Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi had expected, the moment he proposed placing Kakuzu—one of Kizaru's newly recruited subordinates—in charge of overseeing the accounts for the nutritional medicine project, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado immediately voiced their opposition.
The two advisers attempted to persuade Hiruzen to reconsider, claiming that the arrangement raised serious questions of trust.
Their argument went both ways. On one hand, they insisted that Hiruzen and the village should have faith in two advisers who had served Konoha faithfully for so many years. On the other, they claimed they could not place their trust in Kakuzu, a bounty hunter who had appeared in the village without warning.
Of course, everyone present understood that trust was merely the excuse they had chosen to present.
The real reason behind their opposition was obvious.
The nutritional medicine project had already become Konoha's largest commercial undertaking. It brought an enormous amount of money into the village, and the profits involved were enough to make even the wealthiest clans take notice.
When Koharu and Homura had traveled to the capital of the Land of Fire to negotiate distribution rights, the private benefits they received had already amounted to a considerable fortune.
Once the project entered full operation, there would be even more opportunities hidden within its management, financial records, and distribution channels.
Neither adviser was willing to surrender such a profitable source of influence, much less allow someone else to examine the accounts too closely.
Faced with the opposition of his two longtime companions, Hiruzen did not waste time arguing with them. Instead, he calmly reminded them of two facts, his expression more solemn than usual.
First, Kizaru was the leader of the nutritional medicine project. Regarding the project itself, only Hiruzen held greater authority than he did.
Second, Hiruzen intended to pass the position of Hokage to Kizaru within the next four to seven years.
The meaning behind those words was unmistakable.
The future of Konoha would eventually belong to Kizaru, and Koharu and Homura needed to think carefully about what that meant for them.
Kizaru was not some young shinobi without influence who would need the village's elders to support his appointment as Hokage.
His strength alone had already shaken the entire shinobi world. Even without considering that, his position within Konoha was nearly unassailable.
His uncle, Danzō Shimura, commanded Root.
The Shimura clan stood alongside the Sarutobi clan as one of Konoha's prominent shinobi families.
His teacher was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
The woman expected to become his wife was Tsunade, granddaughter of the First Hokage and the person overseeing Konoha Hospital.
With those connections behind him, Kizaru would have no difficulty taking control of the village's central authority once Hiruzen stepped down.
Koharu and Homura had gained their present influence largely because of their relationship with Hiruzen. Once Kizaru became Hokage, neither of them would be in a position to oppose him.
They were obstructing his decision now while quietly taking a share of the profits created by his project.
When Kizaru eventually became Hokage, would he demand an accounting of everything they had done?
And if he did, what would happen to the clans and relatives standing behind them?
Hiruzen did not need to say any of that aloud. The warning beneath his words was already clear enough.
Neither Koharu nor Homura was foolish. They immediately understood what their old friend was telling them.
Their opposition had partly been driven by greed, but it was also a performance.
They wanted it to be known that they had resisted Kizaru's arrangement and had been forced to surrender part of their interests. They did not expect Kizaru to compensate them for those losses. They merely wanted him to remember their concession and allow them to withdraw from the village's political center with dignity when the time came.
Thus, in front of Kizaru and Danzō, the two advisers engaged Hiruzen in a suitably heated argument before reluctantly agreeing to allow Kakuzu to supervise the project's accounts.
Kizaru naturally saw through their intentions.
Without making any direct promises, he made it clear that, provided they knew when to step aside, both advisers would be permitted to enjoy a peaceful and respectable retirement.
Everyone received the answer they wanted, and the little political performance came to a neat conclusion.
As the days passed, the festive atmosphere of the New Year gradually faded. Konoha's shinobi began preparing to resume their duties, and the village slowly returned to its usual rhythm.
As the head of the Ninja Academy and the person responsible for its reforms, Kizaru also began making preparations for the new semester.
At the end of the previous term, he had arranged a placement examination for the Academy's third-year students.
Based on their performance, the students would be divided among three different courses: the combat class, the medical class, and the scientific research class.
Once the new semester began, the first group of students assigned through this system would receive specialized instruction based on the course they had entered.
Most students and their parents supported the reform, especially those from civilian families.
Civilian children possessed neither inherited bloodline abilities nor secret techniques passed down through a shinobi clan. Under the Academy's old system, most of them would graduate after learning little more than the Three Basic Techniques—the Clone Technique, the Body Replacement Technique, and the Transformation Technique.
They would then become ordinary genin and be sent on missions without possessing any particular specialty.
Those newly graduated civilian genin suffered the highest casualty rates, and very few ever received the opportunity to distinguish themselves.
The new class system offered them a different path.
Even children who lacked outstanding combat talent could now study medical ninjutsu or scientific research. They would have access to techniques and knowledge that civilian-born students had rarely been permitted to learn in the past.
For many of them, that opportunity could completely change their future.
Naturally, their parents welcomed the reform. Who would not want their child to enter a safer profession with greater prospects?
Because of that, the overwhelming majority of civilian students and their families actively supported the new system.
The more troublesome opposition came from the shinobi clans.
A small number of clan children had failed to qualify for the combat class, and neither they nor their parents were pleased by the suggestion that they should enter the medical or scientific research courses instead.
Among many traditional shinobi clans, combat strength remained the primary measure of status. Those families would rather force their children into the combat class than admit that they lacked talent for direct confrontation.
Even if a child clearly possessed greater potential elsewhere, their parents still insisted that only the combat course was suitable for a proper shinobi.
"Ooh… what a troublesome bunch."
Kizaru sighed as he placed the stack of parental preference forms collected by the Academy's teachers onto the desk.
