"Is this. the side effect of the Gate of Pain."
Sora struggled to maintain his breathing, feeling the changes in his body.
His speed had indeed increased significantly, and his strength had also improved a lot, but the burden on his body far exceeded his imagination.
Sora could feel that in this state, he could only last for a maximum of three minutes, otherwise he would suffer permanent damage.
And in this state, he also understood why he had been unable to break through the fourth gate before. His body was not strong enough.
This was not to say Sora's physique was weak. His physique was already several times stronger than his peers.
This 'strength' referred to the foundation of the body itself.
One must know that Sora was only seven years old now, and all aspects of his body were not yet fully developed.
The Eight Gates Release Formation was originally a secret technique that squeezed the body's potential to release energy. The fact that he could open the first four gates was already achieved by relying on the innate physique of the Uzumaki clan, plus the enhancement from the Azure Dragon Fruit, and even then, it was barely manageable.
But these external boosts could not help accelerate the natural growth of his internal organs, bones, and meridians. All of these needed time to slowly develop. It could not be rushed.
Simply put, it boiled down to one sentence: his body's 'hardware' was not up to standard. For his seven-year-old age, being able to open four gates was already his current limit.
If not for the Azure Dragon Fruit secretly strengthening his physique, the impact from just now would have been enough to seriously injure him.
"If a forced opening is already like this, then a fully stabilized fourth gate."
"Hiss."
Sora sucked in a cold breath, not daring to imagine the consequences.
.....
A few minutes later, Sora released the Eight Gates state, collapsing onto the ground as if completely exhausted, gasping for air.
All his muscles ached terribly. Even lifting a finger felt difficult.
"With my current physical condition, the fourth gate can only be used as a last resort trump card. It cannot be used casually." Sora reached this conclusion.
Even so, being able to open the fourth gate was still an important breakthrough.
This meant that during the assessment, he had a final ace up his sleeve.
Afterward, Sora also mentally calculated.
'I remember Rock Lee was thirteen when he opened the fifth gate, but that was because he only came into contact with the Eight Gates Release Formation after graduating at age twelve. Based on this estimation, the physique of a normal eleven or twelve-year-old can probably withstand the load of the fifth gate.'
'And my current physical strength is already far beyond my peers. Calculated this way, I estimate by age nine, that is, in two years, I should be able to attempt to break through the fifth gate.'
'And the fourth gate, I should be able to fully adapt to it within a year.'
'Unfortunately, I previously thought I could reach the sixth gate, the Gate of View, within two years. It seems that's impossible.'
Sora, lying on the ground, sighed. Then he staggered to his feet and walked back to the dormitory, collapsing directly onto the bed. This forced opening of the fourth gate had really put him through the wringer. He needed a good sleep to recover the damage to his body.
...
In the blink of an eye, three days passed, arriving at the three-month assessment time.
During these three days, relying on his own astonishing recovery ability, Sora forcibly opened the "Gate of Pain" two more times.
This abnormal situation quickly caught the attention of Instructor Eagle and several other trainers.
However, since Sora was personally assigned to the Anbu by the Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, they didn't say much about it. They were just internally shocked and reported the situation truthfully to the Hokage's office.
The final reply they received was only one sentence: "Do not concern yourselves."
...
The Forest of Death, Anbu assessment assembly point.
It was now 6 AM, and the sky had just begun to brighten.
Four hundred trainee members were divided into two groups, lined up neatly at the entrance of the Forest of Death. Everyone wore identical tanuki masks and Anbu uniforms. The atmosphere was very tense.
Because there were 400 participants, the number was too large, so they were divided into two groups, with 100 people from each training area.
Sora's number was towards the back, and he was assigned to the second group.
At this moment, he was standing in the formation, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding environment.
This forest was all too familiar to him. It was precisely the location used for the Chunin Exams during Naruto's generation in the original story.
'I didn't expect the Anbu assessment would also be held here.'
