The m, Masashi woke up and, surprisingly, didn't head straight to the training grounds as usual.

  It wasn't because he'd bee pt, but rather because he had been invited by Hiruzen to visit the Ninja Academy that day.

  It had been a long time since he st set foot there.

  The st time he visited, Hiruzen assionate young man, and Danzō was a troublesome student and a notorious trarian.

  The Ninja Academy was the tral institution of Konoha.

  Teically, one might think the Hokage's office would serve as the vilge's tral hub, but iy, it was merely an administrative building for internal aernal affairs.

  Today, the true core of Konoha's anizational structure was the Ninja Academy.

  Established more than 30 years ago by Tobirama, the Academy was inally a training base set at the foot of the Hokage Rock cliff.

  Back then, the ninja popution was almost exclusively -based, with few civilian ninjas. So Tobirama set the admission standard as "having the ability to use chakra and master the e Teique profitly."

  His reasoning? Even the weakest should meet these criteria.

  His fidence was justified, as he had directly incorporated the Senju 's ninjutsu archive into the vilge's repository, promising that those with the aptitude would have access to learn.

  At that time, the Academy had only one mission: to produinjas ready for the battlefield.

  When Hiruzen became Hokage, he began expanding the student body. Admission standards shifted to a focus on "love for the vilge, physical aal health, and a diligent work ethic."

  He also reformed the institution, addiments reted to military and administrative affairs. This transformed the Hokage's offito a subsidiary building of the Ninja Academy.

  From then on, the Hokage was also the principal of the Academy.

  Hiruzen implemented several ges, including increasing the scale of student enrollment, adding new subjects, making the written exams more challenging, and expanding the school campus twice.

  Today's Ninja Academy served as a pce to not only train ninjas but also to fully develop their potential.

  Not everyone was suited to bee a ninja, and among those who were, not all were meant to fight.

  Some excelled at intelligehering, some at interrogation, while others struggled in bat but shone in healing or disse. Then there were those who were naturally gifted teachers.

  Additionally, some were teical geniuses, adept at crafting barriers and seals but utterly useless in the field.

  To aodate such diversity, Hiruzeed specialized training paths. This approach had allowed the Ninja Academy to supply Konoha's ninja forces with well-roualent across various roles.

  Each year, many graduates from the Academy joined non-bat units or administrative departments. Those selected for bat units were carefully trained and rarely thrown into the front lines immediately, even during wartime.

  Weak recruits weren't on fodder—they were liabilities.

  Oraordinary geniuses, whose potential justified the iment iraining, might bypass this careful process.

  Thus, the Ninja Academy had bee a erstone for Konoha, enpassing everything from talent development and personnel allocation to ideological education and mission assig.

  In short, it was the bae of the Hokage's administration.

  Masashi, invited as a temporary instructor, was set to take on a part-time teag role.

  Shisui had been io join the ANBU.

  Both developments were outes of the reition ceremony held at the Hokage's office, where the Uchiha were formally aowledged for their heroism.

  In the public eye, it was impossible to dee both invitations. Eveing one could be seen as defiance.

  This marked a signifit shift: the Hokage fa was finally engaging the Uchiha in genuine politiegotiations, aowledging them as equals in the game.

  Previously, the Uchiha weren't even sidered worthy of serious iation.

  All this was made possible by the 's as during the ails attack. Masashi's efforts had demonstrated his value, and the as a whole showed unity, gaining a measure of public support.

  The tide was turning.

  ---

  On the day of his assig, he arrived early at the Academy.

  "You're the hero who stopped the ails!" a parent called out as they dropped off their child.

  This was the time when parents would drop off younger children for basic csses, while older students in the Practid Application Stage would insist on going by themselves, sidering themselves too mature for parental escort.

  The Academy's instructors were all in, and they strictly adhered to the dress code of wearing Konoha ninja uniforms. Masashi arrived simirly attired.

  He reported in and was informed that his specific duties would be assigned by the Hokage himself.

  Suality was familiar to a veteran like him. High-ranking ninjas, despite their elite status, still had to follow the protocols of employment.

  The Hokage's office was a short walk from the Academy, ected through internal pathways. The rooftop training area atop the Hokage's building, though officially part of the Academy, rimarily used for hosting ceremonies.

  It was here that he had received his endation and rewards the previous day.

  He already had a pn: he would teach taijutsu.

  While the Uchiha's taijutsu teiques were best executed with the Sharingan, their foundational methods—particurly their shuriken and kunai throwing teiques—were widely respected in training circles.

  Many Uchiha members even worked part-time as private tutors.

  Apanied by ANBU, Masashi ehe Hokage's office. To his surprise, Minato wasn't drowning in paperwork as usual.

  "Masashi," he greeted him warmly. "How do you feel about the Academy so far?"

  "It's quite different from the 's school," Masashi replied.

  "I'm gd you accepted the invitation. Kushina and I are both thrilled," Minato said, his demeanenuinely friendly.

  From a personal perspective, he was deeply grateful to Masashi for saving his wife and son.

  "So, which level would you like to teach?"

  "The Application Stage," Masashi answered decisively. He'd thought this through.

  Teag the basics would be tedious, and dealing with students in the Practice Stage—those trying to act like adults—would be equally annoying. Application Stage students, however, were disciplined and had foundational skills, making them ideal for his teag style.

  "What subject would you like to focus on?"

  "Taijutsu. Anything else wouldn't be practical for me to teach."

  "It sounds like you've already put a lot of thought into this," Minato said, clearly satisfied. "As the principal of the academy, I officially wele you to the team."

