The academy was quiet. Everyone listened intently as Senju Tobirama expounded on his philosophy of Ninjas. They were born to be Ninjas; there was no other path for them, and becoming a great Ninja was their shared goal. However, their ideas on how to become a great Ninja were not particularly clear, and Senju Tobirama was clearly providing a distinct standard.
Previously, Fūmori Masaki had the same thoughts: born as a Ninja, die as a Ninja. But after gaining insights from another world, he felt a hint of disdain for the Ninja profession. It should be said that if he hadn't experienced another world, he certainly wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with the Ninja profession. But now, he felt that the Ninja itself was an abnormal existence.
The duty of a Ninja is to fight for their employer. As long as it is the employer's goal, they must complete it, even if it costs them their lives. In other words, if Ninjas no longer fought for employers, then Ninjas would have no meaning for existence. And for Ninjas to continue to exist, battle is inevitable; only through battle can Ninjas have their own value.
The later Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, once said, "As long as the Ninja system exists in this world, perhaps there will never be true peace." Although he didn't state all the reasons, Ninjas were indeed a major factor in the world's conflicts—if this world were truly at peace, there would be no need for Ninjas to exist. How then would the Ninja Clans, who were born to be Ninjas, survive?
Ninja Clans had never thought about other ways of survival. In their eyes, they were meant to be Ninjas, and to be a Ninja, the Ninja must have a reason for existence, so war would inevitably never cease.
Senju Tobirama was a very intelligent man, but he also did not transcend the limitations of Ninja thinking. In the process of assisting his brother in governing the Village, he still treated Konohagakure as a military organization—this was the role Konohagakure was supposed to play, and it was the price for its establishment. Given the current situation, this was also normal.
But in the Konohagakure of the future that Fūmori Masaki saw, if you only looked at its level of development, it could no longer be called a military organization; it was more like a small society. Yet, the Village's leaders and others still viewed Konohagakure as a military organization. Using the terminology he heard in the other world, the current Konohagakure belonged to the feudal stage, and although the later Konohagakure gradually entered a stage that should have been more civilized—at least technically it was close—its thinking was still the same rigid set, which was no wonder the Village could not take a new step forward.
Honestly, Fūmori Masaki truly envied the other world. At least in the civilized countries of that world, he didn't need to worry about having to step onto the battlefield at twelve years old or even younger, and people had legal human rights. Unlike Ninjas, who had no legal protection, and if it weren't for their powerful strength, Senju Hashirama and the others would not have been allowed to establish Konohagakure.
If it were just now, it would be fine; after all, Ninjas had just walked out of the shadows, and their status needed time to change. But in the Konohagakure he saw sixty years later, it was still the same old story. Nominally, the Ninja Village had the same status as the country, but those nobles still looked down on Ninjas in their hearts, bossing them around. The Fourth Kazekage of the Land of Wind was still troubled by the country cutting funding, having to ambush his own allies to incite war and force the country to support him.
Rather than saying the country truly had powerful strength, it was more that the Ninja Village still regarded itself as the party being hired, never thinking about turning the tables and becoming the masters. He had seen many theories in the other world, saying things like, "Wouldn't it be better if Ninjas engaged in production?" or "Why should Ninjas be exploited by guys like the Daimyo? Wouldn't it be better to become the masters of the country themselves?"
Previously, he would have scoffed at this, but now he firmly supported this view. Feudal remnants like the Daimyo should be swept into the trash heap. Ninjas didn't necessarily need to engage in assassinations; with Chakra, couldn't they survive doing anything?
If he could, he truly hoped that Konohagakure could immediately transform into a civilized society like the other world, and in turn, change the Land of Fire as well.
However, he also knew this was unrealistic. The systems of the other world were good, but they also needed corresponding ideologies; otherwise, it would be no different from the Konohagakure of sixty years later. And the current Ninjas... to put it nicely, they were all grateful to the Daimyo. After all, the Daimyo allowed them to crawl out of dark corners and live openly in the sunlight. To ask them to oppose the Daimyo was impossible.
