Konoha: Start from untying the caged bird

Page 155

But after him, he hoped to return Konoha to its essence—when Hashirama Senju founded the village, wasn't his first vision to protect the children and keep them away from the battlefield?

He was the same.

Unfortunately, Konoha still faces many problems, such as a lack of teachers, a lack of suitable school administrators, and a need for a mature professional system within Konoha to absorb students.

From another perspective, Konoha also urgently needed hundreds or thousands of excellent new ninjas to fill the increasingly scarce ninja positions, which is why Hyuga Yuzuru's idea of ​​running a 'university' was postponed.

Regardless, the news of Hyuga Yuzuru's rare public appearance and speech quickly spread throughout Konoha, carried by the children's voices.

Some teachers even memorized most of his words and revised and compiled a copy of his speech for their own collection. In the end, it was copied and printed into a booklet and sold openly, becoming a sensation.

While Hyuga Yuzuru was both amused and exasperated, considering whether or not to charge royalties, his speech also had a considerable impact in Konoha.

Some ninjas felt once again Yuzuru Hyuga's determination for peace.

Some ninjas saw in Hyuga Yuzuru's confidence that he was invincible.

But more than anything, it has touched ordinary people.

Attending the Ninja Academy is free; you only need to register and pass the review. Once you're approved, Konoha will cover the cost of your books, and there are no uniforms or extracurricular materials.

However, before that, most civilians still chose not to send their children to school. Some of the excuses were that their children lacked the talent to be ninjas, but most of them still did not want their children to go to the battlefield.

At this moment, most of Konoha's children were born after the Third Shinobi World War. After experiencing the grief of the Nine-Tails' attack, the people's anti-war and war-weary sentiments reached their peak after the Third Hokage returned to office, but then subsided during Hyuga Yuzuru's tenure.

But in any case, everyone hopes that such peaceful days can continue. They do not want war, nor do they want their children to die on the frontier like the tens of thousands of ninjas during World War III.

The ratio of children at the Konoha Ninja Academy to all children in Konoha Village is roughly 4:6. Among them, the vast majority of children come from various clans. Before joining Konoha, these clans were accustomed to using the power of ninjas to protect themselves in the chaotic and barbaric era. In fact, very few ordinary people would consider making their children ninjas.

After all, in this ninja world that places great importance on bloodlines and inheritance, the appearance of commoner ninjas often only serves as stepping stones and cannon fodder for those geniuses.

But now, with more options available.

As Konoha underwent continuous changes, people's livelihoods improved significantly, and the economic and infrastructure levels steadily rose, coupled with extensive ideological propaganda, most of the people developed a sense of patriotism.

Furthermore, Hyuga Yuzuru's significant declaration and reform, which can be described as a groundbreaking move in the field of ninja education, gave the vast majority of ordinary people a sense of new hope and a glimpse of a new path.

Becoming a ninja not only means obtaining a 'formal position' in Konoha, but also, to a certain extent, represents a leap in social class in this semi-feudal world. If a family can produce several ninjas with high status in Konoha, it is entirely possible for them to become a new small family and a new elite in Konoha.

The most direct manifestation of this combined effect is the surge in applications to Konoha Ninja Academy for the new year.

Besides the six-year-old children, a large number of parents of seven-, eight-, and even eleven- or twelve-year-old children also entered the ninja academy to inquire about the specific admission requirements, hoping that their children could enter the ninja academy and become ninjas.

Some seemed hesitant, asking indirectly whether they could truly avoid going to the battlefield after graduation, or whether they could safely work in Konoha Village, and so on.

When the teachers were asked so many questions that they felt their scalps tingle and hesitated to give a definite answer, these opinions were relayed to the Hokage's office in Konoha.

While Hyuga Yuzuru hadn't anticipated such a significant impact, he also realized that this might be a good opportunity for Konoha's educational reform. Without hesitation, he convened a meeting of Konoha's high-ranking officials to discuss the reform of the Konoha Ninja Academy.

Finally, after half a day of urgent discussion, Hyuga Yuzuru seized the opportunity to thoroughly standardize and improve the entire system, and compiled it into a comprehensive guide for his subordinates to refer to.

Once released, the "Konoha Education Guidebook" immediately became a household name in Konoha. Even people without children at home hoped to buy a copy to see what new things the Fifth Hokage had come up with.

