Chapter 298: Sarutobi's Selfish Motive
Hiashi Hyuga had thought about it carefully.
To ostentatiously proclaim themselves as the strongest clan, and to build their own independent kingdom within the clan: creating their own family laws, cultivating their own heirs... huh, the last clan that did this, the grass on their graves is already half a person tall, isn't it?
If they were facing a Hokage with an unstable foundation, with the higher-ups undermining them, and a gap in the ranks, the Hyuga clan could do this, and the Hokage would be helpless. But right now... it was better for those who understood the times to be the outstanding ones!
Therefore, he had decisively let Hanabi also walk the orthodox promotion system of Konoha, to establish more connections with the village, to show the Hyuga clan's inclination. Inviting Haruno Sakura to be Hanabi's supervising-sensei was also a statement. It was not certain that something so far in the future would happen, but at least it showed his attitude.
In fact, Haruno Sakura also knew some of Tsunade's thoughts. The Fifth Hokage really did have the intention of changing the Hyuga.
Of course, the Hyuga clan was at least loyal to Konoha, so it was impossible to deal with them as they had dealt with the Uchiha. Tsunade wanted to start with the Caged Bird system. This backward system was becoming less and less suitable for Konoha's current situation. From the village's current political correctness, what the Hyuga clan was doing was a typical case of harming their comrades, and it was unpopular. The general trend was like this. As long as Konoha developed steadily, the Hyuga clan would have to make changes sooner or later.
The aim of the Hokage's line had always been to suppress the large clans and support the small ones, to maintain a balance of power in Konoha. Any Hokage with ability and ambition would not let go of such an opportunity to build their achievements.
There was no need to tell Hiashi about these things. After a few simple pleasantries and settling this matter, Sakura got up and left.
She had thought that the matter of being a team leader was over.
In fact, it was not.
On the way back, an Anbu member informed Sakura that the Hokage had something for her.
When she arrived at the Hokage's office, she found that both Hokages had something for her.
"Sakura, what do you think... about being a supervising Jonin-sensei for six months to a year, starting next year?" Tsunade asked, sitting behind her desk, getting straight to the point.
"Huh? A team leader again?" Haruno Sakura was stunned. She had just agreed to Hiashi to be Hanabi's supervising Jonin, and she hadn't expected her master to make such a request as well.
"It was the Hyuga clan who wanted to invite you to be Hanabi's supervising-sensei, right?" the Third Hokage said with a smile, standing by the window and smoking his pipe. "There's a gap of about five years. It doesn't conflict."
It seemed that the two of them had already discussed this matter of the Hyuga family. Tsunade's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she said faintly, "Hiashi really thinks highly of my disciple..."
With the Hyuga clan acting so sensibly, how is she going to slap them in the face to establish her dominance? The Fifth Hokage had a bit of a headache.
On the contrary, the Third Hokage chuckled and said, "This is also a good thing! What do you think, Sakura? Are you willing to be a supervising Jonin?"
"Being a supervising-sensei is no problem, but I need to have suitable students!" Sakura said, batting her eyes, not giving a definite answer.
"Suitable students..." The Third and the Fifth looked at each other.
"Let's go and take a look!"
The two Hokages brought Haruno Sakura to the Ninja Academy.
This place, ever since she had come here for the written test during the Chunin Exams, she, who had been very busy, had not stepped foot in her alma mater again.
She felt a little nostalgic. Looking at the children who were undergoing taijutsu sparring training on the training ground, Haruno Sakura revealed a smile.
Although she was only three years older than these children.
The two Hokages, on the other hand, no matter how busy they were, would come to the school from time to time to take a look, show their faces in front of the children, and brush up on their presence. So even the first-year students who had just enrolled could recognize them. Among the children who were running laps, a few immediately waved their hands excitedly and shouted at Sakura's group, "Lord Third Hokage, Lord Fifth Hokage!"
There was also a voice shouting "Sakura-neechan, Sakura-neechan." It was precisely Hyuga Hanabi.
"Let's go over there and take a look," the Third said with a smile, waving at them. The three of them then walked towards the practical combat class training ground where the fifth and sixth graders were mixed.
"Even a student with average aptitude, after studying in the Ninja Academy for two or three years, and having mastered the basic applications of chakra, can already go on missions, fight, and even kill. In the war years, this practice was very common, and it seemed there was no problem," the Third said as he walked. "But in the peacetime, we have extended the graduation period to more than five or six years, forcibly keeping the students for an extra two or three years. Do you know why?"
He turned his head to look at Haruno Sakura, waiting for her answer.
"Is it to wait for the students' minds to mature?" Sakura answered without thinking.
"That's right. In fact, to push children who have only been trained to the age of eight or nine into the cruel ninja world, it seems that they already have the ability to cope, but in fact, it will only cause harm to the children who are not yet mature, both physically and mentally."
