"This is impossible!"
After standing up, Sarutobi Hodan had assumed that the Shimura, Mitokado, and other clan ninja would follow suit.
To his shock, however, not a single one from the powerful Shimura clan or the mid-tier clans like Mitokado, Utatane, or Ibuki rose alongside the Sarutobi ninja.
The Shimura clan naturally dared not stand. They were practically trying to vanish from existence.
Danzo's village defection had taken away many of the clan's elite experts. Currently, the Shimura in Konoha barely ranked as a mid-tier clan anymore—how could they possibly oppose the Fifth Hokage?
The Mitokado and Utatane clans followed the guidance of their elders—Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, who sat with eyes closed in meditation. The rest of their clans naturally adopted the same reserved demeanor, maintaining silence as if in meditation.
As for the former vassals of the Hokage faction, they also kept silent. Although their families had members working at the Ninja Academy, those roles were mainly service-oriented to the Hokage faction, offering them little direct benefit.
Now that better jobs were offered to their clan members, they felt no guilt.
Hodan, his face covered with thick beard, looked at the few Sarutobi still standing beside him, blood rushing to his head until his face turned red—his fury made him seem like a warrior straight out of an ancient war tale.
Seated at the Hokage's exclusive seat, Fugaku had maintained a gentle smile throughout the day, which was quite unusual for someone so often stern.
Seeing Hodan Sarutobi rise to oppose him, the smile finally faded from Fugaku's face.
"Why not possible?"
His expression reverted to its usual coldness, his icy gaze slicing through the air toward the leading Sarutobi member.
He had moved on from past grievances, but now the Sarutobi really intended to keep pushing back?
Under Fugaku's frigid stare, Hodan Sarutobi felt an immense pressure, unsure how to respond.
Could he really say that the Sarutobi sought to raise their own loyalists through the Ninja Academy?
Nobusuke Sarutobi spoke up, relieving some of the pressure on Hodan.
"The Ninja Academy is far more important than the newly established schools… hastily relocating too many teachers might severely affect its educational quality."
Fugaku responded coolly, "That is exactly what we will discuss next."
Then he announced, "To improve teaching standards, the Ninja Academy will recruit elite instructors from various clans and commoner ninjas."
Pausing slightly, Fugaku swept his gaze across all the clan leaders present.
"We plan to invite the Hyūga Clan to provide Taijutsu instructors, the Uchiha Clan for Ninja Tool Throwing, and both Kurama Clan and Asahi Clan for Genjutsu training..."
It was like dropping a match into a barrel of gunpowder. Fugaku's words instantly caused the meeting room to erupt into excited murmurs.
Hyūga teaching Taijutsu, Uchiha instructing ninja tool throwing, Kurama Clan and Asahi Clan teaching Genjutsu... What dream team of instructors was this?
If their children enrolled in such a school, anyone with real ninja talent would surely have it recognized and nurtured.
"...Of course, we also welcome any ninja proficient in foundational instruction to join the academy. In the future, exceptional students will even have access to C-ranked Ninjutsu!"
The Sarutobi clan ninja looked at the smiling higher-ups in the room and silently took a seat.
At this point, continuing to resist would do nothing but provoke collective anger.
Aozora observed Fugaku's conduct from his seat, silently giving him a thumbs-up in his mind.
Thinking about Fugaku's proposed reforms for the Ninja Academy, Aozora suddenly had a few good ideas and raised his right hand.
Fugaku immediately noticed Aozora's raised hand and curiously asked, "Aozora, do you have any comments?"
Aozora stood up and said, "I think it's great to open up C-rank ninjutsu to outstanding students. Upon hearing that, I couldn't help but want to make a suggestion."
Fugaku gestured for him to continue. "Please speak!"
After choosing his words carefully, Aozora said, "I propose establishing a cafeteria that offers students three nutritious meals a day, completely free of charge—for now."
Before Aozora could finish, Kosuke clapped in approval. "There are many orphans and commoner ninja at the academy, and often they fall behind in training due to poor nutrition. Aozora, your suggestion is excellent."
Many ninja from commoner families nodded in agreement as well.
Of course, there were higher-ups who opposed the idea: "Such an expense would be enormous, and it would also be unfair to other students."
Aozora responded calmly, "It's not that they'll never have to pay—it's just free for now. Once the students graduate, part of their future income will be deducted to cover the cost of their meals."
His reply left the objecting officials speechless, so Fugaku nodded and instructed Kyudai, who was recording the meeting, to include this proposal.
Once the discussion on educational reforms concluded, Fugaku announced the end of the meeting.
