Chapter 107 (Patreon)

Roy walked alongside Yakushi Nonō, passing one classroom after another. He also observed several practical combat lessons on the training grounds and soon noticed quite a few problems.

Leaving the lower grades aside, even the senior students nearing graduation were taught little beyond shurikenjutsu and the Three Basic Techniques. The curriculum included almost no training dedicated to chakra control.

Yet for ordinary shinobi, chakra control was one of the most important fundamentals.

Their chakra reserves were limited, which made it even more important for them to manage every bit of chakra carefully during actual combat.

If chakra-control training were some closely guarded secret, Roy could understand why it wasn't taught. But tree climbing and water walking were hardly forbidden techniques.

Why didn't the Academy include them in its lessons?

Yakushi Nonō answered his question.

“Most Academy students have very little chakra. If they exhaust it practicing tree climbing, they may still fail to complete the exercise and lose an entire day of study in the process. That kind of training is usually left to their jōnin instructor after they graduate and become genin.”

After giving it some thought, Roy realized that Nonō's explanation made sense. His original way of looking at the matter had been too narrow.

He had assumed that students with smaller chakra reserves needed better control precisely because they couldn't afford to waste chakra.

However, improving that control required chakra in the first place. For Academy students who had not yet fully developed, the training could easily interfere with the rest of their education.

Even so, chakra control was far from the Academy's only problem.

These children had not endured anything as extreme as Uchiha Itachi, who had been taken to a battlefield at the age of four and had his entire worldview shaped by what he witnessed. Nevertheless, many of them were already developing problems of their own.

Bullying existed in nearly every grade and every classroom.

Perhaps the Academy instructors believed that leaving the victims to fight back on their own would help them develop stronger personalities. But a child's mind was still immature. Someone who endured constant bullying from a young age was far more likely to become withdrawn and insecure than strong.

The same was true for those doing the bullying. If no one stopped or disciplined them, they would eventually become arrogant and begin to believe that they could do whatever they wanted.

Children tended to see the world in simple terms. To them, something was either right or wrong, good or bad. If they did something wrong and no one corrected them, they would naturally assume that their behavior was acceptable.

At the stage when the Academy should have been helping its students develop proper values, it did little beyond repeatedly drilling the Will of Fire into their heads.

It would have been stranger if that approach hadn't caused problems.

Roy had already arranged for Yakushi Nonō to teach civics classes, but that alone would not be enough.

The issue extended far beyond the Ninja Academy. The conduct of Konoha's civilian population also left plenty of room for improvement.

From the First Hokage to the Third, the villagers had only ever been taught to love Konoha and remain loyal to the Hokage.

Little attention had been given to anything else.

The result was a village filled with people who were quick to mock, exclude, or turn against anyone who stood out.

Putting aside the extreme emotions associated with the Sharingan, why had Obito fallen into darkness so easily?

During his childhood in Konoha, even other members of the Uchiha Clan had mocked and isolated him for being a dead last.

Kakashi and Namikaze Minato later allowed Obito to experience the bonds shared between comrades, but Nohara Rin had been the first person to show him genuine warmth. Combined with the innocent feelings that developed between a young boy and girl, it was only natural that she came to occupy an irreplaceable place in his heart.

That was why Obito's entire world collapsed when Rin died.

The warmth someone received during their loneliest moments was often what remained with them the longest.

If everyone in Konoha had treated Obito with the same kindness Rin had shown him, would she still have become the sole pillar supporting his entire world?

After her death, would he still have abandoned Konoha, severed his bonds with Minato and Kakashi, and rejected reality itself?

In the end, Madara's schemes may have been the direct cause of Obito's fall, but the people who had tormented and rejected him during his childhood also bore some responsibility.

If Roy truly wanted to change Konoha, improving its living conditions would not be enough.

The village's values and sense of community also needed to change.

After returning home, Roy discussed the matter with Kushina, who had just finished work. Since they had already spoken about the bullying problem in Konoha before, she wasn't surprised when he brought it up again.

In fact, she was quite interested in his idea of building a healthier culture within the village. Kushina decided to treat the issue seriously and planned to consult Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Fugaku.

As for Konoha's other adviser, Hyūga Hizashi still hadn't reported for work.

Whenever his name was mentioned, Kushina looked utterly speechless.

She had already offered him a hand, but he refused to reach out and take it. If he remained unwilling to act, no one could help him.

After all this time, the Hyūga were still the same.

They cooperated with several of Konoha's new policies, but when forced to choose, the clan would always come before the village.

“Let the Hyūga remain as they are for now.”

Roy was just as helpless.

He had believed that Hyūga Hizashi, more than anyone else, would want to break the fate imposed upon the Branch House. Even if he wouldn't act for his own sake, Roy had expected him to think about his son.

In another year and a half, Neji would receive the Caged Bird Seal.

Yet Hizashi had shown no response whatsoever to Kushina's goodwill. At this rate, if Roy truly wanted to change the Hyūga Clan, he might have to wait until Neji was old enough to act for himself.

There was another problem as well.

Konoha was no longer the village Roy remembered. It would never bow to Kumogakure's demands and sacrifice Hyūga Hizashi to prevent a war.

If Hizashi didn't die in place of his brother, would Neji still develop the same desperate desire to break free from his cage?

Roy could only hope the boy wouldn't grow up to accept the same chains as his father.

“By the way, Fugaku gave me another list today,” Kushina said. “When are you and Nonō planning to visit the Uchiha Clan again?”

“There's no need to rush. Fugaku didn't truly believe we would succeed the first time, so he probably didn't pay much attention to those clansmen. Now that he knows the method works, he must be watching everyone on the new list closely. We'll wait a few days.”

Roy paused before changing the subject.

“Speaking of the Sharingan, Kakashi's growth has been held back by the eye Obito left him, hasn't it?”

Kushina froze for a moment before understanding what he meant.

“That's true. Kakashi isn't an Uchiha, so he can't deactivate the Sharingan. It consumes his chakra constantly.” She sighed. “That child is stubborn, too. No matter what anyone says, he refuses to have the eye replaced. Otherwise, he might have already reached far greater heights.”

“Then what if you inscribed a sealing formula into his forehead protector?”

Kushina blinked.

“When the forehead protector covered his eye, the seal could suppress the Sharingan and interrupt the flow of chakra to it. Once he raised the forehead protector, the seal would disengage, allowing him to use the Sharingan normally.”

“Oh! Why didn't I think of that?”

Kushina's eyes lit up. She immediately wrapped her arms around Roy and kissed him.

Kakashi still didn't know the truth. To him, Obito remained a hero who had sacrificed his life for Konoha, and the Sharingan was the final gift his friend had entrusted to him.

There was no possibility of Kakashi willingly giving it up.

If Roy's idea worked, Kakashi could continue growing without being forced to discard the eye or break the promise he had made to Obito.

Creating a fūinjutsu formula designed to block the flow of chakra wasn't particularly difficult for a sealing master of Kushina's level. However, she would still need to find someone with a Sharingan and test the formula before using it on Kakashi.

“There's also the matter of finding new ways to make money—”

“Roy-kun, we can discuss everything else tomorrow.”

Kushina interrupted him and glanced toward Kaorui, who had just finished coaxing the children to sleep and was stepping out of the bedroom.

Without giving Roy a chance to continue, she grabbed him and dragged him into the bathroom.

Afterward, Kushina became even more determined to find someone else to help her.

The following morning, Kushina arrived at the Hokage's office looking particularly refreshed.

She handed Fugaku a forehead-protector plate engraved with the kanji for “seal.”

“Fugaku-san, please help me test this.”