Four days later, at the Hokage Office, Teams 3, 7, 8, 10, and 11 were gathered. Along with their teachers, twenty people plus a dog stood together, making the room feel a bit cramped.
The teachers, having known the details in advance, had their students stand in front to listen to Minato's words.
"I have carefully reviewed the report from Sunagakure Village. I have called you here to announce the results." Minato looked solemnly at the fifteen teenagers, some nervous, some calm, and said:
"In light of your excellent performance in the Chunin Exams, I, as the Fourth Hokage, officially approve Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Haku, Karin, and Yakumo, a total of 12 people, for promotion to Chunin."
At the end, Minato smiled and said, "Congratulations!"
"Oh!!!" Everyone cheered happily, with Rock Lee and Kiba being the loudest. Even the usually calm Shikamaru and Neji showed smiles.
Naruto thought he could understand Shikamaru's feelings, because before leaving, he had 'accidentally' overheard Temari and Shikamaru talking. She was about to become a Jonin, and he shouldn't let her get too far ahead...
Hinata looked worriedly in Naruto's direction and mustered her courage to ask, "Um... Naruto-kun... what about them?"
The other teammates also quieted down, as they were also concerned about Team 7's situation, feeling that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had performed even better than them.
"This is what I'm about to say." Minato's gaze lingered on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura for a few seconds, and he said:
"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, the Fifth Kazekage has specifically expressed his appreciation for your actions, and even the Hidden Waterfall Village has sent a letter of gratitude. Furthermore, according to my understanding, your strength is already sufficient.
Therefore, I will add an S-Rank Mission record for you and exceptionally promote the three of you to Special Jonin. Keep up the good work!"
"Yes!" *3
Sakura clenched her fist, her heart full of surprise. She had only gone to lend a hand at Naruto's invitation, but she had skipped Chunin altogether. It was unbelievable.
Sasuke's lips curled up. Even Uncle Minato recognized his strength. Special Jonin? He would challenge his brother as soon as he got back!
Naruto was a little surprised. No one had told him about this beforehand, but a raise was a good thing. The salary of a Jonin was vastly different from that of a Genin. The only thing that made him a little uneasy was whether he would still be qualified to save the world after losing the Genin aura.
Minato looked at the fifteen young teenagers in front of him, a gratified smile on his face: They will surely become the pillars of Konoha in the future!
The teammates all found it hard to believe. Kiba shouted, "They were directly promoted to Special Jonin! That's too cunning. They even took the opportunity to do some S-Rank Mission during the exam!"
"As expected of them!" Rock Lee seemed to have flames burning behind him, excitedly shouting, "Neji, Tenten, let's go challenge an S-Rank Mission too!"
"I refuse." Neji and Tenten had the same disgusted expressions.
Hinata was even happier than when she had become a Jonin: "Naruto-kun, congratulations!"
"Yeah, you guys will get there soon too. But that's not the point. The point is..." Naruto turned around and waved to Kakashi, shouting, "Kakashi-sensei, treat us to a celebration!"
Kakashi's eyes had originally narrowed into crescent moons with laughter, but when he heard Naruto's words, they returned to dead fish eyes. He said helplessly, "Alright, let's go to your favorite barbecue restaurant. Consider it a congratulatory treat!"
Inspired by Naruto, Choji trotted to the back and hugged Asuma, looking up at him with his big, bright eyes: "Asuma-sensei!"
"Yes, yes, I know, let go first, your hands are full of oil..." Asuma responded while prying Choji's hands open. He was still very fond of Choji.
"Kurenai-sensei?" Karin looked at Kurenai with the same anticipation. It wasn't that she was greedy, but she really liked the atmosphere of being together with her teammates.
Kurenai blinked. Such good three students, of course she had to be good to them. She said with a smile, "No problem."
"That's right! Kushina-sen...sei..." Kiba excitedly wanted to join in the fun, but his tone weakened involuntarily as he spoke.
[Crap, was I too presumptuous...]
Kushina put her hand on Kiba's head and said, "I know, I'll treat you, congratulations on becoming Chunin!"
"How could I miss something like this! To celebrate my adorable disciples becoming Chunin, treating is a must!" Guy jumped out, flashing a thumbs up, his teeth gleaming.
Kushina clapped her hands and said, "In that case, why don't we all go together? Minato, are you coming?"
Minato pointed to the stack of documents on the desk, spread his hands, and said, "I still have some things to do. Have fun."
...
At the party, everyone ate, drank, chatted, and had a great time. Everyone cherished this gathering because they were no longer Genin and would be much busier than before. It would be difficult to gather so many people together like today again.
The only minor incident was that Rock Lee almost grabbed the wrong wine glass, but Naruto quickly stopped him, scaring Neji and Tenten into a cold sweat.
In addition, for some reason, when it was time to pay the bill, Asuma looked at the long list, remained silent for a while, and finally made up his mind, insisting on paying an extra share...
"Kakashi-sensei, do you have anything to do later?" Naruto stopped Kakashi, who was about to leave.
"Hmm?" Kakashi thought for a moment. Besides reading, he had no other plans for today. "Not really anything special."
"In that case, I have something important I want to ask you to help with." Worried that he would be lazy, Naruto added, "I think only you can do this well."
"Sure," Kakashi agreed, seeing Naruto's serious expression, and asked, "What is it?"
"Alright!" Naruto grabbed Kakashi's arm. "Anyway, come with me to a place first!"
Mount Myoboku.
Kakashi looked around at the environment. This was also his first time coming to one of the legendary Three Great Sage Locations, and he was even more curious about what Naruto wanted him to help with.
"Gamakichi! I brought the person!" Naruto shouted.
Poof, Gamakichi, who was more than two meters tall, landed in front of Kakashi and asked, "Is this the Kakashi-sensei you mentioned?"
Naruto replied, "That's right! He's the only one who can do this!"
Kakashi wondered, "What exactly is it?"
"Please come with me, you'll understand as soon as you see it." Gamakichi was very polite, even using honorifics when speaking to Kakashi.
Kakashi looked at Naruto, and Naruto nodded and said, "Don't worry, there's no danger. I'm going to train first. After you're done, have Gamakichi take you to find me."
After the two left, Naruto went to Fukasaku to prepare for training, muttering to himself, "It's been eight or nine days since I came to Mount Myoboku after the Chunin Exams started.
How can I become a sage with such laziness!"
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