Chapter 166: We May Disappear, But the Sun Will Rise Again
Upon hearing Nara Shikaku's words, Obito's eyes widened instantly.
"Wait, wait a minute—isn't something wrong here?"
"Tsukasa is a genin just like me! Isn't there something fundamentally broken with this promotion system?"
"How could he... how could he jump directly from genin to jōnin?!"
Obito stared in disbelief at Tsukasa, who lay on the hospital bed looking like he was about to float away on a cloud.
It felt like one moment you and your best friend were sitting at a ramen stand, complaining about life, when suddenly someone outside yelled to move their car—and your buddy casually pulled out a luxury car key right in front of you.
This kind of mental blow left Obito speechless, questioning his entire existence.
"This is impossible! This is completely unrealistic!"
"Unless..." Obito seemed to suddenly realize a possibility, abruptly raising his head.
Tsukasa was a student of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. Could Orochimaru have pulled strings to get him promoted to jōnin?
"Well, you figured it out!"
Tsukasa weakly leaned against the wall to climb off the bed, glancing at Obito with a wry look. Suddenly, he grinned.
"Obito,"
"I wanted to interact with you as an ordinary person, but all I got in return was your cockiness."
"Fine." Tsukasa patted Obito's shoulder, grinning wider. "I'm not pretending anymore!"
"I'm revealing my true identity—an unparalleled genius! I'm laying my cards on the table!"
With that, Tsukasa brushed past Obito, following Nara Shikaku and Aburame Ryōma out of the tent.
Only Obito remained standing in the center of the tent, his face filled with utter shock.
Lifting the tent flap, the bright sunlight outside caused Tsukasa to squint slightly.
When he opened his eyes again, he found a group of people outside the tent looking at him.
Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Shiranui Genma, Might Guy, and Ebisu—all familiar faces from the academy generation.
However, Tsukasa was a pure clan shinobi who had never attended the Academy. He recognized these people, but they didn't recognize him.
Their eyes met for only a moment before quickly looking away. Tsukasa continued following Aburame Ryōma toward the central command tent.
Watching Tsukasa's departing figure, Shiranui Genma—chewing on his signature senbon needle—stared wide-eyed in surprise:
"Did you guys see that?"
"That guy looks like Orochimaru-sama's new student. I think his name is Uchiha Tsukasa?"
Ebisu, standing nearby, looked on with envy. He understood the vast gap between a young genius from a prestigious clan with a legendary teacher and a commoner like himself—but he still couldn't help looking up to him, like a moth drawn to flame.
He shook his head, saying enviously:
"You guys don't know yet? He might be the fastest shinobi in Konoha—maybe even the entire shinobi world—to be promoted to jōnin!"
"The news just came this morning. Due to his outstanding performance in the last battle, this Uchiha Tsukasa has been promoted to jōnin!"
"A twelve-year-old jōnin! That's even more impressive than Kakashi!"
Nohara Rin stared in astonishment at Tsukasa's retreating figure, then glanced at Kakashi beside her:
"His outstanding performance in the last battle earned him promotion to jōnin?"
"Could he be the 'Demon' who fought alongside Minato-sensei?"
Hearing these words, Kakashi frowned, staring at Tsukasa's retreating figure and the red and white Uchiha fan crest emblazoned on the back of his black uniform.
He shook his head and calmly analyzed:
"Impossible."
"'Demon' is Konoha's secret weapon. He single-handedly held off three hundred Sunagakure soldiers, then fought an extended battle against a Sunagakure elite, and finally killed Sunagakure's supreme commander."
"His strength might not be below Minato-sensei's level, and he definitely couldn't be this young."
"This Uchiha Tsukasa, like Uchiha Shisui who was also promoted to chūnin in this operation, participated in 'Demon's' raid and provided crucial support at a critical moment."
"However, even so, his strength shouldn't be underestimated."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of competitive spirit stirring within him.
As the most brilliant prodigy among his peers, this was the first time he'd seen someone even more exceptional than himself!
