Promotion

During wartime, some of the ninja tools used by Konoha Ninja were supplied by the village, a reflection of Konoha's deep pockets.

The Land of Fire was a prosperous country rich in resources. The annual funding Konoha received from the Daimyo was enough to make Sunagakure and their Kazekage drool with envy.

But even with Konoha's wealth, the village couldn't guarantee every ninja whatever they needed. So if they felt their quota of certain expensive consumables wasn't enough, they had to buy more with their own money.

During his break, Yuzuru bought some Exploding Tags, Smoke Bombs, Shuriken, Steel Wire Rope, Blank Scrolls, and other items from the logistics department at the frontline camp.

According to Torifu Akimichi, Exploding Tags might have originated from Explosion Release. It would be great if he could figure out how they were made... Bombarding enemies with Exploding Tags without worrying about the cost was also an effective way to kill them.

Ninja earned a good income, but they could easily die before they had a chance to spend it. So Yuzuru used all the money he'd earned from missions to stock up on various ninja tools.

Unexpectedly, just as he finished shopping and was about to leave the frontline logistics office, he saw a group of Uchiha Ninja passing by.

The Uchiha Clan was easy to recognize. Besides having a certain distinctive air about them, they often wore their clan crest as an accessory, as if they wanted everyone, friend or foe, to know where they came from.

Among the Uchiha Ninja passing by, one energetic young man looked familiar... Hm? Could that be Fugaku Uchiha?

His age seemed about right. Fugaku Uchiha should only be nineteen at this point, just the right age to go to the battlefield and die... Fugaku Uchiha could be called the culprit behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre. If only he hadn't gotten married, perhaps the Uchiha Clan might have survived.

Well, events from ten or twenty years in the future were a long way off for Yuzuru. As for his connection to the Uchiha Clan right now, all he could say was that one of his teammates was an Uchiha Ninja.

After the Uchiha Ninja had passed by, Yuzuru saw Torifu Akimichi.

"Captain, you look much better. You seem to be recovering well."

"Yeah, I've been treated at the Frontline Hospital, so I've recovered... You look good too."

Their meeting wasn't a coincidence. Torifu Akimichi had come specifically to find Yuzuru.

Yuzuru nodded. "Captain, I went to the Frontline Hospital too. Thanks to the Medical Ninja, I've recovered."

Now he could tell Torifu Akimichi hadn't come over for no reason, so he asked outright, "Captain, did you need something?"

Don't tell me we're heading out on another mission already?

"Just a small matter. Don't worry, we haven't received any new mission orders."

Torifu Akimichi patted Yuzuru on the shoulder. He seemed to think for a moment before working out how to put it.

"Yuzuru, judging by your performance on the battlefield, I know you weren't at Genin level to begin with. I can understand why you'd hide your abilities, but... on the battlefield, Genin are no safer than Chunin or Jonin. I'm sure you understand that too."

Yuzuru: "..."

What was that supposed to mean? It sounded as if he'd deliberately hidden his abilities, when in reality, he'd just been an old Genin of sixteen.

"Captain, you've got it wrong. Before I was sent to the battlefield, I just never had a chance to take the village's Chunin Ninja Exams... You know my background. Sometimes, ninja like me can't even form a team during the Chunin Ninja Exams."

That was all Yuzuru could say. He couldn't exactly tell him, I only rose above Genin level after I got a cheat.

Torifu Akimichi suddenly understood. "I see. I misunderstood you. That makes things simple, then. Ninja exams are a product of peacetime. During wartime, frontline ninja are promoted based only on their strength and performance on the battlefield... Come with me. With your abilities, you should be promoted to Chunin."

Yuzuru instinctively didn't want a promotion, but setting Jonin aside, he felt Torifu Akimichi was right about one thing... On the battlefield, Genin and Chunin had about the same chance of survival.

Ninja fought in squads, and a squad often included Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. No matter what, Genin were always the weakest link on the front line.

Most importantly, this captain had already noticed his performance... Torifu Akimichi had led the squad on missions partly to discover promising talent.

