第37章 还用得着去别处学?

He paused, picked up his teacup to moisten his throat, and continued, "But if we nimbly stand on the Hokage's side this time and help him get this done—and do it beautifully—isn't that a ready-made stepping stone?

Think about it: when the Hokage needs people to handle tasks in the future, who will be the first person he thinks of?"

Once these words dropped, the eyes of Yamanaka Kiyono and Akimichi Kira lit up instantly. If they could truly squeeze into the village's core of power by doing this, then sacrificing a few immediate interests didn't seem so unacceptable.

Nara Lvxun was, after all, the head of the Nara Clan; his mind turned quickly.

While others were still scratching their heads trying to come up with countermeasures, he had already grasped the ins and outs of the situation and calculated exactly which path his own family should take.

His calculations were precise: trade the family's minor "ninja interests" for the village's "political interests." With this swap, not only would they not lose out, but they might even end up making a killing.

Seeing that his two old friends were tempted, Nara Lvxun curled his lips and added more fuel to the fire: "Old brothers, times have changed, and our thinking has to change along with them.

When you weigh the family's small interests against the village's greater interests, which is lighter and which is heavier?

We are all ninja clans of Konoha now. Only when the great tree of Konoha has deep roots and lush leaves can we, the vines clinging to it, climb upward.

Only when the village is well can we truly be well.

Otherwise, to put it bluntly, if we ever go to war again and lose, who do you think will be the ones getting bled dry and carved up?"

Hearing this, Yamanaka Kiyono and Akimichi Kira exchanged a glance, and the hesitation in their hearts vanished completely. Yamanaka Kiyono slapped his thigh: "Fine, it's settled! We will fully support the Hokage's proposal! There's no time to lose, let's..."

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud "bang" as the door was pushed open violently. A sturdy figure stormed in—it was Akimichi Torifu.

"Father! Uncles! There's urgent news!" Akimichi Torifu panted, speaking rapidly. "I just got word from Hiruzen; the Sarutobi family has already issued a statement.

They fully support the Hokage's decision and will contribute to the Ninja Academy! Hiruzen himself is even going to be a teacher at the school!

I heard that for this, Uncle Sarutobi Sasuke personally 'invited' several of the family's elders back to the ancestral home to 'enjoy their retirement'!"

Nara Lvxun didn't look particularly surprised after hearing this.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was the direct disciple of Tobirama, and Sarutobi Sasuke had a life-and-death friendship with the Hokage and Tobirama; the two families were as close as could be.

Since the Hokage dared to bring this matter to the table, he must have already cleared it with the Sarutobi family. Their reaction was perfectly normal.

However, despite his expectations, Nara Lvxun secretly admired Sarutobi Sasuke for acting so quickly and ruthlessly. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he immediately grasped the key point: "This actually reminds me... the Ninja Academy itself is a huge piece of fat!

There will definitely be more and more civilian ninjas in the future. If we occupy a few 'teacher' positions early on, we can gain support from within and cultivate people who are loyal to us.

If we're lucky, we might even be able to scout a few genius seedlings from among the students..."

He paused, a fox-like smile appearing on his face: "When that time comes, if we find a way to have them marry into our families or recruit them directly into our three clans, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"

Having said that, he didn't care about the chess game anymore and stood up directly: "Kiyono, Kira! Our three clans will also issue a joint statement immediately! Let's make the slogan loud and clear... Sacrifice the small family for the greater good! Everything for the interests of the village!

We must do our utmost to help the Hokage build a Ninja Academy that meets Konoha's standards!"

Seeing this, Yamanaka Kiyono and Akimichi Kira no longer hesitated and said in unison: "Done! We'll do as Lvxun says!"

Just as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were finalizing their plans, other prominent families in Konoha—the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, and even the top-tier Hyuga and Uchiha—were also buzzing with discussion about the matter.

As one of Konoha's old-money aristocratic families, the Hyuga Clan was slightly inferior to the Senju and Uchiha in terms of current strength and influence. However, when it came to family history and the purity and nobility of their bloodline, if the Hyuga Clan claimed to be second in the ninja world, no one would dare claim to be first.

Precisely because of this, after the Uchiha Clan was later wiped out and the Senju Clan gradually faded away for unknown reasons, the Hyuga family unceremoniously declared themselves the strongest clan in Konoha.

If you asked what gave them such confidence, the root could be traced back to the ancestor of chakra, Otsutsuki Kaguya's second son—Otsutsuki Hamura.

The Hyuga Clan possessed the most pure "Byakugan" bloodline limit, and the source of this lineage was that ancestor from beyond the heavens.

And who were the ancestors of the Uchiha and Senju families?

They were the sons of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

By that logic, the Hyuga family had to be considered the elders of the Senju and Uchiha, naturally putting them a generation ahead.

However, unlike the Senju and Uchiha, the Hyuga family's rules were notoriously strict. The system of the Main House and the Branch House had been passed down for generations.

The benefits of this system were obvious: it kept the Byakugan bloodline tightly guarded, and it hadn't deviated for thousands of years. But the drawbacks were also clear; the entire family was inevitably boxed in, becoming rigid and lacking flexibility.

Once there were too many rules and things became rigid, it was easy for them to be several beats slower when doing things.

