Chapter 164: Fox Jonin
Kiiroinu took Yoru and left the Jonin Class review room.
At the entrance to the Hokage’s Office on the third floor, Yoru saw Tsunade leave the Hokage’s Office with a cold expression, striding away.
He didn’t know what she had discussed with the Hokage, but she seemed to be in a very bad mood.
Entering the Hokage’s Office, Yoru saw the Third Hokage with his head lowered, staring blankly at the empty desk.
Aftermath of the argument; it seemed the quarrel with Tsunade had been quite intense.
It wasn’t until Kiiroinu walked up to him that the Third Hokage raised his head.
The Third Hokage’s expression instantly switched from gloomy to one of delight.
“Oh? The Fox passed Shikaku’s assessment so quickly?”
“Yes, Hokage.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the Jonin Recommendation Scroll and said while reading:
“5 S-rank missions, all Anbu S-rank missions. This record is enough to become a Jonin.
Interview assessment: Copper Fox was a bit extreme?
For Anbu, that’s not a problem.
Combat assessment: Shikaku said it would be impossible to get a result even after another ten minutes. It seems the Fox’s defense ability is very strong.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head and said:
“Fox, your promotion to Jonin has no issues.
I want to ask you about something else.
Both Kiiroinu and Kuroari suggested you serve as Anbu Captain. Tell me, how would you do this job as Anbu Captain?”
Yoru thought to himself, what an unexpected surprise—not only promotion to Jonin, but also making him Captain?
The Anbu Captain has extremely high authority, managing the training, promotions, and ninjutsu rewards of over 60 Anbu Ninjas under him, and can independently monitor a war for the Hokage.
After a brief moment of thought, Yoru said:
“I will focus on doing two things well.
First, exhaust every effort to complete the missions assigned by Lord Hokage.
Second, in cases not conflicting with Hokage’s orders, absolute obedience to Lord Kiiroinu.
If Lord Kiiroinu is promoted to Anbu Deputy Minister, I will surely become the sharpest blade in Lord Kiiroinu’s hand!”
Yoru thought to himself that merely pledging obedience to the Hokage might lack novelty.
His promotion to Special Jonin and now to Jonin were both driven by Kiiroinu’s recommendations.
Kiiroinu promoting him to Captain was to cultivate his own direct subordinate.
Given the Third Hokage’s extraordinary trust in Kiiroinu, saying he would obey Kiiroinu would likely yield even greater rewards.
Sure enough, the Third Hokage looked extremely pleased.
Kiiroinu nodded slightly in approval.
The Third Hokage said:
“Good. Fox, your promotion to Jonin can be handled today.
However, for your promotion to Anbu Captain, you need to perform well in the Land of Whirlpools. First help Kiiroinu get promoted to Anbu Deputy Minister, and the Captain position he vacates will be yours.”
“Understood! Please rest assured, Lord Hokage and Lord Kiiroinu—I will absolutely not fail your expectations!”
Once Kiiroinu became Anbu Deputy Minister, one foot would step into the ranks of high-ranking officials, and he could be addressed as Lord afterward.
The Third Hokage continued: “After an Anbu Ninja becomes a Jonin, you can be rewarded with an A-rank ninjutsu. Do you have any plans for your ability system?”
Along the way, Yoru had been pondering how to choose the Jonin reward.
His first choice was to legitimize part of his abilities.
Sealing Jutsu, Water Clone, etc., couldn’t see the light of day, so why not use this opportunity to legitimize them? He just didn’t know if Konoha had these techniques.
As for S-rank ninjutsu, forget it—S-rank ninjutsu weren’t something ordinary Jonin could obtain.
He said: “Lord Hokage, my elemental ninjutsu is already quite comprehensive. I just need to refine the ones I have. I wonder if I can learn Sealing Jutsu?”
“Sealing Jutsu, huh…” The Third Hokage said:
“Tsunade was just here. Someone from the Senju Clan discovered that Anbu possesses some Sealing Jutsu, and she came to question me about where they came from.
