Chapter 850 : Hiruzen's concern

“That leaves us with just Uchiha Sasuke.” Tsunade said.

Before anyone could say anything, Fujin said, “Actually, we don't need to think much about him either. His case is similar to Naruto's. The Uchiha clan was quite an eyesore to other villages during the previous wars. They would love nothing more than seeing the Uchiha clan completely wiped out.

As the next Clan Leader of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke will be a target. And, there's also the issue with Orochimaru, who may still be an even greater threat to Sasuke. So, he shouldn't be let out of the village without someone like Kakashi with him. I suppose keeping team 7 intact even after their promotions should solve this issue. Regardless, Sasuke's promotion can be decided simply by his strength too.”

Once again, Fujin's point made sense. While Sasuke wasn't a Jinchuriki, his status as the next Uchiha clan leader was quite sensitive. If there was someone like him in other villages, the ones in the room would have jumped at the chance to eliminate him when he was young.

However, the proctors and the judges felt awkward once again. Fujin was taking discussions outside the purview of this meeting. After all, their judgements should be based solely on the performance put forth by the Genins in the Chunin Exams. Their eyes turned towards Hiruzen, who didn't say anything again. Seeing that he agreed with Fujin, they didn't bother raising any objections.

Meanwhile, Fujin thought, ‘As amusing as it'd be to make Naruto a Chunin and keep Sasuke a Genin, the poor kid might truly develop some mental problems. He just managed to escape Yoshi's claws. I'm afraid he might become a permanent resident there if that happened.’

Even though Fujin had no intention of spending time on Sasuke, he didn't intend to make him suffer or restrict his growth. After all, if the events occurred just as they did in his memories, then Naruto and Sasuke were the two main pieces to stop Kaguya. Fujin didn't want to lose this insurance at least until his strength crossed a certain threshold.

Ibiki muttered, “Then the only question now is whether Sasuke is strong enough to become a Chunin.”

Anko stated, “He's strong, there's no doubt about it. He carried through the second round despite suffering from Orochimaru's curse seal. With all the handicaps, his win in the preliminaries was even more impressive. I didn't expect him to surprise me again during the finals. His speed is beyond most Chunins and he has also learnt Kakashi's Chidori.”

The Yamanaka Jounin sighed and said, “I don't argue with that. However, his battle was interrupted by the attack. Though it isn't as bad as Shino, we can't…”

Hiruzen interrupted him, “Since Sunagakure was the one who interrupted the fight, Sasuke can be considered the winner of this fight. Besides, the injury he inflicted on Gaara prevented Gaara from transforming into Shukaku in the middle of the arena, saving countless lives and disrupting the enemy's plan.”

Having read Sasuke's file and knowing what the encounter with Itachi did to his psyche, Hiruzen knew very well what would happen to him if he wasn't promoted while Naruto was.

He thought, ‘With Fujin not stepping up and Jiraiya and Tsunade not suitable, I'll have to train Sasuke myself once I recover my strength to an extent. Until then, I can only hope Kakashi can keep him in check. However, if he receives another mental blow, I'm not sure what I'd be dealing with. It's better to promote him now.’

Tsunade understood Hiruzen's thoughts as well. With both of them supporting the decision, no one else opposed.

Ibiki said, “Actually, this is quite convenient. If Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru are promoted, the remaining members of Kakashi and Asuma's squads can team up in the next Chunin Exam. How Ino and Choji perform without the help of Shikamaru's intelligence and how Sakura performs without the strength of Sasuke and Naruto will tell us whether they're ready to be promoted.”

Tsunade replied, “That is indeed quite convenient. Does anyone oppose Sasuke's promotion to Chunin?”

Without any opposition, Sasuke became the third Genin to be promoted by Konoha in this round of the Chunin Exams. The group discussed a bit about any ways to improve the exams before leaving.

Fujin returned to his house thinking, ‘With Orochimaru in no shape to send any subordinates to lure Sasuke and both Naruto and Sasuke being promoted to Chunins, I wonder what the future holds…’

Fujin chuckled. He could no longer calculate what would happen with the two of them. The only thing he was certain of was that both would keep improving their strength rapidly.

——

In the Hokage's office, Naruto complained, “Why did you call us here, granny? I had to stop training to come here!”
Standing next to him, Shikamaru yawned and muttered, “How troublesome…”
Meanwhile, Sasuke wondered, ‘Is this due to Yoshi? No, why would she call these two? It must be a mission… I can't keep wasting my time on pointless missions. I barely managed to get that freak off my back!’

Seeing the annoyed faces of the three youngsters, Tsunade sighed, closed her eyes and said, “Naruto… I wanted to tell you that you are being promoted to Chunin due to your performance in the exams.”

Naruto's eyes widened. Since it had been so long and so much had happened, he completely forgot about it. To his horror, Tsunade continued, “However, since that annoys you so much, I'll take the promotion back.”

