What a Long Detour

The conference room of the Ninja Academy was thick with cigarette smoke.

Representatives from every major ninja clan were present, their faces flushed with anger as they argued over the assignment of instructors for the thirty graduates. The graduation ceremony was that afternoon, yet the team rosters remained undecided.

With their respective family interests at stake, no side was willing to yield easily.

Alliances, sabotage, absorbing civilian ninja talent...

Every sort of scheme was being played out in turn.

Senju Hashirama disliked this atmosphere of intrigue. Ignoring the plan Tobirama had meticulously crafted, and paying no heed to the calculated proposals of the various clans, he simply slammed his hand onto the table.

"Enough arguing, I have a few words to say!"

"Team One: Jonin instructor Sarutobi Hideshige, members Uchiha Kenji, Senju Shin, and Hyuga Kotone."

"Team Two: Jonin instructor Shimura Heizo, members Mitokado Homura..."

"Team Three: Jonin instructor Uchiha Ayano, members Uchiha Kagami..."

"..."

"Team Seven: Jonin instructor Senju Tobirama, members Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, and Utatane Koharu."

"Additionally, students from the medical class, including Senju Takayuki and Matsumoto Waka, are to be assigned to Gospel Hospital, specializing in medical and research work. Toji will be responsible for the specific personnel arrangements."

Upon hearing this arrangement, Tobirama could not help but rub his forehead and sigh softly.

His original plan had been to hand Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo over to the familiar Sarutobi Hideshige. These two children had been learning under him since before the academy was founded, and they had been molded in his image. No matter who led them, they would always be his people in the future.

As for himself, he had intended to use his three student slots to bring Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Kenji, and Uchiha Sosuke under his own command.

In this way, the young elite generation of the Uchiha could have established a righteous ninja path under his guidance.

But with his elder brother interfering like this, all his calculations had come to nothing.

The most gifted, Uchiha Kagami, had been taken as a student by Uchiha Ayano. And since Uchiha Ayano was Chirori's personal guard and disciple, the person she took in was effectively being taught by Chirori herself.

Do not be fooled by Tobirama's silence regarding the Yin Seal.

Since the Yin Seal had already been handed over to Toji, if he were to jump out and object now, would he not become the villain who was merely looking for trouble?

Tobirama was not that foolish; weighing his options, it was better to proactively show goodwill, perhaps even securing Toji's support.

Yet, deep down, he could never truly accept this.

The Uchiha—they had to be guarded against at all times; it was non-negotiable.

He had witnessed it with his own eyes: after he struck down Izuna, the destructive power Uchiha Madara unleashed was so great that even his elder brother had barely been a match for him.

In Tobirama's eyes, the Uchiha were a force of innate evil and a source of instability. One could be on good terms with them when necessary, but one could never trust them completely without reservation.

However, Senju Hashirama had always been as stubborn as a mule, impossible to pull back even by nine Tailed Beasts. Since the decision had been made, Tobirama could only accept it with resignation.

He would have to save the village through indirect means, pinning his hopes on Toji...

Tobirama's eyes flickered as he thought to himself.

Toji possessed strong principles and an impeccable character. Earlier that year, he had even handed the Yin Seal to Uchiha Chirori; although there was no formal title, in Tobirama's view, their relationship was as good as being husband and wife.

Uchiha Kagami was Uchiha Ayano's student.

Uchiha Ayano was Uchiha Chirori's student.

Uchiha Chirori was as close to Toji as a wife.

And Toji was a dear friend to both his elder brother and himself.

Calculating it this way, as long as he communicated more with Toji, kept him firmly on the village's side, and had him whisper "pillow talk" for the sake of the village, this philosophy would eventually reach the ears of the new Uchiha generation—Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Kenji, and the others—through Chirori...

What a long, winding road this is!

Senju Hashirama was an honest man who could laugh and joke with the villagers daily, occasionally even acting like a simpleton.

But once it concerned major affairs of the village, much like a certain uncle next door dealing with cases involving family and friends, he would become full of majesty and overwhelming pressure.

When he made a final decision, no one dared to contradict him.

The people in the conference room looked at one another, eventually accepting the team assignments.

Every clan had ninjas serving as Jonin instructors, and the overall interests were roughly balanced; no one had lost, and no one had won.

The true winners were only Hashirama and the village of Konoha, which had been established eight years ago.

When the team roster was delivered to Toji, he did not feel surprised.

Instead, he felt like an outsider looking in, his heart completely calm.

In his view, the current system of Ninja Academy team assignments actually had many unreasonable aspects. For instance, the Jonin instructor and the students often had mismatched chakra natures or different ninja specialties, making it impossible to pass on their full repertoire of skills to the students...

In the long run, someone in the squad would inevitably fall behind, and the gap between them and their teammates would only widen.

Heroes should teach heroes, and the capable should teach the capable.

Hashirama and Chirori had actually noticed this problem as well, but for now, it was an unavoidable situation.

If students were matched precisely according to their jonin instructors' specialty affinities, it would easily lead back to a situation of uneven distribution, a shortage of teachers, and endless bickering among the clans.

To ensure that everyone in the village could truly integrate, Senju Hashirama made the final decision to implement this three-student-to-one-instructor team system.

The graduation ceremony in the afternoon proceeded as scheduled.

The thirty graduates finished their team assignments and stood in neat rows behind their respective jonin instructors.

In addition, Uchiha Chiru had arranged for students from other grades at the Ninja Academy to have the day off, allowing them to watch the ceremony from the playground to soak in the atmosphere and motivate them to graduate sooner.

The perimeter of the Ninja Academy was also packed with Konoha villagers who had come to join in the excitement, all merging into this grand event that belonged to Konoha.

Since it was a ceremony, speeches from an outstanding student representative and the high-ranking officials were naturally indispensable.

As the top graduate, Sarutobi Hiruzen was chosen as the student representative to take the stage and speak.

Young Hiruzen's face flushed bright red at the sight of such a massive crowd for the first time; his tone was stumbling as he began, but the content of his speech was quite good.

His gaze swept across the front row of seats on the playground.

Because Tobirama had been arranged to stand with the array of team-leading jonin, only three chairs were placed in the front row.

From left to right, they were occupied by the Hokage, the Hospital Director, and the Academy Principal.

They sat in different postures.

Hiruzen's gaze swept over Toji, and at the end, as if possessed, he shouted loudly, "I will offer my soul! I will offer my heart for the Konoha I love!"

The playground instantly fell into a dead silence.

"Bravo!"

Senju Hashirama was the first to shout his approval.

Toji followed by taking the lead in applauding.

Driven by these two big shots, the atmosphere of the entire venue became fervent.

Next to take the stage was the Hokage, Senju Hashirama. He was not stage-frightened, but his oratorical skills were truly limited: "To put it plainly! The Ninja Academy wouldn't be where it is today without everyone in the village..."

Afterward, it was Uchiha Chiru's turn to speak. Her words were appropriate and heartfelt, moving many people in the audience to tears.

Just when Toji thought the ceremony was coming to an end, Uchiha Chiru suddenly reached out and gestured toward him.

"The establishment of the Ninja Academy would not have been possible without the contributions of one particular ninja from our village."

"Next, I invite the Director of Gospel Hospital, Toji, to come up and say a few words to the graduates."