[Status:
Hey guys. I apologize once again for my erratic schedule recently. I can understand most of you are annoyed by it (trust me, I'm highly frustrated too. Writing in the past month or so hasn't been fun for me). During the last couple of days, I have given the story a lot of thought. I sorted several of the issues that have been getting in my way and have looked into ways to get out of this rut and deal with writer's block.
From today, I'll try to get back to my original schedule (1 chapter daily with 1 break per week). Please wish me luck. If I can do it, the story will continue as usual. However, if my schedule continues to stay erratic, I'll pause payments on Pat reon for the month of May and go on a month-long hiatus. For those who are unaware, pausing payments will extend your membership by a month (assuming your subscription ends in May. So, if your membership ends on 10th May, it'll extend to 10th June).
I have been reluctant to make this decision because my last hiatus lasted way longer than I wanted. So, it's not something I'm looking forward to. Hopefully, I'll manage to get back to my original schedule in the next couple of weeks.
Upload Time: I won't commit to an exact time for release for the next couple of weeks. Chapters should be out sometime between 17:00 to 23:00 GMT (will obviously try to complete it as early as I can to get back to a decent sleep schedule, but the last few weeks haven't been kind 😅)]
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"I don't agree with your observations."
The eyes in the room turned towards Ibiki who didn't agree with the Hyuga Jounin. A frown appeared on the Hyuga's face as Ibiki said, "In the preliminaries, he showed extreme immaturity by trying to kill a member of his own clan. Someone who loses his temper so quickly isn't capable of becoming a team leader. He might lead the entire team to its demise.
In addition, he is very arrogant. It was visible in his match against Naruto. Not only did he look down on Naruto, but he didn't make adequate preparations for dealing with his Wind jutsus despite seeing them in the preliminaries."
The Hyuga ninja countered, "The Wind jutsus Naruto displayed in the preliminaries were nowhere near the level of the supercharged jutsus he used during the finals."
Ibiki immediately replied, "Even in that case, there's no reason why he couldn't learn a few simple Earth jutsus to work around Naruto's Wind jutsus. He had a month to prepare for him. As impressive as his skills are, the lack of adequate preparation shows his arrogance and his overconfidence in his techniques. He was the complete opposite of Sakura in this aspect. Besides, his strength isn't as critical of a factor as his attitude."
The Hyuga Jounin frowned and muttered, "He has a troubled past which was the cause of his attitude. Fortunately, he has calmed down after the Chunin Exams. It won't be an issue anymore."
Ibiki said, "That's good to hear, but it can't be considered for this evaluation. He should prove himself once again in the next Chunin exams."
The Hyuga Jounin thought for a bit before letting out a long sigh, "Alright, you win. I can't argue against that."
Anko added, "I agree with Ibiki too. It'll be interesting to see how much he'll improve until the next exam."
Several others nodded. Tsunade looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone oppose that?"
With no more objections, Neji wasn't promoted to Chunin.
A smirk appeared on Anko's lips as she said, "The next candidate is an amusing one. Uzumaki Naruto. The difference in what he showed in the Preliminaries and the Finals was like Heaven and Earth. It was almost as if he was an entirely different ninja."
She glanced towards Fujin as she spoke. By now, everyone in the room was aware that Fujin was the one who taught Naruto how to supercharge the Wind jutsus.
Ibiki said, "He did very well in the first round as well. Due to him, the number of Genins who passed was nearly twice my estimates."
He chuckled and added, "He was also the first Genin I passed who left behind a blank answer sheet."
Hayate said, "His performance in the final round doesn't need to be emphasized. All of you have seen it."
The Yamanaka Jounin said, "There's no doubt about his strength. If it was the only criterion, I would agree right away. However, a Chunin is also a team leader. I'm not sure if he is mature enough to lead squads yet. Truthfully, he seems far worse than Neji in this aspect."
Anko replied, "I wouldn't underestimate him that much. He managed to pass the second round despite being attacked by Orochimaru and being virtually handicapped. He also did well in keeping his cards hidden and abusing his advantage to the fullest extent, be it against Kiba or Neji."
