Jonin Class Meeting

Konoha

Hokage Building

The Jonin Class meeting was generally held once a year.

Among Konoha's many institutions, the Jonin Class was like a parliament. Most policies had to be discussed by its members.

Every Jonin, no matter the country, was invaluable.

Konoha's Jonin were especially elite, with the highest caliber and skill among the Jonin of the Five Great Nations.

Inside a hall-sized conference room.

More than a hundred ninja were seated there. Most were young or middle-aged, with a few teenagers and a few elderly ninja.

More than 120 ninja attended the Jonin Class meeting. Thirty-six of the Uchiha Clan's Jonin were among them. Sarutobi Hiruzen's wariness of the Uchiha Clan was not without reason.

Any leader would be wary of such a massive clan.

The Uchiha Clan wasn't the only one with a strong presence. The Hyuga Clan sat not far away, with thirty Jonin of their own, every bit as formidable.

If the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans had established a ninja village on their own, they could certainly have become one of the great nations.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the two advisors sat on the stage. Every time, Hiruzen couldn't help sighing to himself.

The Senju Clan had once been just as powerful. Unfortunately, one mistaken policy of his—the Wood Release experiments—had caused the clan's numbers to dwindle...

The once-great Shimura Clan had followed their teacher, Senju Tobirama's example. Its members had withdrawn from public life, concealed their identities, and assimilated into Konoha, becoming ninja from ordinary civilian families. With no family concerns holding him back, Shimura Danzō had forcefully suppressed the great clans.

The Sarutobi Clan, which had also suppressed the great ninja clans, had nearly a dozen Jonin, making it roughly the third-largest clan in that regard. During Sarutobi Hiruzen's term as Hokage, the Sarutobi Clan had grown considerably.

Most other clans had a Jonin for a clan head or a single Jonin among their elite members. Few clans had more than five Jonin.

One Uchiha was worth ten other clans. And that was with Sarutobi Hiruzen limiting the number of Uchiha Jonin. Without those restrictions, Uchiha ninja who awakened the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai could reach Jonin level after just a few years of training.

Utatane Koharu gave a light cough, and Sarutobi Hiruzen came back to himself.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and said calmly, "Konoha's elite, at this Jonin Class meeting, any Jonin with suggestions or any department with important matters to report may bring them up for discussion."

His tone was mild, but everyone present could hear the Third clearly. The Shinobi Hero was as impressive as ever; ordinary people couldn't pull off that kind of chakra control.

Uchiha Fugaku was among the Uchiha Jonin attending the meeting. He had received instructions from Naraku before coming. Fugaku turned to look at Naraku, only to see Naraku glance his way and give a subtle nod.

Uchiha Fugaku understood. He stood up.

"Lord Hokage, the Konoha Military Police Force's budget is too low. We're requesting additional funds. The current budget can't support the large number of personnel and duties the force has to handle. Our staff work hard, but their wages are far too low. We're therefore requesting a thirty percent increase. We hope Lord Hokage will approve."

After standing, Uchiha Fugaku stated his case concisely.

"I support this."

"I support this."

Quite a few Jonin backed Fugaku's request. Looking more closely, they were all members of the Uchiha Clan.

The Military Police Force really was short on money. With a larger budget, Naraku could support more ninja and other members. As things stood, the funds were tightly restricted, leaving nothing to spare for new initiatives or research.

"Mm. Jonin Fugaku, thank you for your hard work. You're right: the Military Police Force is an important Konoha department. You should bring any issues to our attention. I'll give your request due consideration."

The Third blew a smoke ring. With so many people in the Jonin Class, he usually didn't reject a request outright unless it was especially unreasonable. He would say he'd look into it, then often let it quietly fade away.

The Third had excellent political instincts. As Hokage, he was busy with work. Who would dare fault him for that?

Uchiha Fugaku stood and sat back down.

Lady Tsunade stood up. "Third, the Medical Department also needs more funding to train medical ninja. It takes time, effort, and money. The value of medical ninja has already become clear on the battlefield. Konoha's ninja had the lowest mortality rate among the nations during the Second Shinobi World War. Now that more and more ninja teams are graduating, we should be equipping them with medical ninja! I'm requesting a fifty percent increase in the Medical Department's budget!"

"I support this."

"I support this."

"I support Lady Tsunade's proposal."

As soon as Tsunade finished speaking, most of the Jonin in the room raised their hands in support.

The Medical Department affected their own safety, so naturally, the stronger it was, the better.

After her younger brother Nawaki died in the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade had proposed assigning more medical ninja to teams. Her proposal passed, and every Konoha ninja team was given a medical ninja. This greatly reduced Konoha's mortality rate and proved the value of the policy. Other ninja villages followed suit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer even draw on his pipe. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The Medical Department was all well and good, but it cost far too much. With Tsunade asking for another fifty percent, even the Third was sweating.

