Chapter 52: Promotion

"He is very strong!" realized Sasuke as he watched the boy who wasn't much older than him be declared the victor of these exams, while his opponent was carried out of the arena. Sitting beside him were Ino and Sakura, who both were cheering loudly for Tekku, especially since he won.

But Sasuke didn't let himself be distracted by that. No, he had far more important questions to solve. In his mind, he was comparing himself with Tekku in each of the fights of these Chunin Exams. And no matter how generously he bolstered his abilities, there was no way he could compare with them right now.

And Tekku had won these exams. A boy his age was so far ahead. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he could beat that Deidara, who definitely was also a genius when he became his age.

No matter from which perspective he viewed this, he would lose on a full line. The worst part about that was that he had absolutely no idea how to solve that. Was Itachi the same as them? Was that what real geniuses were?

Today Sasuke realized that he was talented, but he was worlds away from monsters like Itachi and Tekku right now. And that shocked him to his core. How was he supposed to get his revenge if he couldn't even catch up to Itachi? For him to ever beat his elder brother, he would need a lot of miraculous power-ups, and probably also some random illness that would be killing his brother.

He had no idea how he could beat someone like them one on one. He was now pretty sure that the same eyes as Itachi wouldn't cover the distance between them; the Mangekyo sounded strong but wouldn't improve his other abilities magically.

But how is he supposed to become stronger? There is no way the Academy would cover the distance between them even the slightest. No, there was barely anything new he was learning there.

Then his eyes fell back onto the shape of the boy that just showed him how big the world was as he was leaving the arena. Sasuke had suddenly an idea. Maybe Tekku could help him to become stronger, as he must have faced the same problems in the Academy as himself right now.

He didn't hear from beside him how the two girls were watching him unsure while whispering to each other, "Did Sasuke fall in love just now?" asked Sakura of Ino.

"I have no idea, but based on the face he was making, he just found the big love in Tekku. Maybe he is really gay, like the rumors say." Replied Ino unsure, "But he should keep his distance from Tekku-kun. He is clearly not interested in other guys." She humphed before refocusing on the arena.

While Sakura watched Sasuke with a disappointed sigh, she also searched for Tekku with her eyes. 'He looks actually really good,' she realized as she closely observed the small shape.

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After a small shiver ran down his neck while Tekku began to head for the exit of the arena where Hana was already proudly waiting for him, with a wide grin on her face. He had no idea why he was feeling so cold right now, but he was sure he didn't want to find out.

The results of these Chunin Exams would be announced later by the respective Kage of each village personally, after the judges had discussed who was qualified to become a Chunin and who was not.

Tekku didn't care too much about that, he was just happy that this public show was finally over, and he could return home. He was patient for the results as he was pretty sure that he would become a Chunin.

"Congratulations, Tekku!" greeted Hana as he arrived at her side.

"Thank you, Hana. Finally, this whole hassle is over. I hope we both made it." He replied calmly as they left the arena.

They soon parted ways as they wanted to take a rest for today. Inoichi had given them the week after the exam off; he would call them for a meeting once he had the results of their exams. Until then, they should rest and take a break from missions and training.

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A few days later, Tekku and Hana were currently at their sensei's home, celebrating their success during the Chunin Exams with a nice barbecue in the garden when an ANBU operative appeared beside them in the garden from a plume of smoke.

Ino and her mother looked at the ANBU with curiosity as he approached their group. While the other three people had already a good guess about why he was here. The ANBU eyed the two young Genin before he said, "Tekku, Hana Inuzuka, and Inoichi Yamanaka, you are being summoned to the Hokage's office this instant by the Hokage."

"Do you know why we are summoned?" asked Hana.

The ANBU operative shook his head, "I apologize, but I am not allowed to divulge this information," he replied.

"Well, let's go. Thank you for the nice food, Yumi-san." Tekku thanked Ino's mother before turning to Ino, "See you later, Ino."

"You are welcome, Tekku-kun," was Yumi's reply as she smiled while Team 10 headed toward the Academy building.

It didn't take long until the three of them were standing in the Hokage's Office, accompanied by the ANBU. Besides the Hokage himself, who was sitting behind his desk working on some paperwork, there was only one other ANBU, at least visible.

The amount of paperwork was also far less than a few months ago, as it seemed the Shadow Clone Trick was working.

"Team 10, is at your command, Hokage-sama," announced Inoichi when they were standing in the office.

"Good, that you are here." Nodded the aged Hokage, "I called you here for something important. First of all…" he said while looking at Hana and Tekku.

"Congratulations to the two of you. The two of you did exceptionally well in the Chunin Exam. After much discussion with the different judges, it has been decided that out of all the Konoha participants, you two are ready to be promoted to the rank of Chunin." Announced the old man with a kind smile.

"We did it!" cheered Hana, before she quickly calmed down with a blush, "Eh, sorry, Hokage-sama."

"No worries. I hereby promote the two of you officially to the rank of Chunin." He said in an official tone, while handing them the standard Konoha flak vest, which the two promptly put on with a smile.

"Good, now that we have that handled. It's time to discuss the future of your team." The Hokage said a bit more somberly.

"What about our teams? Don't we remain under Inoichi-sensei?" asked Hana worried.

"Well, you are still his students and can approach him for any questions. You are no longer part of a Genin team. They are meant for Genin to reach an adequate level of strength before they become part of the regular forces." Explained the Hokage.

"No worries, you two. You can always come over to visit or ask me for more training. But you already have begun to develop your fighting styles, and it is the best if you begin to diversify your experiences further than just relying on my input. No matter in which part of the force you will land, there will be possibilities to learn more. From your teammates, captains, or the resources that will be available for you." Added Inoichi with a proud smile.

"I see, and what will be our new assignments, Hokage-sama?" asked Tekku more calmly.

"Well, Inoichi will return to the Intelligence Division and become the Captain of the Analysis Team. Meanwhile, I believe the best for Hana is to further develop her medical expertise; I want her to become part of the Medical Division, as we never have enough medics on the field." Explained the Hokage before turning towards Tekku, "As for you, I have a specific offer for you. That's why I want you to remain in my office once we are done with your Chunin paperwork."

Getting the hint that Tekku's assignment was a secret, they finished the paperwork quickly, leaving Tekku alone with the Hokage and the one ANBU who was already in the office before.

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