Sure enough, while the Ino-Shika-Cho and Sarutobi families were racing to express their support for the Hokage's school, the Hyuga family was still bickering internally.

Most people felt they should wait and see, and quite a few old fogies even thought the whole thing was absurd and insisted on opposing it.

Of course, a family that had lasted so long would inevitably have those who "muddled through." So, with both opposition and fence-sitters, the water became even murkier. The current head of the Hyuga family couldn't make up his mind, so he simply decided to wait and see which way the wind blew.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why, although the Hyuga family held a high status in Konoha, they could never squeeze into the core circle of power.

The successive Hokage were not blind; they had long noticed a major flaw in the Hyuga family: they were slow to act and always put their own interests first.

If such a family were to hold real power, the entire village might end up becoming stagnant, with the disadvantages outweighing the benefits.

Unlike the wavering Hyuga, the attitude of the Uchiha Clan was much more decisive. Their family heritage was formidable, and they produced brilliant geniuses every so often.

Relying on the Sharingan, although they were famous for Fire Release, their other elemental ninjutsu were just as good, and they held a vast collection of secret techniques that outsiders had never even heard of.

Therefore, in their eyes, this Ninja Academy was completely redundant. Cultivating civilian ninjas? What a joke! How noble was the Uchiha bloodline; did they need civilians to make up the numbers? Were they even worthy?

As for learning other families' ninjutsu and basic knowledge? That was even more ridiculous.

With the scroll library in the Uchiha compound, what kind of ninjutsu didn't they have? Did they really need to go elsewhere to learn?

Thus, the entire Uchiha family felt that this lousy school was of no benefit to them and was purely trying to take meat from their bowls, so they had to oppose it firmly.

Would opposing it anger the villagers? Did the noble Uchiha need to consider such questions? Of course not. They were just a bunch of civilians; even if they shouted a bit, what of it? Did they dare to actually do anything?

So, without a second thought, the Uchiha family immediately sent people to the Hokage Building to express their strong dissatisfaction and opposition, claiming that establishing a Ninja Academy would disrupt the village's balance, bring unpredictable variables, and affect stability, and so on.

At this moment, a room in the Uchiha mansion was packed with people, all wearing clothes bearing the family's fan crest. The sound of heated arguments was enough to blow the roof off.

"We absolutely cannot agree!"

"The Hokage's move is flawed!"

Most people were loudly opposing, their emotions running high. However, in the corner, a few young clansmen looked hesitant, their lips moving as if they wanted to say something, but they ultimately didn't dare to speak.

In even the most glorious family, there would always be a few clear-headed people, and the Uchiha were no exception.

It was just that they had long been immersed in the family's power and glory, their eyes fixed on the heavens, unable to see anyone else.

After the village was established, the thoughts of some of the younger generation had actually changed quietly, wanting to integrate more into the village.

Unfortunately, they were young and their voices carried no weight; they couldn't change the mainstream opinion of the family. Their role might only manifest in the future; for now, they were useless.

Just as this group was clamoring and discussing how to put more pressure on the Hokage...

The door was pushed open.

An Uchiha ninja stood at the doorway, looking at the foul air and resentment-filled scene in the room. He frowned first, then a look of helplessness appeared on his face.

The noise in the room died down, and many people looked at him. An elder asked: "Kagami, didn't we tell you to go to the Hokage Building to convey the family's opinion? Why are you back so soon?"

This young ninja was Uchiha Kagami, the only Uchiha clansman truly trusted by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

Uchiha Kagami took a light breath and said: "The Hokage's mind is made up, and the process for establishing the Ninja Academy has already begun.

In addition, the Sarutobi family and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio have all publicly issued statements fully supporting the Hokage's decision... Everywhere in the village now, people are praising this decision. If we..."

"They are them! We are us!" The elder furrowed his brows, interrupted him sharply, and even slammed the table. "Kagami, don't you forget, the blood flowing in your veins is that of the Uchiha!"

Uchiha Kagami raised his head, his gaze meeting the elder's without flinching: "But the Uchiha are also, first and foremost, members of the Hidden Leaf Village, aren't they?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the room went quiet. The elder, Uchiha Eisen, was choked up, nearly unable to catch his breath. The logic was sound, but how could one calculate things that way? Uchiha Kagami, oh Uchiha Kagami, do you really have no sense of reality?

Just as the situation was deadlocked, a large hand suddenly reached out from behind Kagami and patted his shoulder.

"Kagami, you're still too young." Sarutobi Sasuke's voice rang out, carrying a hint of elder-like teasing. "How can you talk to your elders like that? Go on and attend to your business; didn't the Hokage have other things for you to do?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Kagami's emotions calmed slightly. He turned to look at Sarutobi Sasuke behind him and nodded.

"Thank you for the reminder, Sarutobi-sama. I will go and carry out the Hokage's orders now."

After saying this, he bowed to Sarutobi Sasuke, then turned and walked quickly out of the room that made him feel suffocated.

As soon as Uchiha Kagami left, Sarutobi Sasuke stepped into the threshold of the Uchiha mansion quite naturally. He scanned the group of displeased Uchiha elites sitting in the room, smiled, and remained calm and composed.