"To engage in high-intensity combat too early will overdraw the body's potential. It is an act of pulling up the seedlings to help them grow," Tsunade took over the conversation. "But physical problems can still be cured. Once the mind is traumatized, it is very likely to be permanent damage. The wound may never heal in a lifetime!"
"In this regard, there have been many very extreme examples..." Tsunade sighed.
The Third Hokage nodded and concluded, "So we require the academy students to be eleven or twelve years old before they can graduate. And after graduation, they still need to have a supervising-sensei to guide them, precisely to help them grow up healthily. If you become a supervising-sensei, remember that this is your responsibility. It's not just about helping them train and improve their strength. The more important point is to guide the growth and maturity of their minds."
Haruno Sakura nodded in silence.
After walking a few steps, they arrived at the edge of the training ground.
"Looking at this group of lovely children, I really hope they can enter this cruel ninja world a little later," the Third said, standing with his hands behind his back and looking at the students on the training ground.
"They will have to face it sooner or later," Sakura said, shaking her head. "The general environment of the world is like this. After more than a decade of peace, some people and organizations are already getting restless."
"The only thing I hope for is that when they are my age, they won't have to face those 'Kage'-level, powerful enemies like I did!"
Haruno Sakura told a cold joke.
However, this joke was not very funny, because... that kind of thing might not be impossible to become a reality.
Yes, although the Akatsuki was lying dormant now, who knew when they would pop up again. She believed that at that time, it would be the time to welcome a real storm of blood.
In addition, after such a long period of peace, the power accumulated by the various great ninja villages was also becoming more and Fmore huge. It was hard to say for the Iwagakure and Kirigakure villages, but the military strength of the Kumogakure village had already expanded a lot. To be honest, the possibility of the Cloud-nin starting a war was getting higher and higher.
So the possibility of this group of children having to face those top-level ninja after they graduated was getting higher and higher. Perhaps the only fortunate thing for them, compared to Haruno Sakura, was that they wouldn't have to face multiple such strong enemies one after another...
Because they would probably die when they met the first one.
"Sigh... the world is on the eve of a storm. It looks calm on the surface, but there are undercurrents surging beneath. In fact, no one can be sure what the future will be like," the Third Hokage said slowly, taking a long drag on his pipe, his face gloomy. "We can only be prepared."
"Fortunately, we have you now," Tsunade said with a smile. "Otherwise, we wouldn't even be able to find a suitable candidate to carry out the mission of tracking the Akatsuki's clues."
"And, Sasuke and Naruto will also grow up soon, and there are others. Your generation of students are all trustworthy children! It may be many years before we can find such an outstanding class again!"
"This year's students are not bad either," the Third said, tapping his pipe as he looked at the students fighting on the training ground. "Sakura, do you see any you like?"
Haruno Sakura hesitated for a moment.
"Those sixth-graders?" she asked hesitantly. "They all feel very average."
Although she didn't require every subordinate to be a genius like the members of Team 7, with her strength, it was okay to be a little reserved, right?
Sakura still hoped that her first batch of subordinates would be ninja with more potential.
Otherwise, if they grew too slowly, the cruel world of the future would not wait for them.
If it could be peaceful, she would be interested in playing a nurturing game.
The Third Hokage waved his hand and pointed to the training ground next to them. "No, look at the fifth-graders."
Sakura looked over. On the field, two students had just started a fight. After watching for a while, she was a little surprised.
"These two's ninjutsu and taijutsu are both very spiritual! That girl is even stronger," Haruno Sakura said. She suddenly found that these two looked a bit familiar. "Oh right, aren't these the two little ones who are always playing with Konohamaru! What are their names?"
Those three little brats used to follow Naruto around all the time. Later, after becoming ninja, Naruto didn't have time to play with them often, so she had seen them less.
Haruno Sakura had also never thought that the little boy who had been following Naruto around with a runny nose and the little girl with the arrogant look on her face two or three years ago would have now become agile ninja academy students!
"Their names are Udon and Moegi," the Third said with a smile. "And my grandson, Konohamaru. The three of them, in terms of both mentality and strength, are already prepared to become ninja. There's no need for them to stay in school anymore! I plan to arrange for them to graduate a year early next year. What do you think?"
So, the Third's meaning was to let her be Konohamaru's supervising-sensei?
Well, even Lord Third has his own selfish motives...
He had already found a powerful teacher for his grandson in advance. Among the current Jonin in Konoha who could lead a team, Haruno Sakura was indeed the strongest! And her mind and character were both top-notch. As for her being a first-time team leader and lacking experience... that wasn't a big problem.
For this, the Third had even arranged for Konohamaru to graduate early... After all, the later it was, the closer the peace in the ninja world was to its end!
He had really taken great pains.
Of course, she would give the Third face in this matter. However, Konohamaru's strength also had to reach a certain level.
Sakura walked over.
"I'll test them myself!" Haruno Sakura wanted to fight these few people personally!
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