Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

The Hokage Tower moved with an unusually swift pace.

Four days after the surprise attack on Sunagakure's border forces—three days after Sakumo Hatake submitted his battle report to the village—an official decree from the Hokage Tower arrived at Konoha's Western Border Forces stationed within the Land of Wind, escorted by an Anbu squad.

Furthermore, this decree was incredibly detailed. Between the lines, it highly praised Sakumo Hatake's decisive handling and wise leadership while commending the bravery of various Jonin. It expressed deep condolences for the fallen and injured ninjas. As for everyone's biggest concern—the unauthorized initiation of border conflict—it wasn't mentioned at all. In addition, fully following the commendation list provided by Sakumo Hatake, promotions were granted without delay or ambiguity.

Yet such generosity naturally came with ulterior motives.

Beyond these seemingly reasonable and fair words, the Hokage's decree also emphasized "work-life balance," arranging for some veteran ninjas who had long served in the Western Border Forces to return to the village for rest or reassignment under the guise of compassionate rotation policies.

Naturally, Soushu Hyuga was among those selected for this so-called compassionate rotation. He hadn't even settled into his role as Company Commander before being pulled back to the village for reassignment.

Although the entire Ninja Force felt surprised by this sudden kindness from the Hokage Tower, it was essentially a dream come true for ordinary frontline ninjas, so Sakumo Hatake couldn't very well object directly.

Thus, once the decree had been read to the Jonin, Sakumo Hatake pulled Soushu Hyuga aside afterward for a private discussion.

"Commander Soushu-san, here are the village's reviewed opinions. The recommendation for Mahiru Uchiha Chunin's promotion by both command Jonin has already been approved."

No sooner had he sat down than Sakumo handed over the formal review document regarding the recommendation to Soushu-san.

Without waiting for Soushu to respond, Sakumo then produced another document as if pulling a scroll from nowhere and passed it over: "This is Mahiru Uchiha Jonin's evaluation report. Please keep it carefully."

"This..."

Soushu hesitated briefly but still reached out to accept and began reading the second document.

What caught his attention was the slight difference in suffix applied toward Mahiru-san between the two documents.

Frankly speaking, this document indeed contained quite a surprise—or perhaps more accurately, a shock.

Traditionally, ninja evaluation opinions had always rested solely with the Hokage's final decision. Meanwhile, the Jonin Unit merely handled registration duties once promotions were approved by the Hokage. Therefore, there were two signature sections on the Jonin Promotion Evaluation Form: one for the Hokage's review opinion, and the other for the Jonin Unit leader's registration confirmation. Naturally, the Hokage's opinion held precedence.

What astonished Soushu lay precisely here: Before the final review and approval from the Hokage Tower, Sakumo had already issued Mahiru Uchiha's assessment grade under the authority of the Jonin Unit itself, officially recognizing her as a full-fledged Konoha Jonin entitled to complete privileges belonging to the Jonin rank!

This completely inverted the original Jonin promotion procedures!

It was practically an unprecedented challenge by the Jonin Unit toward the Hokage's authority!

Although Hyuga Soushu showed surprise on his face, Hatake Sakumo remained as calm as ever. He even poured a cup of sake for Soushu and himself.

"This is a fine brew from the Land of Wind among the captured supplies," Sakumo introduced with a rare smile. "You should give it a try, Soushu-kun. It's different from our village's sake—it has a distinct sharpness to the flavor, very much like the style of Sand."

After Hyuga Soushu quietly put away the Jonin Exam form, Hatake Sakumo immediately began explaining with a slight grin.

"Really now?"

Hyuga Soushu also displayed a curious expression accordingly and downed the entire cup of sake in one go.

"Indeed, excellent sake!"

"Then have some more!"

Hatake Sakumo laughed heartily, clearly easing his previously tense mood. "There are still three crates of this sake among the supplies we confiscated. I'll have them delivered to you later."

Needless to say, Soushu was more than happy with this.

"Then I'll gladly accept your generous offer, Leader Sakumo."

Naturally, Soushu smiled calmly and agreed.

After all, if he had already accepted that Jonin Exam form—a clear challenge to the Hokage's authority—what were a few more crates of sake?

Did anyone really think Hatake Sakumo was putting the Jonin to the test through a drink? What Jonin couldn't pass *that* kind of test?

As for Uchiha Mahiru, who was pushed forward as the scapegoat, Hyuga Soushu wasn't worried about her objecting. On the contrary, for someone like Uchiha Mahiru—who belonged to the traditionalist conservative faction that particularly despised the radicals' soft stance—challenging the Hokage's authority undoubtedly sounded exciting.

"Will Mahiru Jonin be okay with this?"

Still, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but ask cautiously.

"She's obedient enough."

Hyuga Soushu poured himself another cup of sake leisurely while saying, "Anything that would upset and annoy the village officials—I'm sure the Uchihas would find that quite appealing."

"Hmm... The village still needs unity,"

Sakumo replied obviously without sincerity.

"Of course—for our unity."

Hyuga Soushu raised his cup in a toast.

"For the eternal and ever-reliable Konoha."

No words were needed between them—they understood each other completely.

When Hyuga Soushu returned to the barracks, Uchiha Mahiru was already checking through the supplies Hatake Sakumo had arranged to be sent over.

Apart from the three crates of sake from the Land of Wind they'd discussed during their private meeting, there were also fifteen pounds of chakra-infused metal. And something even more surprising: a whole pile of Scrolls.

"What is this?"

Hyuga Soushu casually picked up one Scroll, opening it to discover notes or insights regarding Wind Release techniques.

Judging from the material and marks upon them, these should have been Sand-exclusive items seized directly from the battlefield, as many bore spots of dried bloodstains.

"These are spoils brought by the Supplies Management Squad. Most contain Wind Release techniques rarely seen in clan repositories."

Uchiha Mahiru answered: "And what's most valuable is—they're all original documents."

"Is that so?"

Hyuga Soushu raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing further.

Then, he took out the village's recommendation review form and the Jonin Exam form that had already been pre-signed by Sakumo Hatake in his capacity as acting leader of the Jonin Unit, handing both to Mahiru Uchiha.

"Congratulations, dear Mahiru Jonin."

"Oh! That's great!"

Mahiru Uchiha casually tossed aside the scroll she had been flipping through and threw herself into Hyuga Soushu's arms, her blazing red lips wandering wildly across his face, while her delicate hands boldly went straight for his crotch.

"Dear, it's still daylight outside!"

Though they'd explored each other countless times before, Hyuga Soushu still found himself flustered under Mahiru Uchiha's passionate advances.

"Beats sitting around doing nothing!"

Mahiru Uchiha performed a single hand seal and completed [Shizune Ending] right before Hyuga Soushu's wide-eyed shock.

"When did you learn—" 

But before he could finish speaking, his mouth was sealed by those fiery red lips.

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