Kapitel 183: 182-No Time To Waste

Fujioka approached Renjiro with a broad smile, clapping him on the shoulder with a firm, reassuring grip. "Renjiro, that was impressive! You've proven yourself in every way possible. I'm proud of you."

Renjiro, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the day's events, managed a modest smile. "It wasn't like I did much," he said.

'Frankly, I expected more when I heard about this, but I'll still take this.' Renjiro thought.

"Don't sell yourself short," Fujioka replied warmly. "You showed exceptional talent and composure. You've earned this."

As they walked together, Fujioka turned to Renjiro with a more serious expression. "By the way, I noticed you were out of the village a while ago. What Happened?"

The reason that Fujioka asked this was because he knew Renjiro was not on a mission from the force since as his current squad leader, although semi-retired, he would know about that.

Renjiro blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the question. He quickly recovered and replied, "Minato invited me on a couple of missions. He thought it would be a good experience for me so we spent two weeks continuously completing missions."

While the circumstances that led to Renjiro's current ambiguous squad situation in the force were distasteful, he took advantage of it and completed missions outside of the force, something he would not be allowed to do so if his squad was in full capacity.

Fujioka nodded, satisfied with the answer, but still curious. "I see. I didn't know about those missions, so I was wondering."

Before Renjiro could respond, Kagami, an old squad member, approached them with a grin. "Renjiro! Congratulations on becoming a squad leader!"

Renjiro returned the smile, happy to see a familiar face. "Thanks, Kagami. It's been a while."

Kagami's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Guess what? Hae and I got married!"

Renjiro's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That's amazing! Congratulations to both of you."

Internally, he mused, 'They weren't even dating when we were in the same squad, and now they're married? But then again, constantly having close encounters with death, like most shinobi do, can make people act strangely.

This is good for them, but it also means I don't have time to waste because if Shisui's parents are now married, he'll probably be born in the next few years. I thought I had a lot of time until the start of the story, but with the way time is quickly moving, I might wake up one day and find the Third Shinobi War has begun.'

Kagami continued, "I would have invited you to the wedding, but you were out of the village with Minato and the rest of the squad."

Renjiro thought, 'While I would have loved to attend a wedding in this world, I'm not sure we were that close since we were only squad members for a couple of months.'

The three shinobi chatted a bit more, catching up on old times and exchanging stories. Eventually, they all had to bid their goodbyes since Renjiro was required to attend a meeting with Iwata and Kagami had to leave to attend to his duties.

"I will take my leave now," Fujioka said with a wave.

"Good luck with your new responsibilities, Renjiro," Kagami said.

Renjiro waved back. "Thanks, Take care."

As he watched them walk away, Renjiro thought, 'I wonder if I will get to choose my squad members or if the higher-ups will just allocate them to my squad.'

Renjiro then made his way to the designated meeting room for the orientation. He was the first to arrive and took a seat, waiting for the others.

Soon, Amari and the other two new squad leaders, Asato and Hiroki, arrived. They exchanged nods of acknowledgement before taking their seats, and moments later, Iwata entered the room.

'I guess it is straight to work.' Renjiro thought.

"Congratulations to all of you for making it this far," Iwata began, his voice steady and authoritative. "You are now the leaders who will shape the future of our village's military and police force. Your responsibilities are significant, and your actions will set an example for others to follow."

He paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in. "As squad leaders, you will report to me. I am your immediate superior. It is crucial that you understand the chain of command and adhere to it strictly."

Iwata then went on to outline the force's leadership ranks and who the new squad leaders will be answering to from him, all the way to Daichi.

Renjiro listened intently, noting how different the structure was from what he had expected.

'Hmm... well that's surprising, I thought that when I became a squad leader, I would have to report to Sinoda since I replaced Fujioka, but it seems like things are different.'

Iwata continued, outlining their duties and expectations. "You will be required to submit monthly reports on your squad members, detailing their progress, missions, and other duties. These reports are essential for maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness of our force."

Iwata's next words brought a spark of excitement to Renjiro. "Tomorrow, you will begin your duties by choosing your squad members and meeting rooms. This is your chance to form a team that complements your strengths and covers your weaknesses."

As Iwata spoke, Renjiro's mind drifted to his memories of Tobe and Toda. The thought of his late friends brought a pang of sorrow. Frankly, Renjiro would have loved to be in a squad with either of the two late brothers rather than be a squad leader since they were good friends to him and guided him well.

Realizing that he was absent-minded, Renjiro quickly refocused on Iwata's words.

Renjiro nodded, his thoughts momentarily returning to Tobe and Toda. It seemed that Renjiro had not properly dealt with his grief. But this was not something he was ready to address. He pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on the task at hand.

After Iwata finished the briefing, Renjiro planned to go home and finalize his strategy for selecting his squad members. However, his plans were abruptly interrupted when he sensed a disturbance. A cloaked and masked shinobi from the ANBU appeared before him, causing a ripple of surprise among the others present.

Renjiro's eyes narrowed. 'What is the ANBU doing here?' he wondered.

The masked shinobi stared directly at Renjiro and said, "Uzumaki Renjiro, the Hokage wants to see you." Without another word, the ANBU then disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

Renjiro knew better than to ask questions. He quickly made his way to the Hokage's office by flickering. When he arrived, he was surprised to find several familiar faces already there. Minato, Yano, Sama, Hiro and Daichi were the only ones he could immediately recognize.

=====

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Kapitel 184: 183- Bounty

The Hokage welcomed Renjiro warmly. "Ah, Renjiro, it's good to see you. It has been quite a while since we last met. You've grown considerably," Hiruzen remarked, a gentle smile on his face.