'It seems Konoha really likes using this place for various tests.' Sora muttered to himself.
But thinking about it, it made sense. The Forest of Death had complex terrain and dense trees, making it very suitable for this kind of comprehensive assessment.
In charge of this assessment was Instructor Eagle from Training Area One.
Instructor Eagle was currently standing on a raised platform at the front, scanning the trainee members below, then spoke in a deep voice.
"The assessment rules are simple."
"You need to find hidden scrolls within the Forest of Death. There are three types of scrolls: true scrolls, false scrolls, and key scrolls. Additionally, there are some fake scrolls mixed in among them."
"The final requirement is to decipher the cipher text, collect the true, false, and key scrolls, and proceed to the tower at the center of the forest. The first ten to arrive will pass the assessment."
As he spoke, Instructor Eagle took out an ancient-looking gray scroll and held it in his hand.
Sora, standing in the formation, carefully observed the scroll in Instructor Eagle's hand. He noticed there was a seal on it. Presumably, this was the so-called cipher text. Only after deciphering it could one confirm whether the scroll inside was real or fake.
Simultaneously, a slight commotion arose from the crowd. After all, only ten out of four hundred would be selected. This elimination rate made everyone feel immense pressure.
Instructor Eagle on the platform continued.
"During the assessment, you are allowed to seize scrolls from others, but intentionally causing death is prohibited. We will monitor the entire process. Of course, accidents can happen in combat. If a death occurs accidentally, you bear the consequences yourself."
"Additionally, we will not intervene in the assessment process. But remember. only ten people will pass in the end."
'Truly the formal Anbu assessment. The requirements are much higher than the Chunin Exams, no comparison.'
Sora below, hearing these rules, also secretly sighed, then silently analyzed the assessment rules.
It was very clear. Searching for scrolls tested investigation and judgment abilities. Deciphering the cipher text required knowledge of cryptography. Seizing scrolls involved combat skills. And finally, reaching the tower tested tracking and stealth abilities.
A very comprehensive test, indeed capable of filtering out the talents needed by the Anbu.
As for the phrase "will not intervene" mentioned by Instructor Eagle, wasn't that just allowing everyone to act freely, meaning alliances were possible. But such rules were also destined to make participants distrustful of each other. Even if alliances were formed, they would be temporary.
Sora glanced sideways at his surroundings. He saw others also wore thoughtful expressions, and some were even already using hand signals.
Seeing that the assessees below had all heard the rules clearly, Instructor Eagle said no more and directly announced.
"Group One, assessment begins."
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
With his command, two hundred figures shot into the forest like arrows released from their bows, quickly disappearing into the dense woods.
...
The Forest of Death had a diameter of about 20 kilometers. For these 200 assessees, along the way, not only did they have to find scrolls, but they would also encounter a lot of combat, or have to avoid enemies.
Therefore, nearly five hours later, figures finally reappeared at the entrance of the Forest of Death.
At the front were Anbu ninja leading five trainee members. Although their faces were obscured by masks and their expressions unclear, one could tell from their sharp aura. they were clearly the strongest who had passed the assessment.
But the main group following behind had a much more dispirited aura.
Many were injured, their clothes torn, and several were carried out on stretchers. Clearly, this assessment was a genuine fight fought with real intensity.
After everyone had walked out of the forest, at Instructor Eagle's command, these people dispersed and returned to the Anbu base.
However, Sora noticed that besides the five who passed the assessment, another 15 people were kept behind. This puzzled him a bit.
But there was no time for Sora to think it over. An Anbu ninja quickly walked to Instructor Eagle's side and reported in a low voice for a few moments, indicating that the arrangements within the Forest of Death had been completely reset.
Instructor Eagle nodded. Without further ado, he immediately raised his voice.
"Group Two, assessment begins."
As soon as the words were spoken, the 200 people of the second group, where Sora was, all moved at once, rapidly charging into the Forest of Death.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━