I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

”Your ambitions are too grand; this could bring harm to Konoha,” Koharu said after regaining composure.

”I won’t harm Konoha. No one wants to see Konoha safe more than I do. I always hope for peace and continuous development for Konoha,” Nagasawa said earnestly.

At this moment, if a lie detector were present, it would confirm that Nagasawa was telling the truth. He genuinely didn’t want to harm Konoha because it would bring his own downfall, and as Konoha developed, he would get stronger as well.

”Let me make things clear. I have many plans for Konoha’s development. Opening Konoha and accepting a large population is a crucial part of it.”

Although the population growth during peacetime wouldn’t be slow, the time required to reach Nagasawa’s desired level was too long. The better option was to accept outsiders. Nagasawa was confident that many people would be glad to move to Konoha once the opportunity presented itself.

Having spies infiltrating was inevitable, but Nagasawa didn’t mind. When Konoha developed further with a population of millions, dealing with a few spies would be a simple matter.

The Third Hokage stroked his beard with a complicated expression on his face.

Nagasawa’s plan and ambitions exceeded his imagination. Compared to Nagasawa’s goals, Danzo seemed like a baby.

He didn’t know if this was good or bad. Even if Nagasawa indeed didn’t want harm to come to Konoha and wanted the best for Konoha, sometimes things didn’t go as planned. Being too devoted to Konoha could also potentially harm it.

Through Nagasawa’s words, the Third Hokage could see a prosperous Konoha, a Konoha with a large population, bustling streets, and a lot of skilled Shinobi.

However, to reach that level, Konoha would have to endure many hardships. The current system of combining a Shinobi Village with a nation was pioneered by Konoha and Konoha had benefited from it. To grow into the Konoha Nagasawa described, this system would become a hindrance.

The Daimyo wouldn’t want Konoha develop too much. If Konoha accepted a large population, the Daimyo most probably would threaten to cut off Konoha’s funds if they didn’t cease expansion.

Why do you need so many people in a military base? Were you planning a coup or something?

If Konoha continued to grow, they might face a new problem.

By breaking the system, Konoha would become the enemy of everyone who benefited from the system.

By that time, Konoha had to be prepared to be assaulted by many nations at once, and Konoha’s reliable ally, the Land of Fire might Even provide weapons and funds to Konoha’s enemies if it came to it.

”Cough, cough,” the Third Hokage cleared his throat and then said, ”This is getting a bit off-topic. Weren’t we discussing changes for the Academy? Let’s get back to the main topic.”

”Nagasawa, I have a question. According to your plan, elementary school lasts four years, and middle school lasts three years. What happens if a student fails to advance from elementary school and middle school?” the Third Hokage asked.

Nagasawa’s goals were beyond his imagination, and the Third Hokage needed to spend a lot of time thinking and making choices. Therefore, he chose to bring the topic back to the Academy’s reform.

”Because we’ve compressed the six years of Academy into four years for elementary school, the graduation standard for elementary school exams will actually be lower than the original Academy graduation criteria. As long as the students are paying attention to their classes, they should be able to graduate. In case someone does fail to graduate, they will have to repeat the year. In middle school, the difficulty will be much higher. Students must study and train seriously to graduation. However, the students have the option of not advancing to high school; in case they choose this route, they’ll become a Genin,” Nagasawa explained his pan.

Not everyone could go to high school. Although the university didn’t require everyone to be a genius, they had to be somewhat talented or hardworking.

Then again, he couldn’t just let children waste 7 years of their life. Therefore, Nagasawa made it so that the middle school graduates were equal to a Genin, similar to the current Academy graduates. In the future, when Konoha developed into an Academic City, they could establish universities. Currently, the main goal was to educate skilled Shinobi.

”That sounds reasonable. Some students graduate from middle school and become Shinobi, while others may continue their education,” the Third Hokage nodded.

”Hiruzen, you don’t plan to agree with his plan, do you?” Koharu couldn’t help but say.

The Third Hokage stroked his beard and said, ”Koharu, we are the people with the highest authority in Konoha, and everything must be considered if it’s for Konoha’s sake. If the plan can make Konoha better, why not implement it? Setting aside high school, I think the policy for elementary and middle school is well-designed and can effectively enhance the quality of Konoha’s Shinobi.”

”I actually think that Nagasawa’s idea of establishing a Department of Education makes a lot of sense. We owe Konoha’s development to Second Hokage’s Academy, and while various aspects in Konoha have changed, the education remains at Second Hokage’s era. It’s high time to pay more attention to it,” Minato said after some thought.

He was actually pretty surprised by Nagasawa’s words just now. However, since he was close with Nagasawa, and Nagasawa had mentioned a part of his plan before, he could retain his composure to some extent.

”The Fourth Hokage is right. Education should be given more attention. Let’s establish the Education Department!” the Third Hokage nodded and said.

The current Hokage and the previous Hokage had reached a consensus, so the two advisors had nothing more to say. The Education Department would be established, and that was final.

Following that, there was another round of discussions, and eventually, Nagasawa’s plan was approved. However, he compromised by prioritizing middle and elementary schools, while the high school’s establishment was postponed.

Nagasawa was mentally prepared for this decision, as he wasn’t planning to establish high school immediately. The challenges of setting up a university were different from those of elementary and middle schools. Firstly, the issue of teachers for various specialized courses was a problem; only experienced Chunin and Jonin had the qualifications to teach.

Moreover, the specific courses and curriculum, including not just specialized courses but also general and elective courses, needed time to be carefully considered. Even the textbooks for high schoold students were a significant challenge.

Handling all of these tasks alone was a bit overwhelming for Nagasawa. Therefore, he volunteered to become the Vice Minister of the Education Department, with the Third Hokage as the Minister.

As everyone knew, the real work was done by the vice minister, so the Third Hokage was more of a figurehead.

Nagasawa planned to establish high schoold research team under Education Department’s name. The team would include strong individuals like the Third Hokage, who excelled in Ninjutsu, and Shinobi with exceptional skills like Kurenai Yūhi.