Chapter 121: The Beginning of Reform

After the alliance between Sunagakure and Konohagakure, the entire ninja world entered a state of heightened vigilance.

This was especially true for Sunagakure and Kumogakure. These two villages, burdened by their own ulterior motives, were the most anxious.

According to their intelligence, the recent war had indeed inflicted significant damage on Konoha, but not to the extent of crippling the village.

Furthermore, Sunagakure had paid substantial reparations after the war and signed a mutual military assistance treaty with Konoha.

This development made the other two villages even more nervous, to the point where they temporarily set aside their petty schemes against one another to focus entirely on guarding against a potential counterattack from Konoha.

They understood one thing very clearly: Tsunade was not like Hiruzen Sarutobi. This woman had a fiery temper and ambitions far greater than Hiruzen's. Her rise to power was bad news for the surrounding ninja villages.

However, the defeat of the Raikage in their last encounter had discouraged both Kumogakure and Iwagakure from making any rash moves.

In the underground bounty exchange, Konoha's Aoba Kamikawa now had a bounty of 200 million ryo on his head. Yet, so far, no one had been able to claim it. In fact, very few even dared to accept the mission.

What they did know was that in his last battle with Aoba, the Raikage not only lost an arm but also sacrificed over a hundred elite ninjas. It was said that even his trusted subordinate, C, had perished in the conflict.

Following that battle, Konoha made a decision that stunned the entire ninja world.

They collected all the corpses of the Kumogakure ninjas, then took those with active bounties in the exchange to cash them in.

This action completely overturned the "good guy" image that Konoha had cultivated during Hiruzen Sarutobi's administration, instead showcasing a brash and domineering attitude.

Though Konoha had always been the leading power in the ninja world, they hadn't been this aggressive since the later years of Sarutobi's tenure, when Konoha had been seen as a benevolent entity.

However, this bold move sent a clear message to all the surrounding factions with malicious intentions: Konoha might have declined compared to its prime, but it was still the strongest force in the ninja world.

Interestingly, the most surprising outcome of this event was Kumogakure playing the "nice guy" role. They didn't even utter a word of protest against Konoha's provocation.

The Raikage understood the situation very well. This time, Aokawa Aoba hadn't resorted to any tricks—he had decisively defeated him head-on.

From tactics to sheer strength, Aoba had completely outclassed the Raikage. The loss of his left arm had dealt him a heavy blow.

If not for Kumogakure's two jinchūriki, it was possible that Ōnoki of Iwagakure might have already come to Kumogakure to pick the scraps.

Though reckless, the Raikage wasn't foolish. He knew that Konoha was currently beyond his ability to confront. Furthermore, the issue wasn't just whether Kumogakure could "bite" back—Tsunade's rise to power marked a significant shift in Konoha's governance style. Now, he had to guard against potential retaliation from Konoha.

Ōnoki of Iwagakure shared the same concerns. Both villages were on high alert, but ultimately, nothing happened.

There was no retaliation, nor were there any new diplomatic moves. Under Tsunade's leadership, Konoha's policies had changed dramatically, but there was no sign of external expansion.

On the contrary, Konoha had entered a phase of intense internal development and reconstruction.

Konoha Research Institute

This was a new department established by Konoha in recent months. One of the Hokage's aides, Aokawa Aoba, was appointed as deputy director, while the Hokage herself served as the titular director.

In reality, research and development were unfamiliar concepts to most in the ninja world, and the majority of ninjas couldn't contribute to such efforts.

This was largely due to the severe lack of cultural and academic education within the ninja world.

Consider the academic portion of the Chūnin Exams, its main focus was on testing cheating techniques.

For a ninja, this was understandable, as information-gathering is a critical skill. However, this educational system made it nearly impossible to produce the kind of researchers Aoba needed.

In the current generation, only Haruno Sakura had the qualifications for such work. The rest were raised as tools of war.

Realistically, only children from the major clans received substantial academic education. For commoner ninjas, just keeping up with the ninja academy's curriculum was already a significant challenge.

If Orochimaru hadn't been Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, he would never have achieved his current level of success. In this era, you couldn't just invent forbidden techniques out of thin air.

Even Tobirama Senju didn't create his various jutsu without foundational resources. One must not forget that the Senju Clan had survived the Warring States Period, during which they annihilated countless smaller villages and clans, amassing a vast collection of jutsu scrolls.

Tobirama's creations were built on this extensive knowledge base, enabling him to address his own deficiencies and develop his unique forbidden techniques.

Ordinary individuals simply didn't have access to such resources. Even Orochimaru could only achieve his breakthroughs after becoming a Hokage disciple and gaining access to a wealth of information.

Similarly, major clans held some of these resources, but for commoner ninjas, even learning basic elemental jutsu required completing missions to earn points for exchange.

As for advanced knowledge, they couldn't even dream of it.

Thus, with Tsunade's support, Aoba implemented sweeping reforms in Konoha.

Reforms are never simple, but Aoba encountered less resistance than expected.

First, Konoha was rich.

The Land of Fire occupied the most fertile lands on the continent, and Konoha was strategically located at the crossroads of major trade routes. Mission commissions and control over various resources provided Konoha with a steady stream of income.

With money, many obstacles ceased to exist.

Second, Aoba was strong. As Konoha's top ninja, yes, most of Konoha's ninjas now believed that Aoba Kamikawa was the village's strongest shinobi, even surpassing Tsunade in combat ability.

Of course, Tsunade's position in Konoha was unshakable. As the most skilled medical ninja and a war veteran with extensive connections and her own legacy, her status as Hokage was rock-solid.

With Tsunade as a staunch supporter, Aoba's various initiatives became much easier to implement.

In fact, the first new department Aoba established wasn't the Konoha Research Institute, it was a school dedicated to teaching academic subjects.

Not everyone has the aptitude to become a ninja. In fact, only a minority do. Most of the world's population are ordinary people, and traditionally, these people had no access to education.

These children became Aoba's first recruits.

Each year, Konoha also had a large number of students who failed to graduate from the academy. Many would retake the year, but some, particularly those with poor aptitude, would leave school altogether, as education was a financial burden for ordinary families.

Aoba identified a group of children who couldn't become ninjas and arranged a series of assessments for them.

Yes, he wasn't offering education without discrimination; he conducted a screening process right from the start.

The harsh reality was that the school operated on a free-tuition model, and while Konoha was wealthy, it couldn't afford to educate all the children for free.

Aoba's ultimate goal was universal education, but that was a long-term vision. The current political, economic, and cultural environment of the ninja world didn't support such an initiative.

For now, he focused on selecting the most promising children to enter the academic school.

In the short term, these children wouldn't make a significant impact, but they formed the foundation of Aoba's vision to transform the world.

Check out the patreon and get 41 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 163 - Hiruko's Attack on the Hidden Sand