Chapter 332: Promotion
Chapter 332: Promotion
The Chunin Exams had concluded, and the examinees returned to their regular routines.
The special training sessions resumed the following day as usual.
Perhaps inspired by the performances of Obito and his peers, many of the trainees displayed renewed dedication and effort.
Geniuses were not uncommon in Konoha, but Obito and Might Guy stood out. It was as if they had started on equal footing with everyone else, only slightly better off, but within a year, they had transformed into multimillionaires.
Others felt that even if they couldn't match Guy's strength, they shouldn't lag too far behind, especially those like Asuma, who shared a good relationship with Obito. They were deeply inspired by their peers' achievements.
Mu Yue was pleased with this development, as fostering this competitive spirit among his students had been his intention behind the scheduled break. He wanted them to witness the remarkable progress of their most outstanding peers.
According to Mu Yue's observations, the S-rank reward was linked to the students' improvement. The more they learned, the greater his reward.
Additionally, skill levels played a factor. Perfect-level techniques, like the Fire Release, were challenging to improve in proficiency, whereas Skillful-level techniques, like the Lightning Release, progressed more swiftly.
Mu Yue's exceptional teaching abilities had even impressed the lower-ranking ninjas like Shiore Nara, who diligently attended the special training sessions.
Shiore was surprised to discover that besides the five basic nature transformations, Mu Yue was also adept at the Yin Release, a unique nature transformation. Although he couldn't instruct him in the Shadow Techniques, Mu Yue was able to clarify some of his doubts about the Yin Release.
Five days after the conclusion of the Chunin Exams, the list of ninjas promoted to the rank of Chunin was finalized.
Around the same time, the Kirigakure ninjas departed from Konoha. After all, Konoha wouldn't provide them with their village's forehead protectors, and they had to return to conduct promotions for their own ninjas.
Mu Yue suspected that Kirigakure might be out of stock of strawberry ice cream at the moment because, before their departure, he had seen Mei Terumi on a frenzied shopping spree for the frozen treat.
She even generously returned the favor of the ice cream he had treated her to before, gifting him three servings of strawberry ice cream.
"You treated me to two servings before, so Mei Terumi repays her debts. Enjoy these three servings!" Mei said proudly.
She didn't usually have much money, but on the occasion of their departure, their sensei had given them a small sum to purchase Konoha specialties—souvenirs and local products of the Fire Country.
So, Mei spent it all on ice cream, thinking it was a great idea. It was something Kirigakure didn't have, and it tasted delicious.
Mei was highly satisfied with her trip to Konoha. Aside from her disappointing loss in the quarterfinals, she had enjoyed the tasty strawberry ice cream and earned the recognition of her sensei.
"Then I shall graciously accept." Mu Yue smiled faintly and took the ice cream before leaving.
Although he wasn't particularly interested in such sweets, he could share them with his students.
Mei watched Mu Yue's departing figure with a thoughtful expression.
She had always found him peculiar, not in the same way as Obito, who was endearingly simple-minded, but in a strange way.
Just now, Mei finally understood what made him seem so odd. When they interacted, Mu Yue didn't treat her like an outsider or a foreigner because of her Kirigakure forehead protector.
Even with Obito, who was as oblivious as they came, Mei could sense a clear distance between them due to their different village affiliations.
Mu Yue didn't give off a sense of closeness, but when Mei spoke with him, it felt like conversing with a stranger from her own village.
If she hadn't spent some time in Konoha, she might not have noticed this subtle difference.
"What a strange guy..." Mei muttered to herself, deciding to stop thinking about it. Perhaps she was overthinking things.
...
"We're heading to the Hokage's office? Does that mean we're being assigned a difficult mission?" Obito asked excitedly upon hearing Minato's words.
"Are we going to rescue a kidnapped princess or repel an invading enemy force?"
Minato smiled and shook his head. "You're not ready for such missions yet, and Kakashi is still recovering. There's no way he'd assign you a task."
