Chapter 157 : There Is A Mission That Requires You
At the Fifth Hokage’s succession ceremony, Riku was the only Genin standing atop the Hokage building, watching Tsunade.
The entire Konoha Village gathered in front of the Hokage building, their eyes fixed on Tsunade standing on the roof.
For many, it was the first time they truly saw her face clearly.
Their Hokage—so young. Wasn’t she one of the Legendary Sannin alongside Jiraiya?
Whispers rippled through the crowd as ninjas wondered how Tsunade could appear so youthful.
Tsunade stood above them, her expression calm. She wore no Hokage robe—only the hat, as if to say she needed nothing else.
Seen from the side, her face was flawless.
She looked down over the gathered shinobi, slowly removing her hat. A faint smile touched her lips.
"From today forward, I will lead Konoha. I am the Fifth Hokage."
The moment the words left her mouth, the crowd erupted in cheers.
For the first time since the devastation of the Konoha Crush, peace and hope washed over the village. They finally had a Hokage powerful enough to deter the surrounding villages.
Behind Tsunade, Riku smiled faintly.
The inauguration ceremony soon came to an end.
With Tsunade officially recognized as the Fifth Hokage, Konoha entered its rebuilding phase.
The entire village stood behind her—not just because she was one of the Sannin, but because she was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, a student of the Third, the strongest medical ninja in the world, and perhaps the strongest kunoichi alive.
After the ceremony, inside the Hokage’s office...
The two elder advisors had already departed, but Kakashi, Jiraiya, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy remained.
A Chūnin summoned both Shikamaru and Riku to the Hokage’s office.
One descended from the rooftop; the other emerged from among the crowd.
They arrived together.
Shikamaru glanced at Riku, surprised to see him on the roof of the Hokage building.
He knew Riku was powerful, but hadn’t realized he held that kind of status.
After exchanging greetings, they stepped into the office.
Standing before Tsunade, several serving Jōnin of Konoha stood at her side.
Tsunade looked at the two boys.
"You two were the best performers in the previous Chūnin Exams. You were both recognized by the Third Hokage. Starting today, I’m promoting you both to Chūnin. I expect you to keep working hard. Becoming a Chūnin means you’ll one day lead a team."
In the shinobi world, Chūnin were team leaders. Not every squad had a Jōnin—there simply weren’t enough. In large villages with thousands of ninja, Chūnin filled that gap.
Shikamaru blinked, stunned. He hadn’t expected this.
He had technically lost in the Chūnin Exams finals, even though the Third Hokage had said that victory didn’t guarantee promotion, and defeat didn’t disqualify one.
Still... a loss was a loss.
And yet, here he was, promoted.
Even more controversial was Riku.
He had barely participated in the second exam and entered the arena with Sasuke and the others. In the third exam’s knockout round, he received a bye into the final round—and didn’t even compete due to the attack on Konoha by Sunagakure and Orochimaru.
No one had truly seen Riku’s strength.
But from the start, the Third Hokage had outlined the rules, and though some were puzzled, no one openly objected.
After all, the decision lay with the Hokage—and the Jonin and even some Chūnin in the know understood: Riku’s strength was not in question.
Tsunade then turned her eyes toward Riku, her tone serious.
"Riku, for your role in stopping the crisis in the Land of Grass, and for completing an S-rank mission, I hereby promote you to Special Jōnin. You will also serve as my personal guard."
Shikamaru’s eyes widened.
"So the S-rank mission he took part in... was the incident in the Land of Grass?"
He’d known Riku had been assigned an S-rank mission, but not the details.
And now he was a Special Jōnin? Tsunade’s personal guard?
That level of trust... the Hokage’s guard was hand-picked. They had to be the people she trusted most.
How had Riku earned such trust?
Shikamaru couldn’t help but wonder.
Riku nodded calmly. "I will do my utmost to protect Lady Hokage."
There was no warmth in his tone, no familiarity—just respectful professionalism.
Tsunade, too, remained composed. No hint of favoritism.
No one could detect anything unusual in their exchange.
The others—Kakashi, Jiraiya, Guy—were aware that Riku was studying medical ninjutsu under Tsunade and was considered her disciple. In that light, his promotion to Special Jōnin and appointment as her guard made perfect sense.
—
News of the promotions spread quickly through their graduating class.
Naruto wasn’t surprised; he believed Riku was more than capable.
Sasuke didn’t object either. Sakura had seen Riku use the Flying Thunder God Technique with her own eyes. He had killed—no, nearly killed—enemies in the blink of an eye.
Riku absolutely had the strength of a Jōnin.
Still, none of them fully understood it. Even though Kabuto had hinted at Riku’s power before the exams, he hadn’t revealed the full extent of his experience.
Once he became Tsunade’s guard, Riku left Team 7 and began accompanying her daily.
But most of his time was spent studying—specifically the scrolls of the Senju clan and the vast Hokage archives.
As a Hokage’s guard, Tsunade granted him access to the Hokage Library.
There, Riku read not only secrets of the Senju clan, but of other clans as well—though never anything that revealed their core techniques.
Over several months, Riku read nearly a third of the entire Hokage Library.
He studied sealing jutsu, various elemental ninjutsu, and deepened his understanding of chakra control.
—
One day, as Riku sat alone in the Senju clan’s hidden chamber, immersed in a scroll, Tsunade walked in.
Looking directly at him, she spoke with quiet urgency.
"There’s a mission I need you to take on."
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