The day after the succession ceremony ended, the Fifteen Rookies were called to the office.
Tsunade looked at these fifteen vibrant young boys and girls, feeling a surge of emotion in her heart. At the same time, she was full of confidence in the future of Konoha.
These fifteen people would definitely be the pillars of the Village in the future!
Naruto was the first to stand impatiently and quickly asked: "Granny Tsunade, why did you call us here? I still need to train, ya know!"
Tsunade, Granny?
Everyone looked at Naruto with strange expressions, then looked at the young, beautiful, and fierce Tsunade. They couldn't connect her at all to the image of a granny.
However, upon closer thought, they realized Tsunade's age was indeed not young, so calling her Granny seemed correct.
It was just that calling her Granny seemed to be Naruto's privilege alone.
"Well, Naruto, don't rush. The reason I called you here this time is about promotions."
Tsunade smiled, her gaze fixed on Xia Mu. "Xia Mu, in light of your exceptionally outstanding performance during the Chunin Exams, coupled with the recommendations of several Jonin, you are promoted to Jonin starting today!"
Directly promoted to Jonin?!
Everyone was stunned, but soon felt it was only natural.
After all, Xia Mu was truly strong. He could even defeat tailed beasts and had defeated Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. If he couldn't become a Jonin like this, how would the Jonin of Konoha feel?
Naruto cried enviously: "Damn it! Xia Mu actually became a Jonin!"
The others were equally envious. After all, jumping directly from Genin to Jonin was such a great honor. Moreover, becoming a Jonin meant truly being able to stand on one's own and being a truly excellent Ninja.
Tenten, on the other hand, proudly puffed out her chest and raised her head. Her boyfriend was just that outstanding!
Next were the Chunin promotions.
"Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and Tenten, in recognition of your excellent performance during the Chunin Exams, you are approved for promotion to Chunin."
Upon hearing this, the five of them all smiled.
Tenten couldn't help but grab Xia Mu's hand, only then suppressing her excitement.
The others weren't surprised either. After all, these five were indeed very outstanding, and their performance in the finals was also very impressive.
But Naruto was unconvinced. He pointed at Sasuke and shouted: "Granny Tsunade, I have no problem with the others being promoted to Chunin, but why is that stinky Sasuke promoted too? He lost to Neji in the finals, didn't he! He lost, ya know!"
Sasuke frowned, really wanting to beat Naruto up.
This guy really knows how to rub it in!
But how could Tsunade's decision be easily changed: "Naruto, stop shouting. Although Sasuke did lose, his strength is clear to everyone."
Furthermore, during Orochimaru's rebellion, Sasuke, Neji, and Tenten formed a team to fight against invading enemy Ninja, defeating many strong opponents. The Village's Jonin and Chunin have a high evaluation of him, so his promotion to Chunin is only natural!"
Now Naruto had nothing to say.
Sasuke did indeed lose to Neji, but the strength he displayed was greater than both Shino and Shikamaru.
Of course, the most important thing was his active performance during the destruction of Konoha. The enemy Ninja he defeated were all recorded; those were achievements.
Ino, however, quietly raised her hand at this moment: "Tsunade-sama, I'd like to ask, why wasn't Kato Megumi promoted to Chunin?"
She also performed very well during the Chunin Exams, and she even won in the finals..."
Ino was the one who lost to Kato Megumi in the finals and had specifically looked into this girl from the same year.
While in school, Kato Megumi might not have been noticeable, but since becoming a Ninja, Kato Megumi not only improved her strength rapidly but also showed talent in Medical Ninjutsu. It could be said that, besides Tenten, she was the most outstanding female Genin.
However, Kato Megumi wasn't promoted, which left Ino very confused, even feeling it was unfair.
"Well, this is based on considering Megumi's strength."
Tsunade's smile widened. "Megumi is somewhat lacking in terms of strength and still needs some polishing."
However, she has good talent in Medical Ninjutsu, performed impressively during the Chunin Exams, and was also very active during Orochimaru's rebellion. I know all of this."
Therefore, I have already taken her as my disciple and will personally instruct her."
Wh- What?! Taken as a disciple?!
The girls besides Tenten were all very shocked, followed by intense envy.
Compared to being promoted to Chunin, becoming Tsunade's disciple seemed even more enviable and jealousy-inducing. After all, how many girls dreamed of becoming the second Tsunade? Being able to become Tsunade's disciple was simply amazing, wasn't it!
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Sakura and Ino's minds, but they quickly cut it off.
They also considered becoming disciples but lacked the confidence, feeling that perhaps only someone as outstanding as Kato Megumi was qualified to be a disciple.
Kato Megumi, on the other hand, looked shy. Although becoming Tsunade's disciple was something to be proud of, she wasn't the type of person who liked to boast or show off, so facing everyone's envy just made her feel shy.
After finishing the matter of promotions, there were still other arrangements.
Tsunade continued: "Next, I will be reorganizing your Genin teams."
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. Naruto, even more so, jumped up again: "Granny Tsunade, what do you mean by reorganizing the teams, ya know!"
Are you going to break up our teams? Are you going to break apart the bonds we worked so hard to build?!"
Sakura also couldn't accept it: "Tsunade-sama, please forgive us, but we cannot agree to this!"
The others also nodded in agreement. It was clear they all valued their teams highly, and the sudden announcement of reorganization made it completely unacceptable for a moment.
"What are you rushing for? Wait until I finish!"
Tsunade pounded the table, almost breaking it. "Several of your teams have members who were promoted to Chunin, and Xia Mu was even promoted to Jonin. Continuing with the current team assignments is inappropriate."
Moreover, there's another Chunin Exams in a year. Aren't you Genin going to participate?
So, I will temporarily reassign you to new teams to get you familiar with them first. After the next Chunin Exams, if you are all promoted to Chunin, you can return to your original teams. Do you understand?"
So that's it! You should have said so earlier!
Everyone sighed in relief. It was good as long as it wasn't a forced team split.
And thinking about it, it made sense. They definitely had to participate in next year's Chunin Exams. No one wanted to remain a Genin. Otherwise, seeing all their comrades as Chunin while they were the only Genin would be too embarrassing.
"Alright then, here are the new team assignments."
"Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga will form one team, led by Jonin Kurenai Yuhi."
"Sakura Haruno, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka will form one team, led by Jonin Asuma Sarutobi."
"Rock Lee, Runya Yamanaka, and Kato Megumi will form one team, led by Special Jonin Yamashiro Aoba."
The members of the new teams subconsciously exchanged glances.
Hinata immediately blushed, but Kiba Inuzuka felt completely miserable.
After all, Kiba Inuzuka had been hanging out with Naruto since school and knew how unreliable Naruto was. Coupled with Hinata blushing so much she looked like she would faint whenever she saw Naruto, he felt this team was doomed.