Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

In her view, although he was reserved and not good at expressing his feelings, his every move had already revealed his concern for her.

Maintaining a youthful appearance, exploring treatments for bloodline diseases...

This is his truest sentiment.

"Ah."

Shen Er looked around and asked, "Where are the Hokage and the others?"

"They're in the conference room now. What's coming next will give the Hokage a headache for a while."

Shen Er asked curiously, "What went wrong?"

"Regarding the assignment of tutors."

Zhili explained, handing him the confidential graduation list.

The first batch of students to graduate early numbered exactly thirty.

Even when his gaze swept over them, they were all familiar faces.

"Senju Takayuki, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Kenji... Matsumoto Waka."

The Bronze Saints of Konoha have graduated one after another.

A sense of changing times is palpable.

Shen Er sighed, "Time flies! We're about to graduate."

"Yes."

Zhili wholeheartedly agreed, “The various clans haven’t truly adapted to the ninja village’s system yet, and they’re all sending out Jonin to compete for the position of mentors for these graduates. They’re probably still carrying on from the past, trying to take the opportunity to build connections, or they’re worried that their own disciples will be led astray by mentors from other clans, so they’re proposing that their own Jonin teach their own juniors.”

"The Hokage must have refused," Shen said.

"Yes, the Hokage did not agree. Among the first batch of graduates were commoner ninjas and ninjas from small clans. Under that system, they would have no one to mentor them after graduation."

"What the Hokage wants is fairness."

"The preliminary rule is that in a ninja squad, there can be at most one person from the same clan as the instructor."

Chiri said with a relaxed expression, "However... that's none of my business. I'm only responsible for training them to be qualified genin. I won't bother with the subsequent team assignments and leadership."

Chapter 47 really went around in circles!

The ninja school's conference room was already filled with smoke.

Representatives from all the major ninja clans were present, arguing heatedly over the assignment of mentors to the thirty graduates. The graduation ceremony was in the afternoon, but the class assignments had not yet been finalized by the morning.

Since it concerned the interests of their respective families, neither side was willing to back down easily.

Forming alliances, betraying and absorbing the power of civilian ninjas...

Various schemes were put forward one after another.

Hashirama Senju disliked this atmosphere of intrigue and backstabbing. Ignoring Tobirama's meticulously crafted plan and the calculated suggestions from the various clans, he simply slammed his fist on the table:

"Stop arguing, let me say a few words!"

"Team 1: Instructor: Jonin Hirokatsu Sarutobi, Members: Kenji Uchiha, Shin Senju, Kotone Hyuga."

"Team Two: Instructor: Jonin Shimura Heizo, Member: Mitokado Homura..."

"Team 3: Instructor Jonin Uchiha Ayano, member Uchiha Kagami..."

"..."

"Team 7: Instructor: Jonin Tobirama Senju, Members: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane."

"In addition, medical students such as Takayuki Senju and Waka Matsumoto have been assigned to the Gospel Hospital to work full-time in medical and research-related work. The specific personnel arrangements will be handled by Shinji."

Upon hearing this arrangement, Tobirama couldn't help but sigh softly, rubbing his forehead.

His original plan was to entrust Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo to Hiruzen Sarutobi, whom he knew well, to lead their team. These two children had been training with him since before the Ninja Academy was established, and had taken his form. Whoever led them would eventually be on his side.

He himself could use the three disciple slots to recruit Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Kenji, and Uchiha Sosuke under his command.

In this way, the younger generation of elites of the Uchiha clan can establish a proper ninja way under his guidance.

But with his older brother's interference, all his plans fell through.

The most talented Uchiha Kagami was taken in as a disciple by Uchiha Ayano. Ayano was both Jiri's personal bodyguard and disciple; those she took in were essentially taught by Jiri herself.

Despite Tobirama's continued silence on the matter of the Yin Seal, it's clear he hasn't made any statement yet.

The Yin Seal has already been handed over to Shen Er. If he jumps out to oppose it again, wouldn't he become a villain who deliberately causes trouble?

Tobirama isn't that stupid. After weighing the options, he might as well take the initiative to show goodwill and perhaps even gain some support.

But deep down, I never agreed with it.

The Uchiha clan must be guarded against at all times; there's no way to ignore it.

He had witnessed it firsthand. After Izuna was killed by him, the destructive power that Madara Uchiha unleashed was so great that even his older brother was no match for him.

