Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

Shihouin Naraku made his way back to Konoha Village at a leisurely pace, taking time to observe the peaceful daily life of his home. During his walk toward the Hokage Building, he couldn't help but overhear various passersby discussing the strange celestial phenomenon that had appeared in the sky earlier.

Reflecting on his high-altitude ability testing session, Naraku realized it was hardly surprising that the massive explosions had been visible to people on the ground, even from such tremendous distances. The scale of destruction he had unleashed was simply too enormous to conceal completely.

Although the supernatural display had been quite loud and dramatic, the villagers of Konoha showed no signs of panic or concern. Their confidence was entirely understandable - after all, with the legendary Phoenix, Shihouin Naraku, protecting their village, no enemy would dare to approach Konoha with hostile intentions.

Listening to the Konoha citizens' animated discussions about the mysterious sky phenomena and their proud boasting about their village's protector, Naraku continued his journey until he finally arrived at the Hokage's office.

"Perfect timing! I was just about to send someone to find you," Tsunade announced the moment she spotted Naraku entering her office. Her eyes lit up with obvious relief and determination. "There's an S-rank mission that requires your immediate attention, Naraku!"

"What's the situation?" Naraku asked with surprise, having originally planned to discuss Sage Mode training with Tsunade.

Instead, she was presenting him with an urgent assignment that clearly took priority over his personal development plans.

"Our ninja stationed at the Great Naruto Bridge in the Land of Waves have submitted reports indicating the discovery of large numbers of Kirigakure shinobi operating within Wave Country's borders over the past several days," Tsunade explained with professional seriousness. "The Water Country's intentions remain unclear at this time, but this intelligence requires immediate investigation and response."

"Additionally, our border garrison forces positioned along the Fire Country's coastline have reported possible signs of Tailed Beast activity in the region. One of our scouts actually witnessed a Tailed Beast Bomb explosion occurring over the ocean yesterday! However, we have no reliable information about which specific Jinchūriki might be involved."

"The ninja assigned to our coastal defense positions are highly experienced veterans who have participated in multiple shinobi wars throughout their careers. Their observations should be considered completely reliable and accurate."

"Whether this represents the Water Country planning to destroy the Great Naruto Bridge as an act of aggression, or indicates that a Kirigakure Jinchūriki has lost control of their Tailed Beast..."

"This situation involves Tailed Beasts directly, making it extremely urgent and potentially catastrophic. You are currently the most suitable candidate in all of Konoha Village for this mission, both in terms of raw combat capability and travel speed. I need you to investigate the situation immediately and determine what's actually happening!"

"If you assess the situation as too dangerous for conventional diplomatic solutions, Naraku, I'm granting you full authority to decide whether Konoha should initiate military action!"

Tsunade provided him with detailed mission parameters while granting him extraordinary operational freedom and decision-making power.

"Understood!" Naraku accepted the assignment without hesitation.

After receiving his orders, Naraku temporarily set aside his questions about Sage Mode training and turned to leave the office immediately.

Regarding this particular mission, Naraku found himself uncertain about what exactly might be occurring in the Water Country. The situation could involve several different scenarios, each requiring different approaches.

Kirigakure currently possessed two Tailed Beasts within their forces. The first was the Three-Tails Isobu, which remained sealed within the body of Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage. However, that particular Jinchūriki had been under Uchiha Obito's genjutsu control for an extended period, making his current status highly uncertain.

The second Tailed Beast was the Six-Tails Saiken, whose current Jinchūriki appeared to be a shinobi named Utakata based on available intelligence reports.

With two potential Tailed Beasts involved, determining which one might be experiencing problems would require direct investigation and assessment.

While contemplating these possibilities, Naraku returned to his residence to prepare for the mission.

After changing into appropriate travel clothing and gathering essential equipment, Naraku launched himself directly into the sky and began flying toward the Water Country at high speed.

Although this mission carried significant danger and political implications, Konoha's forces had not yet come under direct attack. This meant the situation, while serious, wasn't quite urgent enough to require his absolute maximum speed response.

If the two countries had already entered active warfare, Naraku would have immediately summoned his Sky Comet Dragon and reached the front lines within minutes.

However, while his personal flight speed couldn't match the incredible velocity of his dragon summon, it was still remarkably fast. Even without pushing himself to burst speeds that would exhaust his stamina, he could reach his destination in a relatively short timeframe.

"Whoosh!"

Shihouin Naraku streaked across the sky like a shooting star, leaving a long contrail behind him as he raced toward the coastline.

In less than thirty minutes of sustained flight, Naraku appeared in the vicinity of the Fire Country's coastal regions where the border garrison was stationed.

"Flash!"

"Halt! Identify yourself!"

"Intruder! How dare you break into Konoha territory!"

"Enemy attack! Sound the alarm!"

Naraku's sudden appearance at the Konoha border troops' encampment startled the stationed shinobi, who immediately drew their weapons and pointed them at the unexpected arrival with obvious alarm and suspicion.

"Stand down, you rookies!" an older, more experienced voice called out authoritatively.

"That's Lord Naraku himself! The legendary ninja known throughout the world as the Phoenix - Shihouin Naraku!"

"You fools, show proper respect immediately!"

