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The Next Day
Hokage Building – Conference Room
"No way!" Uchiha Madara shouted, his face dark with anger.
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
Akio, Hyuga Tennin, and the Nara clan head all responded in unison.
Hashirama smiled as he spoke. "Three to two. Madara, you've lost again."
So I was right—giving Madara two votes is useless, Akio thought to himself.
That morning, after seeing off the Daimyō, Hashirama held the first official council of elders and announced several decisions. The scene just now had already replayed itself multiple times...
This time, however, Madara was visibly irritated. He turned to Akio. "You old coot, you're doing this on purpose! How could you agree to a proposal like that?!"
Akio put on an innocent face. He hadn't even listened to Hashirama's proposal—he simply supported anything Madara opposed. All he could do now was shrug and say, "Uh, well, the other two agreed too. Why are you only blaming me…?" Then, realizing he had the moral high ground, he added, "What, Madara, you think I'm easy to bully just because I'm old?"
"You old...!" Madara clenched his teeth, clearly on the verge of lashing out.
"Second Granduncle…" Hashirama quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. "My proposal was to have all clans make their non-secret ninjutsu public."
"Uh…" Akio glanced at the Nara and Hyuga clan heads and gave an awkward smile. No wonder Madara was so upset. But he had long since developed a thick skin. "Well, I still agree! I'm just that selfless!"
Madara's face turned green with frustration, and Hashirama quickly stepped in again. "Alright, that's all for my proposals. Does anyone else have anything to add?"
Seeing that the others were silent, Akio was the first to speak. "Hashirama, since we're making ninjutsu public, why not make education public as well…"
"You mean…"
"Exactly. Let's build a ninja academy. Each clan can send outstanding members as instructors, and we'll enroll students from all over Konoha." Akio continued.
"That might not be appropriate…" the Nara clan head said slowly. "Each clan has unique techniques and their own training methods."
Akio glanced at him. "That's not what I mean. The academy would only provide foundational education. Kids would enroll at age six and study for three to six years. We'd teach them theory, basics, and history—up until they become genin."
"That could work," the Nara clan head nodded, saying no more.
"Also," Akio added, "we can recruit civilian children and charge tuition. Not only would that encourage civilians to settle in the village, but it would also help with our finances."
"Civilians?" Madara and Hyuga Tennin both questioned, exchanging glances before scoffing and looking away.
Akio chuckled. "What's wrong? Madara, Hyuga clan head, don't tell me you're afraid your clan's kids won't be able to compete with civilians…" True to form, the provocation worked, and both men dropped their objections.
"Alright, since there are no further objections," Hashirama said, "then we'll leave preparations for the ninja academy to Tobirama—"
"I'll handle it!" Akio interrupted.
No way I'm letting you mess up my chances of tweaking the plot and gaining some 'witness points' again! he thought.
"Uh… alright then, Second Granduncle, I'll leave it to you," Hashirama replied.
"That reminds me," Hashirama continued, "Hyuga clan head, please assign more patrols outside the village for the time being."
"Do we have enemies already?" Akio scratched his head. Don't tell me the other four nations are forming ahead of schedule…
"Hmph, you old man!" Madara spoke up again.
"What now?" Akio glared. "Madara, got a problem with me?"
Hashirama chuckled nervously. "Second Granduncle, the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails…"
Akio suddenly remembered—Right, the Nine-Tails is about to revive… No wonder Madara's acting all tsundere.
"I have a proposal," the Nara clan head said slowly. "If the Hyuga clan is in charge of external security, someone should also handle internal security."
"Although the clans have agreed to lay down past grudges, it won't be easy for those who've lost loved ones to truly move on. We need a force to keep things in check, and if necessary, to make arrests. I believe the Uchiha clan is the best fit for this."
Madara froze, about to speak, then fell silent.
He knew full well that this job would make enemies of everyone, but his pride wouldn't allow him to refuse.
What is this nonsense? Akio cursed inwardly. First Tobirama gets pulled into the council, now the Nara head is pushing this… does everyone just hate the Uchiha?
Although he didn't get along with Madara, Akio had no real grudge against the Uchiha clan. Forcing them into a role that would lead to resentment felt wrong.
"I disagree," Akio spoke up. "It's not wise to give so much power to just the Uchiha. I suggest we have each clan contribute personnel."
The Nara clan head furrowed his brow. As shrewd as he was, even he couldn't figure out why Akio was helping the Uchiha.
"Hmph! You saying my clan's untrustworthy, old man? Hashirama, we'll take care of it ourselves!" Madara unexpectedly accepted the responsibility outright.
Akio closed his eyes. Forget enemies—nothing's worse than an idiot teammate.
"Fine then, pig-teammate. Whatever makes you happy," Akio muttered. Madara blinked in confusion.
"Then it's settled," Hashirama declared. At that moment, in his naïveté, he still believed he was granting the Uchiha considerable authority and compensating Madara in the process. While it was inevitable the Uchiha would earn some resentment, he didn't foresee any real problems.
"Anything else, Madara?" Hashirama asked.
Madara paused briefly. Only now did he realize Akio had been trying to help him earlier. But with the matter already finalized, he simply shook his head.
"In that case, today's council meeting is concluded… Please also notify all clan shinobi to come by and register their information. I'll begin assigning missions by rank accordingly."
Akio, who had been about to stand, sat back down again. In the world of Naruto, shinobi rankings had never been clearly defined. Hearing Hashirama bring it up gave him an idea.
"Instead of having everyone just submit information, how about a village-wide assessment? Each clan has its own standards for chunin and jonin. We could test everyone and match their capabilities with mission ranks accordingly."
"That's a solid idea," the Nara clan head agreed. "It would help prevent unnecessary casualties during missions."
"No objections here," Hyuga Tennin added.
"Hmph…" Madara stood up and walked out. He felt like his two votes were completely worthless…
"Alright then, it's settled…" Hashirama said and followed him out.
Inside the room, the remaining three exchanged glances, nodded, and silently acknowledged—solid teamwork.
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