Promotion to High Ninja

As the battle subsided, everyone arrived only after the participants had vanished.

Several Anbu inspected the traces left at the scene before disappearing once more.

It was only then that the Konoha Military Police Force of the Uchiha clan hurried to the site.

A single clash had set the entire village in motion.

Inside the Hokage Building, Jiraiya appeared in the Third Hokage's office.

"You've returned? Did you test him? What do you make of this man?"

The Third Hokage asked softly. For a long time, he had been hesitant to utilize Uchiha Shiraha.

Through various probes and the collection of intelligence, he found this man increasingly contradictory.

To dare assault the Konoha Military Police Force and adopt an attitude of breaking away from the Uchiha was far too extreme.

Even his former teammate, Kagami Uchiha, would never have dared to act in such a manner.

"His strength is worth recruiting; he has the potential to kill Orochimaru."

Jiraiya spoke truthfully. From Shiraha's sharp, biting attacks, he had discerned an incredibly solid foundation.

Every strike utilized speed to its absolute limit.

"Since you have personally vetted him, I have a better idea of where he stands. From the first generation onward, geniuses have constantly emerged from the Uchiha, and the rift between them and the village has only grown... it is difficult to control!"

The Third Hokage sighed. Any ruler of a faction requires stability and balance.

If one clan within a village holds power that eclipses all others, internal strife becomes inevitable.

The Bloody Mist Rebellion in the Land of Water was still fresh in his mind. The fuse lit by the Mizukage, starting with the large-scale purge of the Kaguya Clan, had caused Kirigakure's strength to plummet to the lowest among the Five Great Nations.

Even now, forty percent of their power was being consumed by internal conflict.

It was precisely because of this event that the Third Hokage had tacitly allowed Danzo's actions.

He sought to whittle down the Uchiha's vital strength step by step, minimizing the impact of a potential rebellion.

No one wanted to end up like the Mist Ninja, suffering a crippling blow because of a few clans within the village.

Combined, the clans of the Mist were likely not even as strong as the Uchiha.

Two complete Gundams could simply flatten several clans outright.

During the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had kicked Iwagakure and punched Kumogakure, sweeping all before them.

"Then, Old Man, I'll continue my search for Orochimaru. Why not hand those two Uchiha clansmen over to me so they can join the hunt?"

Jiraiya replied, intending to keep both Shiraha and Itachi by his side.

The Third Hokage shook his head slightly upon hearing this. If it were just Shiraha, it might be manageable, but adding Uchiha Itachi made it very difficult.

Uchiha Fugaku would never allow his precious son to serve as a hostage.

If it were Sasuke, he might consider it, but sending Itachi was absolutely impossible.

Because the Anbu had once attempted to ambush Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku had immediately greenlit the counter-attack plan the clan had been plotting.

One could only say that Danzo had played a clever move, one that had sent Fugaku into a towering rage.

"Uchiha Itachi is out of the question, but Uchiha Shiraha is possible. However, doing so would cost us a valuable piece. We have no eyes inside the Uchiha clan yet. Sending him to you would expose him."

The Third Hokage remarked. Uchiha Shisui would have been an excellent choice, but Shisui was too outstanding; he was ill-suited to be a spy.

At the same time, Shisui disliked interacting with certain members of the clan, and his relationships were strained.

To this day, Uchiha Shisui had only attended a single clan meeting.

This attitude had already left most of the Uchiha clan dissatisfied, though they endured it and kept their resentment bottled up solely because of his strength.

"Then we could promote him to Jonin. Since we are trying to win him over, we should be generous. I'll vouch for him; Shiraha has the qualifications of a Jonin."

Jiraiya proposed.

"Since you say so, then let it be done!"

The Third Hokage trusted Jiraiya deeply and agreed immediately.

"Someone, promote Uchiha Shiraha to Jonin. He is to be responsible for completing missions assigned by the village and will simultaneously serve as an Anbu candidate. Dispatch the Anbu to conduct an assessment. Once he meets the standards, he will be selected as an intern Anbu."

After a moment of contemplation, the Third Hokage revised Shiraha's appointment, promoting him directly from a Special Jonin to a full Jonin.

At the same time, he was included in the Anbu assessment, prepared to be brought into the Anbu at any moment.

Outside the Uchiha clan's public housing.

Shiraha leaned against the branch of a large tree, lying sideways with a blade of grass hanging from his mouth.

"Shiraha, what mission do you plan to take next?"

Uchiha Itachi was there as well. He had not caught up in time for the battle between Jiraiya and Shiraha; their contact had been brief. By the time he had dressed and pursued them, he had only seen a few Anbu surveying the scene.

Only after returning to the clan did he hear that Shiraha had come back.

Being assigned to the same squad as Uchiha Shiraha, with him serving as captain, meant that matters needed to be discussed with him.

Uchiha Shiraha lay peacefully on a tree branch with his eyes closed, muttering, "Just wait! Tomorrow, I'll go check what kind of missions are worth doing in the village."

"I know!"

Uchiha Itachi said eagerly; he was very happy to have become a Jonin.

With Uchiha Shiraha serving as captain this time, he was the assistant.

A squad composed of two Jonin could accept missions with higher requirements.

"You know? Then tell me, what is the mission with the highest bounty in the village?"

"Assassinating the Raikage, with a bounty of five hundred million, and a requirement to bring back the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

Uchiha Itachi said, noting that such missions were generally just posted on the board for show.

The possibility of killing the Raikage and his brother within Kumogakure was extremely low.

"..."

"After some time, we will take on this mission. What about the second-highest bounty mission?"

Uchiha Shiraha asked again. The Raikage was not someone to be trifled with; perhaps he could consider this mission after completing the third stage of his system tasks.

Currently, the number of sword draws completed by the system was just over eighty thousand, still a long way from one million.

"The second highest? The rest are all about the same, just over one hundred million."

Uchiha Itachi shook his head and replied.

Because the Raikage had launched an attack on Konoha during the Third Great Ninja War, it had left Konoha in a desperate situation. If the Fourth Hokage had not appeared, Kumogakure would have directly toppled the Konoha regime during the Third War.

Therefore, the people who hated the Raikage the most were the villagers of Konoha.

Other ninja villages dared not accept such a mission, but Konoha kept it hanging high on the mission board.

"Then I'll go see for myself tomorrow; let's rest for now today."

Uchiha Shiraha was not in a hurry about missions at the moment.

The brief joy brought by becoming a Special Jonin quickly dissipated, followed by a sense of emptiness.

However, what Uchiha Shiraha valued right now was not his rank, but the realization he had experienced in an instant during his battle with Jiraiya.

Having lain on the tree for so long, he had been slowly savoring it.

Through this battle, he had found the connections between various sword techniques and gradually applied his breathing method to them, greatly increasing their power.

"What time tomorrow?"

Uchiha Itachi asked.

"Noon, let's meet at the village gate after lunch."

Uchiha Shiraha replied.

As the two were talking, an Anbu suddenly appeared.

"Uchiha Shiraha, by the decision of the Hokage, you are hereby granted the rank of Jonin. This is your appointment letter."

"Jonin? That was fast!"

Uchiha Itachi could not help but exclaim.

The Anbu glanced at him before handing the appointment letter to him.

"I am not Shiraha; he is."

Seeing this, Uchiha Itachi waved his hands hurriedly.

Uchiha clansmen were all handsome and dashing, looking quite striking.

"It is indeed quite fast."

Uchiha Shiraha jumped down from the tree, took the appointment letter, and smiled.