Unsurprisingly, Hinata Yuzuru never disappoints.

This guide not only clarifies that students under 12 years old and over 6 years old can enroll, but also sets up separate classes for students who are over the age limit.

It also outlines the disciplines that the Konoha Ninja Academy has already changed, will change, and will add, including the prerequisite theoretical knowledge for medical ninjutsu, detailed professional divisions in scientific research fields, including introductory knowledge of the chakra science application system, introductory knowledge of the non-chakra industrial system, and human science, among other subjects.

In addition, there will be courses that seem unbelievable, such as physical education, music, and even art.

The original general ninja academy subjects were transformed into specific elective subjects. After three years of basic education, students could choose subjects according to their grade level and attend classes in fixed classrooms, which was modeled after the elective system in universities.

Furthermore, they solemnly promised to establish a higher education institution within three years to provide outstanding students with opportunities for further study, and upon graduation, they could join key departments in Konoha.

This was also the first time that Hyuga Yuzuru publicly revealed the complete professional system that Konoha Village had secretly established. People didn't know until they saw it, and only now did the people of Konoha realize just how much Konoha needed all kinds of talents.

The seemingly general research department actually has clearly defined areas of focus, including industry, communications, transportation, ninja tool development, architecture, and barrier research...

There are also positions in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and other departments that tend to be purely clerical.

Some departments are short-staffed, and some even have part-time staff, but in fact, each department is a subdivision that Hyuga Yuzuru has formally divided up.

Afterwards, these official departments of Konoha will not be abolished, but the major clans will be encouraged to start their own related businesses, creating more professional jobs. Even so, at the current scale, even if they were all village-run enterprises, they would be enough to provide employment for the vast majority of ninjas in the future, and there would still be a shortage.

Leaving aside distant matters, the employment directions disclosed in Hyuga Yuzuru's recent guidance document are enough to dazzle most civilians and even ninjas.

This is the work area for non-combat ninjas! If you include the positions that ninjas who can step onto the battlefield and dare to step onto the battlefield can hold, then there are even more.

This includes security departments, logistics departments, etc.

For those with excellent academic performance and outstanding potential, Hyuga Yuzuru's situation remains unchanged for now; he will still select Jonin as his mentors and form three-person groups for learning and growth—but in the future, this format will undoubtedly change.

Within half a month of the release of this instruction manual, the Konoha Ninja Academy sent a series of good news and requests for assistance.

The good news is that the number of students enrolling has reached the highest peak in the history of Konoha Village. In just half a month, a thousand new students applied for enrollment. Although perhaps half of them will not be able to become ninjas who can fight for Konoha, they can still fill a lot of vacancies in Konoha's grassroots work.

Asking for help is easier to understand.

There are not enough classes, not enough teachers, and the school's original management and administrative system has been assessed as 'unable to cope with an excessive number of students'.

Hyuga Yuzuru patiently worked through the problem, solving it step by step.

The teacher selected from veteran Chunin and super-veteran Genin, and Hyuga Yuzuru personally oversaw the teacher's examination and review.

The new textbooks will be written by Kabuto Yakushi and his elite subordinates, and Tsunade and other ninjas serving in key departments of Konoha will also be involved in developing new basic textbooks for each subject.

The principal reinstated Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been temporarily retired at home, and Yuzuru Hyuga, in an almost explicit manner, reminded the third generation that it was time for them to make some contributions to Konoha.

The Third Hokage was also very shrewd. He not only selected several retired ninjas from his clan to participate in the teaching work, but also, in order to avoid suspicion, used his connections to invite retired elders from other clans to come out of seclusion and join the ninja academy as instructors.

Since retiring, the Third Hokage has stayed at home quietly, trying his best to diminish his influence and avoid offending the new Hokage. He also grants the new Hokage's every request.

There's nothing we can do; it really is something he owes.

Back then, when there was a scapegoat, he simply ran away, leaving Hyuga Yuzuru to take the fall. Now that the Uchiha's lightning is still accumulating, how could he possibly dare to cause trouble for no reason?

The Third Hokage sometimes even wondered if Hyuga Yuzuru had planned to step in and take the blame if the Uchiha clan's troubles weren't dealt with properly.

