Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

"The Hamano family's child next door died during their second mission. I heard he was killed by some kind of explosive tag, and there wasn't even a trace of his remains..."

Koji Ise watched the kitchen fire silently, without saying a word.

He never imagined that after graduating from the ninja academy and obtaining the ninja identity he had always dreamed of, he would face such a crisis.

Just a month ago, Koji Ise had just graduated from the Ninja Academy and received his Genin headband. Immediately afterward, he underwent a week of intensive training under the guidance of his Chunin instructors before participating in his first mission.

He was the only civilian ninja to survive that mission.

He still can't forget the scene of his bright-eyed female classmate dying in front of him, nor can he forget the scene of his Chunin teacher using his sacrificed comrades as bait to lure and kill the enemy.

After that battle, he finally understood why his senior classmates who had already graduated would have such expressions when they congratulated him—being a ninja was indeed a high-paying profession, provided you were alive to earn it.

The ninjas' mission pay was indeed very high, and the family of every ninja who died would receive a "heavy" compensation payment—compared to the annual income of ordinary people, that compensation payment was indeed high.

In addition, free meals were provided during the ninja academy period. Despite the vague rumors that the mortality rate of ninjas was high, it still couldn't stop these civilians from desperately trying to squeeze in.

The poorer they are, the more calculating they become—three years of free food plus pensions, the return far outweighs the cost, which is enough to drive these commoners crazy.

Of course, these things were kept secret from the students of the ninja academy, which is why Koji Ise's personality changed so drastically after that battle.

However, thanks to that mission, he was fortunate enough to escape the civil war that had recently broken out in the village.

It was precisely because of this civil war that he has not been sent on any missions to this day—the village was affected by too many areas of war, and the villagers' work efficiency was simply too low.

Therefore, the elders directly ordered all genin to mobilize and clear the ruins.

Thanks to the ninjas' exceptional work efficiency, the cleanup of the ruins of Kirigakure is nearing completion. According to the information Ise Koji received, he estimates that the next mission will begin soon.

Bang bang bang!

"Who?"

Just then, a rapid knocking sounded at the door. Koji Ise jumped up, pulled a kunai from his calf, and looked at the door warily.

Although he didn't need to be so vigilant in the village, the shadow cast by that mission still haunted him.

"It's me, Takehiko! Open the door, Koji!"

An excited shout came from outside the door, and Ise Koji naturally recognized it as the voice of his ninja academy classmate.

But why is he looking for me instead of preparing for his next mission?

"Good news, Koji, we don't need to go on a mission!"

Upon hearing this, Koji Ise was startled and quickly opened the door to welcome him in.

The ninja named Takehiko naturally knew what he wanted to see, and immediately pulled out a notice and handed it to him.

"This is the proclamation of the Ninja Academy reform personally issued by the great hero who saved Kirigakure! One of the clauses specifically addresses us graduates!"

Ise Koji took it and immediately spotted the relevant clause among the dense text:

"...Considering that graduates lack practical experience, a newbie protection period has been established for ninja academy graduates. During the first three months after graduation, they can only perform C-rank and below missions."

According to the ninja mission classification, D-rank missions are daily missions, and the mission area is usually inside the village, which is the mission that Naruto and others had just graduated from.

Rank C missions are escort missions and do not involve ninjas. They are similar to the bridge protection missions in the Land of Waves before encountering ninjas.

Rank B missions may involve battles against ninjas.

In the past, ninja academy graduates with kinder instructors would be given a C-rank mission to practice on, but Ise Koji was in a much worse situation, facing a B-rank mission right from the start.

However, in any case, a typical ninja academy graduate will definitely encounter a B-rank mission within three months, which is why Hozuki Shingetsu found such a high mortality rate in the three-month period when compiling statistics.

"That's great, Koji!"

"Thank goodness for Lord Crescent Moon!"

Koji Ise's mother held him and wept with joy, repeatedly expressing her gratitude for Hozuki Shingetsu's kindness.

"Yes, Koji! I heard that the ninja clans didn't agree when this clause was set up, but it was Lord Shingetsu who argued strongly and secured such a good benefit for us. With Lord Shingetsu here, how can the village not prosper?"

Takehiko was also excited and showed particular respect for Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Lord Xinyue..."

Looking at the notice in his hand, Koji Ise seemed to feel a stirring in his heart once again.

-

Hozuki Shingetsu's orders caused a huge uproar among the civilian ninjas, earning him a lot of prestige. The respect that civilian ninjas, especially the newly graduated genin, had for Hozuki Shingetsu reached a level that was hard for ordinary people to match.

Meanwhile, the ninja clans responded indifferently to Hozuki Shingetsu's orders.

There's no other reason than that Hozuki Shingetsu's reforms this time didn't focus on many things; there were only three core points, and all the other scattered content served these three points.

These three points were considered harmless by the ninja clans, at least in the short term, and given Hozuki Shingetsu's current power, naturally no one would dare to object.

Those rumors were just something Hozuki Shingetsu deliberately spread to raise his own profile.

The first reform of the Ninja Academy was the introduction of a credit system.

With enough credits, you can buy anything you want at the Ninja Academy.

