- You know, just the fact that you faced Kakuzu and survived is reason enough for you to be given an S rank in the book," the head of Nara rubbed his temple, looking at his relative seriously, "you were able to leave the battlefield behind you, maybe by killing him or at least wounding him badly.
- With all due respect, ji-san, but my real ceiling is A-rank, no more," the boy waved his hand negatively, "which is clearly stated in the report.
Shenesu only hummed at this naivety and tried to convey the reality of the situation to Ryo:
- You know, Kakuzu is one of the oldest, most experienced, and strongest shinobi in the elemental lands, having seen the formation of the Great Villages and fought Hashirama Senju, and leaving him alive. He had faced Kage, the strongest fighters, jinchuriki and biju of various countries, and every time he came out of the fights alive, though not always victorious. I would put them on the same level of strength, if we take into account all of the above-mentioned capabilities of the nukenin. But what potential... Well, the Hokage's students were only able to survive against Hanzo's three when they were a few years older than you are now. You defeated a similar enemy at seventeen.
- There were three of me too, surprise and pressure did the trick," Ryo shrugged as if that explained everything.
- Semantics, you don't count Kakuzu as five," the head of Nara snorted, "so why should your abilities be counted separately? It doesn't matter, though. The point is that you're already meeting your power level, even though I was expecting it to be a little later.
- Why? - The red-haired shinobi raised his eyebrows in surprise.
- Because an S-rank shinobi may not be a first-degree iryonin, but every first-degree iryonin will be an S-rank shinobi, even if not that quickly," Shenesu said as a matter of course, "and that brings us to the current situation - you've made yourself known too soon, and the attention of enemies and allies alike will bring trouble not only to you, but to the Nara clan as well.
He deliberately didn't mention Akamichi and Yamanaka - even though their clans have been allied for a very long time, the individual members are far from being as loyal as the leadership and elders. What's worth the voluntary service of some Yamanaka in the Anbu Shimura Danzo structure.
- Well, no one saw my battle with Kakuzu, and I escaped from there in time not to attract unnecessary attention, - rubbed his chin thoughtfully young Nara, - only the team knows, but they have not even read Bingo's book yet, and who would question rather uncommunicative genin?
- Then this report was never written," nodded Shenesu and with a short exhalation of a tongue of flame burned the scroll on the table, "and now that that's taken care of, let's move on to the next question.
- Anything else? - Ryo raised an eyebrow.
- I was going to wait until after your birthday, but I don't think there's any point in dragging this out any longer," Shenesu muttered, "as you know, our clan is famous for its strategists, but the ability to make quick and accurate decisions is based not only on intelligence, but also on having the most complete information available to make a decision. The clan's network of informants is on par with, if not superior to, Konoha's, so it's time for you to get in on the family business as a possible heir.
- Shenesu-ji, shouldn't that be Shikaku-ni-san's job as the future heir? - Ryo frowned. - I already have no free time at all, and you want to drag me into all this spying business!
- The Nara always have a backup just to be on the safe side," the clan leader shrugged, as if it were a matter of course, "you're the eventual head, so you have to fit in, and Saya-chan went through the same training, if you're interested.
- Fine, that's all I need to be happy," the red-haired shinobi snorted, but didn't object further.
I've got more interesting stuff on patreon (+ 200 chapter)
patreon.com/Chill76