Finally... We're back. Kazekaze and his group bid farewell to Masakawa and returned to the village. Upon seeing the gates of Konoha once more, Kazekaze felt a sense of nostalgia as if a lifetime had passed.
"Ah, the border mission is finally over!" Kazekaze stretched lazily and said to Uchiha Kagami and the others. Then, the four of them temporarily parted ways, and Kazekaze went home to rest well.
The next morning, a member of the Anbu suddenly visited, "Are you Kazekaze-sama?"
"That's me."
The Anbu ninja then revealed his identity, stating that it was Lord Tobirama who ordered him to fetch Kazekaze-sama. Although Kazekaze wasn't sure why Tobirama was looking for him, he followed the Anbu ninja's instructions and kept up with his pace.
Before long, Kazekaze followed the Anbu ninja to the Hokage building. The Anbu ninja remained silent throughout the journey until they stopped at a certain door, where he gently knocked. After receiving Tobirama's permission, he slowly pushed open the door. However, the Anbu ninja did not enter but stood guard at the door, indicating that Kazekaze could go in.
"Thank you." Kazekaze nodded slightly, expressing his gratitude to the guiding ninja, and then walked straight in.
The door closed gently behind Kazekaze. The situation inside was beyond Kazekaze's expectations. Not only was Tobirama there, but all the clan leaders of the famous families in Konoha were gathered, sitting in two rows with serious expressions. Tobirama sat with his arms crossed in the main seat. Such a grand scene was unexpected for Kazekaze. He couldn't help but glance back. He found that behind him was empty, with only the closed door.
"Kazekaze." Suddenly, the silent Tobirama spoke, calling Kazekaze's name, and had him walk to the center of the open space.
The Sarutobi clan leader, the Shimura clan leader, the Uchiha clan leader, the Akimichi clan leader, the Hyuga clan leader, and other clan leaders were all scrutinizing Kazekaze. Although they had witnessed Kazekaze defeating the Third Kazekage in battle before and were shocked by his strength, in just a month, Tobirama was going to appoint Kazekaze as a Special Jonin. This matter undoubtedly seemed astonishing to them.
The most crucial point was that the usual appointment ceremony only required the Hokage to notify the major families. Once there were no objections, the Hokage would announce the promotion to the ninja in the office. Gathering all the clan leaders like this was a first. However, their eyes on Kazekaze were somewhat skeptical. Whether Kazekaze was qualified to be a Special Jonin. In fact, a Special Jonin is different from a Jonin. It can be understood as a special Jonin. Besides the three basic abilities of a ninja—Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu—a Special Jonin also needs to master a special ability to be classified as a "Special Jonin."
But standing before them was Kazekaze. Now... He's only seven, right? And he was only recently promoted to Chunin. During this time, he only performed one border mission. Returning to the village and being promoted to Special Jonin seemed unreasonable to them. Even if Kazekaze is the grandson of Lord Hashirama, the promotion should follow basic rules.
However, what they didn't know was that Tobirama decided to promote Kazekaze to Special Jonin according to the basic rules. Otherwise, he would have wanted to make Kazekaze a Jonin directly. Even though Kazekaze already had the strength of a Jonin, he had performed very few missions. His contribution to the village was far from enough to be a Jonin. Even with connections, Tobirama couldn't use such authority lightly. After much thought, Tobirama decided to first appoint Kazekaze as a Special Jonin, then let him take on missions as a Special Jonin. Once his contributions were sufficient, he would be promoted to Jonin.
After all, according to the rules established by Tobirama, the level of missions a ninja takes on is divided into Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. The missions a Special Jonin takes on are naturally higher than those of a Chunin. The higher the mission level, the more contributions to the village. In other words, this was a plan to quickly promote Kazekaze to Jonin. Moreover, Tobirama also had his own little thoughts. This little thought was to let the clan leaders of Konoha know how terrifying Kazekaze's strength is now!
"Since Kazekaze is here, let me explain." Tobirama stood up from his seat and recounted the incident where Kazekaze encountered an ambush by Kinkaku while on a liaison mission. How he easily resolved it, retrieved important information, and repelled the Kinkaku Force. As Tobirama narrated this event, all the clan leaders focused their gaze on Kazekaze, feeling incredulous. In their view, even if the roles were reversed, they might not have handled the situation better.
"However, that's not all. Just a few days ago, the Elite Jonin of the Hidden Cloud Village, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, led a ninja unit to invade the borders of our Land of Fire." However, Tobirama did not explicitly state that the other party was targeting Kazekaze. Instead, he defined this incident as an invasion by the Hidden Cloud Village. Kazekaze happened to discover them. The two sides fought fiercely. After a tough battle, Kazekaze eliminated the ninja unit led by Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Upon hearing this, the entire room was in an uproar. Even their eyes on Kazekaze were filled with shock and disbelief. Kazekaze eliminated an entire ninja unit? He seems to be only seven years old and still a Chunin, right? The most important thing is, during the Chunin Exams, they witnessed Kazekaze's battles firsthand. His taijutsu and Water Release were indeed astonishing. But to say he eliminated a unit led by Elite Jonin, it seemed too far-fetched. It made them question the authenticity of the claim.
"Lord Tobirama, is what you said true?" The Shimura clan leader couldn't help but question. Even if Kazekaze is the grandson of the First Hokage, and Tobirama wants to pave the way for him, using such a reason to forcibly promote Kazekaze to Special Jonin, in his eyes, it was indeed inappropriate. As the Shimura clan leader raised doubts, others began to discuss and question the authenticity of the matter.
"Absolutely true." Tobirama raised his voice, speaking firmly, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. His sharp eyes seemed to say,
'Do you think what I, Tobirama, say is false?'
"In fact, this is the second thing I want to say. Kazekaze, as the grandson of the First Hokage, has perfectly inherited the First Hokage's power. Wood Release!" Immediately, Tobirama revealed shocking news. The entire room was in an uproar. Especially the clan leaders of the Uchiha and Hyuga families. One immediately activated the Sharingan. The other directly activated the Byakugan. They scrutinized Kazekaze up and down. The concept of Wood Release didn't need Tobirama to explain.
"With such achievements and mastery of Wood Release, I believe promoting Kazekaze to Special Jonin is reasonable." Tobirama paused, "Who approves, who opposes?"