Chapter 444: Kakashi's Jonin Reward
"Senior, if I'm finished, may I submit my paper early?" Kakashi asked after he carefully checked his test paper one last time.
He would still have to wait for Obito either way, but submitting early at least meant he could wait outside instead of sitting in the room. That alone felt like freedom.
"So fast?" The examiner walked over in surprise. "You don't want to check it again?"
He leaned down and scanned the answers, and his surprise only deepened. Several questions he personally knew well were answered cleanly and accurately, with reasoning that was sharp and complete.
As an experienced examiner, he understood something very clearly.
For young geniuses, the biggest obstacle to becoming a jonin was rarely strength.
It was the written test.
Powerful shinobi did not automatically excel at theory. If Konoha did not have this added assessment mechanism for promotion, he believed the number of official jonin in the village would drop by a third, if not more.
"Your jonin assessment is complete," the examiner said, collecting Kakashi's paper. "You may leave directly or wait outside until the exam ends."
Kakashi nodded and stepped out to wait.
Based on his understanding of Obito, Obito would stay until the last second. Obito might not understand much, but he would not give up. Even if he could not solve something, he would still grind at it until time ran out.
The result was exactly as Kakashi expected.
He did not see Obito emerge until the exam time was over.
Hyuga Hisui and Sakata Genji also submitted at the very end, which made Kakashi, the only one who finished early, stand out even more.
Obito walked out with his head down, his whole mood written across his face.
Then a thought hit him like a kunai to the ribs.
"Oh no. If I don't pass… won't Rin's ninja rank end up higher than mine?"
According to the notice, Rin Nohara did not need to take an exam at all. She was directly promoted to Special Jonin.
If Obito passed and became a formal jonin, he would be one rank above her.
If he failed, he would be lower than her in the future.
Obito thought deeper and discovered something even more terrifying.
If Kakashi passed too, then Mugetsu's squad, or rather Minato's squad, would only have one chunin.
Him.
Obito could already imagine Kakashi's expression.
There's a good for nothing in the squad who didn't become a jonin. I'm not saying who the good for nothing is.
Just imagining it made Obito's blood pressure spike. His Sharingan practically felt like it wanted to activate from pure rage.
Kakashi frowned slightly as Obito shuffled toward him in a daze, his expression swinging between indignation and wild excitement. Kakashi had a vague feeling Obito was thinking something dangerous.
"The exam's over," Kakashi said, cutting in. "Are you still thinking about those questions?"
Obito looked regretful.
In his imagination, he had already skipped ahead to the part where he cultivated Flame Breathing to the peak, surpassed Mugetsu, and was about to punch Kakashi's face in.
Then Kakashi ruined it.
"How did you do?" Obito asked after a moment. "Do you think you can pass?"
Kakashi in Obito's memory never failed a written test, but this was a jonin assessment. The range was wide, the questions were brutal. Maybe Kakashi would stumble too.
"It was alright. I should pass," Kakashi replied calmly, nodding.
While he was in the hospital, Kakashi had been reading almost nonstop. With his already strong foundation, the jonin exam was more than manageable.
"Haha. Kakashi, you really don't know how to be humble," Obito muttered, feeling sour.
Kakashi followed up immediately.
"After all, the paper was average difficulty." He looked at Obito. "I don't think anyone would be unable to pass, right?"
It stiffened.
Obito's fist stiffened.
Kakashi did not say Obito's name even once, but Obito felt like he was being called out so loudly the whole village could hear it.
"You're talking big," Obito said, forcing down the urge to rearrange Kakashi's face. "Then tell me how you solved the paper."
He had to be mad later. Right now, he needed to check answers.
Even if Kakashi was irritating beyond belief, Obito still admitted Kakashi was usually right.
"The first question goes like this, and then…" Kakashi did not hide anything. He explained each answer and walked through his thought process from start to finish.
It would have been better if Obito never checked.
The moment he did, he felt even worse.
Many of his answers were completely different from Kakashi's.
There were only three possible outcomes.
First, Kakashi was right and he was wrong.
