When Sarutobi Hiroshi heard that, the smile froze on his face. In the end, he couldn't hold back and stammered:
"Th-this... Lord Fourth, wouldn't that be a bad idea? The children already have a lot of schoolwork. If we suddenly give them a holiday, th-the curriculum..."
As he spoke, he glanced at Hatake Sakumo out of the corner of his eye.
Hatake Sakumo said nothing. He merely looked up and glanced at him.
Just one glance.
The rest of Sarutobi Hiroshi's words were cut off as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. He couldn't continue.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he fell completely silent.
Hatake Sakumo looked away. "Just follow orders. You don't need to worry about the curriculum."
Before Hatake Sakumo could say anything else, Mito Itsuki, standing nearby, darted forward, nodding and bowing with a broad smile:
"Yes, yes, yes! Whatever Lord Hokage says!"
With that, he cleared his throat, straightened his back, and turned to Sarutobi Hiroshi with a stern look:
"Sarutobi Hiroshi, all you need to do is follow Lord Hokage's orders! Is that so hard?"
Sarutobi Hiroshi stared at his subordinate, his face turning livid. His chest felt tight, and he was furious.
Mito Itsuki actually dared to talk back to him in front of the Fourth today?
When the Third was still around, Mito Itsuki had never dared to act out in front of him, even though he was Advisor Mitokado Homura's own son.
After all, he had the Third Hokage himself backing him!
He was the man's relative and trusted aide.
Otherwise, how could he have been parachuted in as principal of the Ninja Academy?
But as soon as the Third died, the brat Mito Itsuki had openly gone up against him a few days ago, and now he even dared to talk back to him in front of the Hokage?
He would remember this.
Sarutobi Hiroshi clenched his fists, then forced them open again. In the end, he didn't dare lose his temper in front of Lord Hokage.
After giving his orders, Hatake Sakumo prepared to leave.
As for how to revise the textbooks, he decided to call in the heads of all the major clans later, along with Tsunade, Nara Shikata, Hyūga Hajime, and the Uchiha Clan Head.
They could all put their heads together and decide how to revise them.
Working together, they could probably get it done in a week.
Not long after Hatake Sakumo left, all the children at the Ninja Academy received a notice:
Classes were suspended for the time being and would resume in a week.
The whole school erupted when the news spread.
Students in the lower and upper grades alike were all beaming, practically ready to jump for joy.
It had to be said that, no matter the world, students were always excited to get a sudden long break during the school term.
Hatake Sakumo returned to the Hokage's office, sat down in his chair, and summoned an ANBU operative.
"Go and ask Tsunade to come, and invite the heads of all the major clans to the large conference room in the Hokage building."
He added:
"Send someone to the Ninja Academy as well and fetch all the textbooks for the first through sixth years."
The ANBU operative acknowledged the order and left.
Before long, the large conference room was packed.
Once everyone had roughly leafed through the textbooks, Hatake Sakumo spoke.
"You've all looked through them, I take it."
He looked at everyone.
"Shimura Danzō tampered with every one of these textbooks, slipping in his own material."
"Things like 'sacrifice yourself when necessary' and 'the village's honor stands above all else'... he didn't even spare the first- and second-year textbooks."
No one responded.
Everyone present was shrewd. Even with Shimura Danzō's position as an advisor, he couldn't have done this to the textbooks without the Third Hokage.
They all understood that the Third must have known about the textbooks. The Fourth mentioned only Danzo and not the Third to spare him embarrassment.
No one pointed it out. They all followed the Fourth's lead and laid the blame on Shimura Danzō.
"That Danzo... he didn't even spare children's textbooks!" one clan head said, slapping the table.
"I thought something was odd. My grandson came home talking about nothing but 'giving his life for the village.' I thought the school was teaching him well, but this is how they were teaching him?"
"Danzo can't even rest quietly after he's dead!"
The cursing grew louder and louder as they condemned the dead Danzo from head to toe.
Tsunade looked at the textbooks too.
She really hadn't expected them to stuff such things into textbooks for children.
She looked around, then at Hatake Sakumo at the head of the table.
In the end, she said nothing.
Her teacher was still her teacher, and now that he was gone, she couldn't bring herself to criticize him further. She could only remain silent.
Once everyone had cursed their fill and vented most of their anger, Hatake Sakumo cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
The conference room fell quiet, and everyone turned their eyes to him.
"Shimura Danzō abused the Third's trust to pull these tricks with the textbooks. Now that we've discovered it, we naturally have to change them."
Hatake Sakumo tapped the tabletop lightly twice with his fingers.
"I intend to compile a new set of textbooks for the Ninja Academy. I've invited you all here to ask you to work together on them."
"I've already given the Ninja Academy a seven-day break." He looked up at everyone. "Thank you all for your efforts during this time. Please work together to write them."
Everyone exchanged glances, then agreed.
They all ate lunch together and got to work in the afternoon.
They started with the first-year textbooks.
Hatake Sakumo suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.
"Oh, right, I still have a few documents to approve. I really can't get away. I'll leave this to you."
Tsunade shot him a sidelong glance.
Her look clearly said: You certainly know how to pick your moment.
Hatake Sakumo pretended not to see it, turned around, and went back to the Hokage's office to slack off.
In the large conference room, everyone began compiling the new textbooks.
The process was:
First, everyone would make adjustments and draft their own versions. After discussing them and completing a round of revisions, Tsunade and Nara Shikata would each read through them. Only if neither had any objections could they be provisionally approved.
The final step was for the Hokage himself to look them over and confirm that nothing was wrong. Only then would the new textbooks be complete.
Toward evening, Hatake Sakumo got up and prepared to go home for dinner.
He was in a good mood today.
The Ninja Academy had been dealt with, so next it was time to... time to reform the Konoha Military Police Force.
Note that it was the Konoha Military Police Force he was going to reform, not the Uchiha.
Hatake Sakumo would never wipe out such a useful clan the way Hiruzen Sarutobi had.
He had seen with his own eyes how fiercely the Uchiha fought during the Third Shinobi World War.
Who could bear to break such a powerful blade?
As he walked, he pondered:
How exactly should he reform the Konoha Military Police Force to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the villagers?
In Hatake Sakumo's view, the conflict wasn't actually that serious.
Ninja and civilians disliked one another, and ninja had pride in their bones. Those things were found in every family and clan; they weren't unique to the Uchiha.
As for why relations between the Uchiha Clan and the villagers, ninja and civilians alike, had become so strained...
Hatake Sakumo had a few guesses.
The Uchiha Clan's arrogance and pride were naturally part of the reason. But it also had everything to do with the attitudes of the Second, Tobirama Senju, the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Shimura Danzō.
When those at the top set a bad example, those below followed.
When the people in power took the lead in ostracizing the Uchiha, how could the villagers and ninja under them possibly get along with the clan?