"Is everyone here?" For the first time in Hiroki's presence, the Third unusually smoked as he looked over the gathered jōnin.
A dark mass of more than thirty jōnin stood before him.
Many chūnin were also watching from nearby.
As for genin, there were only Namikaze Minato and Sawada Hiroki.
Logically speaking, the two of them should already have passed the Chunin Exams and been eligible to receive their chūnin qualification certificates. However, the war had begun immediately after the exams, and chūnin registration had been suspended.
Sawada Hiroki was in no hurry to receive his chūnin certificate, and neither was Namikaze Minato—
So the matter had simply been left hanging.
No one answered the Third's question.
The thirty-odd jōnin looked at one another. No one knew how many people opposed the Third's decision.
Nor did anyone know how many people present today were dissatisfied with the Third.
The Third silently swept his gaze over the jōnin. They were mostly the village's backbone; not a single elite jōnin had shown up.
However, among the jōnin below them were members of every clan—the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans—
It seemed only the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan were absent. But with their astonishing dōjutsu, they were surely watching from afar, waiting for the Third's explanation.
"Are you both ready?" Seeing that no one responded, the Third turned to Sawada Hiroki and Namikaze Minato.
"Ready!" Namikaze Minato answered with a confident smile. Even under the gaze of more than thirty people, he showed not the slightest anxiety, fear, or timidity.
As for Hiroki—
He silently glanced at the scrolling comments in his consciousness space—
``` [Aburame Shima]: "Two children becoming the Shadow Guard Squad—no matter what, isn't that too absurd? And the Third too—he says he'll explain,