While their date had indeed been very sweet, there were always those foolish enough to interrupt.
"Hyuga Soushu!"
Just as Hyuga Soushu and Mahiru Uchiha were walking hand-in-hand enjoying their time together, a messenger ninja wearing a Chunin vest approached him, showing his Ninja ID card.
"What is it?"
Hyuga Soushu glanced at the ID with obvious displeasure. "Today's supposed to be my day off! Why are you bothering me now?!"
Adding to his annoyance, this messenger worked at the Hokage Tower—someone he couldn't just beat up or scold recklessly!
"It's about the Jonin Unit requesting your presence at an emergency meeting shortly."
The Chunin spoke respectfully.
"I don't even have my official Jonin Unit file yet! Why the sudden rush to call me for a meeting?"
Though increasingly annoyed, Hyuga Soushu held back his anger since the messenger remained polite.
"It's regarding the team assignments for each newly promoted Jonin, and..."
The messenger ninja checked left and right carefully before leaning in closer and whispering, "...also concerning each Jonin's upcoming operation plans."
"In that case..."
Hyuga Soushu looked toward Mahiru helplessly.
"Go ahead. Just make sure I get assigned under your command," she said.
Though a bit disappointed at first, Mahiru soon found herself intrigued by what the messenger had hinted at.
Sticking together through thick and thin, fighting side-by-side, raiding and setting fires together—it was already thrilling to imagine! Plus, the whole superior-subordinate thing would definitely amp things up!
"Roughly when?"
Hyuga Soushu nodded and casually asked.
"Approximately twenty minutes from now. If Jonin Soushu has the time, arriving early wouldn't hurt."
"The meeting ends, come find me and we'll grab some ramen tonight," Mahiru offered considerately.
"Alright then."
With reluctance, Soushu gently ruffled Mahiru's hair, kissed her forehead, then reluctantly *Body-Flickered* away.
A Hidden Leaf Village cannot operate stably relying solely on one Ninja's strength; every ninja in the village must fulfill their duties. Every Jonin is a precious core warrior who stood out among Konoha's tens of thousands of Ninjas, playing essential roles both in maintaining peace within the village and defeating enemy villages during wartime—as commanding officers, they're indispensable.
As representatives among the Jonin ranks, theoretically, the leader of the Jonin Unit should embody the central power of all Leaf Jonin. His duties involve utilizing extraordinary abilities, outstanding wisdom, and selfless dedication to contribute to the village's prosperity and security.
Of course, the above reflects merely the Leaf's official stance. In reality, both Clan members and civilian-born Ninjas hold considerable complaints against the current Jonin Unit.
The Jonin Unit, originally created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, to balance power among jonins and keep the Hokage's authority in check, had now become little more than a mouthpiece. Meanwhile, roles like advisors and assistants—initially designed to counterbalance clan leaders—had grown increasingly powerful over time. Given this shift, it was only natural that many traditionalist ninja vented their frustrations with the Hokage onto the Jonin Unit.
To make matters worse, these days whenever the Jonin Unit held meetings, they either demanded higher shares of mission payments under the guise of wartime urgency or asked all jonin to sign off on various documents many considered complete nonsense. Naturally, resentment continued to build.
"Pineapple-top of the Nara clan! We reject every single resolution proposed at this meeting!"
The first thing Hyuga Soushu heard when he walked through the door into the Jonin meeting room was a furious shout.
That's pretty arrogant.
Soushu took in the scene inside the conference room, his expression unreadable, before quietly heading to a corner to find a seat.
It was a wise move—avoiding rash words or premature judgments when one lacks deep understanding of the situation.
Perhaps because he was just another new face not worth much attention, the jonin who had been slamming the table merely glanced at Soushu before continuing his tirade toward the scowling leader of the Jonin Unit on the stage.
"Fewer than one-third of all registered jonin are present today. Any resolution forced through here holds absolutely no legitimacy!"
No sooner had those words fallen than another jonin stood up to oppose him. "We're currently in a wartime state. Are you going to pull every jonin back from the battlefield just for this meeting? Jonin Koryo, you can't act so irresponsibly!"
Since the head of the Jonin Unit couldn't personally argue with dissenters, assigning someone else to handle unexpected situations was perfectly reasonable.
Therefore, Soushu simply glanced at the jonin who rose to rebut, then resumed sitting quietly with his eyes closed.
"Responsibility, my foot!" snapped an older jonin called Kodou, continuing his rant. "Not only does this meeting want us to approve an increase in the village's share of mission payments, but now it wants to suspend survivor benefits too! Do you think we're some kind of joke to be mocked like this?"
"What!"
Those jonin who had remained passive until now immediately sat upright, alarmed.
"Come on now—isn't this supposed to be a meeting about reassigning subordinates?"
A scar-faced jonin slammed the table furiously.
"That's not right! Isn't this session meant to discuss next-phase combat strategy?"
Others quickly began voicing conflicting interpretations.
Soushu also found things suspicious—the messenger who summoned him mentioned both topics!
"Youngster from the Nara family!"
After a round of noisy bickering, an elderly jonin took off his sandals and pounded them on the table until everyone quieted down. Then he shouted at the Jonin Unit's leader: "You don't need to sit up there pretending to know nothing! Just post the full agenda for this meeting already!"
"And is it really true about increasing the commission deduction from mission pay? I absolutely refuse to agree to that!"
"Survivor benefits must stay untouched!"
"Off with the traitors' heads!" came the cry from those who only wanted more chaos.
Due to widespread doubts about the competence and authority of the Jonin Unit leader, any statement he made now would immediately provoke a chorus of opposition. No matter how hard he tried to quiet things down, it just didn't work.
"Half-baked act."
Hyuga Soushu muttered under his breath.
In theory, the whole Ninja World was just a giant jumble of fate, with everyone going along because of all sorts of chance encounters and ties. But given that this was wartime, and the gathering was specifically for Jonin-level ninja, the current chaos was extremely unusual.
There's definitely an ulterior motive here — Soushu knew that right away.
"I propose!"
When the Jonin Unit leader failed to bring order back, Kodou Jonin — the first to challenge him — barked out. "Of course our village is facing its gravest crisis, yet the Jonin Unit is dominated by mediocre incompetents!"
"Well said!"
Before he could finish speaking, several other Jonin immediately slammed their fists on the table in agreement.
At this point, anyone with sharp eyes could see something was definitely going on.
"I propose we hold an immediate vote to re-elect the Jonin Unit leader! We must choose a new leader who truly represents the interests of the Jonin!"
Kodou Jonin took a deep breath and roared, "I personally nominate Sakumo Hatake as the new Jonin Unit leader candidate! All in favor or against?"
"Seconded!"
"In favor!"
This time, Hyuga Soushu was absolutely flabbergasted.
Konoha's Jonin really go off like this? Who knew?
Never expected it!