Chapter 37
TSUNADE SENJU
Tsunade Senju stared at the genin standing in front of her. These were the four of the five genin that she had selected for promotion. She had left one of them out in the form of Shinso Ken, who was probably waiting outside her door. The kid had risen to her expectations and had not been shaken up by Danzo. Well, she would deal with him afterward, but now she had to deal with these kids in front of her.
"All four of you have my congratulations on your promotion to rank chunin." She said, and she could see the sheer delight and relief on many of the faces. Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. All four of them were delighted by the news.
"Woohoo! Now, I am one step closer to becoming Hokage. You wait! Soon I will be coming for that hat!" he said to her as he jumped up in joy, making Tsunade smile at such familiar antics.
"The exams had not been completed, but I have considered everything from the exams itself and your role during the invasion. All of you performed admirably and are proud chunin of the leaf from this day."
She motioned for them to come up and receive their special vests.
All of them picked up their vests, delighted at being finally able to wear the special uniform of Konoha shinobi. They were rookies no longer. Now, they were full-fledged shinobi of the leaf.
"I believe your jounin sensei will have a discussion with each of you regarding your future. You can further discuss it with your sensei." She finished up the discussion. And all of them nodded their heads. Bowing together in etiquette, they began to move out of the room.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair as she closed her eyes, deep in thought. The truth was that several other genin could have been promoted. Gai's team was one of them.
All of them were quite skilled and had healthy field experience, but each of them had their personal challenges. Challenges that she wished they would overcome before getting thrust into the dangers of chunin life.
Moreso, with the fragile peace established there was no rush to put their lives at risk. Suddenly, a knock on the door made Tsunade step out of her reverie.
"Come in," she said, and Shinso Ken entered her office with confident steps. He was fully dressed in his active duty attire with the scroll and the sword strapped to his back. He stood in front of her desk.
"You called for me, Hokage-sama," he said with a small bow. And Tsunade finally observed the kid in all his glory. And she found herself appreciating her choice. His chakra was controlled, with a distinct edge to it. The amount of chakra was also way above average.
"Yes, I have called you here, genin Shinso to talk to you about your future," she said to the kid.
"My future," he questioned with a slight frown. And Tsunade nodded her head.
"Yes, your future." She said and got up from her seat, moving towards the sofas placed on the side. She took a seat on the comfortable sofa, motioning for him to do the same. The kid did the same. And Tsunade decided to be straight with the kid.
"Seeing your performance in the exams, I have decided to offer you an apprenticeship directly under me!" she made the proposal.
And she saw his eyes widen as the words finally registered.
"Apprenticeship?" he questioned, and she nodded once more.
"Yes. Apprenticeship. You will serve directly under me as part of my guard unit. I will train and teach you so you," she explained, and the kid became quiet for a moment as he thought about it for a second. This was better.
He was taking his time as he gathered his thoughts, a calmer and better approach than rushing in blindly. After some time, he spoke up.
"Of course, I am honored by the offer and will be eager to accept it. But may I ask a question?"
Tsunade nodded once more, and the kid asked exactly what she had been expecting.
"Why me?"
Tsunade looked straight at the brown-haired kid. Konoha's Lightning Sword God. The title had been apt given the details of his special jutsu she had heard. Making an S-rank attack at such an age. The kid was definitely special. And after a moment she spoke up.
"Every Hokage has always had a certain group of advisers or shinobi close to him whom he could rely upon to do sensitive tasks that he could not carry out himself." She began speaking.
"The First had his brother, who gave his team the same role when he became Hokage. The Third, my sensei had his own team as his advisors. He also had his students carry that burden. The Fourth had his own such individuals, it was his student and the Uchiha clan head." She answered, the boy's face not changing as he listened to her words attentively. She leaned back into the sofa.
"The Hokage's Kage. His shadow. The person who could be his arms and legs. Do what the Hokage cannot. I do have another apprentice but she has always focused more on learning the medical ninjutsu and since I have not trained another team myself, I decided to offer the position to you," she finished.
"So do you accept the position Shinso Ken?" She asked once more. The boy nodded his head at that.
"Yes. I accept the position Hokage-sama," he said emphatically. And Tsunade smiled at that. Now, she could get on with a lot of the important stuff.
"Then I congratulate you on your promotion to the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin. You are to report to the Hokage's office tomorrow." She announced as she handed him the final jacket. The boy took it from her thanking her as he stared at it with a complicated expression. And asked her with a small smile.
"Wearing this is not compulsory right?" he questioned eyeing his own black jacket.
0000
KAKASHI HATAKE
Kakashi Hatake looked at his team. Two of his students had graduated and now were going on to focus on their further careers separately. While Kakashi cared for all of them equally, he would always have a soft spot for his pink-haired gremlin and so he was the most delighted when she informed him of her plan for the future.
"I have been offered a beginner position in the Intelligence department," she said with a small, shy smile. And Kakashi was happy for her. It was a good position. He had a slight guess that there was more to this, but only time would tell.
This was amongst the best positions for her. While in combat, she would always be limited by her small reserves. In the intelligence department, she would be able to make full use of her sharp and analytical brain. Besides, Naruto stopped playing with her chunin jacket, to look at her.
