The Principal of the Ninja Academy was a position almost always held by the Kage of the village.
By handing the position of the Ninja Academy to Yagyu, the Third Mizukage was basically designating him as the next Mizukage.
He had no choice but to do so!
Yagyu was so powerful and had shown interest in the position of Mizukage.
If he didn't let him be the Mizukage, could Kirigakure withstand Yagyu's havoc?
Ninja Academy, Principal's Office.
A young woman of twenty-five or twenty-six, exuding immense charm, came before Yagyu and placed a document on his desk with a smile.
"Principal, these are the files of all the students in the Ninja Academy!"
Yagyu looked at this ripe, mature woman with a complex expression and nodded lightly.
This woman's name was Minazuki Kiyoshi, the Vice Principal of the Ninja Academy. She usually handled the daily affairs of the school.
"You may leave for now!"
Yagyu waved his hand, dismissing Minazuki Kiyoshi.
The genes of the Minazuki clan were truly excellent. Even the men were handsome, so the women went without saying.
If she stayed here any longer, Yagyu worried he might do something... inappropriate.
"Actually!"
"Principal, I have a personal matter I would like to discuss with you."
Minazuki Kiyoshi hesitated for a moment before speaking to Yagyu.
"A personal matter?"
Yagyu looked strange. "Let's hear it."
Could it be that Minazuki Kiyoshi was actually interested in him, the principal?
Minazuki Kiyoshi hesitated. "Our clan leader would like to invite you to visit the Minazuki clan as a guest. He says there is an important matter to discuss with you."
Yagyu's expression shifted slightly, and he asked lazily, "Time?"
Minazuki Kiyoshi looked delighted. "Is tonight okay?"
Yagyu replied decisively, "Then tonight it is!"
Yagyu could pretty much guess what the Minazuki clan was planning.
The reason for their invitation was obviously that they realized he might very well become the next Mizukage, so they wanted to build a relationship with him ahead of time.
"Hoshigaki Kisame... Momochi Zabuza..."
Seeing the names of these two top students on the list, Yagyu smiled faintly. Kirigakure did have some talent after all.
"Make arrangements to assess them ahead of schedule."
"Based on their performance, they already possess the strength of Genin."
"Keeping them in the Ninja Academy any longer is just a waste of time. Let them graduate early!"
Yagyu walked out of the principal's office and handed Zabuza and Kisame's files to Minazuki Kiyoshi.
He needed to build his own team.
...
Evening.
Yagyu arrived at the Minazuki clan compound as agreed. This clan's status in Kirigakure was no less than that of the Hyuga clan in Konoha.
The Kaguya, Hozuki, and Minazuki clans of Kirigakure were equivalent to the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans of Konoha.
They were all backbone clans that had come together to form the hidden village during its founding, holding extremely high status within the village.
"Yagyu-kun, welcome, welcome!"
The head of the Minazuki clan, Minazuki Yanagi, was a man with refined features.
Although he was middle-aged, he looked incredibly young.
This forced Yagyu to marvel once again at the superior genes of the Minazuki clan.
Minazuki Yanagi hosted Yagyu warmly and subtly indicated that the Minazuki clan was willing to support Yagyu's rise to power.
Yagyu didn't give a definite answer. He had long known the Minazuki clan's intentions.
They simply wanted to win him over so that he wouldn't target the Minazuki clan after taking power.
After all, in today's Kirigakure, the conflict between clan ninjas and civilian ninjas was intensifying.
"There are two talented civilian students in the Ninja Academy. I intend to take them on as my disciples."
"However, a ninja squad needs at least three members, which means I'm still short one disciple."
"I wonder if the Minazuki clan has any outstanding geniuses left? If so, that would be perfect."
Yagyu spoke casually, his tone relaxed.
"My daughter, Minazuki Ao. Her talent is exceptional!"
Minazuki Yanagi hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and speaking.
Yagyu was slightly surprised. Minazuki Yanagi's struggle suggested that Minazuki Ao was far from ordinary.
Yagyu asked, "Can I see her?"
Minazuki Yanagi waved his hand to have Minazuki Ao brought in. Soon, a girl with delicate features was brought before him.
Yagyu looked her up and down; she appeared to be about twelve or thirteen years old.
She was quite pretty. Was Minazuki Yanagi hesitating because he was worried Yagyu would make a move on his daughter?
No, that shouldn't be it!
With Yagyu being this handsome, surely he was good enough for his daughter?
If not that, then...
Yagyu studied Minazuki Ao and suddenly asked, "You've awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai?"
Ao nodded.
Yagyu realized—that explained it.
Not every Kekkei Genkai clan could mass-produce bloodline ninjas like the Senju, Hyuga, or Uchiha.
For most ninja clans, having one or two bloodline users in the clan was already good.
Take the current Kaguya clan, for example. In a clan of several hundred people, only three had awakened the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse).
In the original story, when the Kaguya clan was wiped out, it seemed only Kimimaro was left as a Shikotsumyaku user.
This was precisely why Kekkei Genkai were so precious.
"Very good. From now on, you are my disciple."
Yagyu said with great satisfaction.
At first, Minazuki Yanagi was hesitant because a Kekkei Genkai user was too precious.
But after careful consideration, he realized it was worth it, and a smile appeared on his face.
After securing his three disciples, Yagyu asked the Third Mizukage for the position of an Anbu Captain and had Terumi Mei, Ao (the sensory ninja), and Yagura assigned to his command.
In addition, the recently emerging genius of the Hozuki clan, Hozuki Mangetsu, was also transferred to Yagyu's Anbu squad via an official order.
He had essentially scooped up all the geniuses of Kirigakure's younger generation in one go. In the future, they would form his power base.
This team included both civilian-born ninjas and clan-born ninjas, ensuring that neither faction would be too worried.
This was also a pacification tactic, much like how the Second Hokage took Uchiha Kagami as a disciple back in the day.
It had to be said, the Second Hokage was truly a genius.
He created the Ninja Academy to train civilian ninjas, breaking the clans' monopoly on ninja power, while centralizing authority within the village.
The Anbu acted as an advanced version of the Ninja Academy—essentially a Ninja University—while also serving as a crucial tool to co-opt and divide the ninja clans.
Many of the Second Hokage's measures were enthusiastically adopted by other hidden villages.
Institutions like the Ninja Academy, the Anbu, and the Kage doubling as the principal became standard across all major villages.