A deep love for the job

Kosuke, one of Konoha's most notable Genin.

He had served under successive Hokage, shed blood alongside the Second, suffered injuries alongside the Third, and participated in the Three Shinobi World Wars.

He was one of the village's few civilian-born ninja whose strength had reached Jonin level.

Having caused his teammates' deaths through a mistake on a mission, he refused promotion to Jonin. He was a genuine Genin!

Zou Hyuga's gaze swept past Kosuke toward the Third, and he cursed inwardly.

You sly old man! If you could call in Kosuke, why not bring Might Duy over too?

What? Might Duy had already died on the Kirigakure battlefield, taking down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in one fell swoop?

Well, nothing to be done about that. Impure World Reincarnation wasn't an option, after all.

Oto Uchiha did not know Kosuke, but the smile on this squinting Genin's face reminded her of their own smiles when they looted corpses. He seemed to be up to no good.

"Lord Third!" Kosuke walked up to the Third with an iron pot on his back.

The Third regarded one of his few remaining old companions with mixed feelings. They belonged to the same generation, and few ninja from that era were still in active service.

Among those who had not come from a ninja clan, Kosuke was the only one left.

"Kosuke, you still haven't retired?"

"Lord Third, I can keep going for a few more years. If I stopped being a ninja, I wouldn't know what else to do."

Kosuke smiled warmly. He and the Third seemed less like a Hokage and a Genin, and more like friends.

"Perhaps you could teach at the Ninja Academy. Replacing a few slack Chunin wouldn't be a bad idea." The Third chuckled and cast a glance nearby, seemingly hinting at something.

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to teach those children. Being a Genin suits me better," Kosuke said.

"True. You've been a Genin for decades."

The Third nodded and said, "Kosuke, could you do me a favor? Help me gauge their strength. They share your ambition to be Genin in the village, and they're rather reluctant to take missions outside it."

"I would be happy to serve, Lord Third." Kosuke inclined his head, then walked toward Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha and said:

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Kosuke, a Genin. I'll be testing your strength in a moment."

Fighting the powerful urge to make a sarcastic remark, Zou bowed slightly and spoke together with Oto. "Senior Kosuke, I'm Zou Hyuga (Oto Uchiha). Please guide us."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sides took their places at opposite corners of the training ground and faced off.

"Zou, how strong is this Genin Kosuke?"

"Probably a little stronger than an ordinary Jonin. At least stronger than that white-haired kid from earlier. You can use most of your strength except your three tomoe, but don't use any ninjutsu above Great Fire Annihilation's level..."

Oto nodded slightly, and there was no time for them to discuss anything further.

Soon, the three were locked in combat. Overall, Kosuke held a slight advantage.

Bang!

Bang!

Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms struck the iron pot with dull thuds, denting its surface.

After the earlier test with Kakashi, Zou understood that ordinary acting could not fool the Third's shrewd eyes.

His mission record was there for all to see, after all. Insisting that he was only Genin-level would hardly convince anyone.

He therefore needed to display strength comparable to his previous achievements.

To conceal his strength, he inevitably had to reveal some of it. His mastery of Gentle Fist, for instance, was something he could afford to show.

If I only use Gentle Fist without revealing Rotation, that should still count as Chunin-level, right?

Revealing part of his strength, Zou used the same speed and power he had shown while sparring with Hyuga Yu. On the other side, Oto approached Kosuke with her sword, thinking along the same lines.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

Zou and Oto closed in, forcing Kosuke to throw his shuriken. Under the effects of the Clone Technique, they multiplied into hundreds of shuriken that whistled toward the pair.

Clang, clang, clang!

With his Byakugan, Zou could easily distinguish the real shuriken from the clones.

But even the shuriken clones possessed power equal to the originals, only dispelling after they were struck.

While dodging the shadow clones, Zou pondered an important question.

If shuriken can be shadow-cloned, could Explosive Tags be copied with the Shadow Clone Technique too?

Explosive Tag Shadow Clone Technique! Just thinking of the name gave Zou an inexplicable sense of security.

Then did that blue-haired kunoichi from a certain hidden village know this technique?

The downpour of shuriken left the training ground riddled with small pits. Zou and Oto stood shoulder to shoulder, their chests heaving as they panted and occasionally wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

Just then, Kosuke attacked again. His Konoha Style Swordsmanship, which incorporated genjutsu, seemed to vanish into thin air.

Zou saw through the genjutsu and slowly dodged to the side. Oto did the same.

Then they feigned exhaustion and collapsed. They had already reached the limit of what people their age could accomplish.

Now all they could do was treat each other's injuries and support each other beside a large tree on the training ground, waiting for the Third's decision.

They had fought with all their might and still failed to defeat Kosuke.

Watching Kosuke approach, the Third asked, "Kosuke, how strong are they?"

Kosuke glanced at Zou and Oto beneath the tree, his expression turning serious. "Lord Third, the younger generation is truly formidable. Those two children rank among the strongest Chunin. I wouldn't find it strange if you called them Special Jōnin..."

"Is that so..." The Third nodded lightly, tacitly accepting Kosuke's assessment.

In his eyes, ordinary Chunin, stronger Chunin, and even Special Jōnin were much the same: ninja he could easily defeat.

Most importantly, the ranks of Genin, Chunin, and Jonin had never been equivalent to strength.

Rather, they represented the village's recognition and the responsibilities one bore.

Sighing inwardly, the Third looked at Kosuke and spoke wistfully. "Kosuke, are you really unwilling to become a Jonin? That incident was a long time ago."

The smile on Kosuke's face gradually grew solemn. After a long while, he spoke as though he had made peace with it. "Third, I'd still rather remain a Genin. I can't shoulder that responsibility."

We can't shoulder a Chunin's responsibilities either!

Zou and Oto wailed inwardly. Still, after that performance, surely they could keep their teaching positions at the Ninja Academy?

If this still did not work, the Third might find himself targeted by the two great clans, the Hyuga and the Uchiha, tomorrow.

Because they wanted the Hokage dead! At least, that was what they were thinking right now.

After Kosuke left, the Third appeared beside Zou and Oto. Green light glowed in his palms as he used Medical Ninjutsu on them.

As the Professor renowned throughout the shinobi world for his knowledge of ninjutsu, the Third did know basic Medical Ninjutsu.

"Lord Third, is that old gentleman really a Genin?" Zou looked up at him.

The Third nodded gently and smiled. "Like you used to be, he's a Genin of the village. He's just a tiny bit stronger than you."

"A tiny bit stronger..."

Zou looked stunned, then adopted an earnest expression. "Lord Third, Oto and I can still keep our teaching positions at the Ninja Academy, right? We truly love our jobs as Academy teachers."

The Third nodded. Before Zou could breathe a sigh of relief, he continued, "At the same time, you'll be my direct subordinates and reserve members of ANBU. And your captain will be Kakashi over there!"