NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 122: Chapter 132
Probably because it wanted to give Kihara Kaede some face, the usually indifferent ninja bunny shrank back into his shirt pocket, which meant it was temporarily ignoring Hinata.
Oh.
"Huu—"
Seeing the ninja bunny's posture, Black Hinata came back to stand beside Kihara Kaede.
"This time your mission took several days. I was worried I wouldn't see you for a long time again," she said.
"Eh…"
But then Hinata's cute brows suddenly twitched.
"Wait a second!"
She reached out and touched Kihara Kaede's forehead—more precisely, she took off his Konoha forehead protector and pinched it a little.
"..." Hinata.
"..." Kihara Kaede.
He knew Hinata had a habit of switching out his personal belongings.
Only—
"This forehead protector feels kind of off…"
"But I can't quite put my finger on it right now."
She helped him put it back on, and as her small hands, slightly cold, touched him, Kihara Kaede casually asked about her daily life.
Things like how her missions were going now that she'd become a chunin, how training was, when she could rest—that kind of stuff.
This was the troublesome thing about dealing with girls.
Even if you knew most of what you're saying is meaningless small talk, if you don't say it, she'll feel like you don't care about her.
And that will cause a lot more problems.
"Training has decreased," Hinata said. "But I haven't been given any missions."
"My family won't let me take any."
She seemed a little frustrated.
Understandable.
Even though she was already a chunin, she was also the next clan head of the Hyuga.
So if she went on a mission, there would have to be special arrangements.
If it wasn't absolutely necessary, they wouldn't let her go.
Safety came first.
That much made sense.
But being locked away all the time wasn't good either.
"If you want to go on a mission…"
Kihara Kaede said, "I'm heading to the Hokage's office later to submit my mission report."
"If you wait for me, maybe we can take one together."
"Together?" Hinata was stunned for a moment.
"Yeah," Kaede said. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, after all."
"Hehe…"
"I knew it…"
Hinata gave Kihara Kaede a quick hug, then waited for him at the bottom of the Hokage building.
············
On the other side, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto had arrived as well.
They all headed toward the Hokage's office.
The atmosphere in the office was a bit strange.
The Third Hokage wasn't dead yet, but he hadn't stepped down either.
Still, the one currently working in the office was the Second Hokage.
Photos of past Hokage lined the walls of the building.
"..." Naruto.
When Naruto arrived at the office, he couldn't help but glance at the portrait of the Fourth Hokage hanging on the wall.
He already knew that was his father—the man responsible for the suffering he'd endured all his life.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Minato Namikaze]: Eh…
[Minato Namikaze]: Naruto is looking at my photo right now.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Isn't that a good thing?
[Minato Namikaze]: Uh… I'm worried Naruto might hate me.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …That one's too much for me to handle.
[Minato Namikaze]: …
Minato knew… the issue with the Third Hokage had already been dealt with by the Second, and Danzo had taken the fall.
Even if Naruto could accept that… that didn't mean he could accept him.
Because in Naruto's heart, Minato Namikaze was probably just a nuisance who brought him pain.
[Tobirama]: Minato, calm down.
[Minato Namikaze]: But Lord Second…
[Tobirama]: Don't hesitate.
[Tobirama]: We've done what we could for Naruto's side of things.
[Tobirama]: But some matters… you'll have to handle personally.
[Minato Namikaze]: You mean…
[Tobirama]: Yes.
[Tobirama]: That.
[ Kakashi has come online. ]
[ Kakashi has gone offline. ]
[Tobirama]: …
[Tobirama]: Kakashi, what the hell are you doing?
[ Kakashi has come online. ]
[Kakashi Hatake]: Uh… I just wanted to say we've arrived.
[Tobirama]: Alright, that's enough from you.
[Kakashi Hatake]: …
Kakashi still remembered that the Second Hokage had once suggested him as the Sixth Hokage.
But now? He had nothing.
Right now—
"Hmm…"
"I've reviewed the mission report."
"You all did well."
"Uchiha Sasuke, and also Uzumaki Naruto—you were recommended by Kakashi."
"I've considered you both."
"This time, you were able to defeat Sasori. While prior intel may have helped, it was mostly thanks to your own efforts."
"Even though it might seem a bit early…"
"You've already reached the level of a jonin."
"And taking into account the contribution points to the village from this mission…"
Tobirama said, "Therefore—"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"I hereby promote you both to the rank of jonin," Tobirama declared.
"Eh…?" Sasuke and Naruto froze.
"We…"
"Are jonin now?"
"Yes," said Tobirama. "You've reached jonin-level strength."
"And you also fought against Sasori."
"His power is at Kage-level."
"..." Sasuke.
"..." Naruto.
"So, I'm a jonin now?"
"Yes."
Tobirama answered them patiently. Because no matter who you were, it was hard to believe—
They had just finished the chunin exams barely a week ago, and they were already being promoted again?
What was this, rocket propulsion?
Nope.
These two were just cheating.
Sasuke was a Uchiha, and Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son.
Even though their strength had improved, they were still a bit short of the average jonin benchmark—like Kurenai Yuhi, who was Kakashi's peer, but still only a special jonin.
So yeah—without plot armor, there was no way those two made it to jonin.
"Well then…"
Sasuke said, "What about Kihara Kaede?"
"We're jonin…"
"But he…"
Because before taking the chunin exam, there was already talk that Kihara Kaede's strength had reached jonin level.
So now, Sasuke seriously doubted that Kihara Kaede wasn't already above jonin.
He spoke up.
"I think the jonin rank isn't enough for him…"
"His strength might already be at Kage-level," Sasuke said.
[Tobirama's Record]: …
[Tobirama's Record]: Uchiha Sasuke, you unfortunate child… I thought you were finally starting to act a little tougher.