Building Up Seniority!

"You've already become a Chunin?! I haven't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet!"

At the entrance to the Ninja Academy, Kakashi leaned against the gate and told Might Guy, who was inside, that he had become a Chunin.

After all, in a way, the two of them were comrades in their fight against Akiyama Shun.

"What about Akiyama Shun?"

Might Guy suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked.

"He became a Chunin too. He was the champion. Oh, and he has a Kekkei Genkai—it's Ice Release. I reckon he's hiding other things as well."

Kakashi replied calmly.

"Whoa!! As expected of Akiyama Shun! Now there's a man worth challenging!"

Hearing this, Might Guy suddenly burst into flames of enthusiasm, startling Kakashi. He still wasn't used to Guy's particular brand of passion.

"Challenge him? I don't think you've ever fought him."

Kakashi's sharp tongue did nothing to dampen Guy's enthusiasm. It was as if he hadn't heard him at all; he shouted something about doing a thousand handstand laps around Konoha today.

"What you need to do now is hurry up and graduate from the Ninja Academy."

Kakashi left him with those words, then turned and went off to continue training.

Might Guy was left there, burning with youthful passion all by himself.

Hokage's Office

"Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

Shimura Danzō shoved open the door to the Hokage's office with a bang and strode up to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Even without hearing a word from him, Sarutobi Hiruzen already knew what he wanted to say.

"I'm not handing him over to you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's single sentence left all the arguments Shimura Danzō had prepared stuck in his throat.

"Akiyama Shun has already demonstrated Ice Release. He's even less suited to working in the shadows now. The Yuki Clan has been wiped out, and as far as anyone knows, Akiyama Shun is the only Ice Release user left in the entire Ninja World. Do you really think someone like him belongs in a place like Root?"

"Besides, Akiyama Shun is on good terms with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya has even become his student. If you take Akiyama Shun to Root, what do you think Tsunade and Jiraiya will make of it? Oh, and Namikaze Minato has learned a new jutsu called Rasengan. He's practicing combining it with Flying Thunder God now. You've seen the craters Namikaze Minato's training has left all over Training Ground 4, haven't you? That Rasengan was created by Akiyama Shun, too."

"For Konoha's sake, you'd better calm down."

After warning Shimura Danzō with a cold stare, Sarutobi Hiruzen waved a hand.

"Now, this Hokage has other work to attend to. Is there anything else, Hokage's aide?"

Shimura Danzō left, and the door to the Hokage's office received the treatment it deserved.

"Bang!"

The first place Akiyama Shun went after returning to Konoha was Yuhi Shinku's home.

Akiyama Shun and Yuhi Shinku were lying in the courtyard, basking in the sun. As for Yuhi Kurenai, she was still at the Ninja Academy.

At that moment, Akiyama Shun had his eyes closed as he thought about his plans for the future.

Now that he was a Chunin, the next step in rank was to become a Jonin.

Once he became a Jonin, his monthly Sacred Grounds earnings would rise to 4,200, while his daily sign-in rewards would be 140. That made 8,400 a month in total—exactly 50 draws!

Two and a half times what he got as a Chunin!

But becoming a Jonin was complicated. It wasn't like becoming a Genin or Chunin, where there were set exams and passing one was all it took to advance.

Promotion to Jonin was entirely at the discretion of each village's Kage. It was a direct appointment based on a ninja's long-term performance and overall abilities.

First, when it came to combat strength, he needed to be capable of completing high-difficulty S-rank or A-rank missions. He also needed the ability to gather and analyze intelligence, as well as leadership skills. And then there was the most important thing of all: loyalty!

Akiyama Shun had no concerns about his loyalty. After he used Ice Release, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't even asked him about it. That was enough to show what impression he'd made.

His loyalty was definitely maxed out!

As for strength and his other abilities, Akiyama Shun was confident he could prove himself. That meant the rest was simple.

He just had to build up seniority!

He would keep taking on high-difficulty missions until the village's higher-ups—and Sarutobi Hiruzen—knew that he had fully met the requirements to become a Jonin. Then, naturally, he would be promoted.

But building up seniority wasn't something he could do overnight. In the original story, it had taken Kakashi six years to become a Jonin.

There was another, somewhat simpler way to become a Jonin: Special Jonin.

Put simply, Special Jonin were specialists. Aside from the basic abilities of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, a ninja could qualify by having exceptional skills in a specialized area, such as teaching, interrogation, or intelligence gathering.

Morino Ibiki and Mitaraishi Anko were examples of this rank in the original story.

However, Akiyama Shun had no intention of becoming a Special Jonin.

His rank-up system was clear: what he needed was to become a Jonin. Being a Special Jonin would be no use to him.

"You don't need to rush. Becoming a Jonin takes a long time. It took me more than ten years. You're very talented, so I'm sure you'll get there much faster than I did."

Yuhi Shinku spoke up.

"Don't worry, Uncle Shinku. I understand."

Seeing Akiyama Shun like this, Yuhi Shinku breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Shun might rush his promotion and keep taking missions that weren't suited to him. That would only make promotion harder, and he might even die on a mission.

"It's a shame my current job is training those Chunin and Genin. Otherwise, I could take you on some high-difficulty missions."

There was a hint of regret in Yuhi Shinku's voice. He had known Akiyama Shun for a long time and always knew he was talented, but he'd never actually seen him fight.

"It's all right, Uncle Shinku. I'm grateful just that you'd consider it. I'll be careful on missions, too."

After Akiyama Shun finished speaking, Yuhi Shinku checked the time and got to his feet. "Be careful when you take on high-difficulty missions. I've seen plenty of talented people die on missions, and I don't want you to end up like them. All right, it's time for work. Don't wait for me for dinner."

With that, Yuhi Shinku used the Body Flicker Technique and left.

After Yuhi Shinku was gone, Akiyama Shun sat upright.

Removed from lineup [Haku]

Added to lineup [Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)]

This was Akiyama Shun's first time adding [Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)] to his lineup, so he first took a moment to sort through the snake-style jutsu.

In the Naruto mobile game, [Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)]'s ultimate was to summon the three Sannin to gang up on the opponent.

During it, [Jiraiya (Konoha Sannin)] used Fire Style: Fire Tornado. Since the jutsu wasn't used by [Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)], Akiyama Shun couldn't obtain it.

In the end, the jutsu Akiyama Shun gained were Snake Movement, Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, and the Mandara Formation.

It was just a shame that Orochimaru hadn't obtained the Kusanagi Sword yet at this point in time.

After sorting out his jutsu, Akiyama Shun got up and left Yuhi Shinku's home, heading for the Mission Assignment Hall.