A Nine-Year-Old Special Jonin! (Second Update)

Indeed, time waits for no one.

The current environment in Konoha is rife with undercurrents and hidden dangers.

Compared to the carefree days Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha enjoyed after the story began, the Konoha of today offers little time for the new generation of ninja to grow.

In fact, this is precisely why Gong Yi chose to graduate early.

The outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War is uncertain, but it is bound to happen within the next year or two.

It could be tomorrow, it could be next month, and at the latest, it will be within two years.

The cruelty of war is far more devastating than any ordinary mission.

Although graduating early and participating in missions is dangerous, the level of risk is manageable, and it provides him with more opportunities to enrich his combat experience.

Just two months after Gong Yi began his rest, an Anbu ninja suddenly sought him out.

When Gong Yi emerged from the Hokage Building, he was still somewhat surprised.

Just moments ago, the Third Hokage had personally promoted his ninja rank.

As of now, he is officially a Special Jonin!

A Special Jonin is a rank between Chunin and standard Jonin, usually granted to those who possess unique abilities but have not yet reached the overall level of a Jonin.

Although Gong Yi killed the Shaquan squad, he is still too young, so the Third Hokage weighed the options and granted him the rank of Special Jonin.

Even so, Gong Yi was incredibly astonished.

What kind of ninja world joke is this? He only turned nine two days ago.

And now he is already a Special Jonin.

One must remember that a genius like Kakashi only became a Jonin at twelve.

Even Uchiha Itachi did not become a Chunin until he was ten.

When Gong Yi first heard the Third Hokage's decision, he couldn't even react.

However, as the Third Hokage appointed him as the captain of the former Iga squad, he suddenly understood.

For ordinary squads, the captain is usually a veteran Chunin who handles low-level missions.

Those with better treatment are led by a Jonin.

If a squad contains geniuses or members of prominent clans, they are mostly led by powerful Jonin.

Now that the Iga squad exists in name only and the village cannot spare new personnel, they have no choice but to let Gong Yi lead.

Moreover, since Gong Yi's strength is decent, they simply made him a Special Jonin to make it official!

Gong Yi left the Hokage Building with a bitter smile, then took a detour to the nearby mission center to pick up his assignment.

The reason they were so eager to appoint him as captain was clearly because a new mission had come down!

His poor three-month vacation has now been cut down to two.

Those high-ranking officials in Konoha are just like capitalists, exploiting their ninja!

When Gong Yi went to the mission center to collect the assignment, the staff members were all stunned to see such a young ninja.

"Little one, mission collection is only for your captain. Don't you know that?"

Gong Yi pointed to the Special Jonin uniform he had just received, "I am the captain!"

Genin only have headbands.

Chunin and Jonin have their own distinct, specially made tactical vests and uniforms.

Upon seeing the vest that represented a Jonin, the staff member's mouth fell open.

"Jonin! How old are you?"

"Nine."

Gong Yi did not want to say more; he collected the mission and turned to leave.

The staff members watched him walk away, then looked at the name he had signed at the mission desk and began to discuss it frantically.

As time passed, more and more people learned about this in the following days.

Especially since Gong Yi's title of Special Jonin was personally approved by the Hokage himself, the people in the village were shocked.

However, those are matters for later.

After collecting the mission, Gong Yi began to assemble his team to prepare for departure.

Before executing a mission, a brief explanation of the assignment must be given to the team members to avoid any mistakes on the road.

Ogawara and Hyuga Senso arrived at the Konoha gate early, and the two began to chat.

"Wow, Senso, that Chunin uniform of yours looks so cool!"

Hyuga Senso smiled slightly; in truth, he liked this uniform very much as well.

Over the past two months, he had followed the advice of Iga Kawaji and taken the Chunin examination, which he passed successfully.

"Ogawara, I believe you can become a Chunin too."

Ogawara scratched his head and chuckled, then said, "I know my own limits; I'll probably need to train for a few more years before I can become a Chunin! As for Gong Yi, since you say he's very strong, he must be close to becoming a Chunin as well."

Hyuga Senso nodded, "He definitely has the strength of a Chunin, but he hasn't gone on many missions. It might take a while before he's eligible to apply for the Chunin exams."

"Yeah, but that kid still isn't here yet, making us wait again."

Just as Ogawara was complaining, Gong Yi's figure appeared in their line of sight.

However, when they saw the outfit Gong Yi was wearing, both Ogawara and Hyuga Senso dropped their jaws.

"Th-this, this!"

"Gong Yi, did you become a Jonin?"

Gong Yi shrugged, "Captain Iga recommended me, and Lord Naruto gave special approval. Although I'm wearing a Jonin uniform, I'm actually just a Special Jonin."

Ogawara's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

After the initial shock, Hyuga Senso became lost in thought.

In his view, it probably had something to do with the important intelligence Gong Yi obtained during his last mission.

Hyuga Senso patted Ogawara on the shoulder, "Ogawara, shouldn't we congratulate Gong Yi?"

Ogawara's expression dimmed slightly; his teammates had become a Chunin and a Special Jonin, leaving him as the one dragging them down.

"Congratulations, Gong Yi."

Hyuga Senso also said, "Congratulations, Gong Yi. But you didn't tell us sooner, so we didn't even prepare a gift."

Gong Yi waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's not like I'm a full Jonin, so why the gifts? Wait until I officially become a Jonin, then you can give me gifts!"

Ogawara quickly adjusted his mindset, no longer feeling so dejected.

Instead, he started to feel a bit happy.

"With this, our squad has a Chunin and a Special Jonin. If we get a Jonin captain on top of that, our squad's strength will be super formidable!"

Gong Yi chuckled.

"Our captain has already arrived. Didn't you see him?"

"Uh?"

"Ah!"

The two looked around in confusion, their faces full of bewilderment.

Gong Yi curled the corner of his mouth, "Stop looking; it's me. Let's go. I'll tell you the details of this mission on the way. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to catch up to our target."