The ninja village that went astray

The Academy was silent. Everyone listened intently as Tobirama Senju explained his philosophy of what a ninja should be. They had been born to become ninja, with no other path open to them, and becoming great ninja was their goal as well. Yet they still had no clear idea of how to achieve that, and Tobirama Senju had plainly given them a definite standard.

Kazemori Masaki had once thought the same way: born a ninja, die a ninja. But after gaining knowledge of another world, he had developed a faint distaste for the profession. Without that glimpse of another world, he would certainly never have thought there was anything wrong with being a ninja. Now, however, he felt that the very existence of ninja was unnatural.

A ninja's duty was to fight for an employer. Whatever the employer's objective, they had to accomplish it, even at the cost of their lives. In other words, if ninja stopped fighting for their employers, there would be no reason for them to exist. For ninja to continue existing, battle was therefore inevitable. Only battle could give them value.

The future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, would say, "As long as the ninja system exists in this world, perhaps there can be no true peace." Although that did not account for every cause, ninja were indeed a major source of conflict in this world—if the world truly became peaceful, there would be no need for ninja. How, then, would the Ninja Clans, whose members were born to become ninja, survive?

The Ninja Clans had never considered any other way of making a living. In their eyes, becoming ninja was simply what they ought to do. And for them to become ninja, ninja had to have a reason to exist. Thus, war would never cease.

Tobirama Senju was a very intelligent man, but he, too, had failed to break free of a ninja's limited way of thinking. While helping his elder brother govern Shinobi Village, he still managed it as a military organization—which was, after all, the role a Shinobi Village was supposed to fulfill, as well as the price of its establishment. Under the present circumstances, that was only natural.

But the future Konoha Shinobi Village Kazemori Masaki had seen could no longer be called a military organization, judging by its level of development alone. It was more like a small society. Yet the village's leader and everyone else still regarded it as a military organization. To use terminology he had heard in the other world, the present Konoha Shinobi Village was in a feudal stage. Although the future village gradually entered what should have been a more Civilization-like stage, or at least approached it technologically, its thinking remained stuck in the same rigid old mold. It was no wonder the Shinobi Village could not take the next step forward.

To be honest, Kazemori Masaki truly envied the other world. At least in its Civilization nations, he would not have to worry about being sent to a battlefield at twelve or even younger. People also had human rights protected by law, unlike ninja, who had no legal guarantees whatsoever. Had they not possessed such formidable strength, Hashirama Senju and the others would never have been allowed to establish the Konoha Shinobi Village.

He could accept it in the present. After all, ninja had only just emerged from the shadows, and changing their status would take time. Yet the Konoha he had seen sixty years in the future was still the same. Shinobi Villages nominally enjoyed status equal to that of nations, but the nobles still looked down on ninja and ordered them around. The Land of Wind's Fourth Kazekage was still struggling with cuts to the village's funding, forced to launch a surprise attack on his own ally and provoke a war to make his country support him.

It was less that the nations truly possessed overwhelming power than that the Shinobi Villages still saw themselves as hired servants and had never considered becoming their own masters. In the other world, he had seen plenty of arguments along the lines of, "Why don't ninja just engage in production?" or, "Why should ninja be exploited by people like the Daimyo? Why not become the rulers of their countries themselves?"

His former self would certainly have scoffed at such ideas, but now he firmly supported them. Feudal relics like the Daimyo belonged on the scrap heap. Ninja did not necessarily have to carry out assassinations, either. With Chakra, couldn't they earn a living doing all sorts of things?

If possible, he truly wished the Konoha Shinobi Village could immediately transform into a Civilization society like those of the other world, bringing change to the Land of Fire along with it.

Still, he knew that was unrealistic. The other world's institutions were good, but they also required a corresponding mindset. Otherwise, there would be no difference from the Konoha Shinobi Village sixty years in the future. As for the ninja of the present... to put it generously, they were all deeply grateful to the Daimyo. After all, the Daimyo had allowed them to crawl out of their dark corners and live openly in the sunlight. Asking them to oppose the Daimyo was impossible.

