Five days later...
In a corner of Konoha's camp lay the medical tent area, filled with wounded soldiers.
On a rare sunny day in the Land of Rain, Shin'un, covered in bandages, carried a small folding stool out of the medical tent and sat beside the entrance to bask in the sun.
For some reason, the many ninja hurrying past the tent entrance all looked surprised when they saw Shin'un, as though they had spotted something novel.
The slightly more polite ones simply glanced at him a couple of times before leaving.
The impolite ones stopped right there, talking to their companions while pointing at Shin'un, seemingly explaining something.
In just ten minutes of sitting by the entrance, Shin'un saw two or three groups like that. It felt as though he had become a monkey in a zoo.
After much hesitation, Shin'un still could not bear to give up the Land of Rain's rare clear weather. He stayed in the sunshine, enjoying his rare sunbath, but could not stop sighing inwardly.
"I really am famous now..."
It was just as Shin'un had thought a few days earlier.
The day after Orochimaru returned to Konoha's camp with the force that had wiped out the Stone Ninja outpost, word of Shin'un killing an Iwagakure Jonin as a ten-year-old child spread throughout the camp as though it had wings.
From then on, Shin'un was famous in the camp. Everyone who saw him had to look him up and down.
"What a pain..."
He saw another group stop some distance away, pointing at him while thinking they were well hidden.
Unable to stand it any longer, Shin'un glared straight at them without the slightest courtesy.
Realizing that the subject of their conversation had noticed them, the ninja discussing someone else from the shadows grew somewhat embarrassed. They bowed to Shin'un in apology, then left.
Watching their retreating backs, Shin'un sighed again.
"What? Even our latest celebrity sighs?"
A teasing voice suddenly came from behind him, making Shin'un turn.
It was Shiina Kō, leaning on a crutch and smiling at Shin'un.
"Oh, please. What celebrity? I never wanted to be one."
"What's wrong with keeping a low profile?"
Seeing Shin'un's troubled expression, Shiina Kō limped over to his side and reassured him.
"Don't worry. They just find it novel that a ten-year-old child killed a Jonin."
"Give it another couple of days. Once the novelty wears off, they won't be like this anymore."
Shin'un sighed helplessly, looked up at Shiina Kō, and changed the subject.
"Enough about me. What about you?"
"How's your leg? Is the wound healing soon?"
Shiina Kō answered with a smile.
"Don't worry. Lady Tsunade said it was healing well when she checked yesterday."
"I should be able to resume training soon."
As she spoke, Shiina Kō looked up and spotted two people approaching from a distance, freezing for a moment.
Seeing her expression, Shin'un followed her gaze.
Orochimaru and Tsunade were coming together.
As always, Orochimaru wore a cold expression, showing no emotional fluctuations.
Tsunade was different, laughing with an unrestrained boldness like a man.
The two came up to them, and Orochimaru nodded to Tsunade.
"I'll leave Shiina Kō in your care."
Tsunade smiled and waved a hand.
"What are you saying? It's a medical-nin's job in the first place."
"And barring any surprises, today will be Shiina Kō's last treatment."
"She can resume normal training tomorrow."
With that, Tsunade lightly punched Shin'un in the chest as a greeting, but it frightened him into a cold sweat.
Seeing how she had startled Shin'un, Tsunade smiled and helped Shiina Kō into the medical tent.
Shin'un turned to watch Shiina Kō's retreating figure, recalling what Tsunade had said before.
Because Shiina Kō's wound was complicated and had damaged her chakra pathways, Tsunade had decided to complete the healing process over several sessions so that it would not affect Shiina Kō's future path as a ninja.
Turning back, Shin'un looked at Orochimaru.
"Sensei, did you need something?"
Hearing his disciple ask whether he needed something, Orochimaru stiffened, let out a long sigh, and glared at Shin'un.
"What do you think?"
Shin'un smiled. Of course he knew why Orochimaru was frustrated.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were Konoha's three leaders in the Land of Rain. In principle, all three should have shared responsibility for every matter there.
As it turned out, two of the three were unreliable.
Tsunade spent every day in the medical tents treating the wounded, while Jiraiya spent every day working on his first book.
That left Orochimaru alone to manage affairs in the Land of Rain, while also dealing with mountains of documents and intelligence every day. Naturally, he was so busy that he was nowhere to be seen all day long.
Seeing Shin'un's gloating smile, Orochimaru rolled his eyes in irritation.
"I came to tell you some good news."
"Good news?"
Shin'un was somewhat puzzled. He was now famous throughout Konoha's camp, and it might not be long before his name appeared on the major ninja villages' assassination lists. What good news could there be?
Orochimaru took an identification document from the ninja tool pouch behind him and handed it to Shin'un.
"Congratulations. You've become a Chunin."
Shin'un accepted the document Orochimaru handed him and opened it.
It was his ninja identification. All the other information was the same as before, but under "Ninja rank," Genin had changed to Chunin.
"Hmm... is that a good thing?"
Shin'un looked at Orochimaru in confusion, finding it somewhat hard to believe. He was worrying about how to keep a lower profile, yet Orochimaru had promoted him to Chunin at precisely this moment.
"Of course it's a good thing. From now on, you can lead Yūichi and the others on missions yourself without needing me."
Orochimaru spoke as though it were only natural in response to Shin'un's question.
"Don't worry. I'll personally arrange all your missions. There won't be any that are too dangerous."
As though he had noticed Shin'un's concerns, Orochimaru thought for a moment, then offered some reassurance.
"I know you want to keep a lower profile. Leaving aside whether that way of thinking is right, it's absolutely impossible now."
Shin'un looked up at Orochimaru, wanting to know what he would say next.
"You need to understand that you're already famous in Konoha, or at least in this camp."
"Besides, if you encounter enemies on future missions, are you going to hold back just because you want to keep a low profile?"
"Since that's the case, you might as well be straightforward about it. Don't think about anything else. Improving your strength is what matters most."
"As it happens, I promoted you to Chunin precisely so you could lead a team on missions yourself, gain actual combat experience, and grow stronger as soon as possible."
"As a ninja, strength is ultimately what matters most!"
Listening to those words, Shin'un raised his head to look at Orochimaru.
Indeed, Orochimaru was right, but Shin'un's situation was different from that of ordinary ninja.
With the Skill Editor, Shin'un was destined to grow stronger in a somewhat different way from other ninja. Naturally, his best option was to wait until he had a ten-digit number of skills before appearing in the public eye.