Chapter 75 (Patreon)

Yakushi Nono had finally completed the enrollment paperwork for Yakushi Kabuto and several other orphans his age.

Under normal circumstances, enrolling a child in the Ninja Academy was a simple matter. Their information only needed to be registered before the beginning of the new term.

However, nearly six months remained until the next term began, which meant Kabuto and the others had to be admitted as transfer students. Naturally, the procedure was far more complicated.

Furthermore, they were orphans. Some of them did not even possess proper personal records, so Nono had been forced to verify their identities and prepare the missing documents herself.

That was why the entire process had taken nearly half a month.

After finally completing everything, Nono visited Kushina’s home, only to hear a proposal she had never expected.

“You want me to teach at the Ninja Academy?”

“Exactly,” Kushina replied. “Yakushi Nono, you’re knowledgeable, experienced, and familiar with the world beyond Konoha. You would be perfect for broadening the children’s horizons.”

“But I’ve never taught anyone before.”

“You’ve spent years caring for children at the Konoha Orphanage. That experience is more valuable than you think. At the Academy, you only need to take some of your past experiences—the ones you’re allowed to share—and turn them into stories for the students. Children absorb lessons through stories far more easily than through lectures.”

Nono considered the proposal for a moment before nodding.

“Very well. If that is what you wish, Kushina-sama.”

“I also prepared a few stories that you can use as references.”

As she spoke, Kushina took out several scrolls.

Roy had dictated their contents over the past few days while Kushina was at work, and Kaorui had recorded them for him.

Most of the stories focused on loyalty, gratitude, and respect for one’s family and elders.

Hiruzen’s method of instilling the Will of Fire in Konoha’s children had certainly produced results, but its limitations were equally obvious.

If they truly wanted to change Konoha, they could not simply continue relying on the same methods used in the past.

Fortunately, the paperwork required for Nono to become an Academy teacher was much simpler than enrolling the children.

Although she had spent years engaged in espionage—so secretly that many Konoha shinobi did not even know she was one of their own—Nono still possessed an official shinobi identity and registration number.

Her strength was also comparable to that of an elite chūnin, making her more than qualified to teach at the Academy.

Kushina had already begun exercising part of the Hokage’s authority, while Hiruzen was fully aware of Nono’s history. The two of them therefore approved her appointment without any difficulty.

Hiruzen could understand why Kushina wanted Nono to become a teacher.

The second candidate she proposed, however, was someone he never would have considered even in his wildest dreams.

“Are you certain there won’t be a problem with letting her teach at the Academy?”

Hiruzen was not the only one with concerns. Even Shikaku, Fugaku, and the others, who had gradually settled into their administrative duties, stared at Kushina in disbelief.

“What’s the problem?” Kushina asked. “Her strength already surpasses that of an elite jōnin. Why wouldn’t she be capable of teaching children?”

“This has nothing to do with her strength!” Hiruzen exclaimed. “Kushina, Yugito is a shinobi from Kumogakure. You want to let a Kumo shinobi teach at Konoha’s Ninja Academy. What exactly are you thinking? If she indoctrinates those children and turns them into spies, the consequences could be disastrous!”

Hiruzen drew deeply from his pipe before filling it with tobacco once again.

At this point, he was beginning to wonder whether recommending Kushina for the position of Hokage had truly been the correct decision.

When Roy first presented the idea, Kushina had also found it almost impossible to accept. After listening to his full explanation, however, she had realized that the proposal made a surprising amount of sense.

First, appointing Yugito as a teacher did not mean placing her in charge of a class like an ordinary Academy instructor.

Even if Konoha’s leadership agreed to such an arrangement, Yugito herself would never accept it.

What Roy valued was not Yugito’s ability as a teacher, but the power of the Two-Tails sealed within her.

Once every week or two, Yugito could release a carefully controlled amount of the Two-Tails’ chakra and allow the senior students approaching graduation to experience its pressure.

This would help them gradually acclimate to the presence of a tailed beast. It would also allow the Academy to identify, before graduation, any students who lacked the mental resilience necessary to become active shinobi.

Many shinobi lost the courage to fight the moment they encountered a jinchūriki releasing a tailed beast’s chakra.