With a smile on her face, she added, “You can stay Genin for as long as you want.”

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. “W-Wait, no! That’s not what I meant!” he stammered, waving his hands frantically. “Of course, I want the promotion! Granny, you’re amazing, the best Hokage ever! Seriously, you’re so kind and generous, way better than the other Hokage! Please don’t take it back!”

Tsunade opened an eye and said, “Hmm, I'm not sure. You don't sound as convincing as you did when you displayed your annoyance…”

Joining his palms together as if in prayer, Naruto shouted, “I swear I mean it, Granny! If I knew it was about this, I’d have sprinted here faster than Bushy Brows! Please don’t take it back! I’ll even call you ‘Lady Tsunade’ from now on!”

Tsunade smirked, clearly enjoying his desperation. “Now that’s more convincing. I'll…”

“Umm… If you don't mind, can I stay a Genin?” Shikamaru interrupted the drama unfolding between Naruto and Tsunade.

Naruto turned his head towards Shikamaru and cursed, ‘What the hell, Shikamaru!!!’

Sasuke's eyes twitched. He couldn't help but wonder, ‘Couldn't they find someone else to promote along with me?’

Tsunade smiled and answered, “Actually, you'll be fast tracked to become a Jounin, Shikamaru. The village has great hopes for you. You were the only one to be selected without any opposition. So, train hard and don't disappoint us.”

Shikamaru sighed, muttering once again, “Troublesome…”

“Eh? You mean my promotion was opposed?” Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke frowned thinking, ‘From her words, Shikamaru was the best candidate to be promoted. However, why's that?’

While both were aware of Shikamaru's intelligence, neither believed they would lose in a match against him.

Tsunade explained, “A Chunin is more than just a fighter. Just your strength isn't sufficient for you to handle the responsibilities of a Chunin. Both you and Sasuke fall quite a bit short in other aspects. Luckily for you, Fujin argued in your favor and convinced others to promote the two of you.

However, there's still a lot for you to learn. I'll suggest following Kakashi closely on your future missions with him and learn from him how to lead teams properly and everything else a squad leader has to do. They'll be important if you want to be promoted to Jounin and get access to tougher missions.”

The allure of tougher missions attracted both Naruto and Sasuke. Unlike Shikamaru, who just wanted to live a peaceful and uneventful life, they wanted to challenge themselves to become stronger. Both nodded.

Tsunade gave them a small lecture and took over Hiruzen's role of injecting the Will of Fire into the youth before saying, “Shizune, given them the Chunin vests.”

Naruto looked at the vests Shizune was carrying and exclaimed, “A vest like Kakashi-sensei… That's cool!”

——

After being dismissed, Naruto immediately met up with Sayaka and the rest, showing off his new vest and rank.

Sayaka joyfully wished, “Congrats, Naruto!”
Hikari, Takeshi and Shoma congratulated Naruto as well.
Yuji grinned and said, “It's time for party! Let's go to Ichiraku! Your treat, Naruto!”
Without a second's hesitation, the remaining four agreed with Yuji, leaving Naruto dumbfounded.

He immediately grabbed his empty wallet and muttered sadly, “My Gama-chan is almost empty. I can't treat everyone…”

Yuji sighed, “Even though you became Chunin, you're still poor.”
Naruto complained, “Granny took away all my winnings. And, I haven't done any missions since the Chunin Exams began…”

Sayaka giggled and said, “He's just teasing you, Naruto. Let's go, we'll put it on Sensei's tab!”

Unlike Naruto, who at least received payments from missions, the others were completely broke without a single Ryo to their name. Since the Anbu Trainers took care of everything, they didn't generally need cash.

Naruto nervously asked, “Are you sure Fujin won't be angry?”
Sayaka replied, “No, Sensei never cares about money. At least as long as we don't go overboard. Don't worry, he won't ask you to pay.”
Naruto replied, “I'm more worried about him training us to death than asking the money back.”

‘...’
Everyone shivered at that thought. Luckily, Sayaka reassured them, “It's fine. It's just food. Sensei won't say anything. We'll meet up with him later, once he's done training.”

The six of them had a little party in Ichiraku. Asuma took his team to Yakinaku to celebrate Shikamaru's promotion. Sasuke didn't waste any time and continued training late into the night. Naruto and the rest wanted to meet Fujin after their party, but the ‘Do Not Disturb’ note on Fujin's door hadn't been removed. As such, they could only spend their remaining time pranking the village until it was time to sleep.

——

The next morning, Fujin arrived at the top floor of the hospital, standing outside a room he had never visited before. He observed the room and muttered, “Not bad. I didn't expect such a room to be here…”

[A/N: Will try to complete the next chapter today as well, but I'm not too sure if I can. I'll update in the comments in around 4 hours about the status of the next chapter.]