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Time skip; Over a year later, in the Hokage office;
Hiruzen had been writing a message in a scroll as he waited for Ryuu to arrive, as he had sent for him to come and meet Hiruzen in his office.
As Hiruzen continued to write, Ryuu appeared in a gentle burst of wind as he had just arrived via a body flicker.
"You asked for me, Hokage-sama?" Ryuu said as he stood in front of Hiruzen's desk
Hiruzen looked at Ryuu as he sealed the scroll that contained his recently written message.
"Yes, but first, take off your mask, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said as he took out his smoking pipe and lit it.
Naruto removed his mask, revealing his face and causing his hair to return to its vibrant red colour.
Naruto, now eleven years old, had grown in height with his face losing any trace of baby fat and with his hair's length past his neck, gathered in a low ponytail. But what was most different was the look in his blue eyes.
The look in his eyes seemed to have hardened with a cold edge to it. Making it give off an impression of maturity that isn't seen among his age group. Eyes that held a sense of caring and love for those he held dear, but also held terrifying ruthlessness for those he deemed to deserve it. Eyes that had seen a lot of things. Things that children his age shouldn't witness.
But this is the dark reality of the Shinobi world. No one is safe from it, not even children.
"How are you doing, Naruto-Kun?" Hiruzen asked in a soft tone as he smoked his pipe.
"I am doing quite well, sensei," Naruto replied
"It has been more than two years since you joined the Anbu, right?" Hiruzen said
"Yes, it has been," Naruto said,
Hiruzen kept smoking as he looked at Naruto. The boy had done many difficult missions along with his team, ranging from simple B-rank missions like guard duty to S-rank missions like the one where the team infiltrated Kiri or stopping foreign shinobi's infiltrations into the land of Fire.
That is not all, Naruto has become the Anbu's most trusted medic and Fuinjutsu expert. Hawk had ordered a dedicated medical wing to be made in the Anbu Headquarters, which Naruto oversees as its Chief medic and doctor whenever he isn't on missions. All Anbu operatives who are injured in missions receive their medical treatment there instead of going to the hospital, with serious injuries being sent to the hospital if Naruto isn'tavailable.
As for Fuinjutsu, Naruto is only asked to make complicated seals like the Prisoner containment seal, barrier seals, and others. These seals are requested from Naruto in the form of A-rank missions while also providing him with the materials needed to make these seals. Naruto's skills in Fuinjutsu are treated as a village secret, as there is no other Uzumaki Fuinjutsu master in the village or the Shinobi world. Uzumaki Fuinjutsu is on the edge of being lost to history.
After a couple of moments of silence, Hiruzen reached into his desk's drawer before getting a scroll and throwing it to Naruto, who caught it while giving Hiruzen a curious look.
"Open it," Hiruzen said with a smile.
Naruto opened the scroll and unsealed its contents, only to reveal a dark green flak jacket and a certificate of promotion, making Naruto look at the with surprise and a bit of shock.
"Congratulations on becoming a jonin, Naruto-kun. You earned it." Hiruzen said with a proud smile. Naruto has been recommended for this promotion by Hawk and many team captains, including Inu, making Naruto the youngest ever to achieve this rank.
"Am I being let go from the Anbu?" Naruto asked with a head tilt that indicated that he was confused. Hearing this, Hiruzen almost fell from his chair. He assumed Naruto would be happy or shocked, but he didn't think that this would be the first thing Naruto would say.
"No, no. This is just your promotion in the regular Shinobi ranks; there is something different for the Anbu side." Hiruzen said with a sigh.
"Oh, ok. It's just the way you had given me the news. You told me to take off my mask and gave me a regular jonin vest, so I thought that my Anbu career was cut short." Naruto said as he sealed the vest and the certification away.
"Don't worry, you are still in Anbu, but there is a different arrangement for you now," Hiruzen said
"What type of arrangement?" Naruto asked
"You are no longer part of Team Ro. You will be leading your own team." Hiruzen said as he smoked his pipe.
"So, you are making me an Anbu team Captain." Naruto inquired with his eyes slightly widened in surprise.
"Yes, your team will be called Team Shi, and for now, you will have one subordinate, Phoenix (Hinotori)," Hiruzen replied
"Her? If she is on my team, then what kind of team are we?" Naruto asked, confused by the arrangement.
"You would be a heavy-hitting team. A team with a lot firepower. A team that is assigned to difficult missions. Many black ops ones." Hiruzen said, making Naruto fall silent for a bit.
"Is it supposed to be the two of us only? Anbu teams usually consist of three or four members." Naruto inquired
"Usually, that is true, but there aren't many who can meet the criteria to join your team. Heavy firepower means a lot of Chakra. Only you and she have that quality in the Anbu. Inu would have made the cut if not for him leading his own team and his left eye draining his Chakra too quickly." Hiruzen said
"So what now, sensei?" Naruto asked
"For now, I will assign your team their first mission. I need you to deliver this message to Kusagakure. With that, I need you to assess what the situation is like there. I got intel that Iwa is making some suspicious moves there. Just make sure that there aren't any complications on our border. Is that understood?" Hirzuen said with a serious tone.
"Yes, Sensei," Naruto replied
"Then you are dismissed, assemble your team and leave as soon as possible," Hiruzen said, to which Naruto nodded before putting his mask back on and disappearing from the office in a body flicker.
To be continued.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
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