Now that all the Shinobi Cats of Sora-ku have defected, the Uchiha Clan has become even more enthusiastic about selecting new Shinobi beasts.
Back to the topic.
Yashiro glanced at Shisui and whispered, "Shisui is the clan's number one genjutsu user; he can't be without eyes. I propose giving the pair of three tomoe from the clan's reserves to Shisui."
The high-ranking members of the Police Force responded one after another, all agreeing to transplant a new pair of three tomoe into Shisui.
Fugaku stroked his chin; he was somewhat suspicious of why Shisui would destroy his own eyes.
According to the questioning of Itachi, Shisui was afraid that Ryou would obtain his eyes, so he destroyed them himself.
What could a pair of three tomoe be to Ryou, who already possessed Wood Release?
Unless... those weren't three tomoe!
Fugaku touched his own eyes and then looked at Shisui, suspecting that the other man had also obtained eyes like his own.
And that they contained a terrifying Dojutsu, which made Ryou want to take them.
Shisui likely relied on the power of the Mangekyo to perform great deeds and gain Jiraiya's appreciation.
Mikoto nudged Fugaku: "Fugaku, what are you thinking? Everyone is waiting for your opinion."
"Oh! Sorry, I was just lost in thought."
Fugaku was only speculating; he had no evidence to prove that Shisui had eyes like his.
Furthermore, since Shisui's eyes were already destroyed, there was no need to look too deeply into it; the more one investigated, the easier it would be to expose one's own trump cards.
Although the power of the Mangekyo is immense, every use damages the eyes, and excessive use leads to blindness.
Therefore, such powerful eyes must never be exposed.
Once exposed, given the typical behavior of the Konoha high-ranking officials, they would definitely force Fugaku to fight Madara to the death.
After all, this Village believes that with great power comes great responsibility.
But the greater the responsibility, the deeper the wound.
Fugaku also agreed to transplant a pair of eyes for Shisui; the eyes held in the Uchiha reserves were intended as rewards for clan members who performed great service for the Uchiha.
Fugaku led the high-ranking members of the Police Force over to Shisui's side, where he bowed to Jiraiya and the Third Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-senpai!"
Jiraiya nodded to Fugaku, looking at Fugaku's eyes and wondering if this thick-browed, big-eyed fellow had also awakened the Mangekyo.
Since Shisui had awakened the Uchiha's ultimate Dojutsu at such a young age, it was impossible for Fugaku, as the Uchiha's top expert, to show no signs of it at all.
"Ah, it's Fugaku!"
The Third Hokage said cheerfully; he was dressed in casual clothes, his beard was stained with grease, and he held a skewer of grilled meat in his hand.
Today, the Third Hokage finally had a bit of leisure time.
One must know that ever since the news of Madara's resurrection arrived, the Third Hokage hadn't gone home once; when he was tired at night, he would only doze off for a bit at his desk.
Then he would get up and continue coordinating various tasks in preparation for the final battle against Madara.
Even when his own father's grave was dug up by his proudest disciple, the Third Hokage only felt a flash of rage before returning to his work.
In some ways, the Third Hokage worked even harder than Minato and Jiraiya; he would rather go and fight Madara than deal with that heavy workload.
It truly fits the saying—
That's how it is in the rear; the Shinobi on the front lines only need to devote themselves fully to the battlefield, follow orders, and fight hard to kill the enemy, but the Hokage in the rear has much more to consider.
It was rare to have some leisure today; he thought to himself that this might be his last moment of peace.
The Third Hokage gestured for Fugaku to sit and said, "The Shinobi Academy has already submitted Itachi's application for graduation; it only needs my final approval."
"Fugaku, what's your opinion?"
"I have no objection!"
Fugaku had taken Itachi to the battlefield to kill people when he was only three or four years old; they were truly a father-son soldier duo.
Regarding Itachi, Fugaku taught him using the Uchiha family's educational methods from the Warring States Period, letting him experience the cruelty of the Shinobi World early on.
By being exposed to the world's darkest matters early on, he would have nothing to fear later.
This kind of person is like showing their son adult films and then teaching him to be a mentally healthy person later.
You ruin him from the start, and yet you expect him to stand out from the crowd!
Mikoto's ears twitched, and her Sharingan instinctively activated as she looked over at Itachi and Izumi eating grilled meat.
Itachi felt a pang of panic, as if he were being stared down by some great terror, and he looked around.
Mikoto lowered her head, pretending to be a gentle and virtuous wife.
But in her heart, she was already thinking about how to deal with Itachi after they got back.
There were many people here; she had to be mindful of the Uchiha Clan's reputation.
Mikoto felt that verbal persuasion alone wouldn't work; she recalled her elder brother's words about dealing with stubborn children like Itachi.
He had to be beaten!
The Third Hokage said to Fugaku, "However, I disagree. I believe a Shinobi should be at least 12 years old before they are eligible to graduate."
"Then, after three years of seasoning, they take the Chunin exam; at that point, they have the proper psychological quality to go to the battlefield."
Obito and Rin graduated at around 9 years old, while Naruto and the others graduated at 12.
The reason Obito and the others graduated so early was due to the special circumstances of wartime; the Village was short-handed and needed to recruit students from the Shinobi Academy.
Becoming a Shinobi at this time had its pros and cons, because the graduation requirements were significantly lowered, allowing even those with average grades to graduate.
You should know that during times of peace, only the elite among elites were allowed to graduate.
That was Naruto's year; only nine people passed the graduation exam in that class.
This is also where the early setting becomes contradictory; later in shippuden, the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the samurai of the Land of Iron assembled an army of 80,000.
Subtracting the samurai of the Land of Iron, and based on the facts that the Land of Fire has the largest population and Konoha has the most Shinobi...
Konoha could provide nearly twenty thousand Shinobi!
Thus, the early setting of Shinobi being elites, with only a dozen or so graduating a year, becomes a contradiction.
To provide twenty thousand active Shinobi, mostly Chunin and Jonin, it would be impossible without hundreds or thousands graduating each year.
Furthermore, Konoha had experienced the Konoha Crush Plan, losing many excellent Shinobi including the Third Hokage, and the Shinobi Village's combat power was reduced to less than half of what it was.
Under such circumstances, where did Konoha's nearly twenty thousand Shinobi come from three years later?
Did they sprout from the ground?
The Third Hokage took a bite of grilled meat and said to Fugaku, "Danzo, Homura, and I went to the battlefield at around 7 years old."
"We have resilient personalities and can withstand the heavy pressure of the battlefield, but it's impossible for everyone to endure that."
"I have seen many people who collapsed due to the cruelty of war."
"It's because Danzo saw the fragility of the human heart that he came to believe in the theory of Shinobi as tools. In the eyes of the Daimyo and the nobles, we Shinobi are just tools—weapons that fight for the country."
"But as long as a person can think, they will have emotions. When you plunge a Kunai into the chest of someone just like you, you'll find the person opposite might be a child, or perhaps an old man."
"For the country, for the Village, for the land, for money—there are too many reasons for war."
"But remember, in war, there are no winners, only losers."