The veteran soldier's correction caused immediate embarrassment among the younger guards, who quickly realized their mistake.

Naraku felt somewhat uncomfortable being addressed with such formal titles in person. The overwhelming reverence was genuinely embarrassing, though he understood their enthusiasm was well-intentioned.

He genuinely couldn't bring himself to criticize these dedicated subordinates for their enthusiasm. They all gazed at him with obvious admiration and respect, their expressions filled with genuine awe. Naraku opened his mouth to speak but ultimately decided to remain silent rather than dampen their spirits.

"Lord Naraku, welcome to our station!"

"Naraku-sama!"

"Lord Naraku! It's an honor to meet you!"

The assembled Konoha shinobi offered respectful greetings while maintaining excited expressions, clearly thrilled by this unexpected encounter.

The experience resembled meeting a living legend for the first time, filling them with wonder and amazement!

After all, this was the acknowledged new God of the Ninja World standing before them. Who wouldn't want to observe such a remarkable figure more closely?

The intense, burning gazes of the assembled Konoha shinobi became increasingly difficult to endure.

Naraku quickly redirected the conversation toward business matters. "I'm here to carry out an official mission. Where can I find the officer in charge of this station?"

"Reporting to Lord Naraku, our captain departed this morning to conduct a border inspection patrol and hasn't returned to base yet..." one of the shinobi began explaining.

At that precise moment, a familiar figure walked into the compound area.

"Ah... Lord Naraku!" the newcomer exclaimed with obvious surprise.

Speak of the devil and he appears!

The captain of Konoha's border forces had arrived just as they were discussing his absence. His attention was immediately drawn to Naraku, who stood surrounded by enthusiastic subordinates. The legendary shinobi's distinctive appearance made him instantly recognizable even from a distance.

"Lord Naraku!" the captain repeated with formal respect.

"Everyone, return to your assigned duties immediately! Don't waste Lord Naraku's valuable time by clustering around here like star-struck civilians!"

After gently but firmly dismissing his subordinates, who were clearly filled with admiration and excitement, the captain quickly approached to provide a proper status report.

"So you're the commanding officer responsible for this sector," Naraku observed with recognition. "I haven't seen you in the village recently because you were transferred to this border assignment."

Naraku studied the man's face, noting the distinctive hideous scar that marked his features. This was Nameashi Raido, a Special Jōnin from Konoha Village who had previously served as one of the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal bodyguards.

After the Third Hokage's death in combat, Naraku hadn't encountered the man anywhere within the village proper.

Nameashi Raido represented something of a supremely unlucky individual in terms of his professional assignments. He had originally formed an elite guard team alongside Iwashi Tatami and Shiranui Genma, with their collective responsibility being the protection of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

Unfortunately, within a relatively short period, Namikaze Minato had died during the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha Village.

Although the Fourth Hokage's death bore no direct relation to their performance or capabilities, they had nonetheless failed in their fundamental duty as protectors. The three-person guard team was subsequently demoted as a result of this failure, spending many years rebuilding their careers and reputations.

Eventually, all three had been promoted back to important positions. Both Iwashi Tatami and Shiranui Genma had been assigned directly to serve as the Third Hokage's personal bodyguards, right during the Chūnin Exams period!

Unfortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen was killed by Orochimaru during that very examination. While this tragedy was once again unrelated to the guards' performance - Orochimaru was simply an enemy far beyond what any bodyguard could be expected to handle - the pattern remained problematic.

When the Hokage you're assigned to protect dies, regardless of circumstances, you bear some responsibility for the failure.

Therefore, Nameashi Raido had been transferred to manage border defenses between the Fire Country and Water Country, effectively removing him from any future Hokage protection duties.

Considering this history, Naraku couldn't help but find the situation somewhat amusing.

Tsunade had probably developed a severe headache upon reviewing Raido's service record when she assumed office.

Having a bodyguard associated with the deaths of two consecutive Hokages would naturally make any successor extremely nervous. Tsunade had clearly decided that such an individual should be stationed far away from Konoha's leadership.

Better to assign him to border duties where his undeniably excellent skills could still serve the village effectively without posing any perceived risk to her own safety.

In reality, Nameashi Raido was genuinely an exceptional Special Jōnin who performed his guard duties with exemplary skill and dedication. When faced with unprecedented disasters like the Nine-Tails attack or enemies of Orochimaru's caliber, however, no bodyguard could guarantee absolute protection.

So this particularly unlucky individual had found himself exiled to border patrol duty...

Returning to the present situation, Nameashi Raido could obviously detect the subtle humor in Naraku's words, responding with an awkward but understanding smile.

"Lord Naraku, please follow me," Raido offered with renewed professionalism.

He gestured for Naraku to accompany him and led the way toward the command office, maintaining his composure despite the obviously sensitive nature of their discussion.

The situation seemed relatively calm rather than urgently critical. If something truly catastrophic had occurred, it would be impossible for the border station to maintain such a relaxed atmosphere.

"I assume you understand the purpose of my mission here," Naraku began once they had privacy. "Do you have any additional intelligence or clues that have been gathered recently? How much reliable information have you collected about current conditions in the Water Country and Kirigakure's activities?"

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