Everyone filed out of the meeting room one by one, while Aozora and Kyudai followed closely behind Fugaku.
As soon as they entered the Hokage's office, Aozora remarked, "Hokage-sama, your plan for the academy reform is truly brilliant!"
Fugaku's reforms not only removed the Sarutobi clan's influence from the Education Department but also won over clans like Hyuga, Kurama, and Asahi, while significantly improving the quality of education—achieving multiple goals with a single move.
Fugaku gave a slight nod upon hearing this. Though his face remained expressionless, his chin lifted slightly, and his eyes narrowed just a little.
Then he returned the compliment. "Your suggestion was pretty good too—you considered the situation of commoner and orphaned ninja."
After exchanging a few polite words, they sat down, and Fugaku asked, "Aozora, what did you come here for? But let me warn you first—I won't let you access the Scroll of Seals again!"
Aozora rolled his eyes inwardly. *I've already made my own copy—who needs to borrow yours?*
He shook his head. "Not the Scroll of Seals this time—it's about the Sarutobi clan."
Fugaku asked, "What about them?"
Kyudai also looked curious. "What happened to the Sarutobi clan again?"
Aozora turned serious. "Nothing has happened to them yet. But the Sarutobi clan is the third largest in Konoha after the Uchiha and Hyuga. They're hot-tempered, too. I'm worried they might do something dangerous."
Kyudai exclaimed in surprise. "Aozora, are you saying you suspect them of planning defection?"
Fugaku frowned. "Would the Sarutobi clan really act so recklessly?"
In his view, after The Third's death, the clan had been without strong leadership. Their strongest member, Nobusuke, hadn't yet achieved Kage-level power.
Under such circumstances, there's no way the Sarutobi Clan would dare to defect from Konoha!
Aozora said, "Not necessarily. Have you forgotten where Hiruzen Sarutobi's second son is?"
"Kyoto!"
"The Daimyo's court!"
Fugaku and Kyudai responded one after another.
Kyudai asked, "Aozora, are you suggesting the Daimyo will interfere in our Konoha affairs?"
Aozora shrugged, "If I were the Daimyo, I'd seize the opportunity to drive a wedge between us."
He paused before continuing, "A few days ago, I received intelligence that the Daimyo summoned Asuma, and then he simply disappeared."
Ever since being wronged by the Daimyo, Aozora had ordered Natsuki to regularly report on the Daimyo's movements. This was recent intelligence sent by Natsuki.
At this, Fugaku and Kyudai exchanged glances—their expressions turned grim instantly.
Fugaku naturally knew about Aozora's information sources, and Kyudai also believed Aozora wouldn't lie about something like this.
It was possible that Asuma had been sent by the Daimyo to perform other tasks, but at this particular moment, it was difficult not to suspect his disappearance was related to Konoha.
Fugaku nodded thoughtfully and said, "I'll keep an eye on things."
After sharing the intelligence, Aozora withdrew a scroll from his sleeve and said, "This is the secret jutsu I mentioned earlier. After studying the Scroll of Seals, I've finally perfected some parts."
[The Yin Yang Eye inheritance recorded on the Scroll...] Though incomplete, it detailed Yang Eye cultivation methods and some applications of the Yin Eye. The integration of Yin and Yang, however, remained somewhat ambiguous.
This wasn't because Aozora withheld anything; rather, he had received direct personal instruction rather than written documentation, and certain aspects inherently required Satori understanding.
Fugaku accepted the scroll with great care and quickly started reading through it.
First finishing the section on Yang Eye training methods, he excitedly exclaimed, "This method can enhance the strength of our eyesight? So does this mean..."
Seeing the eagerness in Fugaku's eyes, Aozora gently nodded, "That should be the case, though I'm not... we need you and my older brother to test it first."
Fugaku showed no disappointment upon hearing this. After carefully scanning through the contents again, he carefully rolled up the scroll and solemnly stated, "If this truly works for most members of our Clan, this will become a Secret Jutsu passed down for generations within the Uchiha!"
Then, much to everyone's surprise, he regarded Aozora with deep respect and admiration, saying, "And as for you, centuries later you'll be worshiped like a deity in the Naka Shrine!"
Those enshrined in the Naka Shrine were basically ancestors who had made significant contributions to the Clan—such figures rarely emerged even across several generations.
However, if the techniques Aozora provided could indeed enhance Sharingan abilities and prevent the degeneration caused by the Mangekyou, then he undoubtedly deserved a place in the shrine.
Hearing this, Aozora merely smiled awkwardly.
Even by then, he might still be alive!
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