Yellow Dog and Yako arrived at the Hokage's office.
On the Third Hokage's desk sat a towering stack of documents over a meter high.
Six entire baskets of scrolls were piled on the floor beside it.
This was Yako's first time seeing scrolls stored in baskets.
Since the end of the Second Great Ninja War, the Third Hokage had been overwhelmed with work.
Compensation for fallen shinobi, expansion plans for the Ninja Academy, reconstruction of fortress outposts on the Land of Fire's borders, appointments for bodyguard shinobi for the daimyōs of various nations, diplomatic visits from merchant guild leaders, post-war assignments for Fire Country's nobles—it was all a bureaucratic nightmare.
The Hokage was completely hidden behind the files. A voice emerged from behind the paperwork:
"Yellow Dog, what is it?"
"Lord Hokage," Yellow Dog replied, "Fox just picked up an important piece of intel—about the jinchūriki of the Hidden Cloud Village."
The Third Hokage stood up, cracked his weary neck, walked over to the couch, took the scroll, and sat down.
He read through it carefully and said:
"The Hidden Cloud's Two-Tails jinchūriki, Ryuuren...
She was able to maintain her rationality even after staying in a partial Tailed Beast state for an extended period?
And after the battle, she could re-seal her tailed beast chakra on her own and retreat without incident?"
Every shinobi village had its own tailed beasts.
But in most cases, they were used with extreme caution—because once released, a tailed beast was difficult to subdue.
Sunagakure kept Shukaku sealed in a gourd year-round. Amegakure allowed the Three-Tails to remain hidden in a large lake. Both were measures taken due to the uncontrollable nature of a rampaging tailed beast.
But a jinchūriki who could freely use and suppress their tailed beast?
That meant the Hidden Cloud had a stable, Kage-level—or even beyond Kage-level—combatant.
The Third Hokage's expression turned grim. As he looked up, Yellow Dog wordlessly handed him his pipe. The Hokage took a deep puff, comforted, and continued reviewing the scroll.
"Fox did well. This intel is valuable." The Hokage paused, then said,
"Have Fox summon Senju Hanaki to my office."
"Yes!"
Yako noticed the office window was open. With a flicker, he vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
At the newly built outpatient wing of Konoha Hospital, Senju Hanaki was doing rounds with several young medical-nin.
She suddenly turned and noticed the ANBU in the corridor.
"Clan Head Senju Hanaki. Lord Hokage requests your presence at the tower—immediately."
Recognizing the fox mask, Hanaki knew this was one of the new squad captains after the ANBU restructuring.
If a squad captain had come in person… something serious must be going on.
When Hanaki arrived, the Third Hokage again stood from his paper fortress and gestured for her to read the scroll.
After reading about Ryuuren's performance, she was just as stunned.
The Third Hokage spoke plainly:
"Clan Head Hanaki. The Nine-Tails jinchūriki is under your clan's care.
We now have solid evidence that the Hidden Cloud's jinchūriki development is deeply alarming.
What about you?
Does the Senju clan have a proper development plan for the Nine-Tails?"
Hanaki frowned.
"Lord Hokage, when my mother Mito was the jinchūriki, the village didn't need to use the Nine-Tails to win wars. She rarely tapped into its power.
As for developing the Nine-Tails… We have no real plan. Our current priority is ensuring the seal remains secure.
If the village deems it necessary, I can begin drafting one."
Hanaki thought to herself—drafting a plan was easy. Whether it would be executed depended entirely on the seal's stability.
When facing Konoha's leadership, Hanaki's method was always the same: don't resist, don't comply—just stall.
The Hokage cut straight to the point:
"A Nine-Tails development plan is necessary. But it must not endanger the village."
Hanaki replied,
"Kushina still has two more years before she graduates from the academy.
She's too young. Once her strength matures, the Senju will begin the development process."
The Hokage's gaze turned steely.
"This cannot wait, Clan Head Hanaki.
