Adding More

Although the Land of Grass had run out of money.

The academy in the Land of Grass still opened as scheduled.

Today.

He had made a special trip over.

Walking down the academy corridors and listening to the resounding voices of children reading, Kusana felt considerably gratified.

"The academy curriculum has all been arranged according to the Leader's orders!" Uzumaki Yangzheng, who had been appointed principal, said with a smile. "We will uphold the Spirit of Grass as our core and strive to cultivate Kusagakure ninja who develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and through labor."

"..."

Hearing a traditional shinobi of the ninja world talk about cultivating ninja with all-round moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor development was rather gratifying to Kusana.

It seemed Elder Yang Zheng had remembered everything he said at their meetings. Appointing him as principal of the Land of Grass Hope Academy and head of the Chakra Capacitor task force had not been in vain.

He had not disappointed Kusana's high expectations.

Unlike that Mujie fellow... who claimed he had copied down Kusana's words and reviewed them every day, gaining countless insights.

Yet in the end.

Wasn't he still the same as ever?!

Kusana sighed inwardly, then smiled at Uzumaki Yangzheng and nodded. "Not bad!"

"This is also thanks to the Leader's support!" Having received the Leader's approval, Uzumaki Yangzheng did not become overly excited.

Everything had already been arranged. He only needed to follow the plan step by step.

The only thing he needed to watch out for was... people who did not take their work seriously or who obeyed openly while defying orders in secret.

Looking at the young Leader before him, Uzumaki Yangzheng felt a surge of admiration.

The Leader possessed a broad mind!

When he saw the Leader disregard the unwritten rules of the ninja world and resolutely take in the Uzumaki Clan, he had already admired the Leader's magnanimity, which rivaled that of the God of Shinobi.

But now, it seemed...

They had ultimately underestimated the Leader's breadth of heart.

Establishing a Ninja Academy was nothing unusual. After all, the Five Great Ninja Villages had all established their own Ninja Academies. But... not a single Kage had ever put ninjutsu into textbooks for teachers to teach children, not even the strongest village in the ninja world—Konoha.

However.

The Land of Grass Ninja Academy had it!

The textbooks personally compiled by the Leader had it!

Moreover, they categorized all kinds of ninjutsu, arranging them by grade from easy to difficult and from safe to dangerous.

One had to know that Ninja Academies did not teach ninjutsu. They did not even teach simple C-rank ninjutsu, generally only teaching the basics.

As for ninjutsu... it was taught by one's own clan, or personally passed down by a team leader after graduation once they had acknowledged the student.

If neither was available, one could only complete missions and contribute to the village in hopes of receiving a village reward.

Thus, some people... graduated without knowing any ninjutsu at all and could only rely on the taijutsu, kunai throwing, and Three Body Technique they had learned at the academy to fight enemies.

Especially the cannon fodder during wartime. They might die the moment they reached the battlefield, never having learned a single ninjutsu before death.

The Leader.

Possessed a heart far greater than the First Hokage's or the Second Hokage's.

At first, he had also wondered why the Leader spent so much time at the academy on courses that seemed unimportant to ninja.

Far too much time was spent on those subjects.

As ninja... it should have been enough to train diligently and gain the strength to protect the village. After all, no ninja would betray their own village for no reason.

That would earn the contempt of every ninja!

However.

Until one day.

He voiced his doubts and heard the Leader sigh before saying with a solemn expression, "The Land of Grass is not raising a group of tool ninja, nor training a heap of killing machines! We are nurturing pillars of society! Children must establish proper values while they are young, have ideals of their own, know how to think for themselves when they encounter difficulties, love their country, love their homes, love the ninja people, and become outstanding ninja with ideals, morals, ambition, and confidence!"

"Every ninja must open their eyes to see this ninja world, understand this ninja world deeply, and become new Kusagakure ninja."

At that moment.

He seemed to see light shining from the Leader.

It was so dazzling, so captivating!

The Leader.

Truly considered the children, unlike those village chiefs who spoke endlessly of benevolence and righteousness while doing things that devoured people alive.

As though recalling something, Uzumaki Yangzheng, who was accompanying the Leader on his inspection, looked at the slogans hanging on the academy walls.

Let children open their eyes and see the ninja world!

Cultivate ninja with all-round moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor development!

These had now become the ideals of his life. Just as he worked hard to research Chakra in repayment for the Land of Grass taking him in, he would make the Land of Grass strong!

Meanwhile...

When Kusana saw the two slogans hanging on the wall, he froze for a moment and rubbed his eyes.

Who had written these?

How did they sound even more polished than his own words?

Just then.

He seemed to hear a familiar voice.

"Nagato! Even if you do not want to join, you still have to join! Let me tell you, you are the vice leader of the Akatsuki Organization I have my eye on!"

"Uncover the truth and explore mysteries! Don't you think that sounds cool?"

"That night was just an accident. Just like how we never guessed Dad was only making friends, not selling intelligence. We also never knew... that someone would actually pretend to be the Ghost Student Who Draws Poop and draw poop at the festival!"

"Come on! Help me uncover the truth!"

"..."

Kusana's mouth twitched as he looked at Yahiko, who was still extending his invitation, at the helpless-looking Nagato, and at Konan folding paper beside them...

Yahiko still had not given up!

What was so worth investigating about the Ghost Student Who Draws Poop?!

"Hehe! Morning reading is already over?" Seemingly noticing the Leader's gaze, Uzumaki Yangzheng came back to his senses. A smile appeared on his aged face. "They are all such lovely children!"

"Yahiko is quite active and very curious, so whenever he sees something interesting, he goes to investigate it."

"As for Nagato, he is relatively calm, but he always notices the little details. He is currently studying Sealing Jutsu with the Uzumaki Clan and is a very gifted child."

"Konan is also the only girl who has learned the Leader's secret technique. She is a genius at paper folding, cheerful and optimistic, and a girl who loves to smile."

After briefly introducing the three children, Uzumaki Yangzheng's smile grew broader. "Yahiko formed an organization called Akatsuki and is preparing to expose that campus legend."

The moment he finished speaking.

"There is still too little homework!"

The Leader beside him suddenly said this, and Uzumaki Yangzheng was immediately stunned.

"???"

"Oh, it's nothing~" Kusana shook his head, wearing a gentle and kindly smile. "How are school assignments currently arranged?"

"Following the Leader's requirements, we only have lower-grade students at present." Though he did not understand why the Leader was asking, Uzumaki Yangzheng still reported seriously. "Therefore, there is generally not much homework. Many students can finish it at school, so it does not place too much burden on the children."

"Too little!"

"???" Uzumaki Yangzheng fell silent for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "Then the Leader means... add more?"

"Then we shall follow Elder Yang Zheng's suggestion... add... more!"

"..."

Was that this old man's suggestion?

"Then the funding..."

"Approve it!!!"

Meanwhile.

Underground.

"Has it ended already?"

Hearing the resounding reading voices stop, Madara knew... morning reading had ended.

He yawned faintly and slowly closed his eyes. "This old man is going to sleep."

As soon as he said that.

His breathing gradually steadied, as though he had truly fallen asleep.