Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Heizo greeted Fumori Masaki politely, as he was their teacher. Tsunade, who was very familiar with Fumori Masaki, showed no fear and boldly said, "You're so slow, Kazamori. We've been waiting here for a long time."
"I got a bit caught up in a discussion, my apologies," Fumori Masaki replied.
"Honestly," Tsunade said with a helpless expression, "Kazamori sometimes gets so engrossed in other people's affairs that he forgets the time. Sister Satomi has mentioned it many times."
As the village's situation slowly stabilized, the focus began to shift towards development. As a Jonin, Fumori Masaki naturally couldn't stay out of it. Moreover, he still had to lay some groundwork for the village, which made it even more impossible for him to be uninvolved. Just as Tsunade said, he would sometimes get so immersed that he would forget everything else.
"However, before I arrived, you should have had ample time to get to know each other, right?" Fumori Masaki said. "You all know each other now, right? Tsunade, Sakumo, Heizo, is it okay if I call you that?"
"No problem, Teacher Kazamori," Hatake Sakumo quickly replied.
"Mm," Hattori Heizo simply said one word.
"Alright, let's not stand around. Let's go sit over there for a bit," Fumori Masaki said, pointing to some simple wooden training equipment and seating not far away.
After sitting down with the three, Fumori Masaki said, "First, let me ask, what do you wish to learn from me?"
"Frontal combat methods," Hattori Heizo said immediately after Fumori Masaki finished speaking. His goal had always been solely this.
Fumori Masaki had heard about the Hattori family's troubles. He nodded at him and said, "No problem," then looked at Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade, asking, "What about you two?"
Hatake Sakumo's primary hope regarding Fumori Masaki was to leverage this high-ranking Konoha platform to allow his family to live openly and honorably in Konoha Village, free from strange looks. As for cultivation, he hadn't thought much about it, but he did understand his own issues.
"I heard that Teacher Kazamori is a ninja skilled in high-speed combat and uses a sword. Since my chakra nature is lightning and I come from a samurai family, I hope to learn Teacher Kazamori's combat style," Hatake Sakumo said.
"Using lightning-natured chakra to stimulate the body and thus increase speed is the most basic method for lightning-natured chakra users. In Kumogakure, almost everyone uses it. The next level up is the Lightning Release Armor, which only the Raikage can use for extended periods," Fumori Masaki said. "For someone from a samurai background like you, this should be the most suitable combat style. So, Tsunade, what about you?"
"Hmm... how should I put it?" Tsunade showed a troubled expression. Although she had pestered Tobirama into agreeing to let her study under Fumori Masaki, she herself had no idea what she wanted to learn. The Senju clan's advantage lay in their strong bodies, and they didn't have any unique secret techniques or kekkei genkai. Therefore, the ninjutsu they learned was very diverse, just like Hashirama could use Water Release, Earth Release, and the combination of the two, Wood Release—though he never used the former two basic releases after mastering Wood Release. Tobirama could use Water Release, Senju Toka could use genjutsu, and Senju Risa could use medical ninjutsu.
"You don't know?" Fumori Masaki asked.
Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Heizo looked over. Feeling their gazes, Tsunade immediately became embarrassed, her cheeks flushed. After a while, as if throwing caution to the wind, she said, "Ah, I really don't know what to do."
"Since you don't know, then you'll learn what I tell you to. Based on Teacher Tobirama's request, I roughly know how to teach you," Fumori Masaki said.
"Grandpa Tobirama's request? What kind of request?" Tsunade asked curiously upon hearing this.
"You'll know later," Fumori Masaki replied. Of course, he wouldn't say that Tobirama only intended for Tsunade to learn how to utilize chakra. To prevent Tsunade from making a fuss, he had her enroll under Fumori Masaki as a student, which caused some trouble, but it wasn't insurmountable.
As a ninja, one naturally needs to learn how to use chakra, but being able to use chakra doesn't necessarily mean one has to become a ninja. Fumori Masaki believed that if new directions for chakra use could be explored, then one wouldn't have to be limited to the single profession of a ninja.
After all, the current ninja world had the example of samurai, who also used chakra but had different focuses than ninjas. Ninjas emphasized techniques, while samurai focused on the body. Although ninjas also used chakra to enhance taijutsu, they didn't have as many variations as samurai.
After all, ninjas had a wide variety of ninjutsu to use, while samurai would only focus on taijutsu. Over the years, this had led to the development of methods for transforming and applying chakra's nature to swordsmanship.
"I want to make one thing clear: I will fulfill all your requests, but I don't want you to simply learn by listening to me," Fumori Masaki said. "What I want you to learn is how to understand power, how to understand yourselves, how to think about power itself, and how to understand the world."
The three children looked somewhat confused. They were still young and couldn't grasp what Fumori Masaki was talking about. Fumori Masaki didn't expect them to understand immediately, but he wanted them to remember this point in their hearts, like a seed planted, to absorb nutrients in their future lives and grow strong.
If the ninja world was to enter a new stage, it couldn't repeat past methods of simply cultivating ninjas into weapons of war. Fumori Masaki believed that ninjas should learn how to think, how to understand their own power, what kind of morals and qualities they should possess, and how to view the world.
"In the Ninja Academy, you probably all think that those literature courses aren't very important, right?" Fumori Masaki said.
Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo glanced at Hattori Heizo. Earlier, Hattori Heizo had been against this point; he was the most traditional type of ninja. Tsunade herself wasn't very interested either, only finding it somewhat amusing. The only one truly interested was Hatake Sakumo.
Their actions did not escape Fumori Masaki's eyes. Fumori Masaki knew that many in the village had objections to the ideological education courses he insisted on, feeling they were meaningless and that ninjas didn't need them at all. This was especially true for the older, more traditional ninjas.
Because these people had been brought up with traditional ninja concepts since childhood, it wasn't easy to shake those beliefs once they became adults. They found Fumori Masaki's opinions difficult to accept. Fumori Masaki sympathized with them, acknowledging it as a lingering historical issue, but he certainly wouldn't compromise, as it was essential for the new era.
The children in the Ninja Academy were in a crucial period for shaping their minds, and they would also be the future pillars of the village. If they couldn't grasp the new ideas, no matter how much Fumori Masaki promoted them, the ninja village would never transform, because the overall strength of the ninja village lay in its foundation, and if the foundational populace didn't accept it, then there was no point in talking about change.
Students like Fumori Masaki and his disciples received a superior education compared to the Ninja Academy. Logically, they would progress faster than others and were more likely to become high-ranking officials in the ninja village. Therefore, they needed to receive new ideological education even more, to ensure consistency between the upper and lower echelons.
"According to regulations, even if a student has the strength to graduate, they must complete a full literary education," Fumori Masaki said. "Don't think that once you leave the Ninja Academy, you won't have to study anymore. I will also teach you these things. Don't find it troublesome; trust me, learning this knowledge will bring you growth on another level and lead to comprehensive improvement."
Although Hattori Heizo was a traditional ninja, he was still a child, and his thoughts weren't as rigid as an adult's. Moreover, these words came from Fumori Masaki, who was a master in this ninja village and a Jonin with high authority. What he said must have his own reasons. So, neither he nor Tsunade were particularly resistant.
Seeing their expressions, Fumori Masaki smiled slightly and said, "Today, we won't rush into training. First, let's review the knowledge you've acquired so far and see your understanding of it. If there's anything you don't understand, I'll explain it to you. Perhaps it will give you a new experience."