Kazemori Masaki was the last to enter the meeting room. Although he had wanted to arrive early, he did not want to put unnecessary pressure on his hardworking subordinates. If the Hokage arrived too early while his subordinates came later, what would that make them look like? They would either feel uneasy or have to arrive even earlier themselves. Neither outcome would do them any good.
Kazemori Masaki looked around the meeting room. Everyone was already there, including his daughter Akemi. He nodded to each of them, and the heads of the Research Department and the Armaments Production Department immediately stood, leading the others in greeting the Hokage.
When the Research Department and the Armaments Production Department were first established, their unusual nature meant that the powerful ninja clans paid them little attention. Their earliest members were either people overlooked within their clans or civilian ninja whose talents were discovered later. Those who successively headed the departments were all dedicated to improving the standing of civilians, such as the Second Hokage, Tobirama, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even now, more than twenty years later, when members of powerful ninja clans had begun trying to get involved, Kazemori Masaki's oversight ensured that the two departments' principal leaders were still those same people from the early days. They retained a strong civilian character, and even those from ninja clans could not help being influenced by that atmosphere.
These two departments valued not traditional combat ability, but talents in other fields. Thus, even among the clan members who joined, most lacked exceptional aptitude as conventional ninja. Of course, there were gifted ninja who possessed both kinds of talent, but they were ultimately a minority, and few were willing to join.
As a result, there was little conflict between clan members and civilians in the Research