But in any case, he really didn't want to come up.

I'm not afraid of comparing goods, I'm afraid of comparing people.

In just a few short years, Konoha has changed drastically.

Who would even remember that wretched old man?

Hyuga Yuzuru's impact on Konoha is truly remarkable; his contributions each year exceed those of several years combined.

The three generations often feel ashamed of their own shortcomings, and therefore, they want to enjoy their retirement life even more.

During his temporary appointment as the headmaster of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi sincerely stated that he was old and frail and could not continue for long. He hoped that the Fifth Hokage could select a suitable person to take over his duties as soon as possible so that he could enjoy his retirement at home.

Hyuga Yuzuru got it right.

That was what he originally thought too. It can only be said that although the third generation lacked other abilities, their grasp and understanding of people's hearts were still very accurate.

With his abilities, he could easily be the manager of any department. It's just a pity that he became the Hokage, a position that was not suitable for him and required too much skill.

Suddenly, the ninja school, which had just welcomed a wave of graduating students, became busier than ever before.

Konoha's construction team had extensive experience in infrastructure projects. Using Earth Release techniques and special steel reinforcement, they completed a new teaching building in just a few days.

The new playground also uses new building materials for paving the road surface and running track, and the school is no longer dusty and covered in yellow soil.

Hyuga Yuzuru also added a flag-raising platform with great sentiment, where the red flag of Konoha fluttered high, causing every passing ninja to gaze solemnly for a moment. From then on, the daily flag-raising ceremony would probably become an unprecedentedly beautiful sight in Konoha.

In the blink of an eye, he was extremely busy.

He didn't even have time to properly familiarize himself with his new Byakugan, let alone study his Gundam Susanoo.

He wished he could split into thousands of Narutos and work around like crazy, and by the time he came to his senses, time had flown by.

It was truly a helpless situation—the education reform, which was originally planned to be carried out gradually and in the long run, was accelerated because of a speech.

Overall, the benefits far outweigh the potential loopholes. Hyuga Yuzuru doesn't believe he has a perfect plan or that everything he has devised is flawless. He believes that implementing it sooner, seeing the results sooner, and identifying and fixing any shortcomings will allow time to put everything on the right track.

By the time Hyuga Yuzuru finally had some free time and was able to leisurely sip some tea in his office, it was already November of Konoha 63.

Konoha got cold very early this year. After much deliberation, Hyuga Yuzuru decided to renovate his Hokage Building before the snow fell.

The research department has now developed a large number of building materials and many scientific research products that benefit people's lives. It's time for us to use them ourselves.

more importantly...

When the office building is renovated, he will be able to work from home.

For someone like him who even needs to physically separate himself to review documents, working from home means exactly what that means. Those who know, know.

When the building was renovated and Yuzuru Hyuga returned to the Hokage Building, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"It's so beautiful."

He murmured to himself.

The new Hokage Building still uses the Earth Release method combined with new steel reinforcement. In fact, after being reinforced with Earth Release multiple times, it is even stronger than the reinforced concrete structure before the crossing.

Inside the white-painted exterior walls is a large, three-story red building.

Its height is due to Konoha itself being located at a relatively high altitude halfway up the mountain, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and an excellent vista.

The gleaming high-rise building did not opt ​​for excessive wall design, retaining its original unique 'cake' shape, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The top floor is the Hokage's private administrative office, which includes the Hokage's office, reception room, meeting room, archives room, and other buildings related to the Hokage's work.

The two lower levels are mostly occupied by important administrative personnel of Konoha, such as the Barrier Team who inspect and monitor the Konoha Barrier, and key personnel in departments who may need to communicate with the Hokage at any time.

The walls of the three-story building, apart from a portion of red painted walls, are mostly made of very modern large glass walls. The manufacturing process of these glass walls was even learned from the Hidden Cloud Village. Their Hidden Cloud Office is like a diamond-shaped glass building, standing in the mountains, unforgettable to those who see it.

By observing just one aspect, one can see the whole picture. It's easy to imagine how deep the waters are in the construction industry of the ninja world, and how exceptionally gifted these ninjas are in construction and research.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Yuzuru, accompanied by Hyuga Kaoru, whose workload had decreased considerably and who now resembled a secretary, stepped into the Hokage Building.

