At this moment, Danzō—who was supposedly "unwell" and "needed rest"—sat expressionlessly in front of Hiruzen.
The table between them was covered with newspapers, a sprawling mess of colorful pages.
Iron Country Weekly: "Breaking! Konoha Produces the Youngest Jōnin in History—Ten-Year-Old Genius Higashino Shinichi Shocks the Nation!"
Grass Country Weekly: "Konoha Prodigy Creates Another Miracle! Ten-Year-Old Higashino Shinichi Promoted to Jōnin!"
Fire Country Entertainment Weekly: "Shocking! A Ten-Year-Old Jōnin! Konoha's Higashino Shinichi Breaks Shinobi World Record—Promotion Personally Granted by the Third Hokage! A Hint at a Future Hokage?"
Wind Country Bulletin: "Konoha Genius Becomes Jōnin at Ten—The Land of Fire May Grow Even Stronger Over the Next Twenty Years!"
Shinobi Weekly: "A Monstrous Genius Appears in Konoha! What Does a Ten-Year-Old Jōnin Mean?"
Shinobi Gossip: "Ten-Year-Old Jōnin—Unveiling the Rise of Konoha's Genius Higashino Shinichi!"
Shinobi Affairs Report: "Shocking! The Youngest Jōnin in Konoha History Is Born—Only Ten Years Old!"
Great Shinobi Report: "Massive Shock! The Youngest Jōnin in Shinobi History Is Born—Only Ten Years Old!"
"Danzō, have you traced the source?"
The Third Hokage rubbed his temples and looked away from the papers as he asked.
It turned out that just the day after the higher-ups promoted Shinichi to Special Jōnin, news of his promotion had suddenly exploded across the shinobi world.
And each headline was more exaggerated than the last—each article more outrageous than the one before.
Konoha's official designation had clearly been "Special Jōnin," but every newspaper had tacitly dropped the word "Special," leaving only "Jōnin."
The situation was even worse within the Land of Fire itself. When local media outlets saw the reports:
What? Our Konoha prodigy got promoted?
And we were the last to find out?
From foreign newspapers, no less?
How could they tolerate that?
So they started reporting it as well.
Each article more exaggerated than the last, each headline more sensational.
By now, the entire Land of Fire was probably buzzing with talk of "Konoha's genius Higashino Shinichi becoming a Jōnin." At this rate, even a random vegetable vendor on the street could chat with you about "that ten-year-old Jōnin from Konoha."
"We've traced it. The earliest reports came from several newspapers in the Grass Country."
"The Grass Country?" The Third Hokage frowned slightly.
"Yes. Then the next day, the news spread to the Iron Country, where a samurai named Isshin saw it."
The Third Hokage's eyelid twitched.
"That same day, he bought out the front pages of nearly every major newspaper in the Iron Country, spending a huge sum to push the story as hard as possible."
"This Isshin really is…" The Third Hokage opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
What should have been a low-key, understated promotion to Special Jōnin had been turned into a sensation that shook the entire shinobi world.
He let out a sigh, about to speak again, when Danzō cut in: "I suspect this Isshin is the main force behind it."
"Hm?" The Third Hokage looked at him.
"Although the Grass Country papers were the first to publish it, the content clearly shows signs of being orchestrated. As for the Iron Country, this man's actions were even more blatant—he didn't just buy front-page space, he had people embellish the reports as well."
The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don't think so."
"The Iron Country is several days' travel from Konoha. Even if Isshin acted immediately after seeing the news, it wouldn't have been fast enough. We promoted Shinichi a few days ago, yet the Grass Country papers had already published it the very next day."
"For news to spread that quickly, there's only one possibility."
"The source of the leak is inside Konoha. It must be intelligence agents from other villages."
Although Konoha was a military organization, as the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, it saw countless visitors, merchants, and clients every day in peacetime.
Among them, it was only natural that some were foreign spies.