"Intelligence department, what does it do?" and Kakashi wanted to drown the kid's teacher in acid. Well, hopefully Jiraiya-sama would be able to cover up all the gaps in his technical knowledge." But before him Sakura answered the question.
"They are the department that deals with most of the day-to-day running of the village. Like the active rosters, rosters, information flow, mission issuance, and much more. The truth is that there is little this department is not involved in," she explained in probably the simplest of terms.
"Who is going to be your commanding officer?" Kakashi asked to confirm his earlier suspicion. Sakura replied in a small voice.
"I am going to serve as clerk to the Head of the department Shikaku-sama, so it is probably him," and this confirmed Kakashi's suspicion. And his smile widened as he put in the back of his mind to use against the jounin commander himself. The man was playing match-making for his son.
Such an interesting scoop, he thought with a smile.
"Now, as most of you are going on your separate ways. I want to tell each of you that I am quite proud of you and in your lives, if you have any problems in your life, you can always ask me for advice," he said with a cheerful voice. He could spot the slight sadness in their expression.
"Now, why don't all of us have a grand meal to celebrate our success," he said much to their surprise. He continued.
"I have heard quite a bit about that new restaurant that popped. What do you guys say to me treating you guys there?" he said with a smile.
And after some cheer they began to make their way towards the newly established restaurant that also belonged to their classmate.
0000
HINATA HYUGA
Hinata stared at the face in the manner and failed to recognize the face for some time. The person looking back would have been a pipe dream to her about a year ago. Yet it was not a dream. And she smiled a little as she appreciated the clear change she had undergone. Hinata had often admired people thatshe thought were special. Thinking them better than her.
But now she was the one who had become special. And she stared at the chunin vest in hanging on the wall at the back. Her special bow alongside it. And Hinata thanked Shinso-kun in her heart. He had played a huge role in helping her reach the position she was in. A position that she had thought would be impossible.
There was a knock on her door and a servant entered her room. The servant belonging to the Branch family, with the seal visible underneath under the bandages.
"My lady, it is time. The elders are waiting," the servant said and Hinata closed her eyes as she strengthened her resolve. After a second she responded.
"Ok, I will be there shortly," and the servant left the room with a short bow Hinata opened her eyes as she looked herself over for the last time in the mirror. Dressed in the ceremonial kimono embroided with purple flowers. Her hair styled into an intricate design with her mother's necklace hanging o her neck. She held it in her hand as she prayed in a small voice.
And after a little time, she walked out of the room, and as she made her way towards the meeting room, every servant and clan member on the way bowed to her. A year ago, they would have ignored her, and talked behind her back. Yet now they bowed to her. But Hinata simply walked to the meeting room. She reached the two wooden traditional doors and the servants opened the doors for her and Hinata finally entered the meeting room. The elder sat at her father's side, who sat in the middle of the room.
Some other prominent members were present as well. But Hinata was not overly concerned about them. Her eyes finding the girl sitting by her father's side. The girl's face and body much smaller than Hinata's very own. It was Hanabi, her sister. Younger sister, and wasn't that an important detail.
Hinata made her way through the people of sitting on the side as she walked to the front of her father. She gave a small bow and the clan head returned her bow and then Hinata took her seat. Her eyes still looking at her sister who had not looked up ever since Hinata had entered the room.
One of the celders, her own grandfather stood up and began to speak up.
"Today, we are gathered here for a very auspicious purpose. Today the next generation of our clan has finally bloomed up and each one of them is ready to take their rightful place," he began and Hinata was now scanning the room once more and was surprised to see her cousin seated there as well. His eyes anrrowed at her. Hinata looked straight at him, and she could see the conflicting thoughts in his mind. Her grandfather went on.
"And as per tradition, it is time for a the second line to take their position in the Branch family. Hanabi Hyuge, will become a member of the branch family and serve the main line as it has been for centuries," and Hinata could see her sister's clenched fists. She looked up at her father, who seemed as impassive as always.
And just as Hanabi had begun to stand up. Hinata spoke up.
"NO!" her voice thundering across the room, making Hanabi stop as she turned to finally look at her.
"What is the meaning of this Hinata?" her grandfather thundered. And a year ago Hinata would have been cowed by him. But she was no longer the same Hinata. Hinata moved her head towards the man as she spoke up once more. Her voice coming out much sterner than last time.
"I said NO. We will not be following such traditions any longer," and Hinata let her own considerable chakra out to the contest out her own grandfather's. Her own significant reserves overpowered his as she felt everyone in the room getting a little jolted as they felt the room thicken with her chakra.
And Hinata began to stand up as she began speaking up once more.
"The traditions you speak of are centuries old. And were instituted for reasons that have become quite invalid today. And these traditions have become outdated, and now are nothing more than shackles in today's day and age," and now she could see that everyone was looking at her. The elders were growing furious with each passing second.
"SO, I SAY ENOUGH. IT IS TIME WE BREAK THESE SHACKLES, FOR I WILL NOT LEAD A CLAN HELD TOGETHER BY ANCIENT TRADITIONS, BUT ONE HELD TOGETHER BY FAMILIAL BONDS AND UNITY."
0000
Shinso becomes Tsunade's apprentice. And Hinata refuses to bow down to traditions. She is done with all that bullshit.
KO to slavery. (Or whatever bullshit that caged bird seal is. Like really putting a seal on your family, that is some crazy bullshit)
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