Ibiki said, "While that speaks to his battle intelligence, leading squads is an entirely different challenge. In round two, he was accompanied by his teammates who helped fill this gap. He has been Genin for too short of a time and hasn't done anything in the Chunin Exam to indicate he'd be a competent squad leader."
"I concur," the Aburame Jounin muttered. Hayate and the Hyuga Jounin agreed as well. Tsunade thought, 'Looks like you'll stay Genin for a while, kiddo. I have to agree too. While Naruto's grit and determination are beyond impressive, he isn't ready to lead squads yet. Not only will he endanger his team, but he will also be in great danger since he'll try everything he can to save his team.'
Tsunade was about to ask whether anyone had a different opinion, when Fujin suddenly said, "Those are good points, but they're inconsequential in deciding whether Naruto should be promoted or not."
His words caused several frowns to appear. Ibiki asked, "What do you mean they're inconsequential? A Chunin's main job is to lead squads."
Fujin nodded, "It is, but only for ordinary Chunins. Naruto is a Jinchuriki, the only one we have. Even though he isn't in the Bingo book, there's little doubt every enemy village wants to hunt or kidnap him. Their hunter squads should already be informed to act if they ever receive an opportunity.
As such, even after becoming a Chunin, Naruto cannot be allowed to lead Genins or Chunins on missions. Until he becomes an Elite Jounin, or better yet, a rank S ninja, he can only leave the village when accompanied by someone like Kakashi. But, with someone like Kakashi present, Naruto won't be leading the squads.
That is why I said this point is inconsequential for Naruto."
Fujin's words forced everyone to ponder. He had approached the issue from a different angle than everyone else. If Naruto wouldn't lead squads, the only aspect that mattered was Naruto's strength and his teamwork. He excelled in both. However, ignoring such a big aspect wasn't an easy thing.
Tsunade thought, 'What a unique perspective! He's correct. Though I won't treat Naruto as a weapon, I can't allow him to leave the village without adequate security when a dangerous organization like Akatsuki is hunting for him!'
Ibiki muttered, "Your words make sense. However, can we overlook something so important while promoting? I'm afraid it'll set a precedent that could result in Genins who aren't prepared for the responsibilities of a Chunin to be promoted. Having him go through the next Chunin Exam will be a better choice."
Fujin chuckled and asked, "Oh, and how do you think the next Chunin exams will go if Naruto participates? Without someone like a Gaara, he could just spam supercharged jutsus and no Genin could resist it. I hope you remember the supercharged jutsus, he used in the finals, were so effective after less than a month's practice. Who knows how much better he'll be at it after half a year or year, whenever he participates again?"
Fujin's words forced everyone to picture how the next Chunin Exams would be. They could envision Naruto spamming his way through all the matches in the finals. None could see any Genins cracking such an absurd attack. As such, the finals would become pointless in a way."
Hiruzen awkwardly muttered, "Fujin is correct. Other than nearly half of the battles becoming pointless, he might also cause heavy damage to the Forest of Death. While our finances are in good shape, there's no need to add a huge expense to the village's budget."
Fujin said, "I hadn't considered that, but if we think along those lines, we also need to consider the guests we invite to watch the finals. I don't see Naruto suddenly becoming that smart by the next exam. There's a very good chance he will be rejected for the same reason.
So, Naruto continuously defeating the Genins in every exam would raise more than a few eyebrows. People would wonder why we aren't promoting him. Perhaps they might also think we're bullying minor villages by keeping him at the Genin rank."
Anko began nodding in agreement but suddenly stopped midway. She couldn't help but wonder, 'Since when did the Chunin Exam committee have to consider these aspects? Ain't that the council's job?'
With Hiruzen and Fujin speaking of matters that were beyond the scope of the proctors and judges, they couldn't oppose anymore and only accept their decision.
Hiruzen decided, "Let's promote Naruto to Chunin. We'l inform the Mission Center to never give him any missions, irrespective of whether he's leading the team or just a part of it. All his missions will have to be approved by the Hokage."
Tsunade nodded and said, "Alright. Naruto will be the second Genin to be promoted. That only leaves us with Uchiha Sasuke."
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