Celebration Ceremony

Sunlight slanted in through the window of the Hokage Office, illuminating the desk piled high with documents, yet it could not dispel the heavy atmosphere in the room.

Jiraiya sat across from him, somewhat regretting having brought up the Uchiha Clan. After thinking for a while, he took the initiative to break the silence.

"Minato, what are you planning to do about Minamoto Takuya's merits? If he hadn't turned the tide in the medical ward, the casualty list wouldn't be nearly this short."

Minato Namikaze set down the report in his hand. At the mention of Minamoto Takuya, his expression relaxed considerably.

His knuckles tapped lightly against the desk without conscious thought.

Jiraiya-sensei was right. The powerful Medical Ninjutsu Minamoto Takuya had displayed was no less valuable than that of any top-tier shinobi fighting bloodily on the front lines.

His tireless figure and treatment methods so precise they could be called miraculous had saved countless lives on the brink of death, minimizing the cost of this battle as much as possible.

"Rewarding him..." Minato Namikaze rubbed his brow, an obvious wry smile appearing on his handsome face.

How to reward Minamoto Takuya was truly a thorny problem.

Ninjutsu? He was not interested. Sealing Jutsu? There was nothing presentable enough left to offer.

As for status and position...

It seemed only a year or two ago that Minato had overruled all objections and promoted Minamoto Takuya to the prestigious position of Anbu Deputy Captain.

Although the current Captain Commander's retirement was not far off, this was not the right time for a replacement—promoting him directly to Captain Commander would clearly be inappropriate and could easily stir up trouble.

Besides... a trace of helplessness flashed through Minato Namikaze's deep blue eyes.

From what he knew of Minamoto Takuya, the man was naturally