If war breaks out with the Hidden Cloud, they'll send two tailed beasts onto the battlefield.
And Konoha will have nothing but the blood and flesh of ordinary shinobi to resist them.
Do you understand what that means?"
Hanaki's thoughts were clear:
No matter how urgent the village was, there was no way she'd allow Kushina—still a student—to be risked in battle.
"Lord Hokage, we will treat the Nine-Tails with utmost seriousness," Hanaki said.
"And on a more pressing matter—regarding the Tokubetsu jōnin we recommended from Konoha Hospital, and the jōnin recommended by Tsunade—has the village reached a decision?
We're in desperate need of additional staff to handle the wave of recovery work following the war."
Yako wasn't the only one hoping his subordinates would be promoted. The Senju clan also wanted more Tokubetsu jōnin and jōnin among their ranks.
Tsunade, having served as deputy commander on several battlefields, was fully qualified to recommend jōnin.
Aside from Tsunade, the Senju currently had six jōnin. With just three jōnin, they could recommend a Tokubetsu jōnin.
The Hokage glanced toward the towering mountains of paperwork and said:
"All recommendations for Tokubetsu jōnin and jōnin are under review one by one. Clan Head Hanaki, return and wait for the result."
Hanaki wasn't the only one who knew how to stall—Sarutobi Hiruzen did too.
Once she left, Yellow Dog said:
"Lord Hokage, Fox and I wish to recommend Purple Cat, White Ram, and Blossom Deer for promotion to Tokubetsu jōnin."
"Oh? Have Fox fill out the recommendation forms. I'll approve them today."
"Understood."
Ah, the double standard.
When it came to Senju jōnin and Tokubetsu jōnin, the Hokage scrutinized every candidate.
But ANBU recommendations? Different story. That was the Hokage rewarding his own.
People resent privilege—when it doesn't belong to them.
When it does, they only sing its praises.
The Third Hokage added:
"Yellow Dog, when the Golden Eagle Squad monitors the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, have them pay close attention to whether the Senju are running any chakra training on the jinchūriki."
"Got it. Understood."
Back at the ANBU base, Yako had Purple Cat fetch the promotion scrolls for Tokubetsu jōnin.
He began filling them out and decided to tease her a little:
"Purple Cat, your combat abilities are still not quite on par with White Ram or Blossom Deer.
These post-war missions are extremely dangerous. Some of them even more so than those during the war.
At least during wartime, ANBU missions had backup from frontline units. Now, we might be the only ones within hundreds of kilometers.
Let's wait for the turbulence to pass. I'll find a better opportunity to help you with your promotion."
"I understand, Captain. I'm not in a hurry to be promoted. Just being your assistant in the squad is more than enough for me.
Even if you don't recommend me, I won't be upset."
Purple Cat was a highly valued member of the Yamanaka clan.
The better she performed in the ANBU, the more important she became—and the closer the Yamanaka would be to Konoha's top leadership.
"Hmm?"
Purple Cat noticed the captain had written not just two, but a third scroll. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
A Tokubetsu jōnin promotion through the ANBU meant far more than one through clan recommendation!
"You think I'd leave you out? Of course I included you."
Once the forms were filled, Yako walked through the exact steps he'd once taken himself when being promoted—
Except this time, he was the recommender, just like Yellow Dog before him.
Black Ant and Golden Eagle, the other squad captains, reviewed the promotion candidates: Purple Cat, White Ram, and Blossom Deer.
Once approved, Yako led the three of them to the Hokage Tower.
The Hokage himself conveyed the Will of Fire to the three. The words stirred their blood—each one of them was ready to throw themselves into the flames for the village.
Back at the base, Yako said:
"White Ram, Blossom Deer. From now on, you must dedicate every moment to improving your strength.
As Tokubetsu jōnin, I'll be assigning you much more difficult missions. Without strength, you won't survive ANBU work."
"Understood!"