Chapter 332: Promotion

The Chunin Exams concluded, and the examinees returned to their daily routines.

Special training also resumed as usual the next day.

Perhaps motivated by the achievements of Obito and the others, many special training students became exceptionally diligent.

Genius was not uncommon; Konoha always had its share of geniuses.

But Obito and Might Guy were different. It was like they had all struggled together, and Obito and Might Guy were a bit more affluent. Then, a year passed, and Might Guy and Obito transformed into millionaires.

Because they had risen step by step alongside them, they felt that even if they couldn’t become as strong as Might Guy, they shouldn’t be in their current state.

Asuma, who had a good relationship with Obito, was filled with boundless fighting spirit, as their feelings were even more profound.

Muzuki was very pleased with this, as it was precisely the purpose of his specially arranged leave: to let these students see the strength of the most outstanding individuals their age.

According to Muzuki’s observations, the S-Rank reward depended on the students’ progress; the more they learned, the more rewards he received.

The rest depended on skill levels. For example, it was difficult for a perfect-level Fire Release to increase its proficiency, but a proficient-level Lightning Release and Earth Release improved quickly.

Due to Muzuki’s demonstrated teaching ability, Genin like Nara Shiosui continued to diligently undergo special training.

To Nara Shiosui’s surprise, in addition to being strong in the five basic Nature Transformations, Muzuki was also proficient in special Nature Transformations like Yin Release. Although he couldn’t teach the Shadow Secret Technique, he could answer some questions about Yin Release for him.

Five days after the Chunin Exams concluded, the list of those promoted to Chunin was finalized.

By this time, the Hidden Mist Ninja had also left Konoha. After all, Konoha wouldn’t issue Konoha headbands to the Hidden Mist Ninja, and the Hidden Mist Ninja also had to return to promote their own Ninja.

Muzuki guessed that the Hidden Mist might not have strawberry ice cream now, because before the Hidden Mist Ninja left Konoha, he saw Mei Terumī frantically buying strawberry ice cream.

She even generously returned three servings of strawberry ice cream to him as a reciprocal gift for before.

“You treated me to two servings before, and I, Mei Terumī, repay kindness with kindness, so I’m treating you to three servings!” Mei Terumī said with a triumphant look.

Originally, she didn’t have much money, but because they were leaving, the Mizukage’s advisor gave them some money to buy Konoha specialties, like Land of Fire souvenirs and local products.

So Mei Terumī spent all that money on ice cream. She thought it was pretty good; it was indeed something the Hidden Mist didn’t have, and it was delicious.

Mei Terumī was very satisfied with this trip to Konoha. She had eaten delicious strawberry ice cream and gained the Mizukage’s advisor’s appreciation. Aside from being eliminated in the quarterfinals, she had no regrets.

“Then I’ll gladly accept it.” Muzuki smiled faintly, took it, and then left.

Although he wasn’t particularly interested in such sweets, he could give them to his students.

Mei Terumī looked at Muzuki’s retreating figure with a thoughtful expression.

She had always found Muzuki quite strange, not in the silly, goofy way like Obito, but in a peculiar way that gave her a strange feeling.

Just now, Mei Terumī finally understood what that strange feeling was: when Muzuki interacted with her, he didn’t treat her as an outsider or a foreigner.

Because of wearing a Hidden Mist headband, even a silly, goofy person like Obito, Mei Terumī could sense a clear distance from him.

Muzuki wasn’t exactly close to her, but when Mei Terumī communicated with him, it felt like talking to a stranger or villager from her own Village.

If Mei Terumī hadn’t stayed in Konoha for a while, she might not have even noticed the difference.

“What a strange Guy…” Mei Terumī murmured to herself, then stopped thinking about it. Maybe she was overthinking it… “To the Hokage Office? Does that mean there’s some very difficult mission for us to complete?” Obito asked excitedly after hearing Minato’s words.

“Is it to rescue a kidnapped princess, or to repel invading enemy forces?”

Minato smiled and shook his head, saying, “Such missions are not for you to take, and Kakashi hasn’t recovered yet, so how could I assign missions to you?”

Although Kakashi and Might Guy were discharged from the hospital on the fourth day with Tsunade’s treatment, their bodies hadn’t fully recovered and still needed a period of rest.

Kakashi looked at Obito speechlessly, feeling that Ninja novels were quite harmful. Where were there so many kidnapped princesses?

