An ordinary yet special graduation ceremony.
Ordinary because, compared to before, there were no changes to the procedure of this graduation ceremony. Special because it was the first graduation ceremony presided over by Shōji, the Fourth Tsuchikage.
It was also a brand-new change Iwagakure had only seen after more than thirty years.
For Shōji, this was an immensely meaningful first as well. Receiving the loyalty of active Iwagakure Ninja, enjoying the support of the vast majority of villagers, and bearing the hopes and admiration of the next generation—those were the basic qualities a Kage of a great shinobi village should possess!
Sarutobi Hiruzen might have pulled off many outrageously foolish stunts in his later years, but to be fair, when it came to winning people's hearts, he truly had much that Shōji could learn from!
At that moment, standing on the podium of the only Ninja Academy in his village and looking at the nearly two hundred graduates below, Shōji revealed an unprecedentedly gentle expression. These children were the village's future!
Even excluding his younger brother, younger sister, and Haku, there did not seem to be any particularly outstanding geniuses among this year's graduates. But one had to remember that a shinobi village's strength could not be judged solely by its strongest elites. It also depended on its massive middle and lower ranks!
They were just as important a part of a great shinobi village!
Especially since Shōji's future plans were destined to unify the entire shinobi world. When that time came, could every issue really be handled by that tiny handful of top-tier elites!?
The lower ranks were equally crucial. Shōji was not such a shortsighted person.
He had a highly detailed strategic plan for his own future, Iwagakure's future, and even the future of the entire Land of