Renjiro gave a respectful bow, though internally he was curious about the Hokage's compliment. 'What's up with the compliments? And why is he talking as if he couldn't just spy on me if he wanted?' Renjiro wondered as he took his place beside Sama and Hiro.

He couldn't help but notice a figure standing next to the Hokage. 'Is that Shikaku? No, it can't be. It seems like those Nara clan members are always so formidable,' he thought.

'So this is the boy?' Shiba thought as he assessed Renjiro silently.

"Now that we are all here, I guess we should start," Shiba began, handing out small booklets to everyone except Daichi and Hiruzen. The sight of the booklets piqued Renjiro's curiosity.

'Why are they giving us these?'

Minato, flipping through the pages, looked puzzled and echoed Renjiro's thoughts.

"Shiba-sama, why are you giving us bingo books?"

The Hokage replied, "It has been updated. Just take a look at it."

Shiba nodded in agreement. "Yes, please, look through it carefully."

The five shinobi did as they were instructed, their eyes scanning the pages of the updated bingo book. As they reached a particular section, they all stopped suddenly.

Yano and Minato exchanged glances, their expressions mirroring their shared shock. Hiro, on the other hand, had a more obvious reaction.

"Huh? Why am I in the bingo book?" he exclaimed, his voice laced with disbelief.

Sama, who had been silently reading, added, "The three of us are all there," pointing to the images of herself, Hiro, and Renjiro.

Renjiro's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the entries. "But why are the bounties so high?" he finally asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

The bounties on the three chunins were twenty million Ryo each for both Hiro and Sama, while Renjiro's bounty was an astonishing twenty-five million Ryo.

In as much as it was flattering to Renjiro that someone was willing to spend this amount of money to have him killed, he realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

They were all just chunins, and this was a higher bounty than even Riku, his former jounin sensei and an elite jounin, whose bounty stood at only fifteen million Ryo.

"You have a keen eye," Shiba remarked, breaking the silence. "Minato's and Yano's bounties have not increased, so we can conclude that this is a result of your mission with the Iron Fangs. If it was the Silent Blade, then Minato and Yano's bounties would have definitely increased."

"But how did they even know that we were involved? We got rid of any evidence and even brought all the bodies to the village," Hiro asked, frustration and confusion evident in his voice.

"There are many unexplainable jutsus out there that could have revealed your involvement," the Hokage commented, his tone calm and instructive. "You must always be aware that information can be uncovered in ways we do not yet understand."

Renjiro thought back to the mission and couldn't help but wonder how Sama and Hiro had gone so long without having bounties on their heads.

'Going by the figures, Shiba is probably right,' he thought.

"But why is my bounty higher?" Renjiro inquired, voicing the question that had been nagging at him.

'If we had the same tasks, why is mine higher?' he wondered.

"That we do not know," Daichi responded. "It might be due to your actions during the mission or the manner in which the information was gathered."

"Then it's probably when we were dealing with the chunins and genins at the base of the Iron Fang Mercenaries," Renjiro speculated.

"Yes, that was the only time you were acting separately from us," Yano added. "So that must be when they got their information. It explains why your bounty is higher."

Hiruzen's expression turned serious. "This is no ordinary situation. The high bounties indicate that you are considered significant threats by our enemies."

Daichi, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "We believe that these bounties are part of a larger strategy by our enemies to destabilize Konoha. By targeting our promising young shinobi, they aim to weaken our future."

Minato nodded in agreement, his expression thoughtful. "That makes sense."

Hiro, still trying to wrap his head around the situation, asked, "What does this mean for us now?"

Hiruzen leaned forward, his gaze intense. "It means that you will need to be more vigilant than ever. With such high bounties, it is inevitable that bandits and rogue shinobi will target you."

"So, it is best if the three of you do not leave the village any time soon," Daichi added, his tone firm.

Renjiro's heart sank at this news. 'What? I've just become a squad leader. How am I supposed to go on missions with my squad?' he thought.

The other three did not take this news well either, as it would significantly affect their ability to take on missions.

"Staying in the village will limit our activities," Sama said, her voice tinged with frustration. "How are we supposed to work effectively?"

"The safety of our shinobi is paramount," Hiruzen said gently. "We cannot risk losing you whenever you step out of the village."

As the conversation concluded and the others were dismissed, Renjiro remained in the Hokage's office, a sense of foreboding settling in his stomach.

"Renjiro, there's more we need to discuss," Hiruzen began, his voice calm but serious.

"While it's commendable that you've become a squad leader, we must address the immediate danger posed by the bounties on your head."

'I knew this was coming.'

Renjiro frowned, feeling a surge of defiance. "I understand the risks, but I can take care of myself. I can even use the transformation jutsu to stay hidden."

Daichi shook his head. "Renjiro, you're still a chunin. Even if you can protect yourself, you'll be putting your squad in danger. Your presence alone will attract threats."

Shiba nodded in agreement. "There's much more to being a squad leader than just taking missions. You need to understand that leading a squad involves responsibility beyond combat."

'But taking missions with my squad was what I was most looking forward to," Renjiro thought, his frustration evident. 'I was going to control when to take missions, that way I could use my time efficiently.'

Hiruzen leaned forward, "Renjiro, your safety and the safety of your squad are paramount. We cannot afford to lose you or put your squad members at unnecessary risk."

Renjiro's shoulders slumped slightly, the weight of their words pressing down on him. He had envisioned leading his squad into missions, proving himself through action. Now, it seemed that dream was slipping away.

Daichi asked, his tone gentle but firm, "Renjiro, do you still wish to continue serving in the force?"