"Konoha, we're back!"
Outside Konoha's gates, the blond-haired boy ca running excitedly before shouting loudly toward the village.
"Yo, isn't this Kakashi's team?"
Konoha's famous eternal gatekeeper duo had naturally noticed them long ago and imdiately greeted them with smiles.
"So you finished your mission and ca back? Looking at your faces, things must've gone pretty smoothly, huh?"
"More or less."
Kakashi nodded toward his fellow shinobi before briefly explaining the situation.
"We need to report the mission to the Hokage first."
"This is Asama Sandayū, the commissioner for this assignnt."
"Oh, then we won't keep you any longer. Hurry on in."
Izumo Kamizuki smiled and patted Kakashi's shoulder.
Kakashi's gaze sharpened instantly before returning to normal.
A signal.
The Third Hokage has sothing else waiting for ?
Back inside the village, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata visibly relaxed for the first ti in days.
It had been their first ti traveling so far from ho.
They had carefully rembered all of Kakashi's warnings and remained constantly vigilant the entire trip.
Now, seeing familiar scenery again finally allowed them to unwind.
anwhile, Asama Sandayū secretly looked around at the countless Konoha shinobi moving throughout the village and couldn't stop feeling shocked internally.
So many ninja as terrifying as Naruto everywhere…
The power of one of the Five Great Villages truly is horrifying…
Soon afterward, the group arrived at the Hokage Tower and t with the Third Hokage to report the mission.
"... I understand the situation now."
The Third Hokage nodded gently while looking toward Sandayū kindly.
"You must be Asama Sandayū-dono?"
"D-Don't call that!"
Sandayū imdiately panicked.
"Please just call Sandayū!"
What a joke.
This was supposedly the strongest shinobi in Konoha.
After witnessing Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata's strength personally, Sandayū didn't even dare imagine how terrifying soone like the Hokage truly was.
For all he knew, this old man could wipe out the Land of Snow alone if he beca unhappy.
There was no way Sandayū would dare act arrogantly before him.
"Hahahaha, you're too polite."
The Third Hokage smiled warmly.
"How about this? I'll first arrange accommodations so you can rest properly after your long journey."
"Afterward, we'll discuss the alliance between the Land of Snow and Konoha in detail."
After several rounds of formalities, Hiruzen ultimately assigned Nara Shikaku to personally arrange Sandayū's accommodations.
anwhile, watching Sandayū respectfully treat him with great politeness simply because he was a Konoha Jōnin, Shikaku couldn't help developing a favorable impression of the man.
People from the Land of Snow are surprisingly polite.
"... Well then, Team Seven."
The Third Hokage turned toward Naruto's group.
"You completed this mission exceptionally well."
"Especially considering it was your very first mission."
"Honestly impressive."
"Hehe!"
Naruto imdiately placed both hands on his hips proudly.
"Now you understand how amazing we are, Grandpa Hokage!"
"Hahaha."
The Third Hokage laughed softly.
"And according to the actual circumstances, this mission technically qualifies as an S-rank mission rather than rely A-rank."
"S-rank?"
Naruto blinked.
"I thought missions only went up to A-rank."
"That's simply because Genin aren't expected to understand higher classifications yet…"
The Third Hokage slowly set aside his pipe before thoughtfully looking at them.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
"Sasuke Uchiha."
"Hinata Hyūga."
"For this mission, I intend to adjust your rewards accordingly."
"Because theoretically speaking, S-rank missions should never be completed by Genin."
"In other words…"
"If your team truly completed an S-rank mission…"
"Then it also ans soone among you no longer needs to remain at the Genin level."
The mont those words were spoken, all three of them visibly froze.
Because they instantly understood the implication.
After this mission—
Soone among them would receive direct promotion?
"However…"
The Third Hokage calmly continued.
"That still requires detailed review of the mission report first."
"For now, return ho and rest properly."
"Co back tomorrow morning."
Then Hiruzen looked toward Kakashi.
"Kakashi, stay behind."
"Alright then!"
Naruto instantly recovered.
"Sasuke, Hinata, let's go eat ran!"
"I seriously haven't had Ichiraku Ran in forever—"
As the three gradually disappeared while chatting excitedly, only Kakashi and the Third Hokage remained inside the office.
"This is the true mission report."
Kakashi pulled out another docunt from inside his vest.
Unlike the public report earlier, this one contained Kakashi's personal observations regarding Naruto's performance.
More specifically—
Whether any external influence affected Naruto during combat.
For example—
Did the Nine-Tails' chakra leak out?
Or—
Did evidence appear suggesting the Fourth Hokage left behind additional preparations?
The Third Hokage carefully read through Kakashi's observations before finally nodding with satisfaction.
"Good."
"I understand."
"Next, I'll begin arranging Naruto's special promotion."
"And Sasuke and Hinata too."
Kakashi added calmly.
"Their performances were also extrely impressive."
"They're all exceptional shinobi."
"I'd like them to participate in the upcoming Chūnin Exams as well—"
"Regarding this year's Chūnin Exams…"
The Third Hokage suddenly interrupted him.
"Hinata Hyūga may participate."
"But Sasuke Uchiha cannot."
Kakashi looked genuinely surprised.
"Take a look at this."
Hiruzen handed him the sa intelligence report shown earlier.
The mont Kakashi saw the contents—
His visible eye narrowed violently.
"Shisui Uchiha is dead?"
"The Fourth Mizukage returned?"
"Correct."
The Third Hokage nodded slowly.
"And previously, Kirigakure proposed hosting this year's Chūnin Exams."
"At the ti, the intention was to publicly display cooperation between Konoha and Kirigakure."
"So we agreed."
"Honestly…"
Hiruzen looked toward Kakashi seriously.
"That agreent was largely possible because of your efforts."
"Elder Genji truly honored his promises and stopped pursuing Konoha's responsibility regarding earlier incidents."
"And after you helped Kirigakure hunt down mbers of the Seven Ninja Swordsn such as Jūzō Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki…"
"The cooperation between Konoha and Kirigakure progressed extrely smoothly."
"But now…"
The Third Hokage's expression darkened.
"With the Fourth Mizukage suddenly returning…"
"What changes that may bring…"
"Is impossible to predict."
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