97: Celebration

Celebration

Konohagakure, inside the 'Yakiniku Q' restaurant.1

"Hell yeah! All three of my students are Chunin!" Downing a shot of Sake, Jiraiya drunkenly grinned. He hadn't been this happy in a long time. To celebrate their achievement, Jiraiya decided to treat them to some barbeque.

"Surely you jest... Master Jiraiya, we wouldn't be here without you." Smiling, Minato picked up some of the meat with his chopsticks. Even though he was aware of his teacher's favoritism, he was the one that nominated them.

"Yeah, Minato is right... But sensei, you should pay us some more attention from now on!" Closing her book and digging into her rice, Nozomi pointed out matter-of-factly. After all, Jiraiya was usually busy teaching Minato. "Apart from taking us on missions and giving us pointers, you're always with Minato!"

"Hai, hai. I shall learn from my mistakes!" Enjoying his food, Jiraiya was quick to change the subject. "Anyways, congratulations. When I became Chunin, it was one of the proudest days of my life."

"Was it? Rank doesn't dictate the strength of a shinobi, so I don't see why you'd place such importance on it." Jun lowered his drink and crossed his arms.

"But it means I'm one step closer to my dream...!" Looking down at his newly obtained vest, Minato smiled. This was just the beginning. If he wanted to become Hokage, he'd have to become even stronger!

"Still, I can't believe that I also got promoted... I, for one, never thought I'd make it." Feeling the vest's rough texture with her hand, Nozomi smiled wryly. "it feels a little undeserved."

"Undeserved? You defeated a member of the Hyuga clan's main house and copied one of their secret techniques after one look!" Jiraiya refuted with vigor. He refused to see his students unhappy after their achievements.

"Jiraiya-sensei is right. Your strategic thinking against Minato was top-notch, granting you the advantage against the best student the academy has ever seen." Jun said truthfully. He had been pleasantly surprised by Nozomi's developments and wasn't afraid to show it.

"True... if I hadn't learned that A-rank clone technique, you would've forced me to use my summon." Smiling warmly, Minato motivated Nozomi. He too, had been impressed by her strength.

"You guys..." These three were usually cold to her, especially Jun and Jiraiya. For them to shower her with praise all at once, it made her feel like tearing up a little. She felt like she'd finally gained their recognition and became a member of the team. "I... Thank you..."

Blushing a little, she happily ate her food. Nozomi's mood had improved tremendously as she hummed a little tune.

Seeing her act sheepishly, the three guys smiled. Even though they didn't show it much, they considered her as part of the team from the very beginning.

"Well, do you guys know what being a Chunin entails?" Grinning, Jiraiya crossed his arms, raising one finger. "Your lives will be a little different from now on, so I'd like to make sure you're aware."

"Does it mean we can go on harder missions?" Minato said in a prying manner. Even he wasn't aware of all the intricacies.

Smiling, Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, but that's not all. Did you guys receive a scroll along with your diploma? Open them, and you'll understand."

"Mm."

Taking their scrolls out, the newly promoted Chunin all rolled them out, and three puffs of smoke appeared on the table. Suddenly, a few items were laid out for everyone to see.

Each of them had a small, grey book with the Konoha symbol engraved on the cover and a few miscellaneous ninja tools.

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Special thanks to Frozoka Swaggins, God Erebos, and Daniil!

Don't forget to drop some stones!

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