Progress at Konoha's Research Institute was far from smooth.
Scientific research requires highly specialized knowledge. Even tasks as simple as recording data systematically, creating clear tables, and conducting cross-comparisons demand a certain level of expertise.
Yet, 99% of Konoha's population was utterly unqualified for such work. The few who were capable were already employed in other departments of the village.
This lack of qualified personnel was precisely why Aokawa Aoba had to establish a cultural education school. There simply weren't enough capable people available.
The cultural education school was only the first step. Aoba's second initiative was an advanced ninja school, which could also be referred to as a ninja university.
That's right—Aoba wanted to provide further education for Chūnin and Genin who had already graduated.
Konoha had only ever had one ninja academy, and once students graduated, they rarely had the opportunity to systematically learn new knowledge.
Instead, they were left to self-study through endless missions or exchange their hard-earned merits for new jutsu to serve as trump cards.
However, earning enough points to exchange for jutsu required completing many missions. For most commoner ninjas, their lifetime earnings were barely enough to exchange for two or three jutsu.
This was the harsh reality.
In fact, Aoba himself had started out in a similar position. His parents were both Chūnin, making him a member of a minor ninja family.
But before aligning with Orochimaru, Aoba only knew two Wind Release jutsu—the entirety of his family's inheritance.
Even under Orochimaru's tutelage, he didn't learn many elemental jutsu. Instead, he acquired a wealth of specialized knowledge for conducting scientific research.
It was only after persuading Kakashi to join him that he gained access to a sufficient variety of elemental jutsu.
With these jutsu combined with Sage Mode, Aoba finally resembled something of a jutsu artillery platform.
Even in Konoha, which appeared to be the most peaceful and friendly village, social hierarchies were ever-present. The lack of upward mobility for most commoner ninjas wasn't due to a shortage of talent but a disparity in resources compared to the major clans.
The goal of Aoba's advanced ninja school was to address this disparity at its core.
Of course, this couldn't be stated openly. Officially, it was presented as a welfare program for lower- and mid-level ninjas initiated under Tsunade's leadership.
Any Chūnin or Genin could enroll by paying a nominal fee. In addition to rotating lectures from Special Jōnin and Jōnin on ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, the school offered a unique feature: every enrolled ninja could submit one of their jutsu in exchange for a new jutsu of the same level.
When Aoba proposed this policy, Nara Shikaku nearly jumped out of his seat. However, as Konoha's foremost strategist, he immediately recognized from the expressions of Aoba, Kakashi, and Tsunade that this wasn't a suggestion—it was a decision.
This policy was essentially digging at the foundations of the ninja clans. While the immediate effects might not have been apparent, Shikaku was smart enough to foresee that this was only the beginning, with more changes inevitably to follow.
The policy was designed entirely to elevate the overall strength of commoner ninjas.
Every Chūnin and Genin knew at least one jutsu. Aoba didn't care about redundancies; as long as someone was willing to submit their jutsu, they could receive a new one in return.
As the saying goes: "You have an idea, and I have an idea. If we exchange them, we each have two ideas."
This simple exchange system effectively doubled the "trump cards" in the hands of almost all commoner ninjas. While this might not instantly transform their combat capabilities, the overall improvement was visibly significant.
Having one additional jutsu as a fallback provided more flexibility in combat—a benefit no ninja could overlook.
However, this policy was largely meaningless for the ninja clans.
For clans specializing in secret techniques, conventional elemental jutsu held little value. Moreover, they were unlikely to exchange their clan's secret techniques for other secret techniques.
At least for now, no clan would even consider doing so.
The Research Institute, the cultural education school, and the advanced ninja school—all three of Aoba's initial proposals were approved, each targeting the realm of education.
Aoba didn't claim to be an expert in reforms. In his previous life, he was no prominent figure.
But the ninja world was a thoroughly stagnant place. Even with only a fraction of the knowledge he retained, Aoba found himself far ahead of the curve in this world.
What does a power need to rise? Money and resources weren't issues for Konoha. The remaining key was education—a principle well understood by anyone from a certain "flower-growing" nation in his previous life.
Education was essential for ensuring a nation's continuity, for making each generation stronger than the last, and for achieving true national rejuvenation.
Konoha was now taking its first steps in this direction.
Of course, the results wouldn't be apparent for many years. But that was precisely why Aoba wanted to start now. A century of education wasn't just a slogan—it was a time-intensive and laborious plan.
Konoha wasn't hiding its efforts. Both Kumogakure and Sunagakure obtained intelligence on the new initiatives.
However, this information left the leadership of both villages baffled. Konoha seemed entirely uninterested in retaliation or expansion, instead focusing on education and infrastructure development.
This...
Neither the Raikage nor the Tsuchikage could comprehend Konoha's approach.
In reality, while Konoha's system was flawed, it was far more advanced compared to other villages. Konoha's "education" and "medical" systems were already the envy of its peers, with many villages attempting to emulate them.
But Konoha's latest push for widespread education left the other villages uninterested in imitation.
For one, they lacked the resources—plainly put, they weren't as wealthy or well-fed as Konoha.
Secondly, these policies provided no immediate boost to a village's combat strength and instead consumed massive resources.
To the Raikage and Tsuchikage, Konoha seemed delusional, wasting resources on education instead of cultivating a few prodigies to strengthen the village's military power.
These doubts, of course, would remain unanswered.
After setting the schools on the right track, Aoba returned to the Research Institute to continue his work.
Currently, the institute was staffed by former members of the Root.
That's right, after scouring all of Konoha, Aoba found that only the former Root could assemble a qualified research team.
Without hesitation, he transferred them to the institute. Tsunade didn't interfere, tacitly approving Aoba's actions within the institute.
After successfully analyzing the Sharingan's ocular power and conducting months of repeated testing, Aoba was finally ready to move on to the next phase.
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