The shadows

ch 21

Naruto was nervous. He came to the council chamber with Danzo in the afternoon. His turn for the meeting was at the very end, so he had to wait to be called in. he had a stack of papers right next to him.

He looked calm and collected from the outside, but he was having a mental discussion with Kurama about the meeting. Finally, he was called in. He gently put the stack down on the table where he was supposed to stand in front of the council.

The clan heads were all sitting on one