Although Tsunade's treatment had Kakashi and Guy discharged from the hospital on the fourth day, their bodies hadn't fully healed yet, and they needed more rest.
Kakashi looked at Obito without saying a word, thinking that ninja novels had done quite a number on him, with all this talk of kidnapped princesses.
"Then what is it?" Obito asked, sounding a little disappointed. He had thought that his impressive performance in the Chunin Exams had caught the Third Hokage's attention.
"You'll find out when you get there," Minato said mysteriously, not giving them a direct answer.
Kakashi guessed what it was about from Minato's expression. They were probably going for their Chunin promotions.
Kakashi's expression turned complicated as he considered whether to accept another Chunin vest if the village offered him one.
He figured he might as well take it if they did offer him one since he had already taken the first one, and vests like these were consumables.
On their way to the Hokage Building, Obito and his companions ran into a few familiar faces from the Chunin Exams.
"Hey, Kakashi, how's your recovery going?" Guy greeted them with a smile, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.
"We just got out of the hospital yesterday. How much better could we be?" Kakashi replied dryly.
"Hahaha!" Guy didn't find the situation awkward at all and laughed heartily.
"That's because I'm eagerly looking forward to our next battle, my dear friend!" Guy said, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as he looked at Kakashi.
For Guy, failure wasn't daunting. In his life so far, he had lost far more often than he had won. Victory was the rarer occurrence.
What he sought wasn't an undefeated streak but to learn from his failures and forge victories that would propel him towards becoming the strongest.
Now that Kakashi had gone from the pursuer to the pursued, Guy was determined to catch up and surpass him once again.
"Let's talk about that after our bodies have fully healed," Kakashi said, shaking his head.
If it weren't for their still-recovering bodies, Kakashi would have already challenged Kakashi Hatake to avenge his previous losses.
After consecutive defeats at the hands of Guy, Obito, and Kakashi, Kakashi was determined to surpass them all once his strength improved. Now that he had finally caught up, he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.
After all, Mu Yue's disciples were all incredibly driven, and Kakashi didn't expect to stay ahead for long.
If Guy could stabilize his Four Gates and further refine the Konoha Senpu, his yet-to-be-fully-mastered Transparent World might not guarantee him victory.
Kakashi planned to work on being able to turn the Transparent World on and off at will. Since he couldn't engage in intense training for the time being, he might as well dedicate all his time to studying the Transparent World.
"Hey, you guys are here too," Asuma said, spotting Kakashi and the others.
"Guy, Asuma, were you also summoned to the Hokage's office?"
Kakashi, however, couldn't help but acknowledge the unique way Obito's brain worked, as evident by his out-of-the-box speculation.
"It's probably about our promotion to Chunin," Kakashi interjected, offering a more plausible explanation to prevent Obito's imagination from running wild. After all, having a Jonin like himself in the Chunin Exams was already unusual.
"Yeah, that must be it. Otherwise, there's no reason for him to specifically call me to the Hokage's office," Asuma agreed, nodding his head.
"But Kakashi, aren't you already a Chunin?" Obito asked, his confusion evident as he looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi, not wanting to dwell on this topic further, replied, "I also participated in the Chunin Exams. Let's just wait until we get to the Hokage's office, and you'll find out if your guess is correct." He knew that his participation in the exams as a Jonin was a bit unconventional, and he didn't want to argue about it any further.
Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, Kakashi's suspicion was confirmed as he spotted Nara Shiore and Yamashiro Aoba, two other Jonin who had also taken part in the Chunin Exams.
As they entered the office, Obito, who was visiting for the first time, curiously looked around. He had imagined the office to be filled with dangerous-looking scrolls and powerful ninja tools adorning the walls. However, the reality was quite different. The office had a large desk and many windows, but little else, not even extra chairs.
"Your performances in the Chunin Exams were exceptional," Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, said without wasting any time. "Not only did you impress the evaluating ninjas, but even the officials and clients who came to watch acknowledged your skills. Therefore, I've decided to promote all of you to Chunin!"
