In the observation room of the high tower, it was completely silent.
Leopard Instructor opened his mouth, taking a long time to force out a sentence. "...This kid, he actually won?"
Owl Instructor adjusted his mask, his tone full of disbelief. "His speed at the end... was that the Fourth Gate? The Gate of Pain? He's only seven years old."
Eagle Instructor crossed his arms, his gaze sharp. "It's not just the Fourth Gate. Number 369 used a Sharingan genjutsu at the end, but Number 567 was completely unaffected... This is very unusual."
"Could he have some special kekkei genkai?" Leopard Instructor guessed.
Eagle Instructor shook his head. "Unclear. But the Hokage specifically instructed us not to delve into his secrets. We just need to know he is a Konoha ninja. That is enough."
"Speaking of which," Owl Instructor looked at the screen where Sora was panting, "this kid's combat intelligence is too high. From the initial ambush, to the tactical choices in the middle, to the decisive opening of the Fourth Gate for a counterattack at the end... It's nothing like a seven-year-old child."
Leopard Instructor nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I remember the last one who passed the assessment using this method was the Head Captain."
...
On the field, Sora panted heavily, feeling the soreness from his muscles all over his body. 'The burden of the Fourth Gate is still too great...' 'If I hadn't been forced into a corner, I really wouldn't want to use this move.'
His eyes swept the surroundings. After confirming no one else had come nearby, Sora walked over to Number 369, or rather, to Uchiha Kenta. He bent down, quickly picked up the three dropped scrolls, and confirmed they were the true, false, and key scrolls.
After bandaging the place cut by the shuriken earlier, Sora did not linger. He quickly walked into the high tower.
Entering the tower, Sora quickly assessed the interior situation. The light inside was somewhat dim, but he keenly sensed that he was not alone inside.
His gaze swept over and saw another trainee member wearing a tanuki mask quietly standing in the corner shadows of the tower hall, Number 233.
Number 233 had clearly arrived earlier than Sora. He was leaning against the wall, also seemingly catching his breath.
When Sora walked in, his body tensed imperceptibly for a moment. His gaze, through the holes of the mask, landed warily on Sora. 'Him? Number 567...'
Number 233's heart tightened slightly. When he approached the tower from another direction earlier, he had glimpsed the finale of the fierce battle between Sora and Number 369 from afar. Especially Sora appearing like a ghost behind Number 369, and that earth-shattering final punch, left an extremely deep impression on him.
He subconsciously averted his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Sora. In his mind, he had already classified Sora as an extremely dangerous person not to be provoked lightly.
Sora noticed Number 233's subtle reaction but did not care. The Anbu was a place where the strong were respected. Gaining awe by demonstrating strength was perfectly normal. Right now, he only wanted to hand in the scrolls and pass the assessment as quickly as possible.
Sora walked to the table in the center of the hall and placed the true, false, and key scrolls on the table.
Behind the table sat an expressionless Anbu clerk. He checked the scrolls, confirmed the cipher had been correctly deciphered and the combination was correct, recorded something in a register, then nodded at Sora, indicating he had passed.
'Second.'
Sora counted silently in his heart. He walked to a corner far from Number 233 and sat down. He immediately released the Eight Gates Released Formation state. Intense soreness and fatigue instantly flooded his entire body, making him unable to suppress a grunt.
'The burden of the Fourth Gate on the body is still too great. I absolutely must not use it lightly unless absolutely necessary for the next year or so.'
Sora adjusted his breathing while admonishing himself silently. Then he carefully sensed his internal condition. Fortunately, the total time he had opened the Fourth Gate was less than two minutes, so there was no serious damage. The powerful recovery ability brought by the Azure Dragon Fruit was quickly repairing the muscle tears.
...
Not long after, movement came from the tower entrance again. The third person to pass appeared, Number 388. His condition looked more disheveled than Sora and Number 233. His uniform was damaged in several places, and his breathing was somewhat ragged.
After entering, he warily looked at the two who arrived first, especially giving Sora a few extra glances. Then he silently walked to another side to wait.
A little more time passed. Suddenly, three people rushed in almost simultaneously from near the entrance.
The three arrived almost one after another. Seeing three people already in the hall, Sora could tell from their eyes that their expressions under the masks were likely extremely unpleasant.
Only the top five could pass. Now three spots were already taken. Clearly, there was one extra person in their small group, and one person needed to be left behind.
Thus, conflict inevitably erupted among the three newcomers for the final two spots.
They did not use large-scale ninjutsu, as their chakra was heavily depleted from the previous forest, and the space was narrow. It was mostly taijutsu and rapid exchanges of shuriken.
The sounds of kunai clashing and fists and kicks hitting flesh echoed at the tower entrance.
Sora just lifted his eyelids for a glance, then paid no more attention. This level of struggle was meaningless in his eyes. The outcome was already decided.
Number 233 and Number 388 were similarly indifferent. They even slightly adjusted their postures to avoid being drawn in.
The rules of the Anbu were this cruel. Spots were limited. Being one step late could only be blamed on one's own lack of strength or bad luck.
...
Finally, the top five members of the second group were determined. Eagle Instructor, who had been standing like a statue in the shadows of the tower, finally spoke, his voice icy as he announced, "Assessment concluded. Those who failed to collect the scrolls and arrive within the specified time have failed."
In the end, the ten people who successfully passed the assessment were determined. Besides Sora, Number 233, and Number 388, there were six others.
Uchiha Kenta had already been carried away on a stretcher by two Anbu medical personnel. He was still unconscious, the mask on his face completely shattered, revealing a bruised and swollen cheek and tightly closed eyes, a rather miserable sight.
Who knows if he would regret provoking Sora after waking up.
About half an hour later, the remaining one hundred plus trainee members received the signal and gathered one after another in the clearing in front of the high tower.
Many were injured, their expressions weary and dejected.
Eagle Instructor stood in front of the crowd, his gaze sweeping across the area. He first announced the numbers of Sora and the other nine. "Numbers 233, 269, ..., 567. The above ten have passed this assessment. Report to headquarters at six in the morning the day after tomorrow to officially join the Anbu."
Next, he read out another thirty numbers. These included the fifteen retained from the first group's assessment and fifteen others who performed outstandingly in this assessment. "...The above thirty, although you did not pass the assessment, performed excellently in a certain part of the assessment. You will be assigned a jōnin instructor for follow-up targeted training. Continue to work hard."
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