Fūmori Masaki gave a soft "mm" and sat down at the dining table. He looked up at Satomi, who was busy in the kitchen, feeling a sense of warmth in his heart.
Perhaps because Fūmori Masaki had finally confirmed he would marry her, Satomi had been coming over more and more frequently lately, essentially treating herself as a member of the Fukimori Family. Hashirama was pleased to see this; although he arranged for the clan's women to marry out for the purpose of uniting the Ninja Clans, he also hoped they would marry outstanding young men. Back then, he had personally vetted every single prospective groom before finalizing the engagements.
However, Hashirama hadn't decided when to hold the wedding yet, so he was currently quite troubled. Fūmori Masaki wasn't in a hurry, and neither was Satomi. They had waited all these years; were they really afraid of not having a date set for a little while longer?
Fūmori Masaki looked at Satomi. They had been childhood sweethearts and shared deep feelings. He had long ago decided to spend his life with her and hoped to bring her happiness. However, the impending First Great Ninja War brought immense pressure to Fūmori Masaki.
As the first full-scale war between the Five Great Nations, the First Great Ninja War's brutality was unprecedented. Aside from the Fourth Ninja World War involving the Allied Shinobi Forces, the subsequent two Ninja World Wars were not as intense as this one. It's worth noting that during the First Great Ninja War, four of the Kage from the Five Great Nations died. In later generations, only the Third Raikage died in the Third Ninja World War; the other Kage either lived on or were taken out by their own people—none died in a Ninja World War.
Fūmori Masaki didn't know when the 'him' in that manga had died. Perhaps it was during the First Great Ninja War, or maybe later. Regardless, his primary concern now was surviving the First Great Ninja War. If he couldn't even pass this hurdle, there was no point in considering anything else.
When Satomi turned around, she saw Fūmori Masaki deep in thought by the table. She brought the dishes over, sat down as well, and asked with a smile, "What are you thinking about? Is it the knowledge Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama shared at the Academy today?"
Fūmori Masaki snapped out of it and followed Satomi's lead, saying, "Yes, Lord Tobirama told us some methods for becoming an excellent Ninja today."
"That's wonderful," Satomi said with some envy. "I wish I could go to the Academy too."
Fūmori Masaki could understand Satomi's feelings. At this time, Konohagakure did not yet have the complete educational system of later generations. Given that the physical constitution of most Female Ninjas was inferior to that of males, clans preferred to focus their energy on male Ninjas rather than teaching females.
In most Ninja Clans, Female Ninjas generally didn't have very high combat capabilities. Their roles were more about using their natural looks and cultivated charm to gather intelligence. Only a few large clans had the resources to train Female Ninjas with significant strength, such as the Genjutsu Expert of the Senju Clan, Senju Touka.
Satomi had a strong personality and was naturally unwilling to become that kind of Intelligence Ninja. She admired women like Senju Touka—in an era where men were paramount, especially within Ninja Clans, Senju Touka had relied on her own great strength to step-by-step reach a high-level position in the Senju Clan. How could she not be seen as a model for Female Ninjas?
Since Konohagakure's founding, Hashirama naturally wouldn't let the Female Ninjas of his own clan do such things. Moreover, in an era of peace, the clan's women didn't necessarily have to become Ninjas. After all, Konohagakure was now so peaceful that they didn't need to kill each other with other clans, and the demand for Ninjas had decreased. The clans no longer needed everyone to try to become a Ninja.
But looking at Senju Touka, some high-spirited girls didn't want to just stay home and raise children; they also wanted to prove they could become powerful Ninjas, and Satomi was one of them. To this end, she had personally requested Senju Touka to teach her. Senju Touka liked Satomi very much and naturally wouldn't refuse.
Satomi could be considered one of the few Female Ninjas in the Senju Clan who excelled at combat,
to the point where she could even fight some of the average male Ninjas in the clan. This showed how much sweat and effort she had put in.
But regardless, she was still a girl. In the current Ninja Clans, without strength like Senju Touka's, one wouldn't be valued by the clan, let alone become an heir. Naturally, she didn't have the qualification to go to the Konoha Academy.
"If you want, I can teach you what I learned at the Academy," Fūmori Masaki said as he pressed his hands together and bowed slightly toward the dining table in thanks, then picked up his chopsticks.
Satomi also pressed her hands together. She had just taken a bite of food when she heard Fūmori Masaki say this, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"
"Really," Fūmori Masaki nodded.
Upon receiving Fūmori Masaki's answer, Satomi's eyes were filled with pleasant surprise. She knew the Academy had the responsibility of selecting disciples for Hashirama and Tobirama. The knowledge taught there was naturally extraordinary, considered an unshared secret within Ninja Clans. The fact that Fūmori Masaki was willing to teach her was truly astonishing.
