Chapter 688: Conflicts Among High Level Officials
Ōnoki shook his head at Kitsuchi and the other Iwagakure ninja, signaling for them to disperse.
Then he looked at Sōsuke and said weakly, "The Ninja Master's strength is indeed as formidable as the rumors claim. It is truly admirable."
Given that Sōsuke had defeated Hiruzen, his strength was naturally undeniable. However, Ōnoki had never expected him to be so absurdly powerful.
He had been completely defeated before he could even understand all of Sōsuke's abilities.
It was only because Sōsuke had held back. If this had been a real battle, Ōnoki would most likely have been killed.
Now, Ōnoki was no longer curious about how Sōsuke had defeated Hiruzen.
Instead, he was extremely curious about how Hiruzen had managed to return to Konoha alive after facing Sōsuke.
Even Ōnoki's Dust Release could do nothing to Sōsuke, so Hiruzen's Ninjutsu certainly would not have been effective either.
"For the sake of Ninshū, I presume."
Ōnoki believed that Sōsuke probably did not want to enter a full scale war with Konoha, which was why he had allowed Hiruzen to live.
Sōsuke was indeed powerful. Even if Ōnoki gathered all of Iwagakure's elite ninja, he was not confident they could defeat him.
However, no matter how powerful Sōsuke was, he was still only one person, while the Great Shinobi Villages possessed countless elite ninja.
With his overwhelming strength, Sōsuke could protect himself and slaughter large numbers of enemy ninja, but he could not protect every member of Ninshū.
If Ninshū went to war with any of the Great Shinobi Villages, the inevitable outcome would be mutual destruction, with neither side gaining anything.
The vast majority of Ninshū ninja would be killed by the Great Shinobi Village, while that Village would also be forced to endure the threat posed by Sōsuke, a ninja of terrifying strength.
"Dust Release is indeed worthy of being a Kekkei Tōta that surpasses ordinary Kekkei Genkai. It truly opened my eyes," Mugetsu replied, giving Ōnoki some face.
The corner of Ōnoki's mouth twitched.
Although Sōsuke was praising him, he found it difficult to feel happy.
When combined with the result of their recent battle, Ōnoki had reason to suspect that Sōsuke was mocking him.
His Dust Release had not even broken through Sōsuke's defense, so what was there to admire?
Or did Sōsuke mean that it had opened his eyes to see that Dust Release, which was said to decompose everything, could not even destroy his clothes?
"Village affairs are keeping me busy, so I will not disturb you any longer," Ōnoki said, his expression darkening slightly.
He refused Ninshū's offer to see him off and left while supported by his subordinates.
Because Ōnoki insisted, Mugetsu and the others merely stood where they were and watched them depart.
"He truly is a stubborn old man," Rōshi sighed.
Ōnoki's arm injury was not light, yet out of pride, he had stubbornly refused Sōsuke's treatment.
Rōshi was somewhat confused.
Ōnoki had already lost so badly. What pride was there left to protect?
Was receiving treatment from his opponent really so humiliating?
"Shirakawa, are you familiar with the Tsuchikage?" Yahiko asked curiously.
Very few people in Ninshū knew Rōshi's true identity.
Only Mugetsu, Nagato, and Kakuzu knew that Rōshi was Iwagakure's Jinchuriki. Everyone else knew only his public identity.
"I know a little," Rōshi replied with a nod, not saying anything more.
He did not care whether his identity became known. His main concern was causing trouble for Ninshū.
Tailed Beasts were like the lifeblood of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
If Iwagakure discovered that he had joined Ninshū under the name Shirakawa, then even if they feared Sōsuke's strength, they would still try every possible method to deal with Ninshū.
Yahiko did not think too deeply about it and quickly put the matter aside.
He excitedly began asking Mugetsu questions inspired by the battle he had just witnessed.
On the other side, after they had traveled some distance, Ōnoki gave a signal.
The Iwagakure jonin skilled in Medical Ninjutsu immediately began treating his injuries.
In truth, the medical ninja had prepared to treat Ōnoki as soon as the battle ended, but Ōnoki had stopped him.
"Lord Tsuchikage, are we still going to accept Sunagakure's offer of cooperation?" Kitsuchi asked after a moment of silence.
After watching the battle between Sōsuke and Ōnoki, Kitsuchi finally understood why Konoha had done nothing when news of Hiruzen's defeat spread throughout the Ninja World.
With Sōsuke possessing such overwhelming strength, what could Konoha possibly do?
Send an army to destroy Ninshū?
