Yellow Dog led Yōkō away from the Jonin Corps examination room.
At the entrance to the Hokage's office on the third floor, Yōkō saw Tsunade, her face cold, striding away from the Hokage's office.
He didn't know what she and the Hokage had discussed, but she looked very upset.
Entering the Hokage's office, Yōkō saw the Third Hokage looking down, staring blankly at the empty desk.
Aftermath of an argument. It seemed the quarrel with Tsunade had been intense.
It wasn't until Yellow Dog stood beside him that the Third Hokage looked up.
The Third Hokage's expression instantly switched from gloomy to pleasantly surprised.
"Oh? Fox passed Rokaku's assessment so quickly?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened the Jonin recommendation scroll and said while reading:
"Five S-Rank missions, all ANBU S-Rank missions. This record is sufficient to become a Jonin.
Interview assessment: 'Copper Fox is a bit extreme'?
For the ANBU, that's not really a problem.
Combat assessment: Rokaku says even ten more minutes of fighting wouldn't yield a result. It seems Fox's defensive capabilities are very strong."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up and said:
"Fox, your promotion to Jonin is confirmed without issue.
I want to ask you about another matter.
Both Yellow Dog and Black Ant have recommended you for the position of ANBU Battalion Commander. Tell me, how would you perform as an ANBU Battalion Commander?"
Yōkō thought to himself, an unexpected bonus? Not just promotion to Jonin, but also making him a Battalion Commander?
An ANBU Battalion Commander held extremely high authority, managing the training, promotions, and jutsu rewards for over 60 ANBU shinobi under their command, and could independently monitor a war for the Hokage.
After brief consideration, Yōkō said:
"I will focus on two main aspects.
First, spare no effort in completing the tasks assigned by Lord Hokage.
Second, absolutely obey Lord Yellow Dog, provided it does not conflict with the Hokage's orders.
If Lord Yellow Dog is promoted to ANBU Vice-Commander, I will undoubtedly become the sharpest blade in Lord Yellow Dog's hand!"
Yōkō thought that merely stating obedience to the Hokage probably lacked novelty.
His promotions to Tokubetsu Jonin and Jonin were both primarily recommended by Yellow Dog.
Yellow Dog was promoting him to Battalion Commander to cultivate his own faction.
Given the Third Hokage's extraordinary trust in Yellow Dog, expressing obedience to Yellow Dog would likely yield greater rewards.
Sure enough, the Third Hokage looked very satisfied.
Yellow Dog also nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
The Third Hokage said:
"Good, Fox. Your promotion to Jonin will be finalized today.
However, regarding your promotion to ANBU Battalion Commander, you need to perform well in the Land of Whirlpools. First, help Yellow Dog get promoted to ANBU Vice-Commander. The Battalion Commander position vacated by Yellow Dog will then be yours."
"Understood! Please rest assured, Lord Hokage and Lord Yellow Dog, I will absolutely not disappoint your expectations!"
Once Yellow Dog became ANBU Vice-Commander, he would have one foot in the ranks of the higher echelons, and could henceforth be addressed as 'Lord'.
The Third Hokage continued: "When an ANBU shinobi becomes a Jonin, they are rewarded with one A-Rank jutsu. Do you have any plans for your ability system?"
Along the way, Yōkō had been contemplating what to choose for the Jonin reward.
His first choice was to legitimize some of his abilities.
Sealing Techniques, Water Body Flicker, etc., couldn't be revealed openly. This was a good opportunity to legitimize them, though he wasn't sure if Konoha possessed these techniques.
As for S-Rank jutsu, he shouldn't even think about it. S-Rank jutsu weren't something ordinary Jonin could obtain.
He said: "Lord Hokage, my elemental ninjutsu are fairly comprehensive now; refining the techniques I have should suffice. I wonder if I could learn a Sealing Technique?"
