Chapter 434: War Merit Rewards
"I believe this battle should be heavily publicized, just like the last time Minato Namikaze fought the A B duo to a draw," Danzo Shimura said first, stating his view without hesitation.
"It will boost our ninja's confidence for the rest of the war, and it will deter the enemy villages."
Mugetsu was a Root ninja, and Danzo believed that the more fame, status, and authority Mugetsu gained inside Konoha, the better it would be for him. After all, Danzo considered himself Mugetsu's most respected Root leader. In his mind, there was no way Mugetsu would refuse his arrangements.
"It would raise morale, yes," Utatane Koharu countered, "but can that morale increase compare to Mugetsu remaining a surprise weapon?"
Her tone stayed calm, but the meaning was sharp.
"This time he killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and also Reiki. If we get a few more results like that, Konoha will win the war."
Koharu believed Konoha should not only avoid publicizing Mugetsu's achievements, but also force everyone below to keep it secret, letting Mugetsu remain a hidden blade.
"Have you been off the battlefield for too long?" Danzo retorted, not bothering to soften his words. "That kind of result cannot be achieved through strength alone."
Even though it was still a retort, his attitude toward Koharu was different from his clashes with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzo argued with Hiruzen because Hiruzen's suppression irritated him.
With Koharu, it was different. Danzo understood her too well. Like him, Koharu was a ninja devoted to Konoha. As long as the starting point was Konoha, and the final result benefited Konoha, she did not care about minor details.
Sometimes, harsher words made it easier for her to recognize sincerity, because they sounded like conviction instead of politeness.
After thinking it over, Koharu did not refute him. It really had been a long time since she last stood on a battlefield.
After Hiruzen became Hokage, she had risen into Konoha's high command. A village as powerful as Konoha rarely needed its top leadership to be dispatched.
Seeing Koharu's reaction, Danzo nodded inwardly.
Handling Koharu meant handling Homura Mitokado as well. Those two usually moved in unison.
To be honest, Danzo did not think highly of either of them. Even though they were all considered the Second Hokage's disciples, Danzo only truly acknowledged Hiruzen as someone on his level.
As far as Danzo was concerned, Hiruzen was the only one worth measuring himself against.
Reality matched his impression. After becoming high command, Homura and Koharu rarely held firm opinions of their own. If they simply lacked opinions, that would be one thing, but more often, they became Hiruzen's yes men, and that made Danzo deeply dissatisfied.
It meant that in high level meetings, he stood alone without support.
Danzo did not believe it was because he lacked ability. In his view, it was simple hierarchy. Hiruzen was the Third Hokage, and Danzo was only the Hokage's assistant.
If their positions were reversed, Homura and Koharu would be his yes men instead.
Danzo glanced at Hiruzen, who had remained silent.
Given Homura and Koharu's personalities, even if they tacitly agreed now, they would immediately support Hiruzen the moment he presented a logical reason to object. That meant Hiruzen's stance would decide everything.
Hiruzen sensed Danzo's gaze. Instead of answering at once, he lifted his pipe, took a slow pull, then exhaled thin wisps of white smoke.
The question of whether to publicize the victory was not difficult.
What Hiruzen was truly weighing was something else, including the current standing of Konoha's Hokage candidates.
Right now, Tsunade had the weakest popularity, largely because she had not gone to the front lines. Orochimaru and Jiraiya were running close.
When Jiraiya achieved a great victory on the Land of Grass battlefield, his popularity surged past the other candidates. But as Orochimaru accumulated merits on the Land of Hot Springs battlefield, he steadily caught up.
Even though Hiruzen, as the current Hokage, held the final authority to appoint the next Hokage, he could not ignore public opinion inside the village.
The First Hokage had been chosen by Konoha's ninja. If Hiruzen appointed someone the village could not accept, it would damage the Hokage's prestige.
Of course, Hiruzen knew priorities. If the most popular candidate was not suitable, he would still choose the person he believed was right, even if it cost the office some prestige.
Jiraiya… why are you so unwilling to become Hokage?
