There were two Special Jōnin.
One was named Uzuki Kawa, the youngest Special Jōnin of the Uzuki Clan at the moment, currently in his early twenties.
The other was from the Gekkō Clan, which had been friendly with the Uzuki Clan for generations.
Her name was Gekkō Hakuan, a beautiful young woman with a fine figure and a gentle face.
The remaining two were former subordinates of Mitarashi Zixiao from when he was a Jōnin Sensei.
They were a boy named Aomori and a girl named Miyagi Izumi.
Both came from commoner Ninja backgrounds.
They were fifteen years old and considered elite even among Chūnin.
Given their age, they would have a great chance of being promoted to Jōnin in a few years.
They would become the mainstays under Orochimaru's command.
As for why Mitarashi Zixiao only had two students under him...
It was naturally because the third one had already died during a previous mission.
Even for Jōnin candidates, or even young Ninja with the potential to become Kage...
Accidental death while being trained by a stronger Ninja still happened occasionally in the Ninja World.
It was unavoidable.
If a squad led by a Jōnin could eventually produce even one Jōnin, it wasn't a loss for Konoha.
"Elder Mitokado has already arranged the tasks for each support unit."
"Our team has also been assigned our operational roles according to the usual practice of previous operations."
"We..."
What Orochimaru said afterward actually had nothing to do with Uchiha Gen and the other two.
They had previously been assigned to the Strategic Support Unit stationed on the second line.
They were essentially serving as a reserve force.
In this team, although they had special identities and wouldn't perform any dangerous missions, they also had no power.
They weren't in the command or management levels.
They were simply those being given orders.
The ones who truly had missions were the Ninja at the Special Jōnin level or above.
They were each assigned as Orochimaru's trusted aides to important positions in the various teams he led.
This was to better control the force.
The main purpose of this small meeting was to let the core members under Orochimaru's command meet and coordinate internally.
Afterward, there would be another meeting for the management of each team.
That wasn't something Uchiha Gen and the others should attend.
However, at the final moment before the meeting adjourned, Uchiha Gen and the others were kept behind by Orochimaru.
"There's one last thing to tell you three."
Orochimaru sat in his chair.
He took out a small booklet and a green Konoha Ninja flak jacket from under the table and threw them to Uchiha Gen.
Uchiha Gen opened the booklet.
He found his own portrait photo on the first page, with his Ninja registration number on it and a stamp at the bottom.
"Orochimaru-sensei, is this... a Chūnin certificate?"
Had there ever been a Ninja in Konoha's history who became a Chūnin less than two months after graduation?
Maybe, but they were definitely few enough to count on one hand.
Orochimaru continued to explain.
"It's a bit late."
"With your strength, you could have become a Chūnin long ago, but your accumulated battle merits were insufficient."
"I originally planned to let you accumulate more merit and then take the Chūnin Exams next month to be promoted as a whole team."
"However, this war mobilization order is urgent, so I had to use other methods."
"Over the past few days, you have participated in the encirclement and investigation of four hostile Ninja strongholds."
"These have been converted into the corresponding number of missions."
"Now that we've met with Elder Mitokado, your files can be submitted to complete your promotion to Chūnin rank."
Special Jōnin and Jōnin are relatively few in number and belong to the elite combat class in Konoha.
At any time, promotion requires the approval of the Third Hokage himself.
As for Chūnin, there are at least several thousand in Konoha.
Many are Ninja with average talent who rose through the ranks as they aged.
A high-ranking official like Homura Mitokado certainly has the authority to promote Chūnin when serving as a wartime commander.
"When I'm not around, the team needs a Chūnin leader to perform C-Rank missions."
"This task will be given to Gen for now."
"Enjun and Ruri are actually close to reaching the standard in terms of strength, but they still lack enough solid achievements."
"I will monitor your performance at any time."
"If your performance meets my expectations, you will also be promoted to Chūnin soon."
Orochimaru looked at Uzuki Ruri and Sarutobi Enjun.
The strength of these two disciples was inferior to Uchiha Gen's.
However, they had actually reached the threshold of the Chūnin level.
Orochimaru was unwilling to promote them now mainly because his standards were quite strict.
In terms of combat awareness, judgment, and tactical ability, Orochimaru felt they were still lacking.
Their absolute raw strength wasn't enough to make up for these deficiencies.
But as long as they further improved their strength in the coming months...
They needed to initially digest the dividends brought by the deep foundation laid over the past many years.
This included the Ninjutsu taught by Orochimaru and their respective family heritages.
If they performed more missions within their capabilities, their improvement would be very rapid.
Just like in the original timeline.
After following Kakashi for three months, Team 7 participated in the Chūnin Exams after the Land of Waves mission.
Although only Nara Shikamaru passed the assessment and was promoted to Chūnin, it was enough to show that a newly graduated Genin with a deep enough foundation has the chance to become a Chūnin under sufficient guidance.
Excluding the special case of Uchiha Gen, both Sarutobi Enjun and Uzuki Ruri were top Academy students.
The former had a powerful heritage from two generations of Kage-level peak experts.
The latter, though from a small clan, had the flaws in her heritage compensated for by becoming Orochimaru's disciple.
With a few months of time and enough experience, they wouldn't be any worse than the more prominent characters among the Konoha 11 in the original timeline.
"Gen, congratulations!"
Leaving the meeting room, Uzuki Ruri looked at the green Konoha Ninja flak jacket in Uchiha Gen's hand with envy.
The only Jōnin in her clan was an old man who hadn't retired yet.
Even including Special Jōnin, they could be counted on one hand.
A Chūnin was already a figure with a certain amount of influence in the Uzuki Clan.
"Yeah, I don't know when Ruri and I will be able to keep up with you."
"But don't get too full of yourself, kid; we'll catch up soon."
Sarutobi Enjun put his arm around Uchiha Gen's shoulder.
He felt a bit jealous, but mostly happy for him.
Since being defeated by Uchiha Gen on the day of the graduation exam, he had watched step by step as Uchiha Gen pulled away from him.
Even though in his Hokage father's words, he was already doing very well.
"Well, Orochimaru-sensei also said that becoming a Chūnin isn't difficult for you."
"Maybe we'll all be Chūnin soon."
"Let's first think about how to get through this period."
"We can't stay in the safe second line forever; sooner or later, we'll have to step into the most dangerous places."