Chapter 689: Tough Mu Yue

“Then let me ask you, Advisor Yan, are you aware of the costs required for this reform?”

Muzuki didn’t answer Homura Mitokado’s question; instead, he posed a question back to Homura Mitokado.

“The expenditure of an additional academic year. The increase in total grades leads to an increased demand for teachers, which in turn leads to increased teacher salaries, and the construction costs of new teaching buildings and classrooms.”

Homura Mitokado tried his best to articulate everything he had thought of.

Muzuki gave Minato Namikaze a look, and Minato Namikaze stood up, took out a small booklet, and placed it in front of Homura Mitokado.

“Revising elementary school textbooks, compiling new middle school textbooks, school expansion…” Minato Namikaze began to list the detailed expenses required for the reform.

Everything Homura Mitokado mentioned, Minato Namikaze covered. And what Homura Mitokado didn’t mention, Minato Namikaze also covered.

Homura Mitokado listened while flipping through the small booklet in front of him, realizing that Muzuki and his team had already calculated the approximate costs for each item.

“Since you know it will consume so much human and financial resources, why do you still want to proceed with the reform?” Homura Mitokado did not back down.

What if the budget was ready? Who could say for sure about the future quality of students, who could guarantee it?

Perhaps Muzuki himself, as a teacher, would have this ability, but Muzuki was now the Hokage, so it was impossible for him to personally go back to teach at the Ninja Academy.

“The Second Hokage’s Ninja Academy became a model for all Ninja Villages in the entire Ninja World, and for decades, no Ninja Village has undergone major reforms. Doesn’t this demonstrate the superiority of the current Ninja Academy?”

Muzuki picked up his teacup and cleared his throat. Since Homura Mitokado wanted to argue, he wouldn’t hold back.

“Physical exercise increases the body’s demand for abilities, requiring more food and consuming more money. Did you not exercise when you were young, Advisor Yan?” Muzuki asked Homura Mitokado.

Just as Homura Mitokado was about to reply that it wasn’t the same thing, Muzuki immediately continued:

“Fortunately, Advisor Yan was born only at the end of the Warring States Period. Otherwise, the Ninja Academy might not have been proposed by Konoha first. After all, when the Second Hokage wanted to establish the Ninja Academy back then, all Ninja Villages in the Ninja World were still using the cultivation methods from the Warring States Period.

By your logic, Advisor Yan, everyone was still using the Warring States Period’s cultivation methods, which meant the Warring States Period’s Ninja cultivation methods were excellent, and there was no need to establish a Ninja Academy.”

Homura Mitokado wanted to retort. Although Muzuki’s words didn’t contain a single vulgarity, they were practically an open accusation that he was short-sighted and foolish.

But this was indeed the logic of his previous statement, which left Homura Mitokado momentarily at a loss for how to refute.

Utatane Koharu’s gaze towards Muzuki changed.

Muzuki was too articulate, and his words were extremely sharp, a stark contrast to his usual gentle demeanor.

“If other Ninja Villages don’t change, and we don’t change, then how can Konoha create distance from other Ninja Villages?” Muzuki tapped the table, emphasizing his point.

Although his initial intention wasn’t this, it didn’t prevent him from invoking a grander purpose.

Muzuki’s words made Hiruzen Sarutobi fall into deep thought.

Konoha was currently strong, and it had an even stronger future.

But was this the strength Konoha was destined to achieve? Not really; this was the strength Muzuki brought to Konoha.

Muzuki himself possessed great power and extraordinary teaching talent. He was strong himself and also nurtured several highly potential disciples and a large number of good students.

If Muzuki’s life were to end, and there were no new Muzuki in the new era, could Konoha maintain its strength? This was an unknown variable that Hiruzen Sarutobi could not confirm.

When Senju Hashirama was alive, the Ninja World was peaceful, and no one dared to provoke Konoha.

After Senju Hashirama’s death, wars erupted rapidly in the Ninja World, and Konoha became the center of the conflict.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sincerely hoped history would not repeat itself, even if he knew he wouldn’t live to see that time.

However, before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak up to support Muzuki’s reform, Muzuki looked at Minato and said, “Minato, you may continue.”

Minato Namikaze nodded, took out several documents, placed them in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, and then began:

“That was about the middle school reform. In the Ninja Academy reform, above middle school, there will also be a university. The university will be a three-year program, and only students whose middle school graduation scores meet certain requirements can proceed to the university for further studies.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was about to open his mouth, closed it. Although he didn’t yet understand the university, just hearing about the three-year program, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already getting a headache.