His heart—dormant since his father's death—began to stir with a slight ripple of interest.
On the other side, Sarutobi Asuma, standing beside Yuhi Kurenai with his hands in his pockets, didn't see it that way.
He scoffed:
"Uchiha Tsukasa? I know about him. He's just some lucky Uchiha who got picked up by Orochimaru because the village needed connections with the clan, and now he lucked into completing a mission with 'Demon'-sama."
"Heh. He's just riding coattails."
At this moment, the various discussions about Uchiha Tsukasa—mysterious, powerful, or perhaps just politically connected—were faintly heard by Tsukasa himself, who hadn't gone far.
Moreover, as he followed Aburame Ryōma and Nara Shikaku through the camp, he heard even more versions from other shinobi—a wide variety of interpretations.
This surprised Tsukasa, because Konoha seemed to have concealed his actual achievements, attributing these accomplishments and legends to his codename identity as the Root operative 'Demon.'
He himself appeared to be just an ordinary twelve-year-old jōnin.
At this moment, Aburame Ryōma, walking beside him, adjusted his sunglasses, smiled slightly, and asked:
"Looks like you heard them."
"How is it? Do you feel a bit wronged?"
Tsukasa shook his head. This separation of identities actually made his daily life more convenient.
The achievement of killing Ebizō seemed even greater than he'd imagined!
Right now, shinobi were discussing this matter everywhere, and when this news reached Konoha village, who knew what kind of sensation it would cause!
If he were surrounded by people asking for autographs every time he went out, Tsukasa would probably find it quite troublesome.
Although separating his identity like this deprived him of some direct recognition, the feeling of walking among others and listening to them lavish praise on his "alias"—
Frankly, it was incredibly satisfying!
Tsukasa raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile:
"That works for me. Who knows my real identity?"
Aburame Ryōma explained as they walked:
"Only Root and its leadership know, as well as your teammates who've been placed under gag orders to keep silent."
He paused before continuing:
"The outside world will only know that 'Demon' killed Ebizō, not that you, Uchiha Tsukasa, killed Ebizō."
"You should understand—we in Root are different."
"You and I are both shinobi who live behind masks."
Aburame Ryōma said this while shaking his head, glancing at the bright sun in the sky, then at Tsukasa beside him, whose mouth was practically stretched to his ears as he listened to the praise from bystanders.
He suddenly chuckled and said with rather profound tone:
"However..."
"We may disappear, but the sun will still rise as always."
Tsukasa turned around, somewhat confused, and asked with a surprised look:
"What did you say?"
Aburame Ryōma pulled up his hood and coughed.
"Nothing. Just keep moving."
At this moment, the three finally arrived at the central command tent.
Aburame Ryōma remained outside, not entering.
Nara Shikaku led Tsukasa into a tent within the compound.
After a series of procedures—filling out forms, taking photos, recording mission history—
"Here, kid. This is your new ID."
Nara Shikaku handed him a shinobi identification card.
Tsukasa examined it from all angles. It wasn't much different from his previous one, except the mission history section had an additional line of text:
Uchiha Tsukasa
Rank: Jōnin
Registration Number: 009888
Mission History: 1 S+ Rank, 1 S Rank, 855 D Rank missions
Then, instead of celebrating with any ceremony, Nara Shikaku pulled Tsukasa aside, leaned down, and whispered in his ear:
"I probably shouldn't be saying this, but Lord Jiraiya left the camp earlier. He asked me to tell you—"
"Becoming a jōnin at such a young age isn't necessarily a good thing. You need to be careful of hidden dangers."
"For example—"
"The Root organization you serve."
Tsukasa looked up in surprise, staring at Shikaku with some astonishment.
Shikaku, however, remained nonchalant, as if he hadn't said anything unusual. He stood up, took a document from the table, and handed it to Tsukasa.
"Finally, Uchiha Tsukasa—"
"After deliberation by the leadership, your application to return to the village for recovery has been approved."
"You can go home now."
End of Chapter 166
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