Medical Reform

"The Wind, Earth, and Fire Countries were in a race. Whichever recovered fastest would seize the initiative in the war," the Third Hokage said.

Elder Ize stood. "Hokage, the fastest way to increase our number of Ninja is to shorten their time at the Ninja Academy.

"We could cut the four-year program to two years or even one and teach only the fundamentals. After graduation, their Instructor Ninja could teach them the other skills they needed, and they could learn on their own."

"If they graduated after two years, they'd be eight," Elder Genki said. "That's old enough to graduate as a Ninja."

"I disagree with both elders," Elder Shinsuke said. "Seven or eight is too young. Many children can't even master the basics at that age, and they have pitifully little Chakra.

"In a head-on fight, they might lose to a strong ordinary person. If we make them Ninja and send them into battle, they'll be nothing but cannon fodder."

"Elder Shinsuke, wars between Ninja have always been brutal," said the head of a minor clan. "If we don't let these children adapt to life as Ninja early and grow stronger quickly, what will happen when war truly comes?

"With the number of Ninja Konoha has now, we'll struggle to repel another attack by the Allied Forces. Then Early Graduation won't even be an option. We'll have to send children straight from the Ninja Academy to the battlefield, with no time to prepare."

"Hokage, at the height of the First Shinobi World War, the graduation age was lowered to six," Elder Ishihara said. "Konoha endured, and many outstanding Ninja emerged."

The Third Hokage and the other members of the Konoha leadership fell silent. Graduating children early was a harsh decision, and he did not want to resort to it