"Sealing Techniques, huh..." The Third Hokage said:
"Tsunade was just here. The Senju clan discovered that the ANBU possesses some Sealing Techniques. She came to question me about where those techniques came from.
The ANBU, in order to investigate the truth behind the Uzumaki clan's destruction, gathered intelligence from the bodies of Uzumaki shinobi and incidentally obtained some Sealing Techniques.
Take a look at the catalog and choose one. Sealing Techniques are very useful and might come in handy in the future."
No wonder Tsunade left looking so upset.
It sounded great, saying it was to investigate the Uzumaki clan's destruction. If Tsunade believed that, it would be a miracle.
Yellow Dog brought over a scroll titled: Sarutobi Hiruzen's Sealing Technique Research Catalog.
Opening the catalog, he saw several Sealing Techniques listed.
Important Sealing Techniques from the original story, like the Four Symbols Seal, Eight Trigrams Seal, Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Internal Four Symbols Seal, etc., were not in the catalog.
Yōkō finally spotted a familiar Sealing Technique.
He said, "Lord Hokage, when I was in the Land of Whirlpools, I saw Uzumaki shinobi use the Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal. I wonder if I could learn this technique?"
"The Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal?" The Third Hokage said, "You can learn it. However, this technique is very difficult. Without the special chakra of the Uzumaki clan, it's hard to master. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. The Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal left a deep impression on me. I'm willing to spend time practicing this technique."
He had finally seized an opportunity to legitimize his abilities. He could now reveal his strongest Sealing Technique openly.
Among his core techniques now, only Water Release: Water Body Flicker remained something he couldn't reveal.
How could he connect himself to Hanzo?
Leaving the Hokage's office, Yōkō returned with a full load.
Jonin status, and a Sealing Technique.
Back at the ANBU base, Yōkō saw Butterfly, Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's assistant.
Butterfly came over and said, "Jonin Fox, please follow me. You have a private office now."
Yōkō thought, excellent, finally his own office.
As a Jonin and future Battalion Commander, much of his work would be approval-based, involving task assignment and evaluation of mission report scrolls, hence the need for an office.
Outside the office, Yōkō saw Hippo and Yak.
Who said there was no office politics in the ANBU? Hippo and Yak understood it quite well.
"Jonin Fox, congratulations."
"Congratulations, Jonin Fox."
If Yōkō became Battalion Commander, these two would be his Squadron Leaders. He quickly said:
"Please, come in. Let's see what my office looks like together."
Inside the office was a scroll cabinet, a confidential scroll cabinet, one large and one small desk, and several chairs.
The small desk was presumably for an assistant, similar to Yellow Dog's office.
There was a high side window on one wall, outside which was a camouflaged section of shrubs in the Forest of Death.
There was one ceiling lamp and two desk lamps.
To the side of the office was a small restroom containing a bed and a locker for clothes.
It was almost identical to Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's office.
For a long time to come, he would be working here.
Yellow Dog's assistant Butterfly said, "Jonin Fox, you can now designate an assistant. Who would you like to appoint?"
Yōkō didn't hesitate: "I appoint Purple Cat as my assistant."
"Good, I'll take Purple Cat to register right away."
Hippo and Yak flattered Fox some more. Yōkō indicated that if he became Battalion Commander, he would continue to reuse them, upon which they left satisfied.
Not long after, Purple Cat excitedly entered Yōkō's office.
"Purple Cat, from now on, you'll be my full-time assistant. Let Antelope take over as the leader of your squad."
Purple Cat looked around excitedly:
"Captain, does this mean we won't have to wait for everyone to leave the squadron locker room anymore before getting wild?
Just yesterday, you said the locker room was inconvenient, and today you have your own office. That's amazing."
She entered the small side restroom, her eyes bright behind her mask.
Yōkō entered the restroom and kicked the door shut: "From now on, we won't have to worry about being discovered, right?"
The new bed was unexpectedly soft.
***
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(End of Chapter)