For example, private tutoring time from instructors, superior weaponry and equipment, various ninjutsu below rank C, spots in elite classes, and the legendary "one-day principal" privileges can all be obtained by exchanging credits.

As a result, the graduation requirements for the Ninja Academy have also been changed.

The assessment method was changed from testing the Three Body Techniques and ninja tool throwing to determining graduation based on the number of credits earned.

In other words, if someone is talented enough and a genius enough, they can apply to graduate shortly after enrolling—such special talent policies would exist in any world.

Credits are earned through monthly exams, midterms and finals, and various extracurricular activities.

Hozuki Shingetsu even had plans to cancel D-rank missions and incorporate them all into the extracurricular activities at the Ninja Academy—it would be a waste of talent to use genin for a mission like catching a cat or dog.

Of course, the number of credits obtained through these methods is extremely small. If you only rely on these credits, after deducting the credits required for graduation, you can probably only learn two D-rank ninjutsu at most.

If you want to earn a lot of credits, learn C-rank ninjutsu, or even gain the privilege of being the "one-day principal," there is only one way—the Ninja Academy Ladder Battle!

Hozuki Shingetsu has erected a huge stone monument in the center of the ninja academy's training ground. Only those who win the monthly arena battle can have their names hung on the stone monument.

These individuals will receive academic credits based on the length of their enrollment, and there are only ten slots available.

After all, the current ninja academy students are mostly ordinary people. If they can produce ten geniuses at most, that's already considered good. The geniuses Hozuki Shingetsu is referring to are those who are guaranteed to be Chunin and have the potential to become Jonin.

It's easy to imagine how crazy those civilian ninjas will be after this order is implemented—that's C-rank ninjutsu, private instruction from an elite teacher!

This was something they would never have dared to even dream of before!

Now all of this is laid bare before them, telling them directly what level of reward they will receive for achieving certain goals. How could this not drive them completely mad?

And what these children from ordinary backgrounds have in abundance is this kind of fighting spirit.

To further motivate the students of the Ninja Academy, Hozuki Shingetsu even spread the word that if anyone could reach the top of the ladder in their first year of enrollment, he would directly accept that person as his disciple!

Upon hearing this news, the ordinary students were so excited that their eyes turned red. This was the disciple of the great hero who had saved Kirigakure!

Moreover, judging from the timing, it is very likely that he is his first disciple. What does that mean?

This means that if he doesn't die, he might even have a chance to become the Fifth Mizukage!

Tempted by the prospect of rising from commoner to Mizukage, prospective students who met the requirements for the Ninja Academy, led by their parents, completely abandoned their rest and began training day and night to compete for this spot.

Even many members of the Bloodstained Ninja Clan were extremely envious of this spot, thinking of using the name of a new student to enroll and seize the status of Hozuki Shingetsu's first disciple.

Hozuki Shingetsu naturally refused, after all, these children of bloodline ninja clans, although they were still young and had not yet awakened their bloodline limits, would probably be able to defeat those commoner graduates under the guidance of good teachers at home.

If that's the case, then what's the point of Hozuki Shingetsu releasing this message?

So after Hozuki Shingetsu promised to recruit a few disciples from the Bloodstained Ninja Clan, the trend gradually faded away.

Chapter 97 Entrance Examination

The second point of Hozuki Shingetsu's reform of the ninja academy was also very simple: to divide the classes according to their different training objectives and establish combat classes and skill classes.

After all, everyone's talents are completely different, and one cannot simply judge a person's level based on their ninja training talent.

In order to make the best use of everyone's talents, Hozuki Shingetsu divided the current three-year ninja academy into two years of basic education and one year of professional education.

Those students who possess some combat talent and the temperament and ability to become formal ninjas will be assigned to combat squads for more in-depth education and guidance.

Advanced courses such as survival drills and simulated combat will also be conducted during this stage.

Those who are not particularly gifted as ninjas will be placed in specialized skills classes to learn courses such as medical ninjutsu, chakra principles, basic ninjutsu release, and chakra machines.

In fact, the three-year course was still too short. Whether it was the tactical skills of a ninja or the academic skills of a researcher, it can be said that only a year was enough to learn the basics.

Therefore, once Hozuki Shingetsu comes of age, the ninja academy's curriculum must be changed to six years.

As for the final third reform plan, it is the previously mentioned policy of a protection period for novice graduates of the Ninja Academy.

After all, Hozuki Shingetsu's purpose in becoming the principal of the Ninja Academy was to vigorously cultivate civilian ninjas and select a large number of outstanding talents from them.

They don't even give people time to adjust after graduation, they're immediately thrown into B-rank missions, as if everyone is Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha!

Therefore, whether from the perspective of buying reputation or from a long-term perspective, setting up a protection period for new users is imperative.

Moreover, Hozuki Shingetsu didn't require much time, so the ninja clans naturally had no objections.

After all, three months is enough time for a qualified ninja to adapt to the new situation.

As for the fact that even after this newbie protection period, a large number of civilian ninjas will still die at the hands of B-rank missions... Hozuki Shingetsu isn't running a charity, so if these people die, they die!

Despite his great goodwill towards ordinary ninjas, he harbored great malice towards those ninja clans.