If Kazemori Masaki chose to be that dissenter, he would surely be crushed. The power of tradition had never been easy to change, and Kazemori Masaki lacked the means to try. In fact, his current livelihood depended on that very tradition; without it, he would have died long ago.

Listening to Tobirama Senju's explanation, Kazemori Masaki recalled the life he had seen in the other world and could not help sighing. I really wish I could live in an age like that.

Sitting beside him, Kagami Uchiha glanced at Kazemori Masaki, unsure why he had sighed. Was it because he lacked confidence in his ability to become the kind of great ninja Tobirama described?

Seeing Kazemori Masaki's somewhat gloomy expression, Kagami Uchiha thought that might indeed be the reason.

Unlike the Kazemori Clan, which had essentially been admitted to Konoha Shinobi Village out of pity, Kagami Uchiha was the heir of a great clan and had access to things small clans could never reach. But that did not mean he knew nothing about Kazemori Masaki. After all, there were few clans in all of Konoha as unfortunate as the Kazemori Clan. Moreover, Kazemori Masaki's former impulsiveness had produced quite a few incidents worth talking about, so Kagami Uchiha had heard a little about him.

He had heard that Kazemori Masaki devoted himself wholeheartedly to reviving his clan. Even when he could have married a woman from the Senju Clan, he had stubbornly insisted on waiting until he had made a name for himself. Kagami Uchiha did not think someone so determined and resolute would back down here.

But rumors were only rumors. Perhaps Kazemori Masaki had changed. Kagami Uchiha felt he should offer his deskmate some encouragement. Hadn't Lord Hashirama said that the Academy was meant to help everyone build friendships and support one another? Kagami Uchiha felt he ought to take the initiative.

Before long, Tobirama Senju stopped and looked at everyone. "I'll leave it there for now. This was meant to help you understand what a ninja is and what the Academy is for. Go home and get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll begin training. Remember not to stay up late. Make sure you're well rested."

The thirty-eight students rose and said goodbye to Tobirama Senju. He gave a slight nod, then turned and left the classroom. After his departure, everyone began discussing what he had taught them with their close friends, filled with admiration. Lord Tobirama truly was remarkable. No wonder he could serve as Lord Hashirama's aide.

Kazemori Masaki was in no mood to discuss anything. He simply committed it all to memory, intending to consider how he should train from now on once he returned home. After listening to this lesson from Tobirama Senju, his determination to become Hokage grew stronger. He wanted not only to avert the tragedies of the future, but also to guide the Konoha Ninja Village toward something better. If he could reform the entire country from top to bottom within his lifetime, that would truly be wonderful.

"Masaki." A voice came from behind him. Kazemori Masaki turned to look and saw that Kagami Uchiha had called out to him.

Kazemori Masaki was a little surprised, unsure why Kagami Uchiha had called out to him. Though Kagami was indeed a kind person, people from great clans generally would not pay attention to someone like him.

“Is something the matter, Kagami?” Kazemori Masaki asked.

“I hope we can work hard together from now on. I've heard a few things about you, Masaki, and I've always admired people who work as hard as you do,” Kagami Uchiha said with a smile. “I hope we can both become students of Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama someday. If you need any help with your studies, come to me. I'll do everything I can to help.”

Kazemori Masaki did not know why Kagami Uchiha seemed so concerned about him. Although surprised, he also had a very favorable impression of Kagami Uchiha and smiled. “All right. Thank you, Kagami. I understand.”

“Mm.” Kagami Uchiha nodded. “See you tomorrow, then, Masaki.”

"See you."

Kazemori Masaki said goodbye to Kagami Uchiha and headed home, thinking along the way about the plans he would need to carry out, step by step.

As he reached his front door, Kazemori Masaki caught the aroma of cooking and could not help smiling faintly. He reached out and pushed the door open. Inside, Satomi was cooking. Hearing the door open, she glanced back, then returned to her work. “You're home. I thought you'd be back around now. Dinner's almost ready, so sit down and wait a little.”

I've already received a site message. I never expected it to come so quickly (⊙o⊙)! Thinking back to how I only got a contract after five hundred thousand characters before, I really have mixed feelings.

(End of chapter)