Nara Shiore, Yamashiro Aoba, and Asuma, who had all been eliminated in the first round, were nevertheless included in the promotion list due to their overall performance and the recognition they had received.
As for Kakashi's group, their performances had been exceptional, showcasing the might of Konoha and displaying strength far beyond that of ordinary Chunin.
Kakashi remained calm and collected, acting as if he hadn't heard the Hokage's words, as he was already a Chunin.
Asuma, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief, knowing that he wasn't lacking in strength; it was just that Obito, Kakashi, and their peers were extraordinarily talented.
Nara Shiore smiled, pleased that his efforts in the exams had paid off, even though he had fallen slightly short against Haruno Sakura. Nonetheless, he was content with his promotion.
Yamashiro Aoba also wore a smile, having been worried about his performance after facing Kisame Hoshigaki in the first round.
"I'm now the same rank as my father. I'll work hard to catch up to him and get promoted to Jonin together!" Might Guy exclaimed excitedly. He was particularly mindful of ninja ranks due to his father being mocked as a "perpetual genin."
"We passed together," Sakura thought softly, a gentle smile on her face.
Before the exams, she had been worried about holding her team back, but after giving it her all in the third round, she felt at peace with whatever the outcome might be.
"So, it really is a Chunin promotion," Obito said, feeling pleased that his guess had been correct.
"What? Are you dissatisfied with being promoted to Chunin? If you're aiming for Jonin, you still have a long way to go. Keep working hard, Obito and Kakashi," Hiruzen said with a smile.
"Hehe, it's not that. But now that all the members of our squad are Chunin, can we take on higher-level missions?" Obito asked with a mischievous smile.
Obito was delighted about his promotion, especially since Kakashi had previously held his Jonin status over his head. Now that they were all Chunin, Kakashi couldn't pull rank on him anymore.
"Theoretically, you can take on any mission up to A-rank, but for A-rank missions, it depends on Minato's arrangements," Hiruzen said as he stroked his beard.
Now that Obito's team had three Chunin, they could take on B-rank missions without needing supervision. However, A-rank missions required at least one special Jonin, and S-rank missions needed an experienced Jonin leader.
"A-rank missions are fine by me," Obito said excitedly, choosing to ignore the latter part of Hiruzen's statement.
While Obito's mission record listed A-rank and S-rank missions, those were added later, and he had yet to officially undertake an A-rank mission.
"Here are your promotion forms and Chunin vests. From this moment forward, you are officially Chunin of Konoha, and with that comes greater responsibility and more dangerous missions!" Hiruzen said solemnly as he stood up and distributed the promotion forms and vests to the newly promoted ninjas.
Becoming a Chunin brought not only more rights but also greater responsibilities. Except for extremely important missions, Jonin were not usually dispatched in full force; the main force consisted of Chunin.
"As long as I can protect Konoha, I don't mind how dangerous the missions are," Obito declared, his eyes shining with determination.
Hiruzen nodded in approval at Obito's display of the Will of Fire, seeing in him the potential to become the next Uchiha Kagami.
As there was no further business, everyone except Asuma left the Hokage's office.
"Sakura, I told you we would all make it," Obito said, flipping through his Chunin vest as he spoke to Sakura.
"Yes, you were right, Obito," Sakura replied softly, a gentle smile on her face.
As their voices faded into the distance, Asuma turned to Hiruzen and asked, "Is there something else, Hokage-sama? If not, I'd like to get back to my training."
Just as he was about to leave, Hiruzen stopped him.
"The vacuum's Qi is too scattered. Otherwise, you could have pierced through Sakura Haruno's Phoenix Sage Fire. Your Fireball Jutsu also needs improvement; the temperature of your flames is too low," Hiruzen said, bringing up Asuma's performance in the Chunin Exams as he puffed on his pipe.
"Hmph, you sure know a lot," Asuma grumbled, turning away with a dark expression.
Just as Asuma was about to open the door to leave, Hiruzen spoke up again.
"However, that combination ninjutsu at the end was well done. Your overall performance was satisfactory," Hiruzen added.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