If Fūmori Masaki were to become this outlier, he would surely be crushed to death. The power of tradition was never easy to change, and Fūmori Masaki did not have the capital to do it. It could even be said that his current life still relied on this tradition; otherwise, he would have died long ago.
Listening to Senju Tobirama's exposition, Fūmori Masaki thought of the life he had seen in the other world and couldn't help but sigh. He really wished he could live in such an era.
Uchiha Kagami, sitting next to him, glanced at Fūmori Masaki, not understanding why he sighed. Did he feel he didn't have the confidence to become the great Ninja Tobirama spoke of? Seeing Fūmori Masaki's expression, which was somewhat gloomy, Uchiha Kagami thought that might really be the reason.
Unlike the Fūmori Clan, which only joined Konohagakure because they were pitied, Uchiha Kagami was the heir to a great clan, and what he could access was not something small clans could reach. But he wasn't completely ignorant of Fūmori Masaki either. After all, there weren't many clans in all of Konohagakure as miserable as the Fūmori Clan, and given Fūmori Masaki's impulsive nature in the past, he had caused quite a few noteworthy news stories, so Uchiha Kagami had heard some things.
It was said that Fūmori Masaki was wholeheartedly striving for the revival of his clan. When he could have married a woman from the Senju Clan, he insisted on dragging it out, waiting until he had made a name for himself before marrying. Such a persistent and strong-willed person—Uchiha Kagami didn't think he would shrink back here.
But rumors were, after all, just rumors. It was also possible that Fūmori Masaki had changed. Uchiha Kagami felt he should encourage his desk mate. Didn't Lord Hashirama say that the academy hoped everyone could foster friendship and help each other? Uchiha Kagami felt he should take the initiative.
Before long, Senju Tobirama stopped and looked at everyone, saying, "I will stop here for now. This is so that you all can understand what a Ninja is and the purpose of the academy. Everyone should go back and rest first. Tomorrow, we will begin our training. Remember not to stay up late and get plenty of rest."
The thirty-eight people stood up to bid farewell to Senju Tobirama, and Senju Tobirama nodded slightly before turning and leaving the classroom. After Senju Tobirama left, everyone began to discuss the knowledge he had shared with their close friends, feeling deeply impressed. Lord Tobirama was truly amazing; it was no wonder he could serve as Lord Hashirama's assistant.
Fūmori Masaki had no desire to discuss it; he just silently remembered it, planning to think about how he would train in the future once he returned. After listening to this lesson from Senju Tobirama, his obsession with becoming Hokage deepened. It was not just a hope to change future tragedies, but also a hope to lead Konohagakure to a better place. If he could reform the entire country from top to bottom in his lifetime, that would truly be wonderful.
"Masaki-kun." At this moment, a voice came from behind. Fūmori Masaki turned his head and saw that it was Uchiha Kagami who had called out to him.
Fūmori Masaki was a bit surprised, not knowing why Uchiha Kagami would call him. Although he was indeed a kind person, people from great clans generally wouldn't pay attention to him.
"Is there something, Kagami-kun?" Fūmori Masaki said.
"I hope we can work hard together in the future. I've heard some things about Masaki-kun. I have always admired people who work as hard as Masaki-kun," Uchiha Kagami said with a smile. "I hope that in the future we can both become disciples of Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama. If Masaki-kun needs any help during the learning process, you can come to me, and I will do my best to help you."
Fūmori Masaki didn't know why Uchiha Kagami was so caring towards him. Although he was surprised, he also had a good impression of Uchiha Kagami and smiled. "Mm, thank you, Kagami-kun. I understand."
"Mm." Uchiha Kagami nodded. "Then see you tomorrow, Masaki-kun."
"Mm." Fūmori Masaki bid farewell to Uchiha Kagami and walked towards his home, thinking along the way about the step-by-step plans he needed to carry out in the future.
Arriving at his front door, Fūmori Masaki smelled the aroma of food. A faint smile couldn't help but appear on his face. He reached out and pushed the door open. Inside the house, Satomi was cooking. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she looked back, then continued her work, saying, "You're back. Just about at this time, as expected. Dinner will be ready soon. Sit down and wait for a bit."