Chapter 16

Kenji had officially become a joinin, breaking all records in Konoha's history.

Previously, it had been Hatake Kakashi who held the record of being the youngest jonin. While he became a chunin at 8 and a jonin at 12, Kenji had circumvented being a chunin and was directly promoted to jonin by Minato.

A small ceremony was held and the jonin force welcomed Kenji with applause.

For a probationary period of three months, Kenji would be restricted to B-rank missions before was allowed to be a part of A-rank and S-rank missions. Kenji wasn't going to complain. He was jusr happy to have finally been allowed to go on solo missions instead of being part of a team.

While he enjoyed his time in his team, Kiyomi and Kohaku were not nearly ready to participate in dangerous missions. Both of them had been promoted to the rank of chunin and had decided to continue being together in a team.

Meanwhile, Hayama decided to re-join the ranks of his fellow jonin and not take another team under his wing. He wanted to see Kenji progress as a jonin and make a name for himself. He knew that the ten year old was born for greatness and he wanted to watch it happen.

As soon as Kenji's promotion was made official, Minato used his power as the Hokage and made Kenji his official apprentice. It was a grand declaration for the politicians and power mongers of the village.

It was clear to them that Minato was consolidating his power as the Hokage.

Suffice to say that one Shimura Danzo was not pleased.

"How the hell did he escape our notice?! Scouts! What have you been doing all this time?! I did not train you to be lackadaisical in your jobs! Answer me! How did you not notice that Mimura brat?!"

"Lord Danzo, as per protocol for all genin belonging to civilian families, we were waiting for the chunin exam results. Once he was promoted to the rank of chunin, we were going to present our report to you."

Danzo slammed his stick on the ground as he exploded in a fit of rage. "After the chunin exams?! Well, he was directly promoted to jonin by that freak Minato! Now what?! You made me lose that kid! To Minato no less! If it was Hiruzen, I could have negotiated. But Minato? He's a wild card!"

"We apologize, Lord Danzo."

"Your apologies aren't enough!"

Danzo took a deep breath and said, "Get out of my sight. Go and capture the four-tailed beast's jinchuriki. We need strength in our ranks, and that four-tailed beast will be perfect for our plans."

The subordinate knew that him and his team were being sent on a suicide mission which was likely going to lead to their demise. Sadly, their emotions are been completely erased. Their only purpose in life was to fulfill Danzo's demands.

The subordinate bowed and said, "Yes, lord Danzo. We shall depart immediately."

The man dismissed his subordinate with a mere wave of his hand. For Danzo, all shinobi were disposable, no matter the rank. 'You may have gotten that brat in your clutches, but I'll make sure that you'll never be able to consolidate you position. Only I deserve to be the Hokage.'

What Danzo didn't know that all information about Kenji had been ruthlessly subverted by Kakashi on Minato's orders. There was no way the Hokage was going to let a despicable man like Danzo let his hands on Kenji.

Ever since Hayama revealed Kenji's abilities to Minato, he'd had Kakashi keep a keen eye on the boy. The copy ninja had been explicitly ordered to eliminate any and all root ninja, irrespective of their relations with Kakashi. And the young man had delivered to those orders.

When he had asked Minato of the reason behind such extreme orders, he had said to Kakashi, "That boy is the future of this village. For Konoha to thrive, Kenji needs to be nurtured. You may find it hard to believe, but Kenji is the only shinobi in the Elemental Nations to have faced Hiraishin for an hour and lived to tell the tale."

Meanwhile, Kenji was having a blast. His mother was cooking all of his favorite dishes to celebrate his promotion. His teammates, his sensei Hayama, Lady Kushina, and the Hokage himself was going to be present.

Mimura Aoi was preparing a grand feast and Kenji's shadow clones were peoviding all the help he could provide. Meanwhile, some of his other clones were monitoring all the apprentices in the forge.

As for the original, he was in the training ground standing opposite to Minato. Four of Minato's clones had created a barrier that eliminated all forms of external interference and spying, even preventing any and all forms of chakra to escape the barrier, completely silencing whatever they were about to do.

"Kenji-kun, both of us know that you are a lot more powerful than you ever let on. Even when we had a spar last time, I could tell that you were still holding back. So, today I want to see the entirety of your power. Nothing will escape this barrier. So, you can go all out without worrying about external and unwanted elements from getting a wind of your abilities. We shall fight until one of us collapses. Obviously, no kinjutsu are to be used that will cripple you or cause your death. The same applies for me."

Kenji was feeling giddy. The opportunity to fight against Minato without holding anything back was never going to repeat. The prospects of improving his abilities left Kenji in a euphoric state. He did not give Minato a reply. Instead, he merely unsheathed his tsurugi and entered a state of tranquility.

'Eleventh form: Dead calm.'

'All sight.'

Minato took out his kunai and grinned. 'This will be fun.'

The two stared at each other for a few moments. And then the ground beneath their feet... exploded.