Unprecedented

The seventh, the eighth, the ninth.

Whether they were taijutsu ninja, genjutsu ninja, or teams of several people, they all seemed to be made of paper before Ryōken. No one could stand against him.

Little Wolf found every hidden scroll one by one as well.

Ryōken had even specially made himself a backpack for carrying the scrolls, silently complaining about the senior who had devised this test.

Why did he have to search for them one by one? What a hassle.

Seeing Ryōken's disgruntled expression, the ANBU ninja exchanged bewildered looks.

Who told you to be so strong?

But for a reserve like Ryōken, couldn't they simply promote him as an exception?

Making him take the assessment was practically ruining the balance.

What were the other candidates supposed to do?

They looked at the Squad Leader, their eyes carrying a trace of confusion.

"Uh..."

The Squad Leader awkwardly turned his head away, avoiding his subordinates' gazes.

He did not know what Lord White Fang was thinking, insisting that his disciple take part in this assessment.

At that moment, he recalled Ryōken's true identity and silently marveled.

He was already this strong at ten. Even Lord White Fang had not been this strong at ten.

Another powerhouse destined to shake the ninja world would rise in the future.

The Squad Leader sighed inwardly, feeling as though he had lived his entire life in vain.

The strength of a ten-year-old jonin.

With the relentless pursuit and constant battles, this assessment finally drew to its close.

Toward the end, the reserves seemed to have received some kind of news. They hid like rats, forcing Ryōken to put in considerable effort to drag them out one by one.

There was even a member of the Hyuga Clan who relied on his Byakugan to play hide-and-seek with Ryōken. Fortunately, Little Wolf was capable, and Ryōken was fast enough. When he finally caught the boy, Ryōken gave him a thorough beating.

Fortunately, these reserves were all quite strong, so Ryōken had enjoyed himself in the fights. After all, there were plenty of them, and sometimes they even clustered together in groups of four or five.

A day later, at the gathering point.

Those defeated by Ryōken early on had already assembled there, chatting animatedly among themselves.

Since they had all been defeated by Ryōken, they had found a sense of shared suffering. They were comrades in misery.

Suddenly, a youth carrying a huge backpack appeared at the edge of their vision. He wore a mask that concealed his expression as he slowly walked toward them.

Everyone immediately fell silent. They straightened up and looked at Ryōken respectfully, their gazes filled with awe and not the slightest resentment.

This was a world of the strong, and it was also a world plagued by constant war.

ANBU, in particular, was a place with an extremely high death rate. The more numerous and powerful its strong members were, the greater the protection they would receive in the future.

For instance, without White Fang, the losses suffered by ANBU ninja during missions would be unknowningly greater. Some missions would even be beyond their ability to complete.

True powerhouses earned everyone's respect.

Just like Madara Uchiha, whose name had even become synonymous with strength.

Whenever they faced Madara Uchiha, ninja with weak wills would break out in cold sweats, even losing the desire to fight.

By now, Ryōken had fought more battles in this single day than he had in the previous ten years combined. As he reveled in the exhilaration, the Sword Intent radiating from him began to undergo a subtle, imperceptible change.

Like Hatake Sakumo's Blade Intent.

It affected reality.

The official ANBU members and the Squad Leader all revealed looks of shock, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Will!

The will of a true powerhouse!

An indomitable will.

Even the captain of the Second Squad, who was Kage-level, had yet to forge a will of his own.

Yet what were they seeing now?

A boy who had just turned ten was already displaying the embryonic form of a will.

After undergoing another round of true life-and-death tempering, that faint embryonic form would break from its cocoon and transform into a genuine will—the Sword Intent that belonged solely to Ryōken.

Ryōken Sword Intent.

At that moment, they were incomparably certain that no one would be able to stop this youth's rise.

A powerhouse comparable to, or even stronger than, the White Fang of Konoha would descend upon the ninja world and shake the nations.

Hokage Office Building.

Hatake Sakumo was assisting Hiruzen Sarutobi in handling the aftermath of that mission and analyzing the current state of the ninja world.

"The obstacles between the major nations have largely been cleared. Now, only Amegakure, at the intersection of the three nations, is still putting up stubborn resistance."

"Wary of Hanzo and Amegakure's considerable strength, Konoha, Sunagakure, and the Stone Ninja have all stationed troops along the borders. For now, there are no signs of a full-scale war breaking out."

"Even if war does erupt, with Lord Danzo holding the line and Tsunade and the others assisting, stabilizing the front will not be a problem."

Hatake Sakumo delivered his report calmly.

"War is about to break out!"

The moment those words were spoken, the jonin around them erupted into an uproar. War was on the verge of breaking out, and even jonin-level powerhouses could only be swept along by the tide in such a massive conflict.

"So it has been confirmed that the war will inevitably break out in the Land of Rain."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke calmly. His mountain-like steadiness immediately settled everyone's hearts, and they listened in silence.

"Have Kumogakure and Kirigakure made any moves?"

At that, Hatake Sakumo replied evenly, "Neither nation has shown any intention of joining this Great Ninja War for the time being. We will continue dispatching ANBU to monitor them."

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Because of its overwhelming strength, Konoha had always been the target of public criticism.

If they only had to face two nations, the pressure would not be too great.

The Land of Fire's abundant resources gave them the confidence to say so.

"I see."

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought, his eyes flickering uncertainly, making it impossible to guess what was on his mind.

Suddenly, an ANBU ninja appeared in the room.

"Lord Hokage, the second round of assessments has ended."

The moment he appeared, he dropped to one knee in salute.

His train of thought interrupted, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head with slight displeasure.

"Mm. How did it go? Isn't it only the first day?"

"Reserve Ryōken defeated everyone and obtained every scroll."

"Oh?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hatake Sakumo exchanged a glance, both with amusement in their eyes. That kid really was something.

"Wait."

The two suddenly realized what he had said. Every scroll?

Hatake Sakumo abruptly asked, "Ryōken got all the scrolls? Including the hidden ones?"

"Yes. Ryōken has a wolf-shaped Summoning Beast. Through it, he found every scroll and every candidate."

"That kid... I didn't expect him to have that trick."

Hatake Sakumo shook his head, feeling quite troubled.

This had thrown his plans into disarray.

War was on the verge of breaking out. He had originally intended to promote more official ANBU members this time. He had also sent Ryōken to participate in the assessment so he could get acquainted with the ANBU of his own cohort, laying some groundwork for his future bid for a Squad Leader position.

Who would have thought that Ryōken would wipe out his entire cohort in one sweep, leaving only himself to pass?

In just a few months, he had grown to this extent.

"But in that case, this should count as an ultimate evaluation, right?"

Hatake Sakumo looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi as he asked, a trace of pride in his voice.

The jonin present were utterly confused. When had Konoha held an assessment?

The jonin who had come from ANBU were shocked. Thinking of Ryōken, the champion of the practical combat assessment several months ago, the mention of an ultimate evaluation left them dumbfounded and deeply incredulous.

"An unprecedented ultimate evaluation!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep draw from his pipe before suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart. His voice was deep and powerfully stirring.

"Of course it counts. He is the first ninja in ANBU history to receive ultimate evaluations in both rounds of assessment."

"At this critical moment, with war about to begin, such a monster has emerged."

"In this war, we shall surely prevail!"

Everyone immediately burst into cheers. Since Lord Hokage himself had called him a monster, he had to be a true genius.

For the Great Ninja War, the more powerhouses they had, the more advantageous it naturally was for them.