Tourism was also a significant source of income for Konoha. They couldn't just shut the gates over fears of leaks. And since those people operated under the guise of visitors, merchants, or clients, no matter how strict inspections were, some would inevitably slip through.
"It seems someone wants to push this child into the spotlight."
The Third Hokage took a drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled. Smoke curled between the two of them.
"To make him the top target for elimination among all the other villages."
His tone was calm, but the meaning of his words was anything but.
Danzō was silent for a while before speaking.
"I'll thoroughly investigate… those suspicious individuals in the village."
The Third Hokage nodded. His voice remained low, but carried a chilling edge: "Yes, it's time for a proper investigation. I want to see which bastard is stirring things up behind the scenes."
Danzō glanced at him, said nothing more, simply nodded, then turned and walked toward the door.
This old companion of his always looked like a kind, easygoing man—but once he was truly angered, his killing intent ran even deeper beneath the surface.
Just like now.
His tone was as calm as if he were discussing today's meal.
But Danzō knew—
Hiruzen had genuinely developed the intent to kill this time.
…
Walking home, Shinichi felt a sudden chill as a cold wind brushed past him, making him shiver.
Can I still feel cold now?
He stopped, momentarily stunned.
With entries like "Copper Skin and Iron Bones" and "Rending Stone and Splitting Metal" enhancing him, his physique far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Logically, he shouldn't be affected by the weather anymore.
Strange.
As he passed a newspaper stand, his gaze casually swept over the colorful papers.
The front pages were filled with bold headlines like "Shock!" "Ten-Year-Old Jōnin!" and "Youngest in Shinobi History!"
He looked away, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
I wonder… will this move actually work?
The generation of profession entries required, first, recognition and acceptance by authority, and second, widespread cognition—and cognition took time to ferment.
Under normal circumstances, he would need to formally become a Jōnin first. Then, as people gradually accepted that fact, once the accumulated recognition reached a certain threshold, it would finally trigger the creation of the "Jōnin" profession entry.
That process took time.
So he wondered—could he reverse it?
Let people recognize him as a Jōnin first.
Then, when he truly became one, that recognition would already be in place.
At that point, the generation of the profession entry might accelerate significantly—perhaps even trigger instantly.
After all, there was already a considerable gray area between Special Jōnin and full Jōnin.
Especially for non-shinobi—how would they even tell the difference?
As long as they saw the words "Ten-Year-Old Jōnin Higashino Shinichi," the impression would be burned into their minds.
So, the moment he received his promotion order, Isshin's clone crossed into the Iron Country overnight, then rushed to the Grass Country.
With a new identity and appearance, he spent money to buy out the front pages of several newspapers.
And soon enough, the news exploded.
Once the reports reached the Iron Country, Isshin openly stepped forward again—this time as a samurai, using the pretext of promoting his future opponent for their eventual strongest battle—to push the story even further. Buying headlines, securing full-page coverage, and adding fuel to the fire.
The results were even better than he had expected.
Of course, for the news to spread across most of the shinobi world so quickly, one person alone wasn't enough.
Beyond the public's appetite for gossip—far stronger than he had anticipated—there were definitely intelligence agents from other villages fanning the flames as well, all tacitly omitting the word "Special."
As for what those foreign actors were thinking, Shinichi could more or less guess.
They wanted to put him on display.
To turn him into a target—one that all villages would prioritize watching, and eliminating.
A ten-year-old Special Jōnin with the full strength of a true Jōnin—his talent was simply too terrifying. Leaving him alive would only spell trouble.
But what they didn't know was…
That was exactly what he wanted.
You're helping spread my name? I couldn't ask for more.
Shinichi withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.
The night wind brushed past him, carrying a faint chill.
Strange.
That inexplicable shiver from earlier surfaced in his mind again.
He shook his head, dismissing the thought, quickened his pace, and headed home.
Now then… how should I deliver that speech in three days?
As he walked, he continued thinking it through.
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