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
If Jiraiya were willing, Hiruzen would not have to think so much. The path was already prepared. Jiraiya simply refused to walk it.
From Hiruzen's perspective, it was difficult to understand.
This was the position of Hokage, holding supreme authority. Even though the Hokage was nominally one rank below the Fire Daimyo, in practice they stood as equals. The Daimyo could not order the Hokage to do something the Hokage did not want.
Then Hiruzen thought of Mugetsu.
If Mugetsu had been born five or six years earlier, Hiruzen would have taken him as a disciple without hesitation, and trained him toward becoming Hokage.
Mugetsu was Hiruzen's ideal disciple. Like him, he possessed talent far beyond ordinary ninja. He was gentle, humble, and deeply understood the Will of Fire. He even had unmatched teaching ability, like a strengthened version of Hiruzen himself in his youth.
Thinking of Mugetsu's temperament, and then thinking of the personalities of his three students, Hiruzen felt a quiet irritation rise. Comparing people really was infuriating.
He exhaled one last curl of smoke and lowered his pipe.
"Even if we try to conceal it, an achievement like this is hard to replicate," Hiruzen said. "And two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen escaped. Hidden Mist will learn the truth soon anyway. In that situation, deliberate concealment is meaningless. Mobilize our forces and publicize this victory."
The results Mugetsu achieved far exceeded Hiruzen's expectations.
Before, when Mugetsu fought the Sand's hero Pakura, Hiruzen had asked him to conceal it once, partly out of consideration for the Sand's reputation. This time, Hiruzen had no intention of forcing Mugetsu to endure that again.
Mugetsu's fame had not matched his strength for too long.
Once Hiruzen spoke, Koharu and Homura also voiced agreement. Danzo's mouth curved into a satisfied smile.
"How should Might Duy be rewarded?" Homura asked, flipping through the data in his hand. "Should he be promoted to jonin? But he doesn't seem to know ninjutsu. Promoting someone who cannot use ninjutsu to jonin seems… against the rules."
Konoha's standards for jonin were strict.
In peacetime, promotion required not only enough merit, but also passing multiple assessments. Those who failed had to continue studying until they passed.
Even in wartime, exceptions still had limits.
Might Duy was not merely specialized. In Homura's eyes, he knew only one field, and Konoha had no precedent for it.
"Then make him a Special Jonin," Koharu said, looking down at Duy's file. "He only excels in taijutsu. And it hasn't even been long since his chunin promotion. This is already a special promotion."
It was only because the achievement was truly significant that Koharu was willing to promote him at all.
In her eyes, Duy clearly possessed such a terrifying forbidden technique, yet he hid it for years, pretending to be a genin. She saw that as a lack of the Will of Fire.
Danzo closed his mouth and said nothing. Duy's rank was not his concern.
"Rules are dead," Hiruzen said, offering a contrary opinion. "Konoha's rules have changed many times from the village's founding until now. Whether it is ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, they are all part of a ninja's strength. Might Duy was able to fight two ninja at the level of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. That strength is enough to be jonin."
Hiruzen knew Duy and had met him briefly before. He understood, in general, what kind of person Duy was.
With the temperament Duy displayed, Hiruzen believed Duy was fully qualified to become a Konoha jonin.
More importantly, Duy truly rendered great service this time.
If Duy had not arrived in time, Kakashi and the others would not have repelled the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. They would not have held on until Mugetsu arrived. And without that, there would have been no victory to celebrate at all.
"Hiruzen, you make a good point," Homura said, nodding. "Sometimes we cannot cling to rules too rigidly."
"Then we promote him to jonin," Koharu agreed, shifting her stance as well.
A hint of disdain flashed across Danzo's eyes. If Hiruzen had refuted Danzo instead, Danzo would have argued immediately.
"Since Might Duy is being promoted to jonin," Homura continued, "what about Kakashi and Guy?"
He looked at the rest of the names.
"Among them, aside from Kakashi, most were promoted to chunin only within the last two years. Genma, Ebisu, and Shisui were even promoted this year."
