Sora hid in the shadows and carefully thought for a moment, then made up his mind:
'Although doing this is a bit risky, it is worth a try.'
However, the key to this plan was choosing the right location and timing.
Arriving near the tower too early might make him a target for everyone. Arriving too late might mean missing the best opportunity to seize a scroll.
'First, I must find a place where I can observe the tower entrance but also not be easily discovered.'
Sora recalled the topographic map of the Forest of Death that the Anbu Instructor had shown them during training.
The tower was located in the center of the forest, surrounded by a relatively open area. But there were also some trees and rocks that could serve as hiding spots.
'It's best to choose a large tree that overlooks the tower entrance.'
'This way, I can observe people coming and going, and also quickly strike when necessary.'
After deciding, Sora no longer wasted time looking for a scroll. Instead, he headed directly towards the tower in the center of the forest.
Along the way, Sora no longer held back his speed. At the same time, he tried his best to avoid contact with others. When he sensed a chakra reaction, he would detour in advance.
About half an hour later, Sora arrived near the tower.
After looking around, he chose a large tree about a hundred meters away from the tower entrance. He silently climbed up and hid in the dense leaves.
From this position, he could clearly see the situation at the tower entrance, while also not being easily discovered.
'Good, now I just need to wait for the fish to take the bait.' Sora leaned against the tree trunk, closed his eyes to rest, and simultaneously sensed the movements around him.
At this time, in the observation room inside the tower, several Anbu Instructors were watching this scene through monitor screens.
"Huh, isn't that number 567? Why is he outside the tower?" The Leopard instructor said in surprise.
The Eagle instructor narrowed his eyes:
"It seems he wants to ambush other examinees near the tower and directly seize their scrolls. A clever approach, but this requires strength!"
The Owl instructor nodded and said:
"Number 567's taijutsu is among the best of the reserve members, but other aspects can only be considered average. Choosing to directly seize scrolls instead of searching for them himself is indeed the most suitable strategy for him. I just don't know if he can handle it."
Time passed minute by minute. Occasionally, sounds of fighting came from the distance in the forest, but the area near the tower was unusually quiet.
"Almost half an hour has passed, and not a single person has come."
By now, three hours had passed since the start of the exam. Sora thought to himself: "It seems finding the scrolls is much more difficult than imagined."
Just as Sora was thinking this, faint footsteps finally came from the distance.
He immediately held his breath, completely hid his body within the leaves, and only revealed a pair of eyes through a gap in the leaves to observe below.
The person coming was an Anbu reserve member who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a tanuki mask. His pace wasn't very fast, and he looked back from time to time, as if guarding against someone behind him.
Taking advantage of the moment this person turned his head, Sora could see the number printed on his back: 369.
"It's actually him who arrived first." Sora frowned slightly.
This number 369 had given Sora a hard time when he first joined the Anbu. He spoke in a cold and arrogant tone.
Back then, Sora had judged that this kind of person was either a fool looking for death, or extremely confident in his own strength.
And someone who could enter the Anbu was definitely not a fool.
Sora even speculated that he was one of the fifteen who performed outstandingly in the previous exam and were specially selected. His strength was most likely at the level of Tokubetsu Jonin!
Number 369 walked steadily, vigilantly observing his surroundings, holding three scrolls in his hand.
Clearly, he had already collected the required true, false, and key scrolls, and had successfully deciphered the cipher text.
Sora quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Although seizing number 369's scrolls was the quickest way, as the first to arrive, his strength was certainly not weak. Sora was not confident he could defeat him.
Moreover, there were still four spots left. There was no need to take such a risk at this time.
"I might as well let him pass." Sora made a decision. "I'll act when weaker people come later. That's more reliable."
However, just as number 369 was fifty meters away from the tower entrance, he suddenly stopped walking and sharply turned his head to look at the large tree where Sora was hiding.
"Friend in the tree, after watching for so long, aren't you planning to come down and say hello?" Number 369 said with a cold laugh, his voice carrying a clear provocative tone.
Sora was startled in his heart. He believed he was hiding extremely well, but he was still discovered.
It seemed this number 369 indeed had extraordinary abilities. His sensory capabilities far exceeded that of an average Chunin.
Since he was already discovered, there was no point in hiding any longer.
Sora quickly scanned the surroundings, confirmed no one else was coming, then jumped down from the tree, landing ten meters in front of number 369.
"Number 369, congratulations on being the first to arrive." Sora said calmly. "Please enter the tower. I will not stop you."
Sora's intention was clear: he did not want to conflict with the other party, hoping the other party would sensibly enter the tower.
However, number 369 clearly did not think the same way.
From Sora's noticeably shorter stature and that tuft of white hair, he directly recognized him. Then, a sneer came from under his mask:
"I wondered who it was. So it's number 567. What, knowing your own strength is lacking, you want to lie in wait here to pick up easy gains?"
Sora frowned slightly, but did not reply. He did not want to engage in pointless arguments with the other party.
Seeing Sora not answering, number 369 became even more pleased with himself:
"I heard you were specially recruited by the Hokage? Entering the Anbu at seven years old, truly a genius. But I think you're just someone with connections, who got in through the back door, right?"
These words made Sora's eyes turn cold.
He could tolerate others questioning his strength, but he could not tolerate others questioning everything he had obtained through hard work.
Number 369, seeing that Sora still wasn't speaking, thought he was scared, and his tone became even more arrogant:
"What, hit the nail on the head? Don't dare to make a sound? I already told you, the Anbu is not a place for children to play house. If you have no strength, get lost quickly. Don't embarrass yourself here!"
At the same time, in the observation room inside the tower.
"What is number 369 doing?" The Leopard instructor asked, puzzled. "He has already collected the scrolls. He can pass the exam by directly entering the tower. Why is he still provoking number 567?"
The Eagle instructor pondered for a moment, then said:
"Number 369 is an outstanding member from the previous batch of reserves. His current strength is at the level of Tokubetsu Jonin. But he has a flaw: he is overly arrogant. It seems he wants to take this opportunity to teach number 567 a lesson and prove that he is the strongest."
The Owl instructor added:
"Moreover, he might also be worried that number 567 would sneak attack him from behind at the last moment. So he chose to provoke him openly, forcing the other party to come out and fight. After all, number 567 was specially recruited by the Hokage himself. His strength should not be underestimated."
On the screen, number 369's provocation became more and more excessive, even starting personal attacks.
"This number 369 is going too far." The Leopard instructor frowned. "He could have smoothly passed the exam, but he has to complicate things unnecessarily."
The Eagle instructor crossed his arms, but a look of interest appeared in his eyes:
"Fine, let's see how number 567 responds. If he really has extraordinary potential as the Hokage said, this might be a very good test opportunity."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━