So Yuzuru had no choice but to follow Torifu Akimichi.

The two of them arrived at the Konoha Ninja personnel office, where Torifu Akimichi started submitting various documents for Yuzuru... It seemed he'd come prepared.

Among the documents Torifu Akimichi submitted were proof of participation in high-difficulty missions, proof that Yuzuru had killed an Iwagakure Jonin, certification from Torifu Akimichi as his captain, and a stamp of approval from Mitokado Homura, the camp's highest-ranking commander.

With all the documents in order, Ninja registration number 005311, Yuzuru, was promoted from Genin to Chunin.

After they left the office, Yuzuru was still a little stunned. "Captain, is getting promoted to Chunin really that easy? Isn't this a little too hasty?"

"We're on the front line, so of course we keep things simple... No matter how it happens, you're still a Chunin now."

Well, the fact that he was cannon fodder in the Shinobi World War wouldn't change either.

Over the next few days, Yuzuru didn't receive any orders to head out. He could only stay at the frontline camp and train, practice... Training did help to a degree, but compared to the explosive progress he'd made in the dungeon, Yuzuru found this pace of improvement unsatisfying.

He was waiting for the dungeon to come off cooldown.

But with only two days left before it was ready, he received an order for the squad to assemble again.

A new mission was coming.

What a shame. He'd been so close to entering the dungeon again and investigating Orochimaru's secret laboratory.

But Yuzuru had no choice but to obey the order and head out.

Yuzuru was the first to arrive at the meeting point. A while later, the squad assembled again. Torifu Akimichi skipped the small talk and went straight into the mission briefing.

"This mission is still related to the reconnaissance mission we did last time... Iwagakure has changed its route of advance. To keep track of their movements, we need to establish a new reconnaissance post."

It sounded like the next stage of a chain of missions.

"Are we going to carry out the reconnaissance ourselves? Captain, I know my abilities well. I don't think my intelligence-gathering skills alone are enough to keep track of Iwagakure's movements."

Kairi Omori hesitated. All in all, she wasn't a reconnaissance ninja with especially well-rounded skills. And she was the only one in the squad capable of conducting reconnaissance over medium to long distances. In other words, the task of monitoring Iwagakure's movements would fall to her... She lacked confidence and worried that a mistake on her part might lead to irreversible consequences.

Konoha had no shortage of reconnaissance and sensory ninja. In theory, this wasn't the sort of mission that should fall to their squad.

Wouldn't sending a Byakugan user make the reconnaissance effort far more effective?

"No, we're not the ones carrying out the reconnaissance. We're only responsible for setting up the outpost ahead of time. The reconnaissance ninja will move in after we've completed the mission." Torifu Akimichi explained further.

That made the mission seem a little more reasonable, but Yuzuru still frowned to himself. Something about it felt off... Was there anything special about establishing an outpost? Why split the work of setting up the post and conducting reconnaissance into two separate missions?

Couldn't sensory ninja do construction work?

Yuzuru had a vague suspicion, but he had no way to ask the captain and confirm it.

"Any other questions? If not, check your gear and get ready to go!"

"None, Captain."

And so, several days later, the squad set out again, heading for a dangerous area near Iwagakure.

Konoha's frontline camp, command tent.

Five people were inside the tent. Besides Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were there too.

"Have all the squads set out?"

"They have. Akimichi's squad is taking the more dangerous Route Three... We gave that route to them through Suspect Number Three. If they encounter enemies at the planned reconnaissance-post site, that will mean Number Three leaked the information."

It was clear that Shimura Danzō had arranged a baiting operation. Such operations were fairly effective; the only problem was that the squad serving as bait was in considerable danger.

But although Shimura Danzō was cold and ruthless, he wasn't about to simply throw away a combat asset of Torifu Akimichi's caliber. So he turned to the three-person team in the tent and said:

"Once the situation is confirmed, the three of you must be ready to provide support at a moment's notice."

"Understood."

At present, the three of them had little say in the matter. All they could do was accept the order.

"Then hurry and get moving. You need to advance some distance too, so you can shorten your response time and be ready to provide support at any moment."