With the rapid development of Taki Hidden Village, a substantial amount of resources flowed in from the Daimyo, and the underground market also brought significant funding. As news of Ryuuri's stalemate with Hashirama and the defeat of Tobirama spread, more and more people began to acknowledge him as the sixth shadow beyond the five great villages.
The benefits of this rising reputation were evident. The villagers increasingly recognized Ryuuri, and Kōzen Mamoru respected him even more after learning of his achievements. Additionally, many wandering ninjas from small nations came to the village. After assigning his subordinates to investigate, Ryuuri allowed any ninja with a clean background to settle in Taki Hidden Village.
Once everything stabilized, Ryuuri convened the second high-level meeting of Taki Hidden Village. Attending were all the elite Jounin and several core members.
As the saying goes, large nations rely on bloodlines, while small nations rely on technology. With only one bloodline clan in Taki, there were limited strong individuals. The village could only focus on technological advancements to close the gap with the larger nations. Today's meeting was centered on the implementation of various policies.
Among the attendees was a notable figure, the clan leader of the Hyakuchi clan, Hyakuchi Danba, an elderly man who used a wheelchair.
Originally a ninja family from the Land of Grass, they had intended to join the Hidden Grass Village but had relocated to Taki due to Danba's insistence.
The Hyakuchi clan excelled in secret techniques, particularly spider-related ninjutsu, allowing them to spit out spider silk from their mouths. Their summoning beast was also a large spider, which closely resembled Kido Maru's ninjutsu from the original story.
Ryuuri suspected that the Hyakuchi clan might be the ancestors of Kido Maru. Regardless, they were a formidable clan, and although they lacked a shadow-level powerhouse, they were comparable to Inuzuka, Nara, and Akimichi from Konoha.
In addition to Kōzen Mamoru and Hyakuchi Danba, an unexpected figure also appeared in the meeting room—the clan leader of the Kazekage clan, Kazekage Kazama.
Kazama was a towering figure, standing two meters tall. After the failed coup, the Kazekage clan was entirely wiped out. To ensure the survival of his clan members, he surrendered along with them. Following Ryuuri's philosophy of not letting resources go to waste, he accepted them. However, due to their previous attack on the village, all members were assigned to assist villagers in farming, aside from training and sleeping.
This was also an experiment for Ryuuri. So far, the results were promising. The productivity of the ninjas was several times greater than that of the civilians. Even without using ninjutsu, their superior physical abilities made them highly efficient at farming.
Kazama had no real say in this meeting; he was merely present to avoid an awkward situation where only two elite Jounin would attend. The presence of a Konoha ninja like Inuzuka or Nara would only highlight their shortcomings.
The remaining Jounin were responsible for various key roles, such as Takenaka Masakata, who served as Ryuuri's assistant, and Katagiri Masahiko, who screened the identities of incoming ninjas.
However, even counting these Jounin, the meeting had only ten attendees, which felt a bit underwhelming.
Ryuuri first proposed that all ninjutsu, except for secret techniques, be publicly shared among the clans and Jounin. This proposal received unanimous approval. The lessons from the past were clear; Konoha and the other four great ninja villages had already begun this process.
Moreover, the amount of ninjutsu that Ryuuri and Kakuzu possessed was staggering. Publicizing their ninjutsu would only benefit them, earning goodwill in the process. Why not take advantage of this opportunity?
This was one of the few advantages of the Taki Hidden Village not having many powerful clans. No one would stand up to oppose him. Even if there were dissenters, their voices wouldn't hold much weight with so few people. In contrast, in Konoha, the numerous families often clashed over similar policies, and it was rumored that Obito and Hashirama had nearly come to blows over the issue of publicizing ninjutsu.
"Now that we've agreed to publicize ninjutsu, let's also open the training of ninjas to the public," Ryuuri suggested. With the foundation of ninjutsu in place, they could move on to education. This was essential to stay ahead of other villages. There were few outside ninjas left to recruit; Taki Hidden Village would need to cultivate its core strength.
"I agree, but how do we go about publicizing it?" Hyakuchi Danba inquired. The Hyakuchi clan could only use secret techniques and had a limited repertoire of other ninjutsu. If they could teach the next generation to master both their secret techniques and additional ninjutsu, it would significantly enhance their overall strength.
"A ninja school! Let's establish a school to train ninjas! We'll select honorable ninjas from the village to serve as teachers and recruit students from the entire village."
Ryuuri was replicating the idea that Tobirama should have proposed regarding the ninja school. However, unlike Tobirama's plan, the Taki Hidden Village ninja school wouldn't be staffed with overly powerful teachers.
One reason was the insufficient number of high-tier ninjas. The second reason was that the ninja school would only teach the basics. Mid-level and even experienced lower-level ninjas would be sufficient for this task. Character education was the most critical aspect; otherwise, if they graduated and became rogue ninjas, it would be a significant problem.
"This might not be appropriate…" Kōzen Mamoru spoke slowly. "Our clan's bloodline doesn't have widespread applicability, and we have our own methods of instruction. I believe the Hyakuchi and Kazekage clans feel the same way. Secret techniques also have certain limitations."
Hyakuchi Danba and Kazama nodded in agreement, confirming that they indeed had their own approaches.
"That's not the case. The ninja school is just a foundational level of education. Children can enroll at six years old, and we can teach them for three to six years, depending on the situation. This would include theoretical knowledge of ninjutsu, Three Body Technique, and ninja knowledge until they graduate as lower ninjas. Furthermore, after school, they can receive additional training from the clan elders," Ryuuri clarified.
"Such an approach could work." Kōzen Mamoru nodded. Establishing a foundational system wouldn't pose much of a problem. Additionally, this would allow their children to return home for supplementary training without interfering with their bloodline abilities.
"Moreover," Ryuuri continued, "we can also enroll children from civilian families. With the population shortage in the village, a new policy like this is essential to stabilize the community."
"Children from civilian families?" Kazama muttered, frowning. He had a clear understanding of his standing.
Kōzen Mamoru and Hyakuchi Danba exchanged glances. Allowing children from civilian families to enroll would impact their clans the most. However, they were confident that their clan members' talents would be superior to those of civilians and said nothing further.
"Yes, civilian children. There might be exceptionally talented individuals among them. I believe everyone here has either come from a civilian background or has family members who were civilians!" Ryuuri emphasized.
While the Jounin present were indeed competent, most were not part of established clans. They had become ninjas through sheer chance or through their parents and ancestors obtaining training methods and ninjutsu.
"I agree," Takenaka Masakata was the first to express his support. His grandfather had been a mere civilian, so he bore no prejudice against them. In fact, during the Warring States period, many civilian ninjas existed, but due to the lack of clan protection, many had perished.
To put it more bluntly, had the war continued for a few more years, none of the civilian ninjas present would likely be alive.
After Masakata expressed his agreement, the others quickly followed suit. Even small ninja villages had their own advantages. Apart from considering their circumstances, Ryuuri's immense strength would also influence their decisions.
"Good! Since no one has any objections, I will take personal responsibility for establishing the ninja school. Masakata, please prepare to report this to the Daimyo. We will handle the funding ourselves."
Ryuuri wouldn't hand over the school's management to anyone else. Having studied the original story, he understood the structure of Konoha's ninja school, and he also had some ideas he wanted to implement. His only disciple, the Kōzen clan member with shadow-level potential, Hattori Masanari, would be among the first batch of students. He couldn't let that opportunity slip away.