No more holding back!

Lin Ze lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Today is the first day of the Ranking Assessment..."

"I can't keep holding back. I have to get noticed!"

That old dog Danzo already had his eye on him. If he did not attract the attention of Konoha High Command soon, Root would probably drag him off for brainwashing before he had a chance to grow stronger.

Lin Ze had no desire to become an emotionless killing machine like Sai.

Although Lin Ze had already made an appearance before Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was merely someone worth cultivating. Konoha had no shortage of talents like him, and some were even more gifted.

"I don't want to end up like Kabuto, sent off to be some spy!"

"But I can't expose all my strength apart from the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, either. I just need to finish first. First place will definitely put me on Hiruzen Sarutobi's radar."

Lin Ze lay in bed, silently thinking things over. He had always followed the principle of revealing half his strength and hiding the other half.

If he wanted to avoid Kabuto Yakushi's fate, his only option was to find a powerful backer in Konoha. As for who was the most powerful and reliable backer in Konoha at this point, it could only be the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

It was now Konoha Year 38, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his prime.

This was different from Naruto's era-by then, he had endured one blow after another, from the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife to White Fang's suicide and the breakup of the Sannin, gradually losing his edge.

Right now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at his peak in both strength and mindset. Every gesture carried an air of supremacy, fully befitting the name "Shinobi Hero."

Still, in Lin Ze's eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not a good person either-or rather, he was a complicated one.

He knew perfectly well how sinister the methods of Danzo's Root were, yet chose to tacitly permit them for the sake of "maintaining the village's stability." He even indirectly made use of its power, causing many tragedies. It could well be called the instrument that kept his own hands clean.

His treatment of Naruto was much the same. Hiruzen Sarutobi publicly declared that "Naruto is the son of a hero," yet had never truly given Naruto the protection he deserved.

He could not possibly have been unaware of the discrimination and ostracism Naruto faced from Konoha's villagers, yet he allowed that prejudice to fester.

Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi had occupied the Hokage Position for decades. Though he spoke of acting "for the village," he had never truly freed himself from the ties of his clan's interests.

The Sarutobi Clan had fielded 3,000 ninja in the Fourth Shinobi World War, and those were only the ninja troops on the battlefield. Quite a few had not gone to war, so the Sarutobi Clan's total number of ninja might have been around 5,000.

Konoha currently had only around ten thousand ninja in total. With numbers like those, calling them "a clan that formed an army" would be no exaggeration.

Hiruzen Sarutobi truly did look after his "family"!

"But I can't reveal too much in today's assessment..."

Lin Ze considered his approach.

The Ninja Academy's assessment would certainly be monitored by ANBU, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely attend the final stage as well. He had to show his strength without exposing the abilities of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.

After all, being a little stronger at Taijutsu was nothing to worry about. Konoha had no shortage of Taijutsu experts.

But once an inconceivably fantastical ability like the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon was exposed, Danzo would no longer be the only person he had to contend with. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, would probably be tempted!

"Pure Taijutsu combat, plus Bolo Breath. If necessary, I can use the Eight Gates Released Formation too."

Although that seemed a little like using overwhelming power against weaker opponents, there were plenty of students at the Ninja Academy, including members of various clans with secret techniques and bloodline limits such as the Byakugan. Without using the Eight Gates Released Formation, Lin Ze really could not guarantee first place. After all, this world had never lacked geniuses.

And because of the Byakugan, Lin Ze could not even use Dragon Transformation. The bandages on his body could not block vision that saw straight through things!

The Ninja Academy's training ground.

Due to the large number of participants, the Combat Ranking Assessment used five arenas simultaneously.

Under the rules, all students would first draw lots to determine their matchups. Once the winners and losers were decided, winners would face winners and losers would face losers. This process of dividing the groups and drawing lots would continue until the overall rankings were determined.

Four secondary arenas would be used at first. After a day of successive matches, those who distinguished themselves would enter the fifth, main arena to compete on the second day-and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would personally preside over the main arena.

Such arrangements were enough to show how much importance Hiruzen Sarutobi placed on training ninja at this time.

Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally hosted the Combat Ranking Assessment's opening ceremony.

Under the reverent gazes of the assembled ninja, he walked calmly onto the stage in his Hokage robes.

The moment they saw him, all the students cheered together, filling the grounds with excitement.

In Konoha, the Hokage undoubtedly held the highest status and commanded the greatest respect. Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi was not tall, every gaze directed at him was filled with awe, simply because he was the Third Hokage, Konoha's strongest ninja at that moment.

He raised a hand and waved lightly, and the entire grounds instantly fell silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi surveyed the young faces below the stage and spoke in a steady, powerful voice:

"Children, welcome to the first trial on your path as ninja."

"The Will of Fire has never been an empty slogan. It is the towering tree planted by the First Hokage, the stream that watered it under the Second Hokage, and the path ahead illuminated by every generation of Konoha ninja as they burned their own lives."

"Now, let me see your light-for Konoha, and for the Will of Fire passed down through the generations!"

Those few short sentences drew thunderous applause and shouts from the entire crowd.

Whether they were children of civilians or ninja from clans such as the Hyūga and Uchiha, his words fired their blood, and their eyes shone with excitement.

Lin Ze stood silently among the crowd, watching Hiruzen Sarutobi deliver his impassioned speech onstage, his gaze tinged with complicated feelings.

The Hokage... Most children in this world, including Obito Uchiha, had probably once aspired to be like him.

Had Lin Ze not been a transmigrator who knew the plot, perhaps he too would have been infected by that fervor and devoted himself to becoming Hokage.

But in Lin Ze's heart, distant though the Hokage Position was, there were still more distant figures above it-Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Otsutsuki Kaguya... Those were the goals he kept hidden deepest in his heart.

Of course, those were far too distant. His most urgent concern was dealing with Danzo's watchful eye.

"Danzo is the one standing in front of me right now."

Lin Ze clenched his fists, a trace of resolve flashing through his eyes.

No matter how distant the destination, he had to walk the road one step at a time; no matter how difficult the obstacle, he could not give up.

And the first step toward seizing his dreams was to firmly grasp the present.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's rousing address came to an end, the Combat Ranking Assessment officially began.

The students were led to the four secondary arenas, while he left early. After all, there were far too many matters in Konoha that required him as Hokage.

Besides, the battles in the secondary arenas did not yet warrant his personal attention. Only the winners who could stand in the main arena were, in his eyes, the pillars of Konoha's new generation.

Lin Ze was assigned to the first secondary arena.

As it happened, Kurenai Yuhi was in the same arena. When she saw that she and Lin Ze had been assigned together, she even cheered him on. "Lin Ze, you can definitely take first place!"