Chapter 152

Words : 1220 Updated : Oct 8th, 2025

Chapter 152 - 152 The day after the succession ceremony, the Fifteen New Stars were summoned to the Hokage office. Tsunade gazed at these fifteen vibrant young shinobi, unable to suppress a sigh of emotion. At the same time, she felt renewed confidence in Konoha's future. These fifteen—without a doubt—would become the pillars of the village! Naruto was the first to lose his patience and asked loudly, "Granny Tsunade, why did you call us here? I still have training to do, dattebayo!" Granny Tsunade? Everyone looked at Naruto with strange expressions, then looked at the youthful, stunningly beautiful, and—let's be honest—scary Tsunade. It was hard to associate the word "granny" with her appearance. But thinking about her age... it wasn't exactly wrong. Still, calling her "granny" seemed like a privilege only Naruto got away with. "Well, Naruto, don't rush. I've called you all here today to announce your promotions." Tsunade smiled, her gaze falling on Natsuki. "Natsuki, based on your exceptional performance during the Chūnin Exams, and with recommendations from several Jōnin, I hereby promote you to Jōnin as of today." Promoted directly to Jōnin?! Everyone was stunned—but quickly realized it was only natural. After all, Natsuki was incredibly strong. He had defeated a Tailed Beast and even one of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru. If he couldn't become a Jōnin, then what would that say about the rest of the Jōnin in the village? Naruto cried out in envy, "Damn it! Natsuki got promoted to Jōnin already?!" The others were just as envious. Skipping straight from Genin to Jōnin was an immense honor. Becoming a Jōnin meant you were fully capable of handling missions alone—you were officially recognized as an elite ninja. Tenten puffed her chest with pride. Her boyfriend really was amazing! "Next is the Chūnin promotion," Tsunade continued. "Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, Hyūga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and Tenten—based on your outstanding performances during the Chūnin Exams, you are all promoted to Chūnin." All five of them broke into smiles at the announcement. Tenten even grabbed Natsuki's hand tightly, barely containing her excitement. No one was surprised—these five were indeed outstanding, and their performance during the finals had been impressive. But Naruto wasn't having it. He pointed straight at Sasuke and yelled, "Granny Tsunade, I'm fine with the others, but why did this arrogant jerk Sasuke get promoted? Didn't he lose to Neji in the finals?! He lost, dattebayo!" Sasuke frowned and looked like he wanted to punch Naruto right there and then. This guy really knew how to push all the wrong buttons! But Tsunade wasn't the type to be swayed easily. "Quiet down, Naruto. Yes, Sasuke did lose, but his strength is obvious to everyone. Moreover, during Orochimaru's assault, Sasuke joined Neji and Tenten to form a squad that defeated numerous enemy ninja. Many of the Jōnin and Chūnin spoke highly of him—his promotion is well-deserved!" Naruto was left speechless. It was true Sasuke lost to Neji, but his overall performance was better than Shino or Shikamaru. More importantly, during the Konoha invasion, Sasuke had taken down many enemy ninjas—his contributions were clearly recorded, and those were solid merits. At this moment, Ino raised her hand and asked, "Tsunade-sama, I'd like to ask—why wasn't Kato Megumi promoted to Chūnin? She did very well in the exams, and even won in the finals..." Ino had lost to Megumi in the finals, and afterward, she had looked into the girl who had beaten her. Megumi might have been unremarkable in the Academy, but ever since becoming a shinobi, her strength had skyrocketed. She had also shown talent in medical ninjutsu—aside from Tenten, she was easily one of the most outstanding kunoichi of their generation. So Ino genuinely didn't understand why Megumi wasn't promoted. It felt unfair. "Well, that was due to special circumstances," Tsunade replied, her smile widening. "Megumi is still lacking in overall strength and needs more polishing. But she displayed excellent potential in medical ninjutsu and was very active during the Orochimaru incident—I noticed it all. So, I've accepted her as my personal disciple and will be training her myself." Na-nani?! Accepted as a disciple?! All the girls—except Tenten—were shocked. And then came a flood of jealousy. Compared to becoming a Chūnin, getting to be Tsunade-sama's disciple was way more enviable. For so many kunoichi, the dream was to become the next Tsunade. To be taken under her wing? That was everything! Sakura and Ino both had a sudden flash of desire... but they quickly pushed it aside. They wanted to become disciples too, but didn't have the confidence. They felt like only someone as talented as Megumi could be worthy of such an honor. As for Megumi herself, she just looked shy. Even though becoming Tsunade's disciple was definitely something to be proud of, she wasn't the type to flaunt her achievements. So in the face of everyone's admiration, she only blushed quietly. After the promotions, there was more to come. Tsunade continued, "Next, I'll be reorganizing your Genin teams." Everyone was stunned. Naruto jumped up again, "Granny Tsunade, what do you mean by reorganizing our teams, dattebayo?! You're gonna break up our squads? You're gonna destroy the bonds we worked so hard to build?!" Even Sakura couldn't accept it. "Tsunade-sama, we can't agree to this!" The others all nodded in agreement. Clearly, they cared deeply about their teams, and the idea of being suddenly split apart was hard to accept. "What are you all panicking for?! Let me finish!" Tsunade slammed the desk with a fist, nearly smashing it. "Look—many of your teammates have been promoted to Chūnin. Natsuki is now a Jōnin. Keeping your current squads makes no sense. And besides, there's another Chūnin Exam next year. Are you all not going to take part? So I'm temporarily reorganizing your teams to help you adjust. Once you all pass the next Chūnin Exam, you can return to your original squads. Got it?" Oh... so that's how it is! She should've said that earlier! Everyone relaxed. As long as it wasn't a permanent breakup, they were fine. And thinking about it, she had a point. Of course they'd want to take next year's Chūnin Exam. No one wanted to remain a Genin while their friends got promoted—how embarrassing would that be? "Alright, here are the new teams," Tsunade announced. "Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyūga Hinata—one team, led by Jōnin Yūhi Kurenai. Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Chōji, Yamanaka Ino—one team, led by Jōnin Sarutobi Asuma. Rock Lee, Yamanaka Rinya, Kato Megumi—one team, led by Special Jōnin Yamashiro Aoba." The members of each new team instinctively glanced at one another. Hinata immediately turned beet red, while Kiba looked like he was going to cry. After all, Kiba had been hanging out with Naruto since school and knew exactly how unreliable he was. Now paired with him? And with Hinata blushing to the point of fainting just by looking at Naruto? Yeah... this team was probably doomed... (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][/zaelum] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]

Chapter 152

Comments (0)