After wiping his brow, Sarutobi Hiruzen said gravely, "All right. Medical ninja are invaluable, and we must strengthen the Medical Department. As for the budget, I'll discuss it with the elders after this meeting and give you a satisfactory answer."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to fall back on his usual delaying tactic. He listened to the reports and put everything off until after the meeting.

"Hmph."

Tsunade knew what the Third was like. Since he hadn't agreed outright, he certainly wouldn't give her the full fifty percent after the meeting.

The ninja now began reporting matters, both large and small.

Border unrest, foreign ninja teams sneaking in, a friend's compensation not being paid in full and on time, requests to learn powerful ninjutsu.

There were all kinds of reports. Unless specially invited, Naraku generally didn't like attending Jonin Class meetings. He had attended once in the year he became a Jonin, but almost never afterward, sending Uchiha Jonin representatives in his place.

When the flurry of reports ended, the room gradually quieted. It seemed no one had anything else to report.

Sarutobi Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief. Beside him, the two advisors had written down quite a few of the reported matters.

Jonin Akitani Yuya saw that the Uchiha Clan head, who had agreed a few days earlier to establish a Medical Mental Health Department, still hadn't followed through. He couldn't help growing anxious.

Though they were all Jonin, Akitani Yuya was skilled and well-liked, but he was still an insignificant figure to the powerful. He was deeply worried about his teammates' mental health.

Seeing that everyone had nearly finished voicing their opinions, Naraku stood up. Sarutobi Hiruzen's relief vanished. Earlier, Naraku had sent his lackeys to make the first move; now he was stepping up himself. The Third wanted to see what he was up to.

"Lord Hokage, I suggest increasing funding for the medical teams and establishing a mental health department. Over the past six months, the Military Police Force has arrested twenty-one ninja who went berserk. They were all heroes who had distinguished themselves on the battlefield. But the intense pressure of war and the special circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones drove them into madness."

"The Mental Sanatorium I propose would be a medical facility dedicated to healing these heroes' minds. It would comfort the wounded hearts of Konoha's heroes and help those who have given so much for Konoha let go of their obsessions, recover, and escape the torment of their mental anguish!"

Uchiha Naraku spoke with a solemn, sorrowful expression.

After hearing Naraku's proposal, the people below began murmuring among themselves, discussing the purpose of the Mental Sanatorium.

The Jonin who had seen their loved ones die and often lost control and went berserk couldn't help showing their grief. One after another, they raised their hands.

"I second the motion."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

"I second the motion."

Many ninja in the room raised their hands in support.

The Uchiha ninja slowly raised their hands as well. More than half of those present had now seconded the motion.

Uzumaki Nao and three other Jonin from the Uzumaki Clan also raised their hands. Whether or not they usually participated in Jonin Class meetings, they had to support their ally's proposal.

Uzumaki Nao had originally attended just to go through the motions. He had no real influence and had only supported Tsunade's proposal along with the others.

Now Naraku had put forward a proposal of his own, so they again raised their hands in support.

Young Tsunade, watching Naraku's proposal, furrowed her brows slightly.

This was the first time Tsunade had heard of a Mental Sanatorium. As the name suggested, it was a place to treat mental problems.

The pressure on ninja might not seem so bad while they were out on missions. But once they returned to Konoha and suddenly relaxed, they often became emotional or even unstable.

The deaths of lovers, friends, and family...

All of these could cause severe psychological trauma for ninja. Though ninja were tools, they still had feelings.

Tsunade herself had suffered severe psychological trauma and even developed Hemophobia because of it. The world-famous medical expert couldn't perform surgery because she was afraid of blood. It was like some cruel joke from the heavens.

Tsunade more or less understood the purpose of the so-called Mental Sanatorium. She raised her hand and cast her vote in favor of Uchiha Naraku.

The Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who prided himself on the Will of Fire, frowned slightly when he saw that more than half the attendees supported the proposal.

After hearing Naraku's brief explanation, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood what kind of institution the Mental Sanatorium would be. He was also impressed by Naraku's thoughtfulness.

As the leader of the ninja forces and the head of the village, the Third knew the state of his ninja well. He had never considered creating a sanatorium for them. In truth, the Will of Fire had helped many ninja recover.

But he hadn't thought of setting up a department dedicated to handling the matter.

The two advisors beside him, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, exchanged a glance. They thought the same thing as the Third.

"Too bad this was proposed by Uchiha Naraku."

Sarutobi Hiruzen put those thoughts aside, blew out a smoke ring, and said gravely, "Uchiha Naraku's proposal is excellent, and most of the ninja support it. I agree. Naraku, submit a written plan detailing the Mental Sanatorium's construction."

Public opinion was too strong to resist. The Third didn't beat around the bush and agreed outright.