“Then what is it?” Obito was a bit disappointed. He had thought his excellent performance in the Chunin Exams had made Hiruzen Sarutobi look at him in a new light.

“You’ll know when you get there.” Minato didn’t directly tell Obito and the others, but smiled mysteriously.

Kakashi looked at Minato’s expression and basically guessed what they were going for; it should be for Chunin promotion.

Thinking of this, Kakashi’s expression was a bit subtle. He wondered if the Village would give him another chunin vest, and if he should accept it.

Kakashi felt that if they really gave him one, he would take it. After all, he won first place, and a vest was considered a consumable item.

On the way to the Hokage Building, Obito and the others also encountered a few familiar faces from the Chunin Exams.

“Yo, Kakashi, how’s your recovery?” Might Guy smiled, his two rows of bright white teeth shining exceptionally under the sun.

“We just got discharged from the hospital yesterday, what kind of recovery could there be?” Kakashi replied speechlessly.

“Hahahaha!” Might Guy didn’t feel embarrassed and laughed loudly.

“That’s because I’m immensely looking forward to our next battle, my dear friend!” Might Guy said, looking at Kakashi with sparkling eyes.

For Might Guy, failure was not scary. After all, in his life so far, he had lost the vast majority of times, and winning was the minority.

What he sought was not an undefeated streak, but to learn from failure and forge subsequent victories, thereby striving for the strongest.

Since Kakashi had transformed from a pursuer to a leader, he naturally had to surpass Kakashi again as soon as possible.

“Let’s talk about it once my body has recovered.” Kakashi shook his head and said.

It was only because his body hadn’t fully recovered; otherwise, Kakashi would have already gone to challenge Shisui to avenge his past defeats.

When he previously lost consecutively to Might Guy, Obito, and Shisui, Kakashi had thought that once his strength caught up, he would definitely defeat all of them. Now that his strength had finally caught up, Kakashi wouldn’t let go of such a good opportunity.

After all, Muzuki’s disciples were all too competitive, and Kakashi didn’t think he could always stay ahead.

If Might Guy could stably maintain the Four Gates and further refine his Leaf Dragon God, then his Transparent World, which he hadn’t fully mastered yet, might not be enough to win.

Kakashi planned to first achieve free activation and deactivation of the Transparent World. Anyway, he couldn’t engage in too strenuous training recently, so it was a good opportunity to devote all his time to researching the Transparent World.

“Hey, you Guys are here too.” Asuma noticed Kakashi and the others and greeted them.

“Might Guy, Asuma, were you also summoned to the Hokage Office?” Obito asked after responding.

Might Guy and Asuma both nodded.

Seeing this, Obito immediately put his small brain to work, speculating on the reason.

“Could it be that our performance was so outstanding that the Third Hokage wants us to join some secret department?” Obito said with a look of sudden realization.

Kakashi’s mouth twitched. He had to admit that Obito’s thought process was out of the ordinary.

If it were just Obito, him, and Might Guy, it might indeed be possible, but Rin Nohara and Asuma were also among them, which made it impossible.

“It’s probably about Chunin promotion.” To prevent Obito from continuing to imagine strange things, Kakashi directly stated his reliable answer.

“It should be. Otherwise, there would be no need to specifically call me to the Hokage Building.” Asuma nodded and said.

“But Kakashi, aren’t you already a Chunin?” Obito looked at Kakashi with a puzzled expression.

“I also participated in the Chunin Exams. When we get to the Hokage Building, you’ll naturally know whose guess is correct.” Kakashi didn’t want to argue too much with Obito on this matter. After all, a Chunin participating in the Chunin Exams did seem a bit improper.

Upon reaching the Hokage Building, Kakashi was even more certain of his guess, as he also saw Nara Shiosui and Aoba Yamashiro, two other examinees who had participated in the Chunin Exams.

Everyone entered the Hokage Office together. It was Obito’s first time in the Hokage Office, so he looked around curiously, only to find that the Hokage Office was completely different from what he had imagined.

Obito had imagined the Hokage Office to be filled with extremely dangerous scrolls containing secrets, and powerful Ninja tools hanging on the walls.

The reality of the Hokage Office was a large desk, many windows, and nothing else, not even extra chairs.

“Your performance in the Chunin Exams was excellent. Not only the Ninja who scored you, but also the officials and Clients who came to watch the matches recognized your performance, so I have decided to promote all of you to Chunin!” Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t waste any words and directly explained the matter clearly.

