After returning to Konohagakure, Aaron had Kakashi arrange a temporary room for Hanrei at a local inn, then headed straight for the Hokage Tower with the mission intel in hand.
By now, the route was second nature to him.
Ever since Minato Namikaze became Hokage, Aaron found himself here every other day. Funny enough, before that, he'd never even set foot inside the office.
Knock knock.
"Come in," Minato's voice called out.
Aaron stepped in and casually placed the file on the desk.
"Mission accomplished," he said with a grin. "Everything you asked for and a little extra. Files on the three captured Grass ninja, plus the one I took out."
A flicker of relief crossed Minato's face, though he didn't open the file right away.
"Aaron… I knew you'd deliver. But this fast? That's impressive."
He leaned back slightly.
"If you subtract travel time, you wrapped this up in under a week. Bringing you into ANBU might be one of the best calls I've ever made."
Aaron chuckled.
"Wow, Hokage-sama's gotten pretty smooth with the compliments. Trying to boost morale?"
Minato shot back with a smile.
"If I don't praise you a little, I'm worried you'll decide the job's too much trouble and quit."
"After all… you're just an 'average chunin,' right?"
Aaron grinned.
"See? You get me."
He paused, then added:
"By the way, there was an unexpected bonus."
"I found a survivor from the Uzumaki Clan in the Grass Village. Brought her back with us."
Minato's expression softened immediately.
"…Another Uzumaki?"
He didn't need to say more. He was already thinking of Kushina Uzumaki.
Outwardly, Kushina was always cheerful, but Minato knew better.
She'd grown up as an outsider, singled out for her bright red hair and foreign origin. Even at the academy, she'd been isolated.
Things improved over time, but her circle had always remained small. Becoming a jinchūriki hadn't exactly helped.
If there was another Uzumaki…
"She'll be happy," Minato said quietly.
"Her name's Hanrei," Aaron continued. "She's got serious potential."
"Strong sensory abilities, unusual chakra… with the right training, she could develop techniques unique to her clan."
Minato nodded thoughtfully.
"In that case, Kushina should train her."
"There's no one in Konoha better suited for it."
"Agreed," Aaron said. "And it'll give Kushina something to do. With you buried in paperwork all day, she's probably bored out of her mind."
After chatting a bit more about the mission, Minato smiled again.
"Give it some time… and you won't be able to call yourself a 'low-profile chunin' anymore."
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
"You're promoting me to jōnin?"
Minato nodded.
"Your current rank doesn't match your responsibilities. Keeping you as a chunin while you operate at a higher level will only raise eyebrows."
Aaron shrugged.
"I don't really care either way. But won't my record be an issue?"
Minato waved it off.
"That's manageable."
"We can break this operation into multiple high-rank missions for your record, and I'll assign you to the diplomatic team handling the Grass situation. That'll cover the requirements."
Aaron couldn't help but think:
Having connections really does make life easier.
Most ninja claw their way up through years of missions or survive brutal wars to earn promotions.
Meanwhile, he'd gone from coasting to nearly jōnin rank after a single major operation.
"Oh right," Aaron added, "what about the orphanage proposal?"
Before leaving for Grass, he'd suggested turning a certain orphanage into an officially funded Konoha institution.
Minato nodded.
"It's already approved. First round of funding goes out tomorrow."
Then his expression shifted slightly.
"Though… something odd came up."
"Danzō Shimura strongly opposed it."
Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
Minato continued:
"He pushed back harder than expected. Fortunately, the rest of the council supported it."
He looked directly at Aaron.
"Do you know why he'd care so much about a small orphanage?"
Aaron answered calmly:
"The director used to be part of Root."
"The orphanage has been funded through Root channels. My guess? Danzō wants to keep control over it to pressure her into continuing to serve him."
Minato fell silent.
"…So that's it."
A former Root operative. A dependent funding line. A pressure point.
Everything clicked into place.
"A subordinate he doesn't want to lose…" Minato murmured, eyes thoughtful.
For the first time, a new idea began to take shape in his mind.
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