From elementary school to university graduation, the process would last ten years!

Just the duration alone was unacceptable to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Forget ten years of cultivation; in the Warring States Period, a ten-year-old child might have already been on the battlefield multiple times. This process was far too long.

“The university will divide students into specialized fields of study based on their strengths and interests. For example, students proficient in Fire Release can enroll in the Fire Release specialization…” Minato Namikaze continued to explain.

Homura Mitokado was unsettled. What was this? It was even subdivided into specific Ninjutsu attributes.

Even the graduation assignments, from guiding Chunin to guiding Jonin, weren’t that detailed. This university was actually divided so meticulously.

When Homura Mitokado finished reading the university proposal in the document, he completely lost his composure. This university might even need to establish a Sealing Technique specialization.

However, this time Homura Mitokado did not interrupt Minato Namikaze; instead, he patiently waited for Minato Namikaze to finish.

Because he realized something: although this university seemed highly impractical, it was surprisingly well-developed.

In other words, this might be a reform plan that Muzuki had been preparing for a long time before presenting it.

Homura Mitokado had already experienced Muzuki’s debating skills and didn’t want to be put in an awkward position by an angry Muzuki again.

“Assistant Minato, this university should be a school for cultivating elite Ninja, correct?” After Minato Namikaze finished speaking, Homura Mitokado immediately asked.

Minato Namikaze nodded in affirmation.

According to Muzuki’s vision, at least seventy percent of Ninja would be eliminated during the middle school to university stage.

This was also why Minato Namikaze believed the university was highly unrealistic. Currently, the Ninja Academy only graduated a little over two hundred people a year. During wartime, due to various reasons, it would be a bit more, but still only three to four hundred people.

According to this elimination rate, at most only a little over a hundred Ninja could attend university each year, and then they would need further subdivision, meaning the number of Ninja each specialization could enroll would be pitifully small.

“But to cultivate such a small group of elites at such a great cost, isn’t that too unreasonable?” Homura Mitokado couldn’t help but complain.

For the middle school, Homura Mitokado had to rack his brains to find flaws in the reform, but for this university, Homura Mitokado could easily find impractical shortcomings.

Compared to the human and financial resources required by the university, the middle school was nothing.

Homura Mitokado could say without exaggeration that if Konoha were to establish a university now, it could bankrupt itself.

“Establishing a university indeed costs a lot,” Muzuki admitted with a nod.

The Ninja University was not the same as an ordinary university in his previous life. If he had to compare, Muzuki’s university plan was to establish a top-tier university.

After all, his university would even require many Jonin to teach, a level of strength that could even dominate small countries and easily defeat Ninja forces outside the Five Great Ninja Villages.

“The plan is still imperfect, which is why we need to discuss it in a meeting to make it more complete and feasible. I believe that after thorough discussion, we will definitely reach a result that satisfies everyone,” Muzuki said with a gentle smile.

Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, vaguely understanding a bit of Muzuki’s thinking.

Muzuki might have considered establishing a university, but probably not at this time.

However, to give them a way out, Muzuki proposed this completely unfeasible university for them to oppose.

Understanding this, Homura Mitokado cleared his throat twice and said:

“Reform is indeed necessary, but we must proceed from practicality. I think changing the current Ninja Academy to an elementary school plus middle school system is very feasible. As for the university, the time is not yet right.”

Muzuki’s performance today truly surprised Homura Mitokado. He hadn’t expected Muzuki to be so assertive, a huge difference from before.

When Muzuki served as Hokage Assistant and attended high-level meetings, he rarely spoke and rarely refuted other high-ranking officials, which left Homura Mitokado with a very good impression.

Weighing the pros and cons, Homura Mitokado finally decided to back down gracefully.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s attitude was too ambiguous, and the two Advisors combined could not contend with the Hokage plus the Hokage Assistant.

“The quality of Konoha’s Genin indeed needs to be improved to enhance Konoha’s potential,” Utatane Koharu also changed her tone.

Muzuki’s previous performance in high-level meetings had led Utatane Koharu to severely misjudge the situation. If she had known Muzuki would be so assertive, she wouldn’t have courted trouble.

Utatane Koharu felt depressed. She had thought Muzuki would be a gentler, younger version of the Third Hokage. Now, it seemed he was more like a tougher, younger Danzo Shimura.

“The middle school reform is excellent. As the principal of the Ninja Academy, I think it’s very good,” Hiruzen Sarutobi finally stated his position.

