Anbu Underground Base.
Sora stood in a corner quietly observing.
Then, a cold voice sounded from behind him. "Newcomer?"
Sora was startled inside, but on the surface he remained calm. Turning around, he saw a reserve Anbu member also wearing a tanuki mask standing behind him, though he did not know when the person had arrived.
"Reserve member number 567, reporting today," Sora answered calmly.
The tanuki mask looked him over for a moment, then suddenly said, "I heard you are the only one in this batch directly recruited from the ninja academy?"
Sora was taken aback, not expecting the news to spread so fast. He nodded. "Yes."
"Interesting." The voice from behind the tanuki mask was still cold. It said, "I hope you can last the first month. The Anbu is not a place for children playing house."
Having said that, he turned and left without waiting for Sora's response.
Sora watched his retreating figure, frowning slightly.
'It seems not everyone in the Anbu is cold and emotionless. At least there are those who 'care' about newcomers...'
'But I can do without this kind of intimidating 'concern'.'
Sora thought to himself, but he also memorized the number on the back of this tanuki mask's uniform. 369.
...
After walking around the training area, Sora went to look at the library and the medical area.
The Anbu library housed a large collection of high-level ninjutsu scrolls and tactical materials, but most areas had restricted access for reserve members.
The equipment in the medical area was noticeably more advanced and complete than that in the village hospital.
'The resources are indeed abundant... If used properly, this could be a good place to quickly improve one's strength,' Sora thought.
In the evening, Sora followed instructions and arrived at the dormitory area for reserve members.
The dormitory rooms were single occupancy, small but fully functional, with a bed, a wardrobe, and a small desk.
"Haa."
Sora sat down on the bed, took off his mask, and let out a long breath.
His first day in the Anbu gave him much to think about.
The atmosphere here was oppressive, efficient. Everyone seemed to view themselves as a tool rather than a human being.
But in contrast, the resources and opportunities here indeed far exceeded those in the outside world.
'I can use the resources here to improve myself, but I absolutely must maintain my true self. I cannot be assimilated by this environment...'
'I also need to be careful of Danzo's spies...'
Lying on the bed, Sora looked at the ceiling, various thoughts flashing through his mind.
'Let's take it step by step.'
'First, pass the probation period and become a full-fledged Anbu member.'
...
The next morning at five fifty, Sora arrived on time at Training Area One.
By then, the training area had already gathered about two hundred reserve members. A dense crowd, everyone wore the standard-issue tanuki mask and black training clothes, standing quietly in the center of the field. No one was talking.
Judging by their builds and demeanor, most of these reserve members were between fifteen and eighteen years old, considerably older than Sora.
Occasionally, there were a few who looked younger, probably around twelve years old.
Being the youngest, Sora stood inconspicuously at the end of a side row like a minion, secretly observing these future "colleagues."
'It seems I really am the youngest in this batch,' Sora thought.
However, Sora noticed that the training field numbers were all in the 401 to 600 range, and he did not see the number 369 from yesterday.
It seemed they were divided into different areas. The numbers at the front were probably those who entered the Anbu earlier and had stronger abilities.
...
At six o'clock sharp, three Anbu instructors wearing different animal masks appeared on time at the front of the training field.
The instructor wearing an eagle mask in the middle stepped forward. He scanned the reserve members present, his voice cold. "I am your head instructor, codename Eagle. From today, I am responsible for your overall training schedule."
He pointed to the instructor wearing a leopard mask on his left. "This is the taijutsu and assassination techniques instructor, codename Leopard."
Then he pointed to the instructor wearing an owl mask on his right. "This is the stealth, reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance instructor, codename Owl."
"In the following training, you will only have a number, no name. All training content must be strictly executed. No questioning or slacking is allowed. Those who violate discipline will face punishment for minor offenses, or direct expulsion for major ones. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!" everyone answered in unison.
Sora shouted along, while silently analyzing the strength of the instructors. 'This Eagle gives off an especially strong sense of pressure. Nine times out of ten, he's an elite jonin. The other two are probably also at jonin level. It seems they specifically picked people skilled in their respective fields to train us.'
After Eagle's brief speech, without any further ado, the first training session began immediately. Stealth and Reconnaissance.
"First group, numbers 401 to 420, step forward!" Instructor Leopard's voice was cold and stern.
Twenty reserve members quickly stepped forward, then were taken to a special training field simulating a forest environment. The area was arranged with various obstacles, traps, and hidden surveillance points.
"Mission requirement: Within ten minutes, stealthily move from the starting point to the finish line without being detected by the five reconnaissance ninja in the field. Those detected will be immediately disqualified," Instructor Owl explained. "We will score you based on your stealth speed, concealment, and how you handle reconnaissance."
Sora's number was 567, placed in the ninth group.
The five reconnaissance ninja in the field were all experienced full Anbu members. Their perception was sharp, and the surveillance points they set up were very tricky.
Very few from the earlier groups passed. Most reserve members were caught midway.
"Ninth group, numbers 561 to 580, step forward!"
Before long, it was Sora's group's turn.
Taking a deep breath, Sora followed the group into the training field.
"Begin!"
At the command, without a moment's delay, the twenty people quickly scattered, each choosing their own path towards the finish line.
Sora did not rush forward. Not far into the training field, he first dropped to the ground and observed carefully.
Thanks to the vision enhancement from the Azure Dragon Fruit, even in dim light, he could clearly see the positions of the reconnaissance ninja in the distance, even their lines of sight.
This ability to see at night was not very useful usually, but at this moment it became a huge advantage.
Lying on the ground, Sora frowned slightly. He saw two surveillance points on the tree to the left front, a trap in the grass to the lower right, and a reconnaissance ninja straight ahead.
After observing for a while, Sora finally figured out the movement pattern of that observation ninja. He turned his head approximately every fifteen seconds.
Confirming again that there was only one reconnaissance ninja directly ahead nearby, Sora started moving directly.
Whoosh!!
Whoosh!!
Taking advantage of the blind spot when the reconnaissance ninja turned to look in other directions, Sora moved quickly, his movements as light as a cat's.
Then he hid again before the ninja's gaze returned. Repeating this, he finally passed this checkpoint.
'That was close. Almost got caught.'
Sora lay panting slightly in a patch of grass. He wasn't actually good at these stealth projects. His style was more open and direct, better suited for head-on confrontation.
Fortunately, as a taijutsu ninja, he had extremely high body control and very fast reaction speed, so he barely managed to pass this first checkpoint.
But there were a few moments when the reconnaissance ninja's gaze almost swept over the grass where Sora was hiding, but fortunately, it missed him due to his perfect concealment.
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