The overwhelming difference in strength certainly played a part, but their greatest obstacle was often psychological.

Just imagine how formidable a generation of shinobi would become if they had already grown accustomed to enduring the pressure of a tailed beast during childhood.

Of course, the training had to progress slowly.

If Yugito released too much pressure from the beginning, the students would not grow stronger. They would simply be traumatized.

That was also why Roy had chosen the Two-Tails rather than the more readily available Nine-Tails.

Even if the Nine-Tails released no hostility whatsoever, its sheer presence brought pressure that the Two-Tails could not compare with.

The ideal choice would have been the Three-Tails, which seemed perfectly content to spend most of its existence sleeping. Unfortunately, it was not in Konoha.

Furthermore, whenever Yugito conducted the training, someone else would always be present to supervise her and intervene the moment the pressure became too much for the students.

After hearing Kushina relay Roy’s reasoning, Hiruzen had to admit that he was somewhat persuaded.

He remembered the night of the Nine-Tails Incident.

Although Konoha’s shinobi had managed to suppress their fear long enough to attack the Nine-Tails, most of them had probably failed to display even half of their true ability.

How many chūnin and even jōnin had failed to evade the mere aftershocks of the Nine-Tails’ attacks because panic and tension had slowed their reactions?

If they could acclimate themselves to the pressure of a tailed beast from childhood, they would at least avoid making such basic mistakes when their lives depended on it.

Moreover, from Hiruzen and the others’ perspective, the Two-Tails was undoubtedly less dangerous than the Nine-Tails.

They assumed Kushina had reached the same conclusion. That was why she had chosen Yugito, Konoha’s hostage, instead of conducting the training herself.

As long as Yugito was never allowed to remain alone with the students, the possibility of her secretly turning them into spies was indeed very low.

“But it is still a tailed beast,” Shikaku said after considering the proposal. “These are children who have never even seen blood. Even if Yugito restrains herself, exposing them to that kind of pressure may be too much. Why not have her train the genin and chūnin instead?”

“I intend to oversee the training of Konoha’s active shinobi myself from now on,” Kushina replied. “And helping the students acclimate to a tailed beast’s presence is only one reason I chose Yugito.”

Her expression became serious.

“I also hope she can form at least some connection with the students who are about to become shinobi. None of you truly believe the peace between Konoha and Kumogakure will last forever, do you?”

Shikaku fell silent.

Yugito was scheduled to return to Kumogakure after three years.

Even if Kumo did not immediately become hostile after her return, the peace between the two villages would probably not last much longer.

If Konoha’s graduating students could form even the faintest bond with Yugito during those three years, it might slightly increase their chances of surviving should they one day encounter her on the battlefield.

Viewed from that perspective, Kushina’s proposal was certainly worth considering.

“This decision is too important to make immediately, Kushina,” Hiruzen said gravely as he set down his pipe. “It concerns the future of the village. We should consider every possible consequence before proceeding.”

He admitted that the future Kushina described was tempting, but the risks were equally significant.

If an accident occurred, neither he nor Kushina would be able to answer to the people of Konoha.

Kushina already understood how bold the proposal was. She had never expected the others to approve it without opposition.

“Then we’ll leave that matter for another time. Next, I want to discuss the civilian applications and further development of ninjutsu.”

“Civilian applications of ninjutsu?”

Everyone present understood the individual words.

Once Kushina placed them together, however, they had no idea what she meant.

Ninjutsu and civilian life were two concepts they had never imagined connecting.

Ninjutsu was a skill that belonged exclusively to shinobi. Naturally, it had nothing to do with ordinary civilians. Anyone with the ability to use ninjutsu would simply have entered the Academy and become a shinobi already.

It was true that everyone possessed chakra, but possessing chakra did not mean someone could perform ninjutsu.

Rock Lee, who would one day become one of the Konoha Eleven, was the clearest example. Despite his extraordinary physical talent, he was incapable of using either ninjutsu or genjutsu.

In other words, even reaching the rank of genin required talent that might only appear in one person out of ten thousand.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Kushina could not help but sigh.

Roy had been right once again.

Shinobi had never considered connecting ninjutsu with civilian life. Until Roy raised the idea, Kushina had been no different.

Perhaps that was the greatest difference between Roy and the rest of them.