Konoha Main Street.
"Brother, who is that Bad Uncle?"
Sasuke, clinging to Itachi's back, tightly gripping his mini Itachi figurine, asked curiously.
Behind them, Uchiha Mikoto, who was following them, was also a little curious. Such a peculiar character shouldn't lead little Itachi astray.
Itachi smiled, "That's Special Jonin Satoru-senpai from the Village, not a Bad Uncle!"
"He is, he is! He bullied me!" Sasuke protested, still upset that Satoru had made him cry.
"Special Jonin?" Uchiha Mikoto was quite surprised. She hadn't expected two Jonin to be dispatched for one mission. Seeing Itachi completely unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Itachi's teammates were quite reliable.
"Yes, a powerful Genjutsu Ninja. I think he can compare to Shisui-nii."
Ever since his previous teammates were killed and he was saved by Shisui, they had become friends. He knew Shisui's Genjutsu was very powerful, and in his eyes, Shisui was the strongest Genjutsu Ninja in Uchiha.
It wasn't until Satoru appeared that he realised there were also very strong Genjutsu Ninja even without the Sharingan.
Mikoto was startled by his words, "That... how is that possible?"
As the Clan Head's wife, she had heard from Fugaku that Shisui was the strongest genius Uchiha had seen in ten years, and his Genjutsu was even stronger than her clan head's.
How could Satoru, a mere Special Jonin, compare to Shisui in Itachi's mind?
Could such a genius truly exist?
Sasuke played with the figurine and asked curiously, "What is Genjutsu?"
...
Satoru's House.
"I used a Genjutsu feint, sending the enemy to their grave with beautiful cherry blossoms, and ultimately achieved a complete victory, eliminating the enemy with a trap while remaining unharmed.
Did you hear that, baby?
When you grow up, you'll than your dad."
Satoru sat opposite Ayame, gesticulating wildly as he recounted his heroic deeds to Ayame, his voice especially gentle yet strong, as if speaking to the unborn baby in Ayame's belly.
Ayame listened, stroking her belly, and couldn't stop chuckling at Satoru's antics: "Did you hear that, baby? Your father is very strong. When the time comes, you must be a strong person like your father."
"Of course, my baby will be to anyone else," Satoru said proudly.
What about Kakashi Hatake, what about Hatake Sakumo, what about Orochimaru, what about Tsunade, what about Hashirama, what about Uchiha Madara...
He had already imagined that under his guidance, his son or daughter would punch Uchiha Madara and kick the First Hokage, at least reaching the strength of Boruto's grandpa.
This was a father's confidence.
And to set an example, he naturally couldn't be negligent.
Since he wasn't the captain this time, he naturally didn't have to do any tedious reports, and rushed back to see Ayame as soon as he returned.
Perceiving the vigorous life force of the child within Ayame, Satoru was very satisfied.
That's why he had just boasted, about providing prenatal education for the child.
After doting on Ayame a bit more, making her understand that his strength was indeed very strong and that mission risks were low so she didn't need to worry, he began to ponder his studies for the coming period.
To set an example for his child, he naturally needed to have respectable strength. Currently, his strength still has some gaps compared to the world-destroying Ninja of the later stages.
He thought about his own growth. The Mind Reading Technique series definitely couldn't stop being researched. He intended to treat this entire series as his ultimate, decisive moves.
Pupil Setting Hand was currently stuck in a bottleneck. The illusionary beasts it created couldn't be changed into whatever he wanted. At least, he had tried to turn it into Kakarot, but it was just a strong Ninja, unable to use Kamehameha or Spirit Bomb.
It also couldn't release Ninjutsu, which meant that currently, Dianjing Hand could only summon different types of strong bodies, and then imbue them with rich combat experience using the Mind Reading Technique series.
His methods were relatively singular.
He had a slight idea for the Genjutsu ability to deceive the world, which was to combine it with the Sealing Technique and Barrier Ninjutsu he had previously studied, but it was only a nascent idea for now and could be set aside.
If he remembered correctly, there was a Ninja family in the Ninja World that sold weather. He could intentionally seek them out later to accelerate his progress.
The Five Senses Manipulation series had already achieved some success in visual Genjutsu, at least enough to be presentable against Nia nja of Shisui's level.
The manipulation of shape changes was also extremely proficient.
Next was to research quality, form, touch, smell, and sound.
First, Satoru set his sights on the domain of sound.
Firstly, compared to other domains, sound Genjutsu had great advantages: it was less difficult, had a wide range, and was harder to defend against.
"Hmm, I'll research sound Genjutsu first. Anyway, the Fourth Shinobi World War is so far away, and my talent is so good, I have enough time to develop them one by one."
Satoru finally decided to start with sound Genjutsu.
...
Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the mission report submitted by Hayama.
It detailed the mission's progress, what happened, whether the border terrain had changed, the frequency of merchant caravans, weather changes... everything was meticulously recorded.
When he saw the abilities Satoru had displayed, he raised an eyebrow: "Excellent Taijutsu, excellent Ninjutsu, excellent perception, excellent Genjutsu, excellent analytical ability, excellent communication with comrades..."
Attached was Hayama's suggestion that Satoru could be promoted to Jonin.
Although Special Jonin were also a Jonin's organisational structure, there was still a difference in designation.
Special Jonin were strong in combat but had flaws, easily targeted if information was leaked. True Jonin could no longer be targeted by a single ability.
The treatment... was the same as Special Jonin.
They belonged to the same organisational structure.
This was one of Konoha's important indicators for distinguishing Ninja abilities.
"He is indeed sufficient to be promoted to a formal Jonin!" Hiruzen Sarutobi also believed Satoru was ready.
Whether it was his leadership ability or his strength was no worse than Kakashi's or Hayama's. Not promoting him would be a bit unreasonable.
However, he still had to inform the two Advisors. The appointment of a Jonin, in addition to the Hokage's affirmation of the Ninja, also needed to be reported to the higher-ups of the Land of Fire.
Formal Jonin, in addition to missions, received a stipend from the Land of Fire, which was paid monthly.
To get the money, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to report it.
He called his two old friends and explained the matter, asking them to handle it.
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu nodded, indicating no problem. They were the Advisors responsible for Konoha's various civil affairs and governance, and matters of communication with the Land of Fire also had to go through them.
As they were talking, a man with his arms crossed and a cross-shaped scar on his chin appeared and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Hiruzen, this is a talent. Why not let Root take him? I will "Danzo, Satoru's abilities are already sufficient; he doesn't need Root's cultivation. Don't act recklessly, or Root will have no reason to exist," Hiruzen Sarutobi would never allow a Ninja with a strong Will of Fire to enter Root.
Moreover, Satoru's wife was pregnant, making such a thing even more impossible. These are the future of Konoha, not Root.
"Hiruzen, you will regret this," Danzo snorted coldly.
He also knew it was unrealistic, but he wanted to maintain the right to 'fight for it'.