Second, he was right and Kakashi was wrong.
Third, they were both wrong.
Obito wanted the second outcome with all his heart.
But the small part of his brain that still functioned told him the first outcome was far more likely.
After the examinees left, the examiners immediately began grading.
"Today's geniuses really can't be underestimated," the examiner who proctored Kakashi said with a sigh. "They're practically strong in both theory and combat."
He genuinely could not understand how a ten year old could balance training and studying at this level.
"Not entirely," the examiner who proctored Obito said, laughing. "Uchiha Obito probably won't be promoted. His answers outside of history are a complete mess."
The examiner who finished grading Kakashi's paper leaned in curiously to look. "If his theory is only at this level, I feel he might be promoted to jonin through military achievements before he even passes a make up exam."
In peacetime, becoming a jonin without passing the assessment was nearly impossible.
But wartime was different.
In wartime, special circumstances were handled specially. Enough military achievements could lead to direct promotion.
After grading, the examiners sent all materials to the Hokage Building, where the Hokage himself would decide the results.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Kakashi's file, he stroked his goatee with a gratified smile.
He had recognized Kakashi's potential long ago, which was why he sought help from Mugetsu and Minato when Kakashi was lost and drifting.
Now Kakashi's achievements proved his judgment.
Only ten years old, yet already surpassing many shinobi.
Excellent was the only word that fit.
Hiruzen nodded to himself, then signed and stamped Kakashi's promotion document.
"This child Obito is lacking far too much in theoretical knowledge." Hiruzen sighed when he saw Obito's paper. "This score can't pass."
Then he paused, and his gaze softened slightly.
"However, his personality is a good thing for an Uchiha."
Hiruzen would rather have more innocent Uchiha like Obito. It would reduce conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
After rejecting Obito, Hiruzen looked at Hisui and Sakata.
He thought for a moment, then rejected Sakata and signed Hisui's promotion.
In truth, Hisui's strength was slightly weaker than Sakata's.
But Hisui's Byakugan carried strategic value, and that allowed some leniency.
After finishing his work, Hiruzen did not immediately order the results announced.
It was already close to the end of the day.
It would be better to announce everything tomorrow morning.
Before leaving, Hiruzen remembered something and pulled out Might Guy's file from the Ninja Academy.
"Guy's grades are also terrible," Hiruzen muttered, setting down his pipe and exhaling white smoke as he looked at Guy's overall academic record.
Before Fourth Grade, Guy could not even be described as bad.
He was at the idiot level.
After Fourth Grade, his grades improved a lot because of Mugetsu's tutoring, but they were still only good enough to pass without worry.
The jonin assessment theory test was not as forgiving as the Ninja Academy.
In the academy, scoring half the average could still be considered passing.
In the jonin assessment, a passing score required at least eighty percent.
"Should I lower the difficulty for Guy?" Hiruzen fell into thought.
If the difficulty stayed the same, Guy would not pass the jonin assessment, because his theoretical knowledge was just as bad as Obito's.
Hiruzen was not thinking this because he favored Guy.
He was thinking it because Guy's contributions were greater.
In the same mission, different shinobi earned different credit. The greatest credit in that skirmish belonged to Mugetsu, who killed Reiki, four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and a host of Mist shinobi.
Second was Guy.
Without Guy's burst of power, Kakashi and the others would not have been able to repel the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and they never would have held out until Mugetsu arrived.
In truth, Hiruzen had already shown leniency by allowing Guy to qualify for the assessment at all. With Guy's specialized approach, he would not even have been eligible without those achievements.
Guy's biggest disadvantage was age.
If Guy were fourteen or older, Hiruzen would have directly promoted him to jonin.
But ten years old was too young.
Unless someone's combat achievements were so overwhelming they defied common sense, like Mugetsu's, age still mattered.
In the end, Hiruzen decided to wait and see Guy's score before making a decision.
Jonin were qualified to lead important missions.
Someone who knew nothing would only cause trouble.
The next morning, Hiruzen ordered the notifications sent out.