"For the families that refuse to accept the placements, we could visit them personally," Hiashi Hyūga suggested.
As Kizaru's assistant and the Academy's head instructor, Hiashi had taken an active role in carrying out the reforms.
"The Academy's ordinary teachers won't be able to persuade those stubborn clan elders," Shikaku Nara said. "But if Kizaru visits them himself, they may interpret it as the future Hokage using his position to pressure them. That could damage his reputation."
"Kizaru, allow me to handle the visits," Hiashi insisted.
As the heir to the Hyūga clan, he possessed enough status to speak with the elders of most shinobi families. He also wanted to contribute as much as possible to the Academy's reform.
Kizaru studied Hiashi for a moment without answering.
Hiashi's status was certainly sufficient. However, after working with him for nearly a year, Kizaru understood his personality quite well.
Hiashi was extremely capable when given a clear task to execute.
Persuading a room full of obstinate elders, however, was another matter entirely.
"You're already responsible for preparing the new Academy regulations and arranging the curriculum," Kizaru said at last. "Leave the home visits to someone else."
He then turned his gaze toward Shikaku.
"Shikaku, why did you have to be born so late?"
"Take that complaint to my father."
Leaning back in his chair, Shikaku rolled his eyes.
"Let the Academy's teachers conduct the first round of visits," Kizaru decided. "If they still can't persuade those families, I'll arrange for someone else to speak with them."
He looked back at Hiashi.
"Hiashi, I'll leave the selection of instructors to you."
"Understood," Hiashi replied.
"There are several stubborn old men among those families who won't be easy to deal with," Shikaku reminded them.
Kizaru chuckled.
"For the ones who refuse to listen, I'll send someone especially persuasive to have a little talk with them."
Shikaku narrowed his eyes.
"Who?"
Kizaru's smile became faintly dangerous.
"Danzō-ojisan."
Shikaku stared at him for a moment.
"That's merciless."
A home visit from Danzō was hardly different from having an oni appear at the front door.
The matter would undoubtedly be settled before the end of the day. One conversation would be enough, and no follow-up visit would ever be necessary.
After arranging the remaining preparations for the start of the semester, Kizaru brought the meeting to an end. He sent Hiashi and Shikaku away to finish the work assigned to them.
While Kizaru made the final arrangements for the Academy's new system, the children preparing to enter the Academy for the first time were also beginning their own preparations.
In the backyard of the Bandai Toy Store, Sasori sat with his hands raised in concentration.
Thin chakra threads extended from his fingertips and connected to two small toys in front of him. Under his control, the toys moved across the ground, attacking and evading each other as though they were real puppets locked in battle.
Standing nearby, Sasori's father, Yūsha, watched with widening eyes.
It had only been three days since he began teaching Sasori the Puppet Technique.
Despite that, the boy could already produce chakra threads and control two separate toys well enough to make them fight each other.
His talent was nothing short of frightening.
If Sasori continued to develop at this rate, his achievements in puppetry might one day surpass both of his parents. Perhaps he might even reach the level of Monzaemon Chikamatsu, the founder of the Puppet Technique himself.
My son truly is a genius among puppeteers.
As he watched Sasori's tiny fingers shift with remarkable precision, Yūsha's chest swelled with pride.
Elsewhere in the village, Nagato sat on his bed, quietly attempting to refine chakra.
A moment later, his concentration suddenly broke.
Nagato raised both hands to his face, covering his eyes as confusion spread across his features.
All the chakra he had just refined had vanished.
No—it had not simply disappeared.
His eyes had absorbed it.
Nagato lowered his hands and stared at his palms.
Why had that happened?
Was something wrong with his eyes?
Unable to understand what was happening and increasingly worried, Nagato quickly climbed down from the bed. He needed to find his mother, Fusō, and tell her what had happened.
At Konoha Hospital, Nagato's father, Ise, was already busy with his work.
Beside him stood a young girl with pale orange-blond hair. She carried a bottle of disinfectant and several cotton swabs in her small hands as she carefully assisted with whatever tasks she could manage.
The girl was Nonō Yakushi.
Nonō had originally been expected to enter the Academy the previous year. However, she had postponed her enrollment for a year so she could help care for the younger children at the orphanage.
Now six years old, she had been brought to Konoha Hospital through Kizaru's arrangements and had begun studying medical ninjutsu under Tsunade's guidance.
Nonō possessed exceptional talent for medical ninjutsu.
She had only been refining chakra for half a year and had received formal medical training for barely a month, yet she was already capable of using basic treatment techniques to save a dying fish.
Grateful for everything Kizaru and Tsunade had done for her, the considerate and well-behaved girl remained at the hospital after each training session. She helped the staff with cleaning, carried medical supplies, and performed any other small task within her ability.
Meanwhile, at a training ground inside the Shimura clan compound, Konan and Yahiko were practising taijutsu under Minato Namikaze's supervision.
The two children exchanged punches and kicks across the training field while Minato watched with a patient smile.
Whenever one of them made a mistake, he immediately pointed it out and explained how they could improve their stance, timing, or movement.
With Minato's current ability, teaching two children who had not yet entered the Academy posed little difficulty.
Guiding Yahiko and Konan had been a task assigned to him by Kizaru.
Jiraiya intended to continue his senjutsu training throughout the year. For the time being, he lacked the time and energy needed to personally supervise Minato's daily training.
As a result, Minato would remain in the village and train under Kizaru, focusing on Wind Release and the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Kizaru saw no reason to let capable manpower go unused.
Since Minato would be staying in the village, he had entrusted Yahiko and Konan's pre-Academy training to him.
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