If Kakashi and the others were promoted to jonin, it would be shocking. Konoha would suddenly have several extremely young jonin, and Shisui was only eight years old.
Hiruzen considered for a moment, then spoke.
"Kakashi, Obito, and Guy will undergo jonin assessments when they return to the village. If they pass, they can be promoted to jonin. Rin will be promoted directly to Special Jonin. The others remain unchanged for now."
The reason Genma and Ebisu were not included was simple.
They fought hard, but in that battle they were largely bystanders. Their strength did not match the rank of jonin.
A ninja whose strength did not match their rank was dangerous. It harmed the village's reputation, and it made that ninja far more likely to die in missions.
As for Shisui, even though he was strong enough, his achievements were not sufficient. He had completed too few missions to meet the requirements for jonin.
Rin and Obito were treated differently for the same reason.
Rin's current strength was not enough for jonin, but her medical ability and achievements were outstanding, more than enough for Special Jonin.
Homura and Koharu both agreed. Hiruzen had weighed every angle.
…
After the meeting, Mugetsu went to visit his injured disciples.
Every one of them had been hurt this time. The only difference was how badly.
"Mugetsu sensei!" Obito waved with a bright grin the moment he saw him.
Shisui, not as outwardly enthusiastic as Obito, still sat up and greeted Mugetsu properly.
Kakashi shifted slightly and greeted him in a quiet voice.
Guy, because of how severe his injuries were, could only lift his head a little to find Mugetsu's position, then greet him weakly.
"Are you all holding up?" Mugetsu asked with a warm smile as he stepped closer. Then he began examining them again.
This time, Mugetsu used Transformation Jutsu to take on Tsunade's form while checking their condition.
Because of the black framed glasses, none of his disciples noticed the change. They only felt that under Mugetsu's treatment, their bodies recovered a little more.
After finishing the examination, Mugetsu treated them again.
Kakashi, receiving the treatment, felt genuine surprise in his chest.
Mugetsu sensei's medical ninjutsu has improved again.
As they grew stronger, injuries during training fights became inevitable. Most of the time, Mugetsu treated them personally, with Rin assisting.
Kakashi knew Mugetsu's medical level well.
At some point, Mugetsu's medical skill had advanced sharply. Mugetsu himself had said it was the result of studying with Tsunade.
But this time was obvious. Even Kakashi, who did not specialize in medical ninjutsu, could feel it.
Mugetsu sensei really is a genius. Armament Haki, breathing techniques, and now this.
Kakashi attributed it to Mugetsu's talent and relentless effort.
He did not deny Tsunade's contribution, but in Kakashi's mind, it was mainly because Mugetsu was extraordinary. If Tsunade opened a medical class, would she really be able to create a group of medical ninja comparable to a smaller version of herself?
"Mugetsu sensei," Obito asked, unable to hold back, "when can we recover?"
He had performed well against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, but the killing blow on Fuguki had been done with Kakashi.
Obito wanted to surpass Kakashi. That meant recovering fast and getting back into battle.
"You, Shisui, and Rin should recover in ten days," Mugetsu replied after thinking. "Kakashi will need three weeks. Guy needs about a month and a half."
Even with Tsunade's level of medical ability, Mugetsu still wanted them to rest longer, to ensure there were no hidden dangers left in their bodies.
"That long?" Guy's eyes widened.
"After about half a month of recuperation, you can begin rehabilitation training," Mugetsu added. "Just do not push too hard."
Guy finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If he could not train at all for that long, it would be unbearable. And if Kakashi and the others used that time to pass him, it would be even worse.
"The battles on this battlefield are going to grow more intense from here," Mugetsu said, looking across his disciples. "I plan to send Guy back to Konoha. Does anyone else want to return with him?"
Hidden Mist had already invaded deep into the Land of Fire. As long as they did not retreat, Orochimaru would lead Konoha's troops into a brutal, drawn out fight.
Mugetsu had created an excellent opening for Orochimaru.
And Orochimaru would never let that opportunity slip.
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