Yuichi and Yumura, Jōnin Examination

Nohara Rin blinked at that, looked at Yūhi Kurenai, then at Nine Lives. "Kurenai, you already knew this cat's name? Oh, right, you're all on the same team."

"I knew it already."

Yūhi Kurenai gave a soft snort.

She had not only become familiar with Qingye after they became teammates.

Back in the Ninja Academy, she and Qingye had already been close.

As for why...

Yūhi Kurenai secretly glanced at Qingye's face.

Gasp!

Why did he seem even more handsome than before?!

Back on the Iwagakure battlefield, Qingye's hair had been somewhat long, and coupled with the fact that he had constantly been on the battlefield, his entire person carried a sharp, imposing air.

He felt like a treasured blade—tempting to look at, but too sharp to touch.

But now that he was home and had trimmed his hair, he looked much gentler.

No, no, she could not keep thinking about this.

Yūhi Kurenai shook her head slightly, trying hard to suppress the blush rising to her face.

"Back then, Qingye said he hoped to have good luck on the battlefield so he could stay alive, so he gave it that name."

As Yūhi Kurenai spoke, she looked at the crows in the tree beside the courtyard wall. "As for the names of those two Ninja Crows, I really can't understand what Qingye was thinking."

"Huh? Those two crows are Ninja Crows too?"

Nohara Rin turned to look, feeling a little envious.

As expected of someone born into a great clan. Whether it was talent, Ninjutsu Learning, or raising summoned beasts, they all had advantages over people like them.

Eh? Obito is from the Uchiha too, but why does it feel like none of those advantages show up on him...

"This male bird is called Yuichi."

Yūhi Kurenai beckoned, and the two Ninja Crows flew down from the tree, landing in her palm.

"Feather Robe?"

Nohara Rin repeated it, slowly nodding. "That's actually quite fitting for a crow's name."

"Not Feather Robe. It's Yuichi—the 'one' from the number one," Yūhi Kurenai explained.

Nohara Rin: "..."

That made it completely different!

No wonder Kurenai said she could not understand why Qingye named it that. She could not understand it either.

"Then this one is the female?"

Nohara Rin pointed at the other one. "Her name should be Yuer, then?"

"She's called Yumura," Yūhi Kurenai said.

"..."

Nohara Rin was utterly bewildered.

What was that name supposed to mean?

"I asked why he named them that, but Qingye just wouldn't tell me." Yūhi Kurenai looked at Qingye and huffed. "And who knows what they'll name their baby crows in the future."

Hokage Building.

After he had submitted his jōnin application for so long, the Hokage Building finally sent someone to summon Qingye for the jōnin examination.

Konoha's jōnin examinations were not held on a regular schedule. Instead, after an application was submitted, the Hokage arranged one individually. It consisted of four sections: qualification review, written examination, interview, and practical combat assessment.

The qualification review mainly checked whether one had completed enough missions, as well as a political background check to determine whether one might be a spy from another village.

After all, jōnin had the right to cast votes of confidence in Hokage elections!

However, Qingye would certainly not be stopped over that.

As an Uchiha, whether it was Hiruzen Sarutobi or Shimura Danzō, they might suspect the Uchiha clan of planning a rebellion or coup, but they would never suspect the Uchiha of becoming spies for another village!

"I've reviewed your record. You could be said to have always fought on the very front lines of the battlefield..."

With a pipe in his mouth, Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned Qingye according to procedure.

Qingye answered every question smoothly.

The interview went very well.

"There is one question, concerning Kirigakure's ninja blade, the Lightning Blade: Fang."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly sat up straighter and said seriously, "Raiga Kurosuki of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen should have died by your hand, correct? Why didn't you report it?"

"I didn't know that person was Raiga Kurosuki."

Qingye gave the excuse he had prepared long ago. "When I encountered him, he was already badly wounded, his face covered in blood. I used Explosive Tags to blow him to death, so barely any of his body was left."

As expected!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank, though he was not surprised. He took a deep drag from his pipe and pressed on, "In that case, what about the two ninja swords?"

"I didn't know at first that they were two of Kirigakure's seven ninja swords, passed down through generations."

"After getting them, I sealed them in a scroll. Since those two swords didn't suit my aesthetic tastes, I never used them."

That was a lie.

Qingye had not reported it partly because he wanted to fulfill Raiga Kurosuki's final wish of donating his body, and partly because he feared Hiruzen Sarutobi would return the two ninja swords to Kirigakure!

Qingye felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi really might do such a thing!

If Kirigakure showed a willingness to negotiate peace, Hiruzen Sarutobi might very well force him to hand over the ninja swords and return them to Kirigakure!

At the time, he had only been a genin. Whether in strength or status, he had possessed no right to resist.

"I see..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes.

That explanation...

He did not believe it himself, and the one telling it had never expected him to believe it either.

Yet on the surface, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only pretend to believe it!

Raiga Kurosuki's corpse had most likely been sold to the Underground Bounty Brokerage.

The Underground Bounty Brokerage paid far more than the village's mission rewards, and even some jonin did such things.

Though he, the Naruto, was dissatisfied with these people disregarding the village's interests, he could only turn a blind eye.

As for now...

Even if he wanted to obstruct this young man's promotion to jonin, it would be difficult.

The other party's achievements on the Iwagakure battlefield had been far too outstanding. Without sufficient reason to deny him promotion to jonin, the village's other ninja would have objections as well.

Moreover, Minato Namikaze had submitted his jonin recommendation letter for him. That made it even harder for Hiruzen Sarutobi to block his promotion.

"Congratulations. You've passed the interview."

Hiruzen Sarutobi forced a smile onto his aged face. "Shin Mizu, you'll be responsible for Qingye's upcoming practical examination."

"Yes."

An Anbu wearing a monkey mask and speaking with a young man's voice suddenly appeared.

Qingye followed the Anbu out, studying the figure ahead of him.

Shin Mizu...

Who could that be?

The two headed one after the other toward the underground training ground.

According to the rules, he only needed to hold out for half an hour without being defeated by the examining jonin to pass the practical examination.

Shing!

The Anbu codenamed "Shin Mizu" immediately drew his sword.

Like Qingye's, it was a somewhat longer Tachi.

"Thirty minutes. Begin."

After turning over and setting down the hourglass, Shin Mizu charged straight at him. Firelight flickered along the Tachi in his hand.

"This swordsmanship..."

Qingye narrowed his eyes.

Why did it resemble Uchiha-style Swordsmanship?

Yet it only resembled it. On closer inspection, there were subtle differences.

"Fine. Let me see what you can do."

A scarlet gleam flashed in Qingye's eyes as his Sharingan began copying his opponent's movements and ninjutsu.

Half an hour later.

The Naruto's office.

"Father."

The Anbu Shin Mizu returned, panting heavily.

"Mm, how did it go?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head.

"I..."

The Anbu looked ashamed. "I couldn't probe his true strength at all. Uchiha Aoya handled every move I made with ease, and for nearly the entire fight, he only used Taijutsu and swordsmanship."

After that exchange, not only had he failed to uncover anything about his opponent, but his own abilities had been thoroughly exposed instead.

"Forget it. Leave it at that."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and shook his head helplessly.

As he gradually aged and his strength declined, coupled with Konoha's difficult struggle in the Third Shinobi World War, his prestige within the village had been dwindling by the day.

Besides, he had only wanted to test Uchiha Aoya's limits. He had never intended to do anything more.

Danzo, on the other hand—even though he had warned him in advance, there was no guarantee Danzo would not make some covert moves behind his back.