After receiving Kakashi's promise, Sasuke said nothing further.
A week later, the bridge in the Land of Waves was finally completed.
Originally, Tazuna had wanted to name the bridge "Orion Bridge."
But Orion refused.
In the end, Tazuna named it the "Great Naruto Bridge of Hope."
Naturally, Orion had no desire for his reputation to spread too widely at this point.
If something brought him no benefit, he had no interest in doing it.
After spending over a month in the Land of Waves, their mission was finally complete.
What had originally been only a C-rank mission had unexpectedly escalated into a B-rank mission.
Of course, for Orion personally, this mission had brought enormous benefits.
In just a little over a month, his strength had skyrocketed from a mere genin to Kage-level.
Now, Orion's strength had already surpassed Kakashi's.
At least, that was Kakashi's judgment.
Orion himself believed he was only around the level of a standard jōnin.
Because he felt his actual combat experience still lagged far behind true elite shinobi.
He believed he had only barely reached the jōnin level through his massive chakra reserves and mastery of numerous practical ninjutsu.
Yet even he found it difficult to believe that someone who had "barely reached jōnin level" could kill an elite jōnin in such a short time.
Especially one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
And on top of that, unleash a several-hundred-meter-scale ninjutsu while suppressing Naruto in his Two-Tails state.
Orion had always evaluated his own abilities very conservatively.
Perhaps it was because he knew what happened to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
That lesson had left too deep an impression on him, making him extraordinarily cautious about judging strength.
After returning to Konoha, the group headed directly to the Hokage Tower to submit their mission report.
Since Orion had participated in the mission as well, he naturally had to appear in person.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage looked at the five people standing before him.
Especially Orion.
This was technically the first official meeting between Orion and the Third Hokage.
Previously, the Third Hokage hadn't paid much attention to Orion.
Even after hearing about him, he still hadn't found time to personally meet him.
After Kakashi briefly summarized the events of the Land of Waves mission, the Third Hokage nodded.
"This mission should now be classified as a B-rank mission. Well done."
Any mission ranked A-rank or above had to be issued directly by a nation.
So even though elite jōnin had appeared during this mission, it could still only be classified as B-rank.
Because the mission itself had been commissioned personally by Tazuna.
After chatting casually with the group for a while, the Third Hokage finally said,
"Kakashi, Orion, you two stay behind. The others may go rest."
Kakashi frowned slightly.
Orion, meanwhile, showed no particular reaction.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all assumed the Third Hokage intended to praise Kakashi and Orion.
After all, those two had performed the most brilliantly during the mission.
Especially Orion.
This perfectly matched the image of the Third Hokage in their minds.
Even Sasuke, whose personality had become cold and distant after the Uchiha Clan massacre, still held great respect for the Third Hokage.
Because the Third Hokage truly had taken good care of him.
Whether it was because he valued Sasuke or because of Itachi's request, the Third Hokage's concern toward him was genuine.
As for Naruto and Sakura, neither of them suspected anything at all.
So while leaving, Naruto looked at Orion with obvious envy.
Inside his heart, he silently declared,
"One day, I'll definitely surpass Orion."
Even though Naruto constantly pulled pranks on the Third Hokage, deep down, he truly viewed him as a grandfather figure.
So he desperately wanted the Hokage's praise.
Once Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura left, only the Third Hokage, Orion, and Kakashi remained in the office.
After a long silence, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
"Kakashi, tell me the detailed circumstances of this mission."
Kakashi sighed inwardly.
The reason he had only given a vague summary earlier was specifically because he didn't want the Third Hokage thinking too deeply about it.
But with Naruto and the others present, there were many things Kakashi couldn't fabricate, so he had intentionally kept everything extremely brief.
And that was precisely the biggest problem.
The Third Hokage was an old fox.
Naturally, he could tell Kakashi was hiding something.
Orion also sensed that the atmosphere had changed.
Fortunately, Orion understood the Third Hokage fairly well and wasn't worried anything serious would happen.
Still, it was obvious that what happened in the Land of Waves could no longer remain hidden.
Of course, Orion had never intended to hide it anyway.
After all, he was a Konoha shinobi, and unlike certain troublesome clans, he had no dangerous political backing.
The Third Hokage wouldn't harbor ill intentions toward him.
The only thing Orion truly didn't want was for the Third Hokage to fully understand how strong he had become.
Because greater strength inevitably meant greater responsibility.
Who knew whether the Third Hokage might start treating him like an overworked laborer?
After all, he was still officially a genin.
Even if he handled more dangerous missions, he still wouldn't receive much money for them.
Kakashi thought carefully.
Naturally, he also didn't want to reveal too much about Orion.
But the Land of Waves mission involved not only Kakashi and Orion, but also Sasuke and the others.
If Kakashi's story differed from theirs, it wouldn't benefit Orion at all.
After glancing at Orion helplessly, Kakashi could only recount the events of the Land of Waves in full detail.
At first, the Third Hokage remained calm.
But the further he listened, the more shocked he became.
Orion was now capable of killing an elite jōnin.
And not just any elite jōnin, but Raiga Kurosuki of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
He had even managed to suppress Naruto during his berserk state.
The Third Hokage naturally understood the significance of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
They were one of Kirigakure's greatest military powers.
They had been extremely famous during the Third Great Ninja War.
Even though Might Duy had nearly wiped them out, their strength was undeniable.
Every member had been an elite jōnin.
With the enhancement of the Ninja Swords, some of them could even approach Kage-level power.
Although Might Duy had killed four of them, he had done so by sacrificing his own life.
Under normal circumstances, even Kakashi wouldn't confidently claim he could kill one of them with certainty.
And what did that imply?
It meant Orion's current strength had likely already reached elite jōnin level.
But how long had it even been?
After Kakashi finished speaking, the Third Hokage looked directly at Orion.
"Orion, it seems the rank of genin no longer suits you."
Orion froze slightly.
He didn't understand what the Third Hokage meant.
Was he about to get promoted?
But he had only completed a handful of missions so far.
And all of them had merely been D-rank and C-rank missions.
Seeing Orion's expression, the Third Hokage smiled.
"With your strength and abilities, it's time to promote you to chūnin."
Beside him, Kakashi immediately showed obvious delight.
Not because Orion was being promoted.
But because once Orion became a chūnin, Kakashi could officially bring him along on missions without it seeming strange.
After all, once a shinobi became a chūnin, they were no longer considered trainee ninja.
They became fully independent shinobi.
At that point, any jōnin could freely assign them to missions.
And given Kakashi's status, taking Orion along on missions would no longer appear unusual.
After all, Kakashi wasn't Orion's official squad leader.
If he constantly dragged Orion out on missions, not only would Kinoshita Dōichi possibly object, but other shinobi would also find it suspicious.
But if Orion became a chūnin, everything would be completely different.
Kakashi would then be able to assign Orion to missions whenever he wished.
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