll, which contains Konoha's border defenses. You have one hour. No matter what you hear or see during the mission, you must not stray from your objective. Otherwise, you fail."
Before Su Ye could think it over, the scroll on the right landed at his feet. "Outcome B: Last night, we captured an 'enemy spy.' He's currently tied to a stone pillar in the eastern valley, with a timed Explosive Tag strapped to him. It will detonate in half an hour. If you choose Mission A, you can't go save him. If you abandon the mission to save him, Mission A fails and the trial is over."
Su Ye's pupils contracted. He tightened his grip on the Mission A scroll. The Green Scale Scroll concerned Konoha's border defenses; if it fell into enemy hands, the consequences would be unthinkable. But the combination of an "enemy spy" and a timed Explosive Tag felt more like a deliberate moral trap. He looked up at the Fox Mask Anbu. "The so-called 'spy' is someone you planted, isn't he?"
The Fox Mask Anbu didn't deny it. He only replied coldly, "Anbu carry out missions with no 'ifs' and no 'exceptions.' Make your choice. The clock starts now." As he finished speaking, the Wolf Mask Anbu produced an hourglass. Pale yellow sand began to trickle down.
Su Ye didn't hesitate. He turned and sprinted toward the enemy camp to the west. He understood the Anbu's duty: protecting the border defenses mattered far more than a fake "rescue." But after he'd run a hundred meters, a faint cry for help suddenly came from the distance. "Help... someone, please help me..."
The voice trembled like a child's, completely at odds with the identity of an "enemy spy." Su Ye stopped short and activated his Rinne Sharingan. Its pale purple Tomoe spun rapidly as his gaze pierced the mist and reached the eastern valley. The person tied to the stone pillar was a boy of about ten. The Explosive Tag on his body blinked red, with less than forty minutes on the countdown.
"It's a trap." Su Ye gritted his teeth and turned back toward the enemy camp, but the boy's cries pierced his ears like needles. He stopped abruptly, a thought flashing through his mind. If this boy is an actual civilian and dies because of the Anbu's trial, what's the point of joining them?
Nearly a third of the sand had run out. Su Ye's expression hardened, and he suddenly changed course, racing toward the eastern valley. As he ran, he quickly formed Hand Seals. "Clone Technique!" Two clones split off from him. One sprinted toward the enemy camp to draw any potential "observers" away, while the other circled to the far side of the valley, ready to provide support from behind.
By the time he reached the valley, only twenty minutes remained on the Explosive Tag's countdown. The boy was bound tightly to the stone pillar with coarse rope. When he saw Su Ye, hope flared in his eyes. "Sir, please save me! I'm not a spy. I was just passing by when they caught me!"
Su Ye didn't waste time. He took out a Kunai and was about to cut the rope when he sensed a surge of chakra behind him. The Wolf Mask Anbu had appeared at the mouth of the valley without him noticing, a Kunai pointed at his back. "You abandoned the mission. You've failed the trial. Come with me now, and you can still keep your chance to join the Anbu."
"Chance?" Su Ye sneered. His Rinne Sharingan instantly locked onto the Wolf Mask Anbu's movements. "You don't earn a place in the Anbu by giving up a life." Before he'd even finished speaking, he used Heavenly Hand Power to switch places with a boulder beside the pillar, dodging the Wolf Mask Anbu's attack. At the same time, he shouted to the boy, "Don't panic! I'll save you!"
Seeing that Su Ye refused to give up, the Wolf Mask Anbu quickly formed Hand Seals. "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" A thick earthen wall sprang up between Su Ye and the boy, separating them. Su Ye furrowed his brow as his Rinne Sharingan analyzed the wall's structure. There were three chakra nodes inside it. If he destroyed them, the wall would collapse.
He took out three Kunai, channeled chakra into them, and hurled them precisely at the three nodes in the wall. A cracking sound rang out, and the wall shattered. But just then, the Eagle Mask Anbu's voice came from the distance. "We've spotted something unusual near the enemy camp. An 'intruder' has infiltrated it!"
Su Ye's heart sank. His clone had been discovered. The Fox Mask Anbu's voice followed, carrying a touch of cold mockery. "Su Ye, your clone won't last long. Turn back and complete the mission while you still can."
Su Ye didn't turn around. He had already cut through the first rope binding the boy. Only ten minutes remained on the Explosive Tag's countdown. He looked toward the mouth of the valley and suddenly thought of a way out. Shielding the boy behind him, he called on the pale purple Tomoe of his Rinne Sharingan to shine brilliantly. "Banshō Ten'in!"
A powerful force of attraction seized a boulder at the valley entrance. It rumbled loose and rolled toward the Wolf Mask Anbu. As the Wolf Mask Anbu hurriedly dodged, Su Ye seized the chance to pull the boy up and use "Substitution Technique + Kamui." His body vanished in a puff of smoke, and the next moment, he appeared in the woods outside the valley.
"Hide here and don't make a sound." Su Ye concealed the boy in a thicket, then turned and sprinted toward the enemy camp. He knew his clone wouldn't last much longer. He had to get the real scroll before the Green Scale Scroll was "recovered."
By the time he reached the enemy camp, the Eagle Mask Anbu had already destroyed his clone. Taking advantage of the forest cover, Su Ye used Transformation Technique to disguise himself as an enemy shinobi and slipped into the camp. Guided by his Rinne Sharingan's perception, he quickly found the tent where the Green Scale Scroll was stored. Two elite Genin guarded the entrance, and a chakra trap had been set inside.
Su Ye didn't force his way in. Instead, he took out a smoke bomb and threw it into the distance to distract the guards. The moment their attention wavered, he slipped into the tent. His Rinne Sharingan immediately analyzed how the trap worked. It was linked to the scroll's position, so moving the scroll would trigger the alarm.
He took a deep breath and gathered a small amount of chakra at his fingertips. Carefully, he separated the scroll from the trap's Chakra Threads. The moment the scroll was free, the Eagle Mask Anbu's voice came from outside the tent. "This is bad! Someone's infiltrated the tent!"
Su Ye didn't hesitate. He grabbed the Green Scale Scroll and used Heavenly Hand Power to switch places with a tree outside the tent, then sprinted toward the valley. Only ten minutes remained before Mission A's deadline. He had to get the scroll back to the training ground in time while also ensuring the boy's safety.
When Su Ye returned to the abandoned training ground with the Green Scale Scroll, the Fox Mask Anbu was standing beside the hourglass. Almost all the sand had run out. Seeing the scroll in Su Ye's hand, the Fox Mask Anbu looked surprised. "You actually saved the boy and got the scroll?"
Su Ye handed the scroll to the Fox Mask Anbu, his voice calm. "The Anbu's duty is to protect, not to force people to choose between a mission and a life. If we can't protect the lives right in front of us, how can we claim to protect Konoha?"
The Fox Mask Anbu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly removed his mask. Beneath it was a familiar face: one of Konoha Anbu's senior officers, codenamed Gen. He looked at Su Ye with a hint of admiration in his eyes. "You've passed the third trial. From today on, you're officially a member of Konoha Anbu. Your codename is Lun."
Su Ye felt relief wash over him. At last, the tension that had weighed on him for so long eased. He knew joining the Anbu was only the beginning; many more challenges awaited him. And his Rinne Sharingan would shine even brighter in the missions to come.
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