Naruto: Chronicles of a Fire Ninja-Chapter 332 - 328: Political chess

Kaida was standing in front of his mission board, a completed mission report in his hand. He was taking bandit extermination missions now, and the direction—toward the Land of Lightning or Land of Sand. In two days, he had completed 3 missions, each with an estimated time of 3-4 days, just showing how much he had strained his chakra to complete them this early. And the reason for this was fairly simple.

He had to go to Kusagakure if he wanted to save Karin and her mother, but there was one—no, two—slight problems with this. He was just a Chunin at the moment and could only take C-rank and some low B-rank missions alone. Any mission related to Kusagakure was an A-rank because of definite involvement of ninjas.

So there was no way Kaida could take those missions alone and would have to wait for his promotion to Jonin rank for that. But even after his promotion, he couldn't just go to Kusagakure and bring back two Uzumakis, saying it was just a coincidence. Because there was this question everyone was going to ask him:

'Why did you go to Kusagakure and that too alone?'

After thinking long, he decided to go with a simple approach:

'TRAINING'

'I have been doing many bandit extermination missions and even after pushing myself by doing them as fast as possible, I was still able to complete them easily. So I tried doing harder missions and found missions related to a minor village, so I took them.'

Though a little far-fetched, it was still his best option. And since he didn't have much time, he decided to do all the bandit extermination missions or any missions that could be considered training and could be completed within a day. So that when he actually became a Jonin, there would be no need to wait any longer, and he could finally bring in one of his future trump cards to Konoha.

...

As days passed, Kaida completed many missions while also going to the hospital in between. Soon the situation became much more tamed, with peace finally returning to Konoha. And with that, the discussion of the promotion of new Jonins also started.

"What do you mean you want to promote them as Jonins, Lord Third? They are not even Chunin-level in knowledge. How could they even be considered for Jonin promotion?" Hiashi Hyuga asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Because I gave my word to them about the reward if they won in the Chunin exam," Hiruzen simply replied.

"Lord Third, even though winning that Chunin exam was really great for the village and no doubt a big achievement for those young ninjas, but is it enough to consider them for Jonin position?" Shimura Kazuma, the current clan head of the Shimura Clan and a person named after his ancestor, asked. Even though Danzo's death had reduced their political power by a lot, they quickly cut off any ties with Danzo as soon as his misdeeds came to light, saving their reputation. This actually gave them enough breathing space to even question the Hokage's decision, but that was the extent of the leniency they were given.

Hiruzen looked toward Kazuma and said, "Are you saying that my word has no value?"

"I wouldn't dare to think that, Lord Third. I was just thinking about those ninjas who would be led by someone inexperienced. The result could be disastrous," Kazuma said.

"Fine, let me prove to you that my decision is not wrong. Send any three Jonins from the Shimura Clan for a duel with those three. We can have this duel right now, without giving them any time for preparation.

"So if they lose, I will stop their promotion, and they will only get it when you yourself will think that they are ready. Okay?" Hiruzen said with his famous grandfatherly smile.

Kazuma cursed under his breath, 'This silly fox.' Like others, he didn't want the Uchiha Clan to have more Jonins, and that too ninjas who were so strong already. Considering their age, even becoming a Kage-level ninja was not impossible.

If they became Jonins this early, they would have ample time to prepare themselves for the Hokage position—one of the reasons why Kakashi was promoted so early as a Jonin.

Many other clan heads had similar thoughts in their minds, but sadly for them, Hiruzen had his mind fixed. And Fugaku was sitting along with them as well, so they couldn't actually speak their mind either. Considering how the Nara, Akimichi, and Aburame Clans were now allies of the Uchiha, nothing was official, but everyone knew about this closeness.

With many major clans coming together, the weight of going against any of them was very high. Only clans like the Hyuga and Shimura Clans could bear that weight. But what Hiruzen just said crumbled that possibility too.

All of the people present in the meeting were of high position in Konoha—either clan heads, elders, or council members. That meant they had access to much more information than the general population about the village. Information like the true performance of the three candidates from Konoha in the Chunin exam, their strength levels, battle experience, and many more things.

That's why when Hiruzen said to bring any Jonin from the Shimura Clan, Kazuma was not even thinking of doing that.

'What would be the result of doing this much work other than getting humiliated and still allowing them to become Jonins?' Kazuma just sighed in his mind while putting up a smile on his face.

"There is no need for doing so much extra work, Lord Third. Of course, we believe in your judgment. If you think they are ready for the promotion, then I don't have any problem with this either," Kazuma said and backed off.

With no more objections, Hiruzen moved to the next topic, and the meeting continued.

...

Kaida just came back from the hospital when Yomi and Shisui jumped toward him like there were springs in their boots.

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"Guess what," Shisui shouted.

"I am getting a sister-in-law soon?" Kaida asked.

"No, you dumb brother. It is even better than that. You are going to be a Jonin soon," Shisui said.

"Really?" Kaida asked.

"Yes, here," Yomi replied with a cheerful smile while passing a letter to Kaida.

'Finally'