  ---

  pared to the days of Tobirama, the Ninja Academy's training process had undergone signifit evolution.

  Back then, it was all about "speeding things up." Now, the focus was on individualized teag.

  While the three-stage structure remained unged, the tent within had transformed to meet modern needs.

  The journey began with the Foundation Stage, where young minds took their first steps into the ninja world. Here, through physical training and theoretical csses, the vilge phe seeds of its future.

  Oudents built up their strength and mastered the basics, they advao the Practice Stage.

  This was where the real excitement began—earning to trol chakra, perfeg taijutsu, mastering the Three Basic Teiques, and handling ons.

  W together and mock battles taught them the true meaning of being a ninja.

  The Application Stage marked the final phase, where education became truly personal. Teachers identified each student's strengths and weaknesses, private lessons and targeted development.

  petition grew fiere students relied on their family resources, while others found different paths to prove themselves. This was where the true spirit of rivalry between future ninjas sparked to life.

  After this phase, the school administered a graduation exam. Graduates then underwent a geniio ducted by their assigned jonin instructor. Those who passed both tests officially became genin.

  Uhe graduation exam, the geniio depended entirely on the jonin's personal preferences. For example, Kakashi, before leading the squad with Naruto, failed every didate who came his way.

  Jonihat willful. Even the Hokage couldn't force them to take on students if they didn't want to.

  After uanding the entire system, Masashi got a clear idea of his responsibilities.

  Teag group lessons for targeted development? Not ied—pass.

  Private lessons? Now that was more like it. It essentially boiled down to: "Teach whomever you like, however you like."

  Masashi loved this setup.

  Ordinary jonin were merely seen as willful; legendary jonin, however, were praised for being "unique."

  In the office, he retrieved the current student roster from the Academy staff.

  The first few pages didn't list any familiar names.

  Such was reality—most lives were destined for mediocrity, serving as cogs in society.

  The majority of Ninja Academy graduates remained genin for life. Achieving in rank was sidered elite. Being a jonin? That was the stuff of legends—your photo got dispyed in the hallways to inspire future geions.

  Most of Konoha's jonin were directly promoted by the Hokage. Many of them didn't even attend the academy; they were promoted straight to in and then jonin.

  They hail from families collectively known as "the s of ninjas."

  During the era of the Hidden Vilges, the intense rompted ninja s to seek transformation. Konoha's s were among the first to act.

  The Senju evotransformed into a civilian power base, while abandoning the Senju surheir influeehroughout every sector of Konoha, reag even into the daimyō's court.

  The Uchiha relutly privatized their department, a seemingly powerful model but fraught with hidden dangers.

  The Sarutobi adopted a "follow the Hokage" strategy, which had its clear strengths and weaknesses.

  And the Shimura 's transition was a failure, leaving them as a colle of small, indepe households. Despite this, they retained an edge over ordinary vilgers.

  Such high-level matters were beyond Masashi's current purview. Nor could he ge them.

  He flipped through the student roster, each page detailing oudent's profile with meticulous precision.

  Finally, a familiar name caught his eye.

  Morino Ibiki: Described as possessing strong logical thinking, skilled in analysis and code-breaking, meticulous, with stroal resilience. Reended for training in intelligence work.

  Another ood out.

  Mitarashi Anko: Highlighted as a disciple of Orochimaru.

  Orochimaru...

  In the inal timeline, he defected after being discovered dug human experiments during Minato's tenure as Hokage. The vilge was retively peaceful until the ails' attack, which resulted in the devastating loss of both the neointed Hokage and its jinchuriki. These losses likely triggered the subsequent war.

  Regardless, he viewed Orochimaru's defe differently. While Minato's and Kushina's deaths had sequences for the Uchiha , Orochimaru's defe proved to be a boon.

  It split the Legendary Sannin trio, signifitly weakening the Hokage fa.

  The Legendary Sannin were more than three individual ninjas—they were a team.

  Currently, they were the stro kage-level team in the ninja world. Their birength wasn't merely additive; it was expoial.

  In the inal timeline, after losing Minato and Kushina, Orochimaru's defe left Konoha without any kage-level batants. Its military strategy shifted to passive defense.

  Now, Konoha maintained an active defense posture.

  What did that mean? It meant Konoha wouldn't just sit back—they'd preemptively strike, even elimiential threats.

  In trast, in the inal timeline, Konoha remained passive, waiting to defend against attacks rather thaing them.

  ---

  Anko hadn't graduated yet, but her graduation seemed assured.

  Masashi decided to use her as an opportunity to assess Orochimaru's current state.

  Plus, it had been a while since he'd taught anyone. He missed it.

  "Where is Anko?" he asked.

  "She's in css," replied a staff member. "Though she's close to graduating."

  "Close isn't graduated yet," Masashi said. "Does graduating mean sg off? Does learning stop? Skills may take time to develop, but attitude must always be correct."

  "Do you io teach her?" The staff member serouble and tried to dissuade him. "Actually, she doesn't really need private lessons. Orochimaru-sama tutors her personally."

  "And has he taught her anythily?"

  "Not tely. Orochimaru-sama hasn't been to the academy retly."

  "Exactly!" Masashi cpped the staff member on the shoulder. "This is his way of testing her. Ahis child is so clueless. A student handpicked by Orochimaru—how she waste her talent like this? Leave her to me. I'll make sure she realizes her potential."

  "Yes, Masashi-sama." The staff member gave up, resignedly arranging the lesson as instructed. These high-ranked ninja and their games...

  After all, he was just a in. What did the affairs of these big names have to do with him?