"You're saying that Jiraiya vanished on the spot after using the Summoning Jutsu?" The Third Hokage confirmed with Haseo, because the sudden report regarding Jiraiya had already caused the Hokage to leave the event where he was hosting the Uzumaki clan's envoy.
"Yes," Haseo nodded and continued, "If The Third or others didn't have Jiraiya sign a specific Summoning Contract beforehand, then I think he performed the technique without any contract... That's why I felt this was quite serious, so I rushed here immediately to report."
"..."
The Hokage momentarily didn't know what to say. He knew Jiraiya could be a troublemaker, but never thought he'd go this far.
"But I don't think we need to be overly worried about Jiraiya. All his reactions during the technique were actually pretty normal... except for the part where instead of a summoned beast appearing, he ended up disappearing himself.
Firstly, Jiraiya didn't explode into a bloody mist right there; secondly, at least the spatial passage was properly opened during his technique. The only question now is where exactly in the Ninjutsu World he ended up. According to Katsuyu's perception at that moment, it sensed some familiar aura as soon as the space portal opened... So at least the place he arrived should be a stable space as well." Haseo thought for a moment before offering this explanation.
Haseo actually saw Jiraiya vanish with his own eyes, so what he's saying carries a lot of weight. He believed Jiraiya's situation deserved concern—but perhaps not excessive worry.
Because while everyone here was in a panic and desperately looking for him, Jiraiya on the other side might just shrug and say, "I'm free now. Feeling great."
"How will Jiraiya turn out in the end?" While Haseo was seriously reporting the issue to the Hokage, Tsunade whispered quietly to Orochimaru. It was clear they were both still very concerned about Jiraiya's fate.
"Who knows? If things are bad, he could die—but Jiraiya? There's no way he'd die such a ridiculous death... Even though he's always been absurdly unpredictable. But if even his death turned out to be a mockery, then his life would truly be tragic." Orochimaru replied, clearly unwilling—or reluctant—to believe that Jiraiya could die so easily.
Tsunade shot Orochimaru a glare. Although this guy was clearly worried about Jiraiya too, why did his words sound so reluctant and defensive? Wouldn't it be better to just openly express his concern?
"I'll send a Barrier Unit to investigate the traces left from Jiraiya's disappearance. Hopefully, we can find some clues. Later, I'll dispatch some people to search for him," the Third Hokage said, having overheard their conversation.
Truth was, the incident involving Jiraiya had left the Third Hokage pretty much at a loss. Though the world wasn't huge, tracking down one person still felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.
A thought crossed Haseo's mind. It was commonly believed that it would take an ordinary person thirty days to travel from Mount Myoboku to Konoha, and this estimate should have been based on average human movement speed. Otherwise, if measured by a ninja's speed, thirty days would have been more than enough time to cover that distance several times over. Thinking this way, Mount Myoboku probably wasn't too far away after all. If it was truly possible to determine Jiraiya's spatial teleportation direction from his remaining traces, there was definitely a chance of tracking him down.
Everything had happened suddenly, but there was no need to panic. In fact, after completing these arrangements, the Hokage returned to his seat and resumed meeting with the envoys of the Uzumaki clan.
Even the Hokage couldn't always act as he pleased—perhaps it was more accurate to say that being Hokage had placed even greater restrictions on Hiruzen Sarutobi. During this visit from the Uzumaki, he couldn't possibly rearrange his reception schedule just for Jiraiya's personal affairs, even though Jiraiya was his student.
Haseo temporarily remained here as well. However, compared to the significant diplomatic responsibilities carried by the Hokage, his reason for staying was much simpler—his job was much simpler—he just had to serve tea.
He used this chance to get a closer look at the Uzumaki clan's envoys. Although his eyes couldn't tell whether their chakra was especially powerful, from their very presence alone, they seemed to exude an indescribable aura… It appeared that those born into clans built on deep bloodline ties naturally possessed something different—something that clearly set them apart from ordinary ninja without noble lineage.
However, today's event was merely a grand welcome banquet for the Uzumaki envoys; no substantial discussions had taken place yet. The visitors were staying in Konoha for a while, with major talks planned for later. After receiving the guests, and considering how exhausting their journey must have been, the Hokage arranged accommodations for them to rest… surprisingly placing the Uzumaki envoys in the very residence of the Sarutobi clan.
This clearly demonstrated the intimate alliance between Konoha and the Uzumaki. Although Konoha had also formed an alliance with Kumo, not all allies were equal.
Standing outside a corridor, Haseo watched as the Uzumaki clan members were led away. Soon afterward, the Third Hokage, Mito Uzumaki, and Sansho approached from a distance.
While walking, they were still discussing another matter.
"Limiting the number of jonin is necessary. After all, as the village's highest-ranking combatants, jonin are key leaders and battlefield pillars. We cannot loosen the selection criteria. Only by limiting the number of jonin can we maintain sufficient competitiveness and ensure the overall strength level among jonin remains high. However… the current problem is that with the introduction of the ninja academy training system, the total number of ninja has continuously increased. Without war-related casualties reducing our numbers, our ninja population would rapidly expand."
The Third Hokage explained to Mito Uzumaki.
"The rising number of ninja is definitely a trend… So you're saying that if we don't allow more jonin promotions, then the majority of ninja will remain stuck at the chunin rank?"
Mito Uzumaki quickly grasped the meaning behind Hiruzen's words.
"Milady Mito, on one hand, it could lead to structural redundancy. On the other, long-stagnant chunin may suffer from mental strain."
"So then, what's your solution?"
"I intend to establish a new ninja rank specifically for those shinobi whose abilities exceed chunin standards yet fall short of jonin level... We could call them 'Tokubetsu Jonin.'" The Third Hokage explained.
He was preparing to revise Konoha's ninja ranking system again by adding a new tier... Overall, this should be a positive change since it at least addressed the promotion bottleneck affecting middle management within a large organization.
It's like giving a project leader the title of deputy manager when they can't become full manager yet.
Haseo, who overheard part of the conversation, curled his lips slightly. He smirked inwardly. Sure, those titles might be useful. After all, who wants to retire still labeled as a chunin? "Tokubetsu Jonin" definitely sounded classier than "chunin."
But to Haseo, "Tokubetsu Jonin" was nothing more than a fancy label. The difference between jonin and tokubetsu jonin is like the gap between a real wife and a mistress. The former represented true equality, a legitimate independent operator; the latter? "Like a wife"—just listen to the term. What exactly does "like a wife" mean?
Sounds good on paper, but in reality, it's no different from a mistress with a fancy title.
Likewise, what exactly *is* a Special Jonin anyway? Simply put, not truly a jonin at all—merely a chunin hiding beneath someone else's banner.
Fortunately... Haseo was just a genin, so these administrative changes didn't concern him much. Otherwise, he'd totally be organizing a protest over this bureaucratic mess.
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