Returning back to the Konoha camp, Fugaku revealed all the info he found to Orochimaru. And upon having the info—
Orochimaru would have his troops spread out accordingly. After all, this was talking about the safety of a shit ton of people.
And some military assets.
Seijuro stood there, listening to the talks.
"Good job as always, Fugaku," Orochimaru would say in his calm voice.
The man would nod. Well, time to dip.
"You are all dismissed."
As those words left the man's mouth, everyone bowed before preparing to leave.
Seijuro didn't even take a singular step before he heard—
Was he in trouble? The Inuzuka simply grinned.
As his whole team basically left the room, only Orochimaru and Fugaku remained.
Seijuro stayed quiet, waiting for the adult to speak.
"Your accomplishments over the past six months have simply been astonishing," Orochimaru would say, looking at the child.
"I simply did my duty as any Leaf Shinobi should." Seijuro's façade was practically his face now—so hard to tell apart if your name wasn't Nawaki or Mikoto.
Orochimaru seemed to ponder on the boy's words.
"And the Leaf has noticed your contributions, and thus, you shall be promoted to the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin."
Seijuro's eyes would flicker with something—an emotion that Orochimaru interpreted as shock—but Seijuro made it because he may or may not be growing too fast for the village's liking.
"Are you certain that I'm qualified to become a Tokubetsu Jounin? After all, I am merely a Chunin. I do not have the requirements for this." He would be quite humble as usual. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI(F)ire.net
Being a Jounin meant actually leading a team of Chunins or even Genin sometimes, which could be a bother, but he could use it to further his alibi.
"Seijuro-kun, what do you think a Tokubetsu Jounin is?" Orochimaru would ask calmly.
"A Tokubetsu Jounin are ninja who, rather than having all-around skills, only excel in a specific area."
Upon seeing that Seijuro understood what this was, Orochimaru would open his mouth and say—
"Your Genjutsu skills are far greater than any Jounin we have present. They might even be better than mine," Orochimaru would say, looking at the boy.
"My Genjutsu are great, but they are not yet at the level of Orochimaru-sama." The bootlicking was crazy—that was an insane lie and he knew it.
Orochimaru probably knew it, considering the boy's clan Kekkei Genkai was Genjutsu-related. He didn't take offense to it.
Seijuro was known for being quite humble, so this response was expected.
"Your squad captain has spoken greatly of your skill."
"He has?" Seijuro didn't need to fake that one, as it came as a shock to him.
You mean to say Fugaku spoke on his behalf?
"Hm." That's all he got from the man—the Uchiha clan traditional Hm technique. Cool, but it kinda made sense. He wouldn't bother explaining, as you'd have to be brain-dead not to understand why his squad captain—a man who clearly could see his ability and potential—would be the one speaking on his behalf.
"Yes," Orochimaru would say calmly.
The man would take out a vest and hand it over to Seijuro.
"From today onwards, you are a Tokubetsu Jounin of Konoha." Hm. Going from Genin, Chunin, and Tokubetsu Jounin in the span of a year and a few months.
That was, in fact, a huge jump—though Seijuro himself was far past the Jounin classification. Sure, all of his stats were probably resting in the high-Jounin spot, but his chakra amount was Kage-tier... 90% Bijuu chakra, by the way.
And when he entered that Bijuu state, the buff in his chakra was massive.
Though he kinda had to hide he could do that. Simple—he would just hide it with a simple Genjutsu.
Or create a technique where his chakra cloaked his body a bit.
Yeah, that could work.
And with his seal slowly pushing his chakra to its limits, his chakra amount growing on a daily basis, he should be fine.
He had 8 more Bijuu to steal chakra from.
"In a week, you will be transported to the Suna battlefield," Orochimaru would say, looking at the boy.
Seijuro raised an eyebrow, as if to ask why.
"Lady Chiyo's poison is costing Konoha quite a lot, and Tsunade has personally asked for you at her front."
"I am assuming Lady Tsunade wishes for me to report back in order to keep the patients' brain function active—by making them and their body believe they were fine with the use of fine Genjutsu, buying her extra time to find a cure," he said calmly.
Orochimaru's brow furrowed. At first, he did think Tsunade just wanted her student back. Sure, Seijuro's Medical Ninjutsu was probably second-best here—no reason to send him to Suna.
But he seemed to have overlooked the boy's Kekkei Genkai—the ability to kill someone with a Genjutsu. That same skill could be used to keep someone alive for longer—to keep the brain active well after the body gave up.
As long as the brain stayed very active, with Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu, everything was possible.
Could even temporarily fake the man's death, slowing down the rate the poison was advancing through the man's blood vessels.
Seijuro was also good with seals.
"You shall depart in a week. You will leave at the same time as the transfer of materials. Be ready."
"Will this be all, Lord Orochimaru?"
The man nodded, before looking at Seijuro and saying—
"You are... dismissed."
And thus, Seijuro left the room.