Then, they took the special elevator—the Hokage's private elevator that goes directly to the Hokage's office—up to the third floor.

The reason for installing a dedicated elevator is mainly to make it convenient for him to leave work at any time... cough, it's so that he can easily enter and exit the Hokage Building at any time, and can use the back door of the Hokage Building to conceal his whereabouts.

It also makes it convenient to receive, meet, and secretly arrange meetings with certain people.

Upon reaching the third floor, the modern-looking corridor was impeccably clean. The semi-circular corridor extended to the innermost part, where the Hokage's office was located.

The Anbu no longer need to hide in the corners of the corridors to spy on people; instead, they now have dedicated guard posts in front of the office to protect the Hokage's safety.

Or, to put it another way, it involves assisting the Hokage with tasks such as identity verification, personnel notification, and the delivery of intelligence documents.

The large glass windows in the guard booth allow the Anbu to observe the activities in the corridor from inside. The booth is fully equipped with a table, chairs, and a kettle. Later, Hyuga Yuzuru even planned to convert it into the Anbu's security room after installing CCTV and surveillance, so that someone could monitor the security around the Hokage Building 24 hours a day.

Pushing open the door, one enters the new Hokage office that Hyuga Yuzuru has been longing for.

Congratulations, Yuzuru-sama!

Upon just one glance, Hinata Kaoru couldn't help but chuckle and offer her congratulations to Hinata Yuzuru.

He laughed heartily, without arguing, simply because the office in front of him truly met his requirements.

The huge new floor-to-ceiling windows allow him to have an unobstructed view of the Konoha complex, while the extra-large bookshelves on both sides ensure that his office will no longer be cluttered with documents.

The desk, crafted from raw wood, is understated yet luxurious, and the office chair has been replaced with a larger, softer-looking black leather seat.

In addition, there is a huge TV mounted on the wall. Although there is nothing to watch for the time being, it does not prevent Hyuga Yuzuru from preparing for the future. On one side of the Hokage's desk, there is a desk and chair that looks a little simpler but are equally large.

This is the office space reserved for Hinata Kaoru, so that she no longer needs to use other people's offices or take her work home to handle. It also makes it convenient for her shadow clones to have a place to work when she is not around.

The refrigerator and sofa were placed in another corner, ostensibly for potential visitors.

In fact...

Hyuga Yuzuru slumped onto the sofa, muttering to himself, "As expected, the Hyuga house is too old-fashioned; it needs to be redesigned."

Hinata Kaoru covered her mouth and chuckled softly, saying in a low voice, "Why don't we change the young master's room first? I think the young master seems to prefer this modern design to a traditional Japanese room."

"Sigh, let's talk about it when we have more money..."

Hinata Yuzuru said dejectedly.

Konoha is full of places where money is needed—for research, scientific studies, building renovations, and infrastructure development. Even with his knack for making money, he has only been able to make ends meet these past few years.

He's been burning through a lot of the Hyuga family's money on developing new products. The profits from those sales don't qualify him for the tax breaks usually reserved for village-run enterprises; instead, he's continuing to invest in new research and development, and opening new factories...

Even Hyuga Hizashi once jokingly said that he was a genius at making money and a genius at spending money. The Hyuga family earned many times more each year than before, but when they did the year-end accounting, they always looked like they were about to go bankrupt. If it weren't for Hyuga Hizashi, the clan head, having a fixed salary, he probably would have been starving along with Hyuga Yuzuru long ago.

Hinata Kaoru chuckled and went to a corner of the office to make him some tea, but he waved his hand, took out a bottle of chilled juice from the refrigerator, took a comfortable sip, and let out a soft "ka-a" sound.

She stopped what she was doing, but her smile grew even brighter—the young master Yuzuru of today, compared to before, seemed less mature, composed, and gentle in front of her, occasionally revealing a childlike side that filled her with immense joy.

If others knew that the seemingly dignified, majestic, and powerful Hokage was actually a big boy who sighed and wanted to lie down whenever he saw official business... it would definitely surprise many people, right?

Hinata Yuzuru sat on the sofa, his legs crossed on the small coffee table, holding a glass of chilled juice, taking a sip, and gazing at the large floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk.

"This is what life is all about..."