Those who passed had to report to the Hokage Office to receive their new ninja certificates.
Those who failed only received a notice.
"Uchiha Obito." The notifying shinobi read from the document. "Upon assessment, it has been found that while your strength is excellent, you are lacking in theoretical knowledge and are currently unqualified for promotion to jonin."
Even though he expected it, hearing it still stung. Obito could not hide the disappointment on his face.
A jonin was an elite shinobi in the eyes of ordinary people.
He wanted his grandmother to proudly tell other Uchiha that her grandson was already excellent at ten years old.
"If you study hard, you still have a chance," the shinobi added. "Within the next eight years, you can apply for one make up exam each year. If you pass, you can become a formal jonin."
The assessment itself was a screening. People who had no chance to become a jonin were not even given the opportunity to take it.
But Konoha would not easily give up on those who passed the screening.
They would provide multiple chances. If someone passed later, they could still become a formal jonin.
"Once a year…" Obito scratched his head. The interval felt painfully long. He was only ten. A year was already one tenth of his life so far.
"Before the next exam, I should go find Mugetsu sensei," Obito decided.
Trusting the all powerful Mugetsu sensei felt safer than trusting his own ability to study.
"Did Kakashi pass?" Obito could not help asking.
His own failure was bad.
But Kakashi succeeding first would be unbearable.
"That, I wouldn't know," the notifying shinobi said, shaking his head. "I'm only responsible for notifying you."
Obito felt even worse.
The answer he wanted most was that Kakashi failed too.
Just imagining Kakashi becoming a jonin first made Obito feel uncomfortable all over.
From what Obito knew, Kakashi would absolutely use their ranks as an excuse to order him around.
So Obito decided to sprint to Kakashi's house and get the truth.
"Kakashi, are you home?!" Obito shouted as he used Concentrated Breathing to strengthen his body and raced to Kakashi's door.
He knocked several times.
No response.
Obito's heart sank.
"Oh no. He didn't actually pass, did he?" Obito muttered. "Is he at the Hokage Building?"
And that was exactly where Kakashi was.
At that moment, Kakashi was completing his promotion procedures in the Hokage Office.
"From now on, you are a formal Konoha jonin," Hiruzen said with a smile, handing Kakashi a brand new ninja certificate.
Kakashi accepted it, and Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
"A higher rank represents not only greater power, but greater responsibility and duty," Hiruzen said solemnly.
"When necessary, jonin must lead teams into more dangerous missions and face more dangerous enemies."
"No matter how dangerous the mission, I will protect my comrades and bring them back safely," Kakashi replied seriously.
Hiruzen's face softened into a smile again. "I'm relieved to hear that. If there were more youngsters like you, Kakashi, I could retire with peace of mind."
After finishing the procedures, Kakashi left the Hokage Office.
He looked at the word Jonin on his new certificate and shook his head.
Becoming a jonin did not make him arrogant.
He had seen too many truly powerful jonin.
Jiraiya. Orochimaru. Mugetsu. Minato Namikaze.
On paper, they shared the same rank.
In reality, the gap between them was even larger than the gap between an ordinary jonin and a Ninja Academy student.
And even his father had been a jonin.
Kakashi could only barely glimpse a faint shadow of him now.
When Kakashi stepped out of the Hokage Building, he spotted Obito looking around like a thief casing a shop.
Kakashi's lips curled slightly. He walked up behind him.
"How did you know I successfully got promoted to jonin?" Kakashi asked.
Obito: ?
As Konoha's youngest jonin, Kakashi became the talk of the village once again.
Hiruko, who was secretly conducting human experiments, nearly lost control and smashed lab equipment when he heard the news.
A ten year old jonin.
He had struggled and clawed for so long to reach that rank, and these geniuses stepped over the line like it was nothing.
…
[Disciple Kakashi Hatake diligently trained, achieved excellent results in the Jonin assessment, and was promoted to Jonin. Received rewards: Chakra +2400, Weapon Draw Scroll, Blade Category, Unknown Pokemon Egg, only Kakashi Hatake can hatch.]
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