Nomination

The next few weeks flew by, as the temperature increased, highlighting the beginning of summer.

Inside the Hokage tower, a group of Jōnin were standing around, waiting for the Hiruzen to speak. Hitting his pipe, he finally opened his mouth, puffing out some smoke.

"Now then… First, we'll hear from those who are watching over the Genin… Jiraiya, Dan, and Fugaku."

As he said those words, the three Jōnin walked up to the front. Next to Jiraiya were two of the most promising Shinobi in Konoha, Dan Katō and Fugaku Uchiha.

Katō was currently the number one candidate to succeed in the position of Hokage. His Spirit transformation technique, which allowed him to become a spirit and attack his opponents, was one that countless ninja feared.

As for Fugaku, at just eighteen years of age, he had already ascended to Jōnin, becoming the sixth-fastest person, after Hiruzen, his students and Hatake Sakumo, to ever do so in Konoha. He was now nineteen and didn't seem to stop growing.

Even though he was young, his leadership skills and intelligence made him a threat on the battlefield, not to mention his fully-matured Sharingan.[1]

Seeing the three powerful Jōnin, Hiruzen smiled, smoking some more.

"I don't have to tell you, but… After a Genin has completed eight missions, they're eligible to enter the Chūnin exams… Are there any Genin that will participate? Let's start with you, Jiraiya."

Smiling, Jiraiya crossed his arms with a prideful expression.

"Yeah… Team Jiraiya, composed of Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Jun, and Hyūga Nozomi… Under the name of Jiraiya, I nominate them for the Chūnin exams."

Jiraiya's words garnered the attention of both Dan and Fugaku. Both of them had waited an extra year, so they didn't expect Jiraiya to nominate his students…

"Jiraiya, it seems like you're quite confident in your team...!"

With a bright smile, Dan congratulated him. Both of them had a good relationship since they were so close to Tsunade.

"Hehe, Dan-san. You don't even know how good they are! I'm sure they'll make your team suffer a little!"

Smirking, Jiraiya laughed. He was really proud of his students. Seeing this, Hiruzen cleared his throat once again and looked towards Dan.

"Team Dan, consisting of Hyūga Hiyashi, Aburame Shibi, and Michi Uno. Under the name of Dan Katō, I nominate them for the Chūnin exams."

Nodding at Dan's words, Hiruzen then turned towards the young Fugaku.

"Team Fugaku, consisting of Hyūga Hizashi[2], Uchiha Ren and Nara Shinju. Under the name of Fugaku Uchiha, I also nominate them for the Chūnin exams."

'Well, it seems that all of the Genin I've been keeping my eye on will participate… Although there's only one rookie team, this year promises to be very interesting.'

Smoking some more, Hiruzen smiled in anticipation.

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[1] Some of you may be wondering, how come Fugaku became a sensei before Jiraiya? Well, Jiraiya didn't want to become a Sensei yet. That's all I have to say... It's because of the prophecy that he decided to start taking in students.

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