Inside the Hokage's Office, Aozora had unconsciously moved on to discussing reforms for the final department.
Fugaku and Kyudai watched Aozora closely, waiting in silence for him to continue.
Aozora spent a long time choosing his words carefully before finally speaking.
"There's no doubt that Konoha's Education Department—or rather, the Ninja Academy—is the most advanced among all the shinobi villages. This is precisely why Konoha continuously produces so many talents. Still, I believe there's room for improvement."
"Go on," Fugaku said curiously.
The Ninja Academy founded by Lord Second Hokage had been copied by other villages and served as the cradle of Konoha's ninja force. He couldn't imagine how it could possibly be improved.
Aozora raised his index finger and said, "First, I believe there's an issue with the Academy's educational philosophy."
"What?" Fugaku and Kyudai both stared in shock.
Aozora continued, "Currently, the curriculum focuses almost entirely on combat training and general academic subjects. Those without natural talent for battle have very little chance of becoming ninja.
Even if they manage to graduate, they often end up dying during their first few missions—wasting their potential.
They could have trained as Medical Ninja, Research Ninja, or Logistics Ninja performing essential tasks like transporting supplies or delivering messages, instead of becoming corpses."
After Aozora finished, Fugaku paused before replying, "This has always been an intentional village policy."
"Hmm?"
Aozora frowned briefly, then seemed to understand.
"Is the village trying to weed out the weak by forcing everyone into combat?"
Fugaku nodded. "Yes. Anyone can serve in logistics, but true combat ninja are extremely rare. Of course, those who clearly lack combat talent won't be forced."
Aozora remained silent. No wonder the Shinobi World was known for being ruthless.
After a moment, he said to Fugaku, "In fact, Medical Ninja and Research Ninja might even be more valuable than combat ninja. Tsunade alone can halve battlefield casualties, while Orochimaru and Shimura Hiruko each possess the power to destroy an entire country."
Fugaku frowned thoughtfully. "I'll consider it."
Aozora went on, "If we want to change this situation, I suggest that after completing six years at the Ninja Academy, students shouldn't immediately become full-fledged ninja. Instead, they should enter a probationary period as Apprentice Ninja.
Apprentices should rotate through different departments for a period of time and accompany Jonin on several C-rank and D-rank missions. Then, based on the apprentice's own preferences, evaluations from superiors, and the needs of various departments, they can be assigned permanent roles."
Kyudai clapped enthusiastically. "Letting graduates train across multiple departments before assigning them? Though it postpones graduation, it allows them to discover roles that better suit their abilities. You've really thought this through thoroughly."
Aozora shrugged. In his past life, he'd once been a rotational trainee and believed the system worked well—even though many organizations ended up misusing it.
After letting them process the idea, Aozora raised two fingers and continued, "Second, you call yourselves an Education Department with just *one* school?"
Aozora nodded. "That's true, but I never said we should build another Ninja Academy either!"
Meeting Kyudai's confused gaze, Aozora explained, "Konoha may be a village, but in terms of area, commerce, and military strength, it's already far beyond ordinary large cities. One academy is nowhere near enough to meet the educational needs of its people."
Kyudai continued, "But what's the point of building regular schools? They won't make Konoha stronger anyway."
Fugaku nodded in agreement.
Shaking his head, Aozora replied, "Schools have many benefits—they can attract talent to settle here permanently, raise overall civilian quality, and strengthen people's sense of belonging.
Sure, these effects won't show up right away, but they'll pay off big time in the long run, making Konoha more prosperous. And a thriving Konoha can support even more ninja.
Also, besides regular schools, we could start some kindergartens. Educating kids at a younger age and guiding their physical development will help raise the standard of students entering the Ninja Academy."
Fugaku said, "Either way, building schools or kindergartens would cost a lot of money."
Aozora smiled. "No problem there. We can attract wealthy merchants by reserving some enrollment spots for them—in exchange, all we need to do is approve residency for their kids."
Thanks to its strategic geographical position and top-tier security within the Ninja World, Konoha had already become a renowned commercial transit hub. Naturally, Konoha residency was extremely valuable.
These were the only two suggestions Aozora made regarding the Education Department.
In truth, he personally disagreed with the current six-year ninja education system. Sending teenagers barely in their teens into actual combat zones felt deeply cruel to him.
But that's just how things worked in the Ninja World. Especially now, when Konoha urgently needed to rebuild its strength, rushed graduations might even return soon—which is why Aozora decided not to bring it up.
"As for the Barrier Division and Sealing Team," he continued, "they're mostly specialists. For now, best not to mess with them."
After finishing his thoughts on various departments, Aozora added, "As for changes among the higher-ups...I suggest taking it slow. Especially—don't suddenly promote clan members. Right now, earning the trust of both villagers and other major clans comes first."
Fugaku gave a deep nod, seriously replying, "I'll definitely give your suggestions careful thought."
Although Fugaku's expression remained solemn, he was actually quite surprised inside.
His original intention in questioning Aozora had simply been to gather some reference points.
He never expected that Aozora would come up with short-term governing strategies and actionable plans so quickly—fully developed and ready to implement.
After finishing, Aozora himself felt drained. He couldn't help but chug down several more mouthfuls of tea.
"Hokage-sama," he joked, "I'm out of ideas—I've given you everything I've got. The rest is on you!"
Fugaku couldn't help but praise, "Your suggestions are already solid—I feel like I could use most of them directly."
Kyudai recalled all of Aozora's earlier suggestions, then sighed in frustration, "If only I could think of even one of those ideas myself!"
Aozora comforted him, "It's just that I've got more downtime to think things through. You're simply too busy."
Kyudai wasn't dumb or anything—it's just that ninjas don't exactly get access to a wide range of knowledge.
Plus, he was often tied down by his duties, leaving him no time to improve himself. He could only gain experience from one incident after another.
Kyudai sprang back to life after receiving a little encouragement from Aozora.
The three revisited Aozora's earlier suggestions, fine-tuning a bunch of the details.
When Fugaku and Kyudai didn't have anything else to ask, Aozora got ready to head out for the day.
However, after getting up, Aozora hesitated for a moment instead of heading out the door.
Kyudai asked curiously, "Aozora, aren't you skipping work again?"
Fugaku chimed in, clearly intrigued, "Had a change of heart and decided to stay late today?"
Aozora let out an awkward chuckle and asked Fugaku, "Lord Hokage, do you remember my dream?"
Without hesitation, Fugaku replied, "Of course—I wanted to become the number one ninja in the world!"
When he first heard Aozora's ambition, it had stirred a storm inside his heart—an unforgettable memory.
Aozora shook his head embarrassingly and said, "No, I meant both parts—there was something before that."
Fugaku paused briefly and asked, "You wanted to master every ninjutsu in the Ninja World?"
Aozora nodded eagerly and looked at Fugaku with anticipation.
"Master every single ninjutsu?"
Fugaku figured out what Aozora was thinking in an instant.
Come on, what else could it be besides the Scroll of Seals?
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