His lips were twitching, just shy of a smile as he tried to hold on to a serious demeanor so Kiba would know he meant it... but he was sure a trickle of humor would be greeted with open arms, even if laughter wouldn't. "I'll just have to make sure to put word down that you need to speak to the Hokage personally then. He's really a nice man you know, not prone to biting off heads."

He paused for dramatic emphasis. "I understand he personally evaluated Sakura-san for a promotion not too long ago, did she mention?"