With a grand sweep of his hand,
Hiruzen immediately signed Kakashi's appointment as a Chūnin.
When it came to Mitsuki, however, he paused, hesitating for a moment.
In the end, where he should have written "Chūnin" he instead wrote "Special Jōnin."
The so-called "Special Jōnin" referred to shinobi whose abilities in certain areas had reached the Jōnin level, but whose overall capabilities weren't enough to be considered full-fledged Jōnin—a rank between Chūnin and Jōnin.
But that was only the official definition of "Special Jōnin" in Konoha.
Hiruzen's decision to appoint Mitsuki as Special Jōnin wasn't because he believed Mitsuki's strength was limited to that level — it was because in Konoha, a shinobi had to pass the Jōnin Exams to be formally recognized as a Jōnin.
Even in wartime, the Hokage could at most bypass the Special Jōnin exam and directly appoint someone to that rank.
After all, Jōnin was the highest visible shinobi rank and allowed participation in most important village meetings.
Even as Hokage, Hiruzen himself was technically considered part of the Jōnin class.
So, even as the "chief" of the village, he couldn't just appoint anyone to Jōnin at will.
His fingers tapped lightly on the surface of the Hokage's desk.
An ANBU wearing a dog-face mask instantly appeared in the office.
"I'll leave it to you."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The ANBU took the two appointment letters from Hiruzen, stepped back a few paces, and vanished in a flicker.
With Kakashi and Mitsuki's promotions handled, Hiruzen rose from his seat and walked to the window of the Hokage's office, turning his thoughts to other matters.
In his eyes, Sunagakure was already at its limit.
This wasn't just Hiruzen's personal opinion— it was a fact plain for all to see.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Suna had already suffered defeat at Konoha's hands, taking massive losses; even Chiyo's son had died under the blade of Sakumo.
But not long after that war, Suna tore up the peace treaty it had signed with Konoha—using the assassination of the Third Kazekage as an excuse—and once again launched an attack.
At that time, even Konoha, the victor, had yet to fully recover, let alone Suna, whose lands were barren and resources scarce.
Thus, Suna's war effort had been nothing but sheer morale and grit. The position of Kazekage still held immense sway over the hearts of its shinobi.
Riding that wave of desperate morale, Suna had somehow fought Konoha's scattered forces to a standstill.
But that was in the past.
Now, thanks to the battlefield exploits of Minato and Mitsuki, the defensive lines Suna had painstakingly established in the Land of Rivers had completely collapsed.
Hiruzen could see it clearly:The war with Suna was approaching its final, decisive battle—and Konoha would, in all likelihood, emerge the victor.
However, unlike Suna, which was fighting with nothing to lose, Konoha still held the most fertile lands and the title of the number-one Hidden Village in the shinobi world. Its enemies were never limited to Sunagakure alone.
Winning against Suna wasn't the problem.Winning with minimal losses — that was what had been giving Hiruzen headaches lately.
Right now, Suna was like a starving wolf cornered with no way out, baring its fangs in hopes of taking a final chunk of flesh from the hunter.
"Huuuh…"
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Summon Danzō and the Elders."
An ANBU wearing a cat-face mask appeared and answered, "Yes, Hokage-sama."
…
Sunlight streamed through the Hokage Building windows, casting mottled patches of light and shadow along the hallway.
Danzō, Koharu, and Homura — three of Konoha's highest-ranking figures — walked side by side.
Finally, they arrived at the door to the Hokage's office.
Danzō's shadowed eyes swept over the sign, the corner of his mouth lifting in an almost imperceptible, cold smile.
Koharu's demeanor seemed gentler, though her eyes carried a firm decisiveness.Homura wore a serious expression, as though deep in thought.
With a creak, the door opened, and they stepped into the power-laden room.
The Konoha "Elder Council" had assembled.
Danzō was the first to move toward the desk, sitting down with arms crossed over his chest, leaning back slightly as he scrutinized the others.
Koharu and Homura each took their seats in turn, the air growing heavier with unspoken tension.
No one spoke; only the occasional sound of breathing broke the silence.
Seeing that no one else was willing to speak first, Homura sighed inwardly.
These old teammates of his were just as stubborn as ever—always leaving it to him to start.
"Ahem… Well, Hiruzen, you must have called the Elders together for something important today."
"It's about the Land of Rivers, isn't it? Root has received intelligence that Suna is preparing for an all-out gamble" Danzō said, eyes narrowed.
"That's right. We don't know the exact timing, but it'll likely happen before year's end" Hiruzen replied as he refilled his pipe.
Koharu lowered her head in thought, then said, "Shall we send reinforcements to the front lines? If this really is a decisive battle, the current number of shinobi on the Land of Rivers front might be less than what Suna will throw at us."
Hearing her analysis, Homura frowned with concern.
"But the village doesn't have enough shinobi to spare. The situation against Kirigakure and Iwagakure isn't as favorable as it is against Suna. If we pull too many from elsewhere to send to the Land of Rivers, then…"
He wasn't wrong.
This was exactly what had been troubling Hiruzen.
Right now, Konoha was fighting on three fronts—against Suna, Kiri, and Iwa.
With Kiri, the geography itself was a barrier—its position far across the sea meant that unless Konoha controlled every port in the Land of Water, it was impossible to transport large forces there.
And with Uzushiogakure's fall, Konoha had been left like a lion blinded in both eyes—full of strength but unable to effectively intercept Kiri's infiltration from overseas.
This front had been dragged all the way back to the Land of Fire's own coastline, allowing Kiri's high-level forces to bypass border defenses and wreak havoc deep inside the Land of Fire.
It was worth noting that this front was mainly handled by the Uchiha and Hyūga clans, Konoha's two great noble houses.
Though the fighting was far from easy, the village didn't need to worry much about manpower here.
Iwagakure, however, was another matter.
Between the Lands of Fire and Earth lay a cluster of small nations—larger than the buffer zones on other borders— which served as a natural war cushion, but also meant that the Konoha–Iwa battlefield had historically been the most manpower-draining.
This front was under the command of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.
His talent and ability were beyond question—but the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was no simple opponent either.
In the Second Great Ninja War, Ōnoki had earned the title "Ōnoki of Both Scales" for his cunning strategies and shrewd methods.
As a result, Orochimaru's war with Iwa had been far from one-sided; in fact, he had often found himself at a disadvantage.
Three battlefields—two already at a disadvantage.
In such circumstances, Konoha truly had no extra strength to send reinforcements to the Land of Rivers.
Hiruzen refilled his pipe again, losing count of how many times today he'd added tobacco to his old smoker's habit.