After the generous distribution of funds, the representatives of the major Ninja Clans below clearly had much better attitudes, and the smiles on their faces increased significantly.
This reaction was quite normal.
After all, who doesn't like a leader who gives them money?
"The second matter."
Minamikawa Yuu looked at the many Ninja Clan representatives before him. "This great war has exposed quite a few problems."
"Many Ninjas in the Village have weak foundations, and the techniques they have mastered vary, making it completely impossible to form coordination on the battlefield."
"If this problem isn't solved, its impact on the Village will ultimately be too great."
"Therefore, starting from this year, regardless of whether one is from a Ninja Clan or not, as long as they are of the appropriate age, they must be sent to the Ninja Academy for unified learning."
He looked at the people before him. "What do you all think?"
The Second Hokage founded the Ninja Academy to train civilian Ninjas while simultaneously increasing the Village's cohesion.
However, looking at the results, although some goals were achieved, the effect was still not significant enough.
This was because the major Ninja Clans did not send their school-aged children to the Ninja Academy.
The reason for this was that the major Ninja Clans themselves already controlled the training of Ninjas.
They would train the children of their own clans and pass down their Secret Techniques to their clansmen, making them qualified Ninjas.
They had been doing this for many years in the past.
Since they had their own methods of training Ninjas within their clans, there was naturally no need to send them to the Ninja Academy.
After all, the things taught at the Ninja Academy were too basic, with hardly any decent techniques. Even for Ninja Clans with just a bit of accumulation, there was no need to send their clansmen there to waste time.
But this led to many problems.
First was the issue of teaching ability.
Ninja Clans that have survived from the Sengoku period to the present all have some tricks up their sleeves, either possessing a Bloodline Limit or unique inherited Secret Techniques.
The former include the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, while the latter are represented by the Ino–Shika–Chō.
Large Ninja Clans have deep foundations, possessing not only ample resources but also enough techniques for their clansmen to learn. The Ninjas they train not only have no shortcomings but also master the clan's unique Secret Techniques, putting their level clearly a notch above other Ninjas.
But there are also many Ninja Clans that, despite having only a few shallow Secret Techniques, insist on clinging to those few techniques.
Ninjas trained this way often have weak foundations and shortcomings in many areas, aside from the set of Secret Techniques they have mastered.
This might not be apparent in normal times, but once they are on the battlefield, it becomes a major issue.
In previous wars, Konoha Ninjas exposed many such problems.
Second was the issue of leadership and cohesion.
Whether Ninjas are taught by Ninja Clans or by the Ninja Academy is a question of who holds the lead.
For a Ninja trained entirely by their own Ninja Clan, would they identify more with Konoha or with their own Ninja Clan identity?
People like Uchiha Itachi, who ate the Uchiha clan's food but ultimately chose to exterminate the entire clan, are a minority after all.
Most normal people who eat their clan's food will naturally lean more towards their clan.
So, what Minamikawa Yuu wanted to do now was to strip the right to educate the next generation of Ninjas from the hands of the Ninja Clans, and as much as possible, transform future Ninjas into people who are loyal to Konoha.
He called it, beautifully, Compulsory Education.
"Compulsory Education?"
Hearing Minamikawa Yuu's words, all the Ninja Clan representatives present were dumbfounded.
They looked at each other, and hearing Minamikawa Yuu's words, they all began to doubt their ears.
"Hokage-sama, is what you said... true?"
The head of the Nara Clan spoke up, wanting to get a definitive confirmation from Minamikawa Yuu.
"Naturally, it is true."
Minamikawa Yuu nodded. "From today onwards, all school-aged children in the Village must be sent to the Ninja Academy for six years of basic Ninja education."
"Those who pass the basic Ninja education can be granted the title of Genin."
Regardless of age, all of them are to be sent to the Ninja Academy for Ninja training?
Hearing Minamikawa Yuu's words, everyone present couldn't help but gasp.
What a grand move.
Senju Tobirama's original intention in creating the Ninja Academy was to train civilian Ninjas.
But to be honest, after several years, the effect of this measure was just so-so.
It wasn't completely ineffective, but it was hard to say how much effect it really had.
This was because of the limitation on numbers.
Restricted by teaching costs, although the Ninja Academy recruited students, the number of recruits wasn't very large. Not only were there requirements for the student's status, but they also had to meet certain talent standards.
Although it was meant to train civilian Ninjas, the way it was set up was equivalent to elite education.
This didn't change much even later on.
Even in the Konoha of decades later, where the number of civilian Ninjas had greatly increased, Ninjas from Ninja Clans still made up the majority.
The reason for this was mainly due to cost considerations.
Training Ninjas is a resource-intensive endeavor.
Setting aside things like Explosive Tags and Kunai, the various items needed for daily teaching also require investment.
These investments were so large that even if the Ninja Academy collected tuition, it couldn't be self-sufficient; Konoha had to continuously provide funding.
And now, Minamikawa Yuu says he wants to implement Compulsory Education?
The first reaction of everyone present was where the money would come from.
"To be blunt, do you really intend to include all the children of Konoha?"
Utatane Koharu frowned and spoke tactfully, "The Village's financial resources might not be enough to support this."
It was more than just "not enough to support."
Once this plan was released, given Konoha's current financial situation, it probably wouldn't last long.
After all, although Konoha wasn't large, it still had hundreds of thousands of people.
Among them, the number of children suitable for enrollment, even by a rough calculation, would be at least ten or twenty thousand.
With so many people recruited into the Ninja Academy, setting aside whether there were enough teachers, the annual consumption alone would be an enormous figure.
"There's no need to worry about funding for the time being."
Minamikawa Yuu smiled at Utatane Koharu's words. "The funding sent by the Daimyo this time, besides what's allocated to the Ninja Clans, will all be invested in the Ninja Academy for expanding the school and recruiting teachers."
"Even so, it can only support it for a period of time at most..."
""
Utatane Koharu hesitated.
"That is the other matter I wanted to mention."
Minamikawa Yuu looked at the people before him and spoke softly, "The Village's income is too monotonous; relying entirely on the Daimyo's funding and mission commissions is simply too passive.
""
"Therefore, starting today, a Department of Commerce and Transportation will be established."
"Department of Commerce and Transportation?"
Hearing Minamikawa Yuu's words, everyone present couldn't help but look at each other.