To preserve their reputation, they would lose countless ninja and earn the hatred of an unmatched expert.
It would be an enormous loss.
"Let us set it aside for now," Ōnoki replied after thinking for a moment.
His reason for wanting to suppress Ninshū was that its continued development would threaten Iwagakure's interests.
However, if they joined forces with Sunagakure to attack Ninshū now, they would thoroughly offend Sōsuke without being able to kill him.
In the end, Iwagakure might suffer disastrous consequences.
Fortunately, Iwagakure had not formally agreed to anything, so there was no need to give Sunagakure an explanation.
"Why hasn't Iwagakure produced a genius like this?" Ōnoki sighed inwardly.
He had believed that after the death of the God of Shinobi, no ninja of such extraordinary caliber would ever appear again.
He had not expected a monster like Sōsuke to emerge so soon, along with Mugetsu, another potential monster.
Ōnoki was truly depressed.
They were all among the Five Great Ninja Villages, so why was Konoha so exceptional?
First, it produced Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Now, it had Mugetsu.
After half an hour of treatment, Ōnoki did not linger for another moment.
Concerned that further complications might arise, he immediately returned to Iwagakure.
The first thing Ōnoki did after returning to the Village was convene a high level meeting and share all the intelligence he had gathered.
After hearing the report, Iwagakure's high ranking officials all revealed expressions of extreme shock.
If the information had not come directly from their own Tsuchikage, they would probably have doubted its authenticity.
"Konoha is truly sinister. No wonder they kept the details so secret. They probably want to use Ninshū to make us suffer a devastating setback," Elder Muka immediately sensed Konoha's supposed malicious intentions.
If Iwagakure blindly clashed with Ninshū, they would undoubtedly suffer a disastrous outcome.
"Indeed. Fortunately, Sandaime was cautious," Elder Chouki said with lingering fear.
If Iwagakure had been severely weakened because of this, they would have become sinners of the Village.
"I think we can use this intelligence to our advantage and make the other Ninja Villages and Ninshū destroy each other," the Jonin Commander said after thinking for a moment.
What Iwagakure had failed to anticipate, the other Ninja Villages probably did not know either.
This gave Iwagakure an intelligence advantage.
"Sunagakure has its own plans for Ninshū, doesn't it? Instead of sending troops alongside Sunagakure, we can cooperate with them in other areas while deliberately misleading them. That way, we can push Sunagakure and Ninshū into a conflict that leaves both sides weakened."
Ōnoki considered the proposal carefully before nodding.
If this plan succeeded, it would truly kill two birds with one stone.
It would resolve the threat posed by Ninshū while also weakening Sunagakure.
…
Land of Fire, Konoha.
Hokage Building.
After receiving notice that a high level meeting was being held, Koharu and Homura hurried toward the conference room.
Regardless of their personal attitude toward the new Hokage, they still had to maintain appearances.
This was the new Hokage's first high level meeting.
As they approached the conference room, the two encountered Hiruzen.
The three exchanged greetings, then entered together.
Mugetsu and Minato had arrived early.
Seeing the high ranking officials enter, Mugetsu nodded in greeting.
After Hiruzen sat down, he curiously glanced at the documents placed on the table.
Of the five seats in the conference room, only Mugetsu's position had no document before it. Documents had been placed at all the others.
"Ninja Academy Reform…"
Hiruzen read the title, and a trace of curiosity arose in his heart.
The Ninja Academy was where he had first discovered Mugetsu.
Hiruzen also knew that Mugetsu possessed an inexplicable love for teaching.
Perhaps it was precisely because of that passion that Mugetsu had so many ideas concerning the Ninja Academy and had proposed numerous beneficial reforms.
For example, although the medical specialization program had existed for less than two years, it had already received great praise from the Village's ninja, all of whom considered it an extremely correct decision.
However, since Mugetsu had brought the Ninja Academy before a high level meeting this time, Hiruzen believed the matter could not be something as minor as establishing medical specialization classes.
He was therefore very curious about the contents of this reform proposal.
"Minato, I'll leave it to you," Mugetsu said.
Minato nodded, cleared his throat twice, and began speaking.
"Next, I will explain the proposal concerning the reform of the Ninja Academy."
Although Mugetsu understood the plan better, he was the Hokage and could not personally handle every task.
Otherwise, what would be the purpose of appointing Minato as Hokage Assistant?
"The Ninja Academy's current six year system will be changed to a four year system, designated as elementary school. A new three year middle school section will then be established. Graduates of elementary school will no longer become ninja immediately. They must first enter and graduate from middle school before becoming official ninja."
