The assessment begins!

"First match, Lin Ze from B-Rank versus Tsume Inuzuka from Class D!"

The referee announced loudly.

"The Inuzuka Clan?" Lin Ze raised an eyebrow. This clan was known for raising ninja dogs and having a keen sense of smell. They were highly skilled at tracking.

"Go, Lin Ze!" Kurenai Yuhi waved her little hands from the stands.

Lin Ze nodded to her and walked slowly into the ring.

Opposite him stood a girl with a ponytail and the signature inverted triangular markings on her face. A small brown dog followed at her side. She was Tsume Inuzuka.

Tsume Inuzuka? I remember Kiba's mother seemed to have that name too.

Probably not her. Kiba and Naruto are in the same year, so his mother should have been in Minato Namikaze's year. Looks like they just share a name, Lin Ze thought silently as he looked at the Tsume Inuzuka before him.

"I look forward to our match." Tsume Inuzuka bowed politely, and her puppy gave a bark.

"Likewise." Lin Ze returned the gesture while observing her.

In the original story, the Inuzuka Clan had strong taijutsu, and working with their ninja dogs produced an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

But the puppy before him was clearly still very young and posed little threat.

"Begin!"

The moment the referee finished speaking, Tsume Inuzuka rapidly formed hand seals. "Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu: Four Legs Technique!"

Her nails suddenly lengthened, becoming as sharp as a beast's claws, and she charged at Lin Ze on all fours. The puppy circled around from the side, trying to catch him in a pincer attack.

"Not bad speed..."

Lin Ze silently assessed Tsume Inuzuka's strength.

Although Tsume Inuzuka moved considerably faster than ordinary students, she was still too slow in his eyes.

"Let's test her first."

Lin Ze assumed a standard taijutsu stance and moved to meet her.

Bang!

Their fists collided in midair. Lin Ze deliberately let himself be knocked back half a step, putting a strained expression on his face.

"Pretty strong..."

Seeing this, Tsume Inuzuka gained confidence, and her attacks grew fiercer. Her puppy, Kuro Maru, also kept harassing Lin Ze from the side, causing him trouble.

After several exchanges, Lin Ze deliberately took a few hits, leaving several slashes in his clothes. Gasps rose from the stands, and Kurenai Yuhi nervously clenched her fists.

"That should do..."

Lin Ze had figured out Tsume Inuzuka's attack patterns. Judging that he had put on enough of an act, he suddenly picked up the pace.

He sidestepped a claw strike and aimed a chopping blow straight at Tsume Inuzuka's neck with his right hand.

"So fast!"

Tsume Inuzuka hastily leaned back, narrowly dodging the blow. Her puppy was not so lucky, however. Lin Ze swept out his left hand and caught the lunging Kuro Maru with precision.

"Give up." Lin Ze gently placed the puppy on the ground. "I don't want to hurt it."

Tsume Inuzuka bit her lip. Looking at her beloved dog, now subdued, she finally lowered her head. "I surrender."

"Lin Ze from B-Rank wins!" the referee announced.

"Wow, that last move was so cool! He looked like he was struggling before, then suddenly turned it around!"

"Yeah! That Lin Ze reacted so fast. Is that taijutsu?"

Several exclamations rose from the stands, and a few students he did not know could not help whispering to one another.

"Next match, Kurenai Yuhi from B-Rank versus Obito Uchiha from Class C!" the referee continued.

"Thank you for the match." Lin Ze nodded to Tsume Inuzuka, then turned and left the ring.

Kurenai Yuhi immediately came over, a trace of worry on her face. "You scared me to death! Lin Ze, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Just a few scrapes." Lin Ze smiled. "Your turn now."

At this point, Obito Uchiha was a genuine dead last. Kurenai's victory was only a matter of time, so Lin Ze was not worried.

Kurenai nodded firmly. "I'll definitely win!"

Lin Ze sat in the rest area and swept his gaze over the stands. Several masked figures caught his attention.

"ANBU really did come..."

He pretended not to notice and continued watching the other matches.

During his match against Tsume Inuzuka, Lin Ze had wanted to see the Inuzuka Clan's Human-Beast Combination Secret Technique. Unfortunately, Tsume Inuzuka was too young to have mastered it. He had waited ages, but she never used it.

Still, he had won this first match in just the right way, showing his strength without standing out too much.

All he needed to do next was maintain this approach, advance step by step, and take first place.

"Kurenai Yuhi wins!"

"Next up, Ryota Uchiha from B-Rank versus Genma Shiranui from A-Rank!"

The referee's voice rang out. Sure enough, Kurenai had completely crushed Obito...

As for Ryota Uchiha, Lin Ze had not noticed him when the groups were assigned earlier. He had not expected them to end up in the same group.

Heh, you'd better not end up facing me. Otherwise...

Lin Ze looked at Ryota Uchiha as he walked into the ring, the corners of his mouth curving upward. He still remembered that Great Fireball Ryota Uchiha had fired at him!

As though sensing something, Ryota Uchiha turned to look at Lin Ze just after entering the ring. Seeing the trace of a cold smile and mockery in Lin Ze's gaze, his heart immediately tightened.

Damn it, I actually ended up in his group. My brother said he's close to Chunin strength. Should I just surrender? If I face him, I'll definitely be in for it!

No, I'm a member of the noble Uchiha Clan! How can I be afraid of an orphan from another village!

Ryota Uchiha's expressions were quite a sight. First came a trace of terror, followed by a haughty look.

Lin Ze even wondered whether the guy had lost his mind.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command, the match between Ryota Uchiha and Genma Shiranui officially began.

No longer paying attention to Ryota Uchiha in the ring, Lin Ze began thinking about the opponents he might face next.

Kakashi would have posed the greatest threat to Lin Ze in this year, but unfortunately, he had already graduated. His classmate Asuma was the Hokage's son, and although he was not weak, he posed little threat to Lin Ze. Lin Ze had now entered the second stage of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon: partial beastification, and even in his normal state, he was at Chunin level. As for Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and the others, they were even less of a match for him.

"Then..."

Lin Ze turned his gaze toward the others at the First Preliminary Ground. No one in his class was a match for him, but this year still had quite a few figures who would become formidable later on. Genma Shiranui, Ibiki Morino, and others were also at the First Preliminary Ground.

Lin Ze remembered that although they had not reached Kage level later on, basically all of them had reached Jōnin or even Elite Jōnin level. He just did not know how strong they were now.

Lin Ze had barely interacted with people from other classes. Every day after school, he went home to train his body and develop his fruit abilities. He was merely on nodding terms with people like Genma Shiranui and knew little about their strength.

Moreover, being a ninja was a profession with an extremely high mortality rate. There might well be some geniuses among Lin Ze's year at the Ninja Academy who would die before reaching their potential.

"I need to conserve my energy for the later matches..."

Lin Ze decided to keep controlling the pace in the coming matches. The assessments at the preliminary grounds would continue until the afternoon, while the finals at the Fifth Battle Ground would not take place until tomorrow. Hiruzen Sarutobi would also come to watch then.

He had to make a stunning impression in the finals to draw enough attention from this Hokage!