At the observation point off to the side.
Three instructors stood together, watching Lin Ze's group.
"That kid's interesting," Instructor Leopard suddenly said quietly. "His timing when he moves is spot-on, as if he can predict where the scouts will look."
Instructor Hawk nodded slightly. "Number 567, that seven-year-old brat? The one Lord Hokage has taken a special interest in."
Instructor Fukurou leaned closer with interest. "His concealment skills aren't the very best, but he's excellent at observing and using his surroundings. And his body is unusually agile."
On the field, Lin Ze had already covered three-quarters of the distance. Only the final stretch of open ground remained.
There was almost no cover here, only a few patches of low grass, while two scout ninjas watched the area from the left and right.
Several other candidates had been spotted here. Now, only Lin Ze and one other person twenty meters away were still holding on.
Lin Ze held his breath, his body pressed flat against the ground. He had already been waiting here for two full minutes.
There was no cover at all farther ahead, and there were two scout ninjas, so he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Finally, the instant the ninja on the left turned his head to exchange a few words with his companion-
Here's my chance!
Whoosh!!!
Lin Ze burst into motion! He shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, crossing the open ground in just three seconds and successfully reaching the finish.
"Completion time: eight minutes and forty-two seconds. Undetected," the recorder reported.
Lin Ze let out a soft breath, his gaze settling on the last ninja eliminated from the field-the very candidate who had been hiding nearby just as he had.
Unfortunately, the other candidate had lacked decisiveness. He had failed to move during the opening when Lin Ze drew the scouts' attention. Once Lin Ze crossed the finish, he had no cover left and ultimately revealed his position, suffering an unfortunate elimination.
In the end, only twenty-two of the two hundred candidates passed the stealth and reconnaissance test. That was an average of just two per group; the difficulty was plain to see.
But Lin Ze and the others in this batch were all new recruits, and their training had only just begun. The number who passed would certainly grow over time.
The remaining training exercises began one after another.
That day's training lasted until six in the evening, covering multiple exercises, including taijutsu sparring, shuriken throwing, and codebreaking.
Lin Ze performed outstandingly in taijutsu sparring. With his physical strength and refined taijutsu skills, he easily defeated several opponents.
But in shuriken throwing and codebreaking, he only reached an average level.
Lin Ze did not particularly care about these things, though. He had always considered himself a taijutsu-type ninja. He would pass on things like shuriken and codebreaking.
After all, once he grew stronger, he could truly be called an undying, indestructible existence. These shuriken would not be able to hurt him, and he did not make his living with shuriken either.
As a saying Lin Ze had heard in his previous life went-better to master one thing than dabble in everything.
As for codebreaking, an average level was enough. Anything truly intricate could be left to his teammates when the time came.
After training ended, Lin Ze dragged his weary body back to the dormitory.
ANBU training was far more intense than training at the Ninja Academy. Even with his physique strengthened by the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, he felt somewhat tired. After all, he was only seven, and his physical limitations were what they were.
Still, this kind of specialized, high-intensity training really does help improve my strength, Lin Ze thought as he rubbed his aching muscles.
Over the following days, Lin Ze gradually adapted to the rhythm of ANBU training.
Training began at six every morning and ended at six in the evening, with only brief breaks for rest and meals.
The training covered every skill ANBU required, from practical combat techniques to theoretical knowledge, leaving nothing out.
Lin Ze discovered that ANBU's training methods were completely different from those at the Ninja Academy.
Here, the focus was more on combat and practical application. There were very few useless theory classes. Every exercise had a clear purpose and practical value, directly related to ANBU missions.
No wonder ANBU members are generally stronger than other ninjas of the same rank. This training method really is efficient, Lin Ze thought.
At the same time, Lin Ze also noticed something distinctive about the candidates' numbers.
During one break, while talking with several candidates from his intake, he learned the details of the numbering system.
ANBU candidates were assigned numbers in a repeating cycle from 001 to 600. Once number 600 was reached, the count started again at 001.
Candidates were recruited every three months. After joining, new recruits first had to take an initial one-on-one assessment, primarily to test each person's strength and areas of expertise. As Hiruzen Sarutobi's special recruit, Lin Ze had not undergone this assessment.
Afterward, they also had to take a practical combat assessment every three months, for a total of two practical combat assessments. If a member failed the practical combat assessment twice in a row, they would be removed from the candidate roster and required to strictly abide by the confidentiality agreement, disclosing no ANBU-related information.
Since holders of earlier numbers either passed the assessments and advanced to full ANBU membership or were eliminated after failing three assessments, this formed a complete cycle, keeping the normal number of ANBU candidates stable at four hundred. For various reasons, however, there were always a few people missing.
At present, the numbers happened to run from 201 to 600, with the following arrangement:
Numbers 201-400 were in Training Area Two, including number 369, whom Lin Ze had noticed.
Numbers 401-600 were in Training Area One, the training area Lin Ze was currently in.
Lin Ze also learned from several instructors that the next assessment would take place in three months. All candidates had to participate, and the newcomers in Lin Ze's batch were no exception.
Although there was a gap in strength between them and the candidates who had joined three months earlier, these were ANBU's selection rules.
Anyone who could pass an assessment with such unequal levels of strength would not have to stay for the full six-month assessment period, because people like that were geniuses comparable to Kakashi.
After all, each assessment selected only ten people out of four hundred. The difficulty was plain to see!
When Lin Ze heard this rule, his head ached. He did not feel at all confident of passing.
After all, anyone who could enter ANBU was fairly strong among their peers, and even the youngest of these people was three or four years older than Lin Ze.
But waiting six months, or even longer, to pass the assessment was something Lin Ze could not accept.
He had to become a full ANBU member as soon as possible. Only then would he have time to develop the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon's abilities on his own.
Looks like I'll need to get the Eight Gates Released Formation up to the Fourth Gate, the Gate of Pain, as soon as possible within these three months!
And I absolutely can't use the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon's power. There's a one hundred percent chance an assessment like this will have a Byakugan present!
Lin Ze sighed, feeling deeply helpless.
His original intention had simply been to avoid becoming "cannon fodder." Joining ANBU had already slowed his progress in developing his fruit abilities. If this ANBU assessment cost him even more time and he ended up lacking strength, his life would no longer be in his own hands once he reached the battlefield.
After all, this was the Third Shinobi World War. Calling it a meat grinder fed with human lives would be no exaggeration!
Even a genius like Kakashi had nearly lost his life on the battlefield.
"Looks like I'll just have to give it everything! How will I know I can't do it without giving it a real try?" Lin Ze clenched his fists. The hesitation in his eyes vanished, leaving only resolve.
Fortunately, nearly three months had passed since he first opened the "Third Gate, the Gate of Life." With another three months ahead, Lin Ze was still confident that he could successfully open the "Fourth Gate, the Gate of Pain."
With three gates open, his strength was already approaching that of a Special Jōnin. With four gates, he would definitely reach the Special Jōnin level. Most of these candidates were Chunin, with only a tiny minority being Special Jōnin.
Lin Ze rubbed his chin, ran through the calculations in his mind, and could not help nodding. Looking at it this way, I still have a very good chance of passing the assessment.
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