All high-ranking officials reached a consensus, and Muzuki’s Ninja Academy reform proposal was passed.

After the meeting, Minato Namikaze and Muzuki returned to the Hokage Office together.

“Muzuki, you’re truly amazing. It was almost exactly as you predicted,” Minato Namikaze couldn’t help but praise him.

Before the meeting, Muzuki had conducted a meeting rehearsal with Minato Namikaze, predicting the reactions of the other high-ranking officials and preparing countermeasures.

So, even though it was his first time attending a meeting, and he was facing seniors twice his age, Minato Namikaze never panicked.

“Because they are too easy to understand,” Muzuki said with a smile as he sat down.

Muzuki couldn’t say whether Hiruzen Sarutobi liked power, but Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu definitely weren’t willing to give up their Advisor authority.

Until Hiruzen Sarutobi died, until Kakashi retired and Naruto became Hokage, these two old individuals were still high-ranking officials. They really didn’t give young people any chances.

Driven by the desire for power, coupled with Muzuki’s usual gentleness, it was perfectly normal for the two old individuals to try to pull rank on Muzuki.

Actually, Muzuki didn’t mind sharing power, because the greater the power, the busier one became, and Muzuki simply didn’t have that much time to deal with political affairs.

The main reason was that these two old individuals were incompetent. Having been high-ranking officials for so long, Muzuki hadn’t seen them make any useful contributions.

“I, on the other hand, think that you, Muzuki, also possess extraordinary talent in politics,” Minato Namikaze shook his head.

If he had only predicted the Advisors’ reactions, then one could say the Advisors were easy to understand, or that Muzuki understood them.

However, Muzuki also effortlessly produced solutions, which made Minato Namikaze realize the gap in their political acumen.

“It’s not talent; I’ve just studied it a little,” he said.

Although he hadn’t formally started working within the system, to go further, he had studied various TV series frame by frame, read various realistic political novels, and even specifically sought guidance from a retired cadre relative.

However, Muzuki felt that the most important factor in easily resolving this matter was not political wisdom, but his strength combined with his attitude.

Muzuki’s strength and popularity destined him to be a very significant Hokage.

Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado were not alone; they also had families and relatives.

If they completely offended Muzuki, then how would those connected to them fare in Konoha in the future?

…

Night.

Shisui and Obito went together to the Nanga Shrine to attend the Uchiha Clan meeting.

Obito usually didn’t attend, but Shisui said he had something important, so he followed along.

“Obito, if you want to become Hokage, just improving yourself isn’t enough; you also need to gain enough support,” Shisui said on the way.

Obito had helped him a lot, and Shisui was happy to assist Obito in his dream.

“For example, there are over twenty Jonin in the clan. If all of them support you becoming Hokage, you immediately have over twenty votes.”

“That’s true, the poker-faced uncle only had twenty-eight votes in total,” Obito realized that their Uchiha Clan truly had influence.

“Of course, I’m just giving an example; I don’t want you to waste energy within the clan. If you are nominated as a candidate, the Jonin in the clan will definitely vote for you,” Shisui explained, worried that Obito might misunderstand.

The Uchiha Clan had a strong sense of family honor. Even if they weren’t familiar with Obito, as long as he was the only Ninja with the Uchiha surname among the candidates, the Uchiha Jonin would definitely cast their votes for Obito.

“I know that, I’m just thinking about how to act,” Obito replied.

Suddenly, Obito thought of the kind old people in the village.

“How about sending out a large number of Shadow Clones to help the elderly?” Obito’s eyes lit up.

If he could gain the support of all the elderly in Konoha, wouldn’t that be equivalent to gaining the support of everyone in Konoha? After all, those people couldn’t possibly disobey their grandmothers or mothers, could they?

Shisui:…

Was this still the Land of Fire language? He felt like he didn’t quite understand.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the Nanga Shrine.

“Shisui, Obito, you’re here.”

Many Uchiha proactively greeted the two.

In the Uchiha, strength surpassed seniority. Faced with stronger individuals, even clan members of lower seniority would not put on airs and would proactively greet them.

Since too many people were greeting them, the two didn’t respond individually, simply nodded, and walked into the Nanga Shrine.

“Suspend the activities of some Police Force Ninja and let them take on commissioned missions as Konoha Ninja.” Uchiha Fugaku stated the topic to be discussed at this clan meeting.

PS: Accidentally went dark again.

Hope it doesn’t affect the explosive update during National Day. We will win!!!