Fūmori Masaki himself didn't think there was any problem. Having the insights from another world, he felt that monopolizing knowledge was a foolish thing. If every Ninja Clan were willing to make their inherited Secret Techniques public for every subsequent Civilian Ninja to learn, it would definitely greatly enhance the village's strength and promote the innovation and development of Ninjutsu. No matter how you looked at it, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
Furthermore, the Konoha Academy would eventually be transformed into the Ninja Academy—though the knowledge taught might not be as good as the Konoha Academy's—he was simply bringing out the role of the Ninja Academy ahead of time. By then, many girls would receive Ninja education, and many of them would be powerful as well.
"If you want to know, I can tell you later," Fūmori Masaki said. "However, today was just some theory. The actual hands-on stuff will have to wait until later."
"So soon?" Satomi said in surprise. "You've been studying for quite a while; why don't you rest a bit before talking?"
"It's fine, my energy is okay," Fūmori Masaki smiled. In fact, his energy was more than just okay; it was practically overflowing. Ever since learning to control Natural Energy, his energy had been much more abundant than before. Although it wasn't to the extent of getting more excited the more he fought like in Sage Mode, it was still incomparably better than his past self.
Satomi looked at Fūmori Masaki's complexion. Indeed, after that "illness" got better, Fūmori Masaki's face looked much better than in the past. Now, there wasn't a trace of fatigue; rather, his eyes were bright and spirited, as if he could run dozens of laps around Konohagakure without a problem.
"Since you think it's okay, then I'll leave it to you," Satomi said, bowing her head slightly toward Fūmori Masaki.
"There's no need for that. We'll be family in the future; your business is my business. If you need anything, of course I'll help you," Fūmori Masaki said with a smile.
Satomi lowered her head with a smile to hide her shyness.
After the meal, Fūmori Masaki helped Satomi clear the dishes and then pulled her to the table. He began to tell Satomi exactly what Tobirama had said. In doing so, he added some of his own interpretations, the origins of which came from the other world. He still hoped that new ideas could be spread, starting the influence with those closest to him.
To Satomi, these interpretations were very novel. What surprised her was that Fūmori Masaki himself had some quite good explanations.
"Masaki, when did you become so good at thinking?" Satomi asked. The old Fūmori Masaki wasn't as intelligent as he was now.
Fūmori Masaki didn't know how to explain, so he could only use the Konoha Academy as an excuse, saying he wanted to become a disciple of Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama. To stand out among the geniuses of other clans, he definitely needed to plan well, so he thought desperately and came up with these things.
"Oh..." Satomi nodded gently and said, "Masaki, you look much more reliable than usual now."
"What kind of talk is that? Are you saying I wasn't reliable before?" Fūmori Masaki laughed.
"Of course! Masaki, you used to always charge in with a hot head, and when you should have calmed down, you never could," Satomi said, not sparing Fūmori Masaki's feelings as she puffed out her cheeks. "Back then, you really drove me crazy. But Masaki, you've changed now. You're not as impulsive, and you've started thinking. To be honest, I feel really gratified. Masaki, you will definitely be able to revive your clan, I believe it."
"I'll take your word for it," Fūmori Masaki said.
The two continued to review the knowledge Tobirama had taught at home and made some deductions of their own. To verify them, Fūmori Masaki and Satomi even sparred a bit, allowing both of them to gain some insights.
The next day, Fūmori Masaki arrived at the Konoha Academy again, ready to face today's training. After a while, Uchiha Kagami also arrived and smiled at Fūmori Masaki, saying, "Good morning, Masaki-kun."
"Good morning," Fūmori Masaki responded.
"Masaki-kun, today is when we train. If you don't mind, let's practice together," Uchiha Kagami said.
Fūmori Masaki glanced at Uchiha Kagami. He was really curious why this heir of a great clan would specifically approach him. Surely others were more suitable than him?
However, since the other party said so, Fūmori Masaki agreed. He also wanted to be on good terms with Uchiha Kagami; there was naturally no reason not to accept when the other party reached out with an olive branch.
Uchiha Kagami smiled and spoke with Fūmori Masaki about yesterday's words. Uchiha Kagami also had some interpretations of his own that he hoped to share with Fūmori Masaki.
As they talked, Uchiha Kagami began to hold Fūmori Masaki in higher regard. Fūmori Masaki's insights made even Uchiha Kagami feel some admiration. Originally, Uchiha Kagami had wanted to help Fūmori Masaki and hadn't expected the other party to be able to help him, but seeing him now, perhaps by training with him, he could also gain some benefits.