As Minato explained, Hiruzen and the others opened the documents before them and began reading.
Koharu's brow gradually furrowed.
This change was far too significant.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it completely overturned the original Ninja Academy.
Furthermore, the new system would require greater investment from Konoha, while the time needed to train ninja would also increase.
"Assistant Minato, please pause for a moment," Koharu interrupted without restraint.
"I would like to ask what exactly is wrong with the current Ninja Academy, and why such a major reform is necessary."
Although she knew that this was Mugetsu's proposal, that did not prevent her from challenging Minato.
"You intend to change a six year system into a seven year one. Have you calculated how much this additional year will cost and how many fewer ninja Konoha will produce?"
"Furthermore, middle school students will be required to master a C Rank Ninjutsu. That also raises the necessary skill level of the teachers. The total increase in expenses will not be small."
Minato's expression remained unchanged.
Since Mugetsu had asked him to present the plan, he had prepared thoroughly.
"The current Ninja Academy's teaching standards are too lenient, and the quality of graduating genin varies too greatly…"
Before the meeting, Minato had not only retrieved data from the Ninja Academy, but had also personally inspected the school.
Afterward, he compiled the information into a report and consulted Mugetsu.
Minato had already committed every major problem within the current Ninja Academy to memory.
Koharu was somewhat surprised when Minato clearly explained the Academy's problems, but she did not stop there.
"If the Ninja Academy has so many problems, then how has Konoha managed to produce so many excellent ninja?"
Koharu had paid little attention to the Ninja Academy since graduating from it herself.
She could not judge whether Minato's claims were true or false.
However, over the past several decades, Konoha had continuously produced countless talented ninja.
For that reason, she felt that the Ninja Academy could not possibly have serious problems.
For a moment, Minato did not know how to answer.
Koharu's argument was emotional and lacked proper logic, yet it was also based on an undeniable fact.
"Advisor Koharu, is it possible that Konoha should have produced even more excellent ninja?" Mugetsu asked calmly.
"Or do you believe that Konoha is already good enough as it is and has no need to strive for further improvement?"
This time, it was Koharu who fell silent.
Mugetsu had immediately placed such a serious accusation upon her that she did not dare agree.
If she did, she would be seen as a lazy and unambitious high ranking official who rejected progress.
"Regardless, the past cannot be changed. Let us continue discussing the current proposal," Hiruzen said with a chuckle, signaling for Minato to continue.
In Hiruzen's view, both Mugetsu and Koharu had gone somewhat too far.
Mugetsu had been too sharp and shown little respect for an elder, while Koharu had failed to show proper consideration for the new Hokage by openly opposing his reform during his very first high level meeting.
Minato instinctively glanced at Mugetsu.
Mugetsu nodded, and only then did Minato resume his explanation.
Hiruzen had treated Minato very well, and Minato respected him deeply.
However, this was a high level meeting, and Mugetsu was now his true comrade.
After Minato finished explaining the proposal, Homura spoke.
"I agree that this reform could improve the quality of graduating genin, but is that improvement truly worth the cost?"
After considering the matter, Homura ultimately decided to stand alongside his old friend Koharu.
Mugetsu's attitude was too forceful.
If they backed down this time, their influence within the Village would likely be greatly diminished.
That was something Homura did not want to see.
The reason he had initially supported Mugetsu's succession was because Hiruzen had promised that their high ranking positions would remain secure for six years.
If Mugetsu attempted to remove them during those six years, Hiruzen would intervene.
If they lost their ability to influence high level meetings, what kind of high ranking officials would they be?
What meaning would their positions still hold?
Moreover, Homura was not speaking without reason.
These were genuine problems within the proposal.
Hiruzen silently flipped through the documents without speaking.
If this had been anyone else's plan, his position might have been similar to Homura's.
However, this was Mugetsu's reform proposal for the Ninja Academy.
Mugetsu's previous suggestions concerning the Academy had never been wrong.
Therefore, Hiruzen was actually inclined to support the reform.
But in the current situation, he truly found it difficult to speak.
If he expressed support, it would mean that the old and new Hokage had reached a consensus.
Koharu and Homura's opinions would then become irrelevant.
That would mean stepping on his old friends to support Mugetsu.
Hiruzen did not want to do such a thing, nor could he bring himself to do it.
In any case, it was not as though the reform would fail entirely.
They could simply hold another meeting later and approve it then.
....
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