Nara Shiosui, Aoba Yamashiro, and Asuma were all eliminated in the first round, but they all performed to their best, and based on their overall performance, they were eventually included in the promotion list.

As for Kakashi and the others, there was no need to mention them; they could be said to have displayed Konoha’s spirit, and their demonstrated strength was beyond what ordinary Chunin could compare to.

Kakashi was extremely calm. He automatically ignored Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words, treating it as simply accompanying Obito and the others. He was already a Chunin, so what was there to be promoted to?

Asuma’s expression was one of relief. It really wasn’t that he wasn’t strong enough, but that Obito, Kakashi, and their group were too outrageous.

Nara Shiosui showed a smile. It wasn’t in vain that he had fought so hard. Although he was slightly outmatched by Rin Nohara, he ultimately achieved promotion.

Aoba Yamashiro also smiled. He was originally confident in his own strength, but unfortunately, he encountered Kisame in the first round. These past few days, he had been quite worried about the promotion issue.

“I’m the same rank as Father now. I’ll strive to be promoted to Jonin with Father soon!” Might Guy was a bit excited.

Because his father was previously ridiculed as a Genin for a thousand years, Might Guy was slightly concerned about Ninja ranks.

“We all passed together.” Rin Nohara thought to herself, her face showing a gentle smile.

Before the exam, she was quite worried that she would hold them back, but in fact, after the exam, Rin Nohara no longer felt much pressure, because in the third round, she had fought with all her might. Whatever the outcome, she could accept it.

“It really is a Chunin promotion.” Obito felt that Kakashi was lucky today, as he had guessed correctly.

“What, aren’t you satisfied with being promoted to Chunin? If you want to be promoted to Jonin, you still have a long way to go. Continue to work hard towards Muzuki and Minato.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

“Hehe, not really, but all the members of our squad are Chunin now, so can we take on higher-level missions?” Obito replied with a sly laugh.

Obito was naturally very happy about being promoted to Chunin. After all, Kakashi used to always use his Chunin status to pressure him. Now that everyone was a Chunin, Kakashi no longer had that status advantage.

“Theoretically, missions below A-Rank should be no problem. But for A-Rank, it depends on Minato’s arrangements.” Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and said.

Now, Obito and the others could independently take on missions without Minato, because they were already three Chunin, and taking on B-Rank Missions independently was no problem.

But for A-Rank, it wouldn’t work. A-Rank required at least one Special Jonin, and S-Rank required an experienced official Jonin to lead the team.

“A-Rank is good too.” Obito showed an excited smile, selectively ignoring the last few words of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Although Obito had A-Rank and S-Rank missions on his record, these were all changed later. Obito had not yet officially taken on an A-Rank Mission.

“These are your promotion forms and Chunin flak jackets (vests). From now on, you are Konoha Chunin and need to bear more responsibility and will receive more dangerous missions!” Hiruzen Sarutobi said solemnly, then stood up and handed out the corresponding promotion forms to a few people. As for the vests, they were all the same, so they just took them themselves.

Becoming a Chunin not only grants more rights but also requires bearing more responsibilities.

Aside from extremely important missions, Jonin are generally not all dispatched; the main force is the Chunin.

“As long as it can protect Konoha, no matter how dangerous the mission, it doesn’t matter.” Obito declared that he was not afraid of danger.

Watching Obito utter such words filled with the The Will of Fire, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, thinking that Obito might become the next Uchiha Kagami.

Hiruzen Sarutobi indeed had nothing to discuss with them, so everyone except Asuma quickly left the Hokage Office.

“Rin, I told you we’d all be fine.” Obito said to Rin Nohara, holding his chunin vest and turning it over and over.

“Mhm, Obito, you’re right.” Rin Nohara replied with a gentle smile.

As the voices of his companions faded into the distance, Asuma directly asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, “Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to train.”

He was about to leave, but Hiruzen Sarutobi called him back.

“The aura of your Vacuum Sphere is too scattered; otherwise, it could penetrate the Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. There are also problems with your Secret Technique: Great Fire Technique training; the flame temperature is too low.” Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe and spoke of Asuma’s Chunin Exams issues.

“Tch, you know so much.” Asuma turned and left with a dark expression.

Just as Asuma opened the door to the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke again.

“However, that last Combination Ninjutsu was good. Your overall performance was decent.”

I originally wanted to write more, but I have a slight fever today. Although it’s not very serious, it’s hard to write when my head is hot. I hope I’ll be better after I wake up tomorrow.