Danzo, I Am the Hokage!

"The Jinchūriki absolutely cannot leave Konohagakure!"

Danzo's single eye stared fixedly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, his gaze brooking no doubt. "You should understand the importance of the Nine-Tails. Once the Jinchūriki leaves Konohagakure, there will inevitably be thieves coveting her. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Yes, Hiruzen. Kushina is far too important to Konohagakure. Nothing can happen to her."

"Don't forget her identity, Sarutobi. Aside from being the Jinchūriki, she is also the inheritor of the Uzumaki Clan and Lady Mito's descendant!"

"But other than Kushina, can you find any other top-tier combatants to support the Kirigakure Front?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat irritated. "Of course I know Kushina's importance, but so what? We have no one left to use, do you understand?!"

"If we don't reinforce the Kirigakure Front, then once Kirigakure makes its move, Jiraiya and the others definitely won't be able to withstand Kirigakure's full assault. Once the front collapses, Iwagakure and Kumogakure will certainly seize the opportunity to act. The advantage and glimmer of victory we gained only after years of effort and enormous sacrifice may be destroyed in an instant!"

"I know, but we still can't send the Jinchūriki to the front lines." Danzo said coldly, "I'll have the clan heads within the village provide more people."

"Their clan heads are already on the battlefield. What more people can they provide?"

"But—"

"Enough. Don't say another word!"

Seeing that Danzo still wanted to speak, Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped wasting words and slammed his hand on the table. "Send Kushina to the battlefield. She has the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline and an exceptionally strong constitution. Combined with her Sealing Technique and her initial mastery of the Nine-Tails' abilities, there won't be any problems."

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen acting so arbitrarily and completely refusing to acknowledge their opinions, Danzo's expression finally darkened completely.

If anything happened to Kushina on the battlefield, it would absolutely be a devastating blow to Konohagakure!

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen said sternly.

Danzo's expression stiffened. His whole body trembled and tensed.

Even when facing those Kumogakure scum on the Kumogakure Front, he had never felt this miserable.

But in the end, he could only snort coldly and turn to leave.

Bang!

The heavy sound of the door slamming shut made Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchange looks. They wanted to say something, but in the end, they could only accept Sarutobi Hiruzen's decision.

Because, just as Sarutobi Hiruzen had said, Konohagakure no longer had any combat power capable of supporting the Kirigakure Front.

Unless Sarutobi Hiruzen personally went to the battlefield.

But—

"The commander must remain at Konohagakure's center and deter all sides" was the absolute core of all of Konohagakure's current strategies.

It could not be shaken.

Because in the eyes of Konohagakure's higher-ups, only by having the "Hokage" remain in Konohagakure could they keep the other ninja villages uncertain of just how many trump cards Konohagakure possessed.

If even the "Kage" went to the front lines, then no matter how great Konohagakure's achievements on the battlefield were, the other ninja villages would see Konohagakure's weakness and lack of reserves. That might even lead to a fight to the death.

The wait did not last long. Just two days later, Mizukage's Order and a new mission were delivered to Yagura's desk.

Yagura immediately summoned all the higher-ups at the Kirigakure front.

By the time Yoru arrived, the people in the tent were basically all present. Aside from Yagura and Terumi Mei, there were around several dozen others. Every one of them was an elite Jonin, the backbone of Kirigakure.

Naturally, Mangetsu, Yurui, and the others were also among them.

Upon seeing Yoru arrive, Yumi and Yukiko kept blinking at him. However, with their faces covered by white masks, Yoru could not make anything of it.

Yoru had removed the white bandages, replacing them with a small silver-white monocle mask.

However, he still wore a white ANBU mask over it, so no one paid attention to his eye.

"Yagura-sama, I'm here."

A form of address like senior brother could naturally only be used in private. On such a formal occasion, Yoru naturally addressed him as Yagura-sama.

"Mm."

Yagura nodded slightly. After waiting a few more minutes and seeing that everyone was more or less present, he swept his gaze around the room and spoke in a deep voice. "Upon learning of the situation at the front, the Third Mizukage was furious. Not only have we failed to capture Tsunan Town after attacking for so long, but due to intelligence failures, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were completely wiped out. We even lost three of the ninja swords. This is simply a disgrace to Kirigakure!"

Bang!

Yagura slammed his fist heavily onto the table, making it shake violently. His baby-faced expression was furious. Though he did not appear particularly imposing, everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Mizukage-sama has issued the latest order, revoking all positions held by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and dismissing all personnel involved. The latest appointments will now be announced!"

Everyone's expressions shifted as their gazes all fell on Yagura.

When some stepped down, others would naturally step up. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the intelligence division had committed such grave failures. They had expected the Third Mizukage to make some adjustments, but they had not expected all the personnel to be dismissed in one sweep. That meant even more positions had opened up!

"Yuki Yoru, captain of ANBU First Squad, has rendered outstanding military service. He is appointed ANBU Vice Director and concurrently appointed captain of the New Seven Ninja Swordsmen Squad."

The very first appointment was Yoru!

And with a single appointment, he had risen two ranks in a row.

Yoru's original post had been Mist ANBU First Squad Leader, a squad leader with four teams under him, sixteen people in total.

Above him were the ANBU Captain and Vice Captain. His former superior, Kushimaru Kuriarare, had held the position of ANBU Vice Captain.

Each ANBU Captain commanded four squads.

Within the Mist, there were four ANBU Captains in total, respectively managing the "Assassination Unit, Intelligence Unit, Surveillance Unit, and Coordination Unit." Their authorities overlapped to a certain extent, however; it mainly depended on how assignments were distributed from above.

Above the captains and vice captains were the ANBU Director and Vice Director.

(This is a secondary setting. In the original work, the standard arrangement was one overall captain and one vice captain. The captain commanded four squads, each with seventeen people. Each squad had one squad leader overseeing four teams, for a total of seventy people. Only seventy people in the entire ANBU was simply far too few, so the number was doubled.)

Yoru had gone from being the leader of a single squad to becoming ANBU Vice Director in one leap, directly entering the Mist's upper ranks and becoming one of the ANBU's true holders of power. It was unquestionably a meteoric rise.

In an instant, countless gazes fell upon the white-masked boy.

He was only fourteen!

Yet no one raised any objections.

Nearly everyone present knew the name Blade of the Bloody Mist.

They all understood that Yoru's reputation as a genius had never been empty boasting—it had been piled up one head at a time.

And then there was this battle.

If Yoru had not single-handedly brought back four ninja blades and killed Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and the others, the Mist would have suffered devastating losses long ago.

It was precisely because Yoru had achieved the ultimate one-for-one exchange that the Mist could continue fighting Konohagakure. Granting him the position of ANBU Vice Director was completely justified!

"Yuki Yoru accepts the appointment."

Yoru stepped forward and calmly accepted the appointment, officially setting foot among the Mist's upper echelons!