The undisputed champion

The entire arena fell deathly silent.

Everyone was left speechless by the thrilling, fierce duel and Lin Ze's earth-shattering final punch.

The referee stood stunned for several seconds before hurrying over to check on Hikaru Hyūga. After confirming that he could no longer fight, he drew a deep breath and announced at the top of his lungs:

"The winner-Lin Ze!!"

"The champion of this year's Ninja Academy combat assessment is-Lin Ze!!!"

After a brief silence, thunderous applause and cries of amazement erupted throughout the arena!

"He won! Lin Ze won!"

"He's so strong! He even broke through the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palm!"

"What technique did he use at the end? His speed and strength shot up so much!"

"A monster! He's a total monster!"

"..."

Kurenai Yuhi jumped up in excitement, her little face flushed red.

In the stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Jiraiya roared with laughter. "I told you the kid could take first place! Hahaha!"

Tsunade nodded as well. "He may have taken a shortcut, but his explosive power and timing were both first-rate."

Orochimaru gave Lin Ze a long look, the corners of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile. Clearly, Lin Ze had piqued his interest as well.

Lin Ze stood in the center of the arena, breathing slightly hard. As he felt the surging power within him slowly settle, he released the Eight Gates Released Formation.

I won.

This championship should be enough to get Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention, right?

Though... I exposed the Eight Gates Released Formation, I didn't use the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon's abilities in the end.

Lin Ze looked at Hikaru Hyūga as the Medical Team carried him away, feeling little joy.

Hikaru Hyūga was strong-a Byakugan prodigy even more gifted than Neji, one could say. He had actually forced Lin Ze to open the second gate.

Unfortunately, he had run into Lin Ze, who had cheats.

This also left Lin Ze feeling very insecure. Apart from the power of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, all his other methods had now been completely exposed.

But the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon had always been Lin Ze's true foundation! Secret techniques like the Eight Gates Released Formation were ultimately just icing on the cake.

So while it looked as though he had exposed most of his strength and trump cards, that was not actually the case-his greatest trump card had always been the power of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon. If he truly used that power, his strength would at least double, and he could exchange blows even with a Jōnin.

At present, Lin Ze was in the second stage of developing his fruit-partial beastification!

But he could only control the beastification of his hands and legs, and the transformation still took a little time.

Once he could freely control the beastification of individual body parts, Lin Ze would be able to enter the third stage-complete beastification, the true, fully realized Azure Dragon Form!

Then he would no longer have to hide everything and pretend to be weak as he did now, worrying about being captured and used as a lab rat.

Nor would he need to defer to anyone else. He could try out what it felt like to say, "I don't eat beef"!

Before long, it was time for the final awards ceremony.

The resounding announcement rang out again. "Now, please welcome the Third Lord Hokage to present the prizes to the winners of this combat assessment!"

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on the main stand.

With a warm smile on his face, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly rose and walked toward the arena, step by step, under the eyes of the senior officials and Jōnin.

He first approached Hikaru Hyūga, who had just regained consciousness and was being supported by a medical ninja.

Then he took a scroll and a small ninja tool pouch from the tray held by an attendant behind him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi handed over the prizes and said gently:

"Hikaru Hyūga, congratulations on taking second place. I hope you will guard against arrogance and impatience, continue working hard, and become a steadfast pillar protecting Konoha in the future."

Biting his lip, Hikaru Hyūga accepted the prizes with difficulty and said quietly, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

But Lin Ze, standing to one side, still caught a trace of humiliation and malice in his eyes.

Making that face even in front of the Hokage? This Hikaru Hyūga is going to be done for sooner or later, Lin Ze grumbled inwardly.

Sure enough, although it was subtle, Lin Ze could still sense that a little of the warmth had left Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi came over to Lin Ze.

The final set of prizes remaining on the tray was clearly much more generous than the previous one-an oversized, more finely crafted ninja tool pouch and a sealing scroll that looked expensive at a glance.

"Lin Ze." Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice slightly, making sure the surrounding crowd could hear him.

"Your performance today exceeded everyone's expectations. Your unyielding will, outstanding Taijutsu, ability to adapt calmly in the face of danger, and that final burst of power all amply demonstrated your talent and hard work!"

"You thoroughly deserve first place!"

He picked up the conspicuous ninja tool pouch and scroll and personally handed them to Lin Ze.

"These are your prizes: a specially prepared ninja tool gift set containing some useful ninja tools and Explosive Tags, along with this B-Rank Ninjutsu scroll. I hope they will help your future growth."

B-Rank Ninjutsu?

Lin Ze remembered that B-Rank Ninjutsu was generally used by Jōnin. Whether in chakra consumption, the complexity of hand seals, or power in actual combat, it was far beyond the C-Rank and D-Rank Ninjutsu commonly used by Genin and Chunin.

After all, within Konoha's ninja system, not every Jōnin had mastered A-Rank Ninjutsu, which fell under forbidden techniques! That was to say nothing of the exceedingly rare S-Rank ultimate techniques.

The vast majority of ordinary Jōnin were only proficient in three or four B-Rank Ninjutsu, which showed just how valuable this scroll was.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Lin Ze respectfully accepted them with both hands. They felt heavy in his hands; these prizes were indeed generous.

Though Ninjutsu was not much use to Lin Ze...

But compared with these material prizes, Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude toward him next was what truly mattered!

Sure enough, Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Lin Ze on the shoulder, softened his voice, and said quietly, "Come to my Hokage office after the awards ceremony."

Here it comes!

Something stirred within Lin Ze, but he betrayed nothing, maintaining that respectful, slightly excited expression as he nodded and answered, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

Once the awards ceremony ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a brief speech to all the teachers, students, and spectators, encouraging the young people to train hard and inherit the Will of Fire. After drawing another round of cheers, he left the training ground under ANBU escort.

The crowd gradually began to disperse, everyone still excitedly discussing the spectacular matches, especially Lin Ze's earth-shattering final counterattack.

"Lin Ze, you were amazing!" Kurenai Yuhi was the first to rush over, her little face full of admiration and joy.

Asuma, Genma Shiranui, and Ibiki came over as well.

Asuma curled his lip and said:

"Hmph, I'll admit you're good. But I won't lose to you next time!"

"Fortunes change-just you wait!"

"..."

With a Senbon between his lips, Genma Shiranui gave a cool nod of approval. He had been eliminated by Ibiki in the top eight.

Ibiki also gave Lin Ze what could be considered a friendly look.

It was worth mentioning that the assessment only recognized the top four, with no third-place ranking, sparing Ibiki and Enta Uchiha a match against each other.

Lin Ze responded to each of them, but his thoughts had long since flown to the Hokage Building.