In Tobirama's eyes, the Uchiha were an innate evil force and a destabilizing factor. He could befriend them if necessary, but he could never completely trust them without reservation.

However, Hashirama Senju was known for his stubbornness, which even the Nine-Tailed Beasts couldn't sway. Since the decision had already been made, Tobirama had no choice but to accept it.

The only way to save the village is through a roundabout approach, pinning our hopes on Shen Er...

Tobirama's eyes flickered as he thought to himself.

She was extremely principled and of impeccable character. Before the new year, she even handed over the Yin Seal to Uchiha Chiri. Although they didn't have a formal title, Tobirama considered their relationship to be like that of a married couple.

Uchiha Kagami was a disciple of Uchiha Ayano.

Ayano Uchiha was a disciple of Haru Uchiha.

Uchiha Chiri and Jin were like husband and wife.

Furthermore, he was also a close friend of his elder brother and himself.

If I communicate with Shen more, make him firmly stand on the side of the village, and have him whisper sweet nothings in his ear for the sake of the village, this idea will eventually reach the ears of the younger generation of Uchiha, such as Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Kenji, through the village...

"What a long and winding road!"

Hashirama Senju was an honest and kind man who could joke around with the villagers on ordinary days and would occasionally pretend to be a Chinese person.

But when it comes to important village matters, like the case involving the uncle next door whose relatives and friends are involved, he becomes dignified and imposing.

Once he made a decision, no one dared to object.

The people in the meeting room looked at each other, and finally accepted the class assignment.

Each clan has ninjas serving as instructors of Jonin, so the overall interests are roughly balanced; no one loses, and no one wins.

The real winners are Hashirama and Konoha Village, which has been established for eight years.

...

When the class assignment list was delivered to Shen Er.

He was not surprised.

Instead, he seemed like a detached observer, completely at peace.

In his view, the current ninja academy class division system has many unreasonable aspects. For example, the instructors and students have different chakra attributes and ninja categories, so the instructors' skills cannot be passed on to the students...

If this continues, some members of the team will inevitably fall behind, and the gap between them and their teammates will widen.

Heroes should teach heroes, and good men should teach good men.

Hashirama and Jiri were aware of the problem, but there was nothing they could do about it at the moment.

If students are matched precisely according to the strengths of the instructors, it is easy to fall into a situation of uneven distribution, insufficient teachers, and endless disputes among the clans.

In order to truly integrate everyone in the village, Hashirama decided to implement this system of one leader and three shifts.

The graduation ceremony was held as scheduled in the afternoon.

Thirty graduates completed their class assignments and lined up neatly behind their respective instructors.

In addition, students from other grades of the Ninja Academy were also given a day off by Chiri to watch the ceremony on the playground, experience the atmosphere, and be inspired to graduate as soon as possible.

The area surrounding the Ninja Academy was also packed with Konoha villagers who came to watch the excitement, joining in this grand event that belonged to Konoha.

Since it is a ceremony, speeches by outstanding student representatives and addresses from senior officials are naturally essential.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who graduated with the highest grades, was chosen as the student representative to give a speech on stage.

The young Hiruzen was seeing such a grand scene for the first time. His cheeks flushed red, and he spoke haltingly, but the content was quite good.

His gaze swept over the first row of seats on the playground.

Because Tobirama was assigned to stand in the formation of the Jonin leading the team, there were only three chairs in the first row.

From left to right, the Hokage, the Dean, and the Principal are seated.

The sitting postures are different.

Hiruzen's gaze swept over Shen, and at the end, as if possessed, he shouted loudly, "I will give my soul and my heart for the Konoha I love!"

The playground fell silent instantly.

"it is good!"

Hashirama Senju was the first to shout "Bravo!"

Shen Er then led the applause.

Led by these two bigwigs, the atmosphere in the room became lively.

Next up on stage was Hokage Hashirama Senju. He wasn't intimidated, but his speaking skills were rather limited: "To put it bluntly! The Ninja Academy's success today is inseparable from everyone in the village..."

When it was Zhili's turn to speak, her words were appropriate and sincere, moving many in the audience to tears.

Just when Shen thought the ceremony was about to end, Zhili suddenly reached out and gestured to him:

"The establishment of the Ninja Academy is inseparable from the contributions of a ninja from the village."

"Next, please welcome Dr. Shen, the director of Gospel Hospital, to the stage to say a few words to the graduates."

Chapter 48 The Will of Fire: Chief Designer