Anbu, in investigating the truth of the Uzumaki Clan Annihilation, gathered intelligence on Whirlpool Ninja corpses and accidentally obtained some Sealing Jutsu.
Take a look at the catalog and pick one. Sealing Jutsu is very useful and might come in handy greatly in the future.”
No wonder Tsunade left with such an ugly expression.
What a nice way to put it—for investigating the truth of the Uzumaki Clan Annihilation. Tsunade would have to be a fool to believe that.
Kiiroinu brought a scroll, which read: Hiruzen Sarutobi Sealing Jutsu Research Catalog.
Opening the catalog, he saw some Sealing Jutsu listed.
Important Sealing Jutsu from the original work, like Four Symbols Seal, Eight Trigrams Seal, Reaper Death Seal, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Reverse Four Symbols Seal, etc., were not in the catalog.
Yoru finally saw a familiar Sealing Jutsu.
He said: “Lord Hokage, when I was in the Land of Whirlpools, I saw Whirlpool Ninjas using the Karma Seal of Retribution. May I learn this technique?”
“Karma Seal of Retribution?” The Third Hokage said: “You can learn it, but this technique is very difficult. Without the Uzumaki Clan’s special chakra, it’s hard to master. Have you thought it through?”
“I’ve thought it through. The Karma Seal of Retribution left a deep impression on me, and I’m willing to spend time practicing this technique.”
Finally, he had a chance to legitimize it. He could now reveal his strongest Sealing Jutsu to others.
Among his current core ninjutsu, only Water Style: Water Clone remained unlegitimized.
How could he connect it to Hanzo?
Leaving the Hokage’s Office, Yoru was full of gains.
Jonin status, and a Sealing Jutsu.
Upon returning to the Anbu Base, Yoru saw Butterfly, the assistant to the Kiiroinu Captain.
Butterfly walked over and said: “Fox Jonin, please follow me. You have your own office.”
Yoru thought to himself, nice, finally his own office.
As a Jonin and future Captain, much of his work was approval-based: assigning missions, evaluating Mission Report Scrolls, so he needed an office.
Outside the office, Yoru saw Hippopotamus and Yak.
Who says Anbu lacks worldly savvy? Hippopotamus and Yak understood it well.
“Fox Jonin, congratulations.”
“Congratulations, Fox Jonin.”
If Yoru became Captain, these two would be his Squad Leaders. He quickly said:
“Please come in and take a look at what my office is like together.”
Inside the office were a Scroll Cabinet, a confidential Scroll Cabinet, one large and one small table, and several chairs.
The small table was probably for the assistant, just like in Kiiroinu’s office.
On the side was a high side window, beyond which was a disguised bush in a part of the Death Forest.
There was a chandelier and two desk lamps.
On the side of the office was a small lounge with a bed and a wardrobe inside.
It was almost identical to the Kiiroinu Captain’s office.
For a long time to come, he would be working here.
Kiiroinu’s assistant Butterfly said: “Fox Jonin, you can now designate an assistant. Whom do you designate?”
Without thinking, Yoru said: “I designate Purple Cat as my assistant.”
“Good, I’ll take Purple Cat to register right away.”
Hippopotamus and Yak flattered the Fox. Yoru assured them that if he became Captain, he would continue to heavily employ the two, and only then did they leave satisfied.
Not long after, Purple Cat excitedly entered Yoru’s office.
“Purple Cat, from now on, you be my full-time assistant. Have Antelope be the Squad Leader of your squad.”
Purple Cat excitedly looked left and right:
“Captain, from now on we don’t have to wait for everyone in the squad locker room to leave before we get wild?
Yesterday you said the locker room was inconvenient, and today we have our own office. Too amazing.”
She entered the small lounge on the side, her eyes bright beneath the mask.
Yoru entered the lounge and kicked the door shut: “From now on, no more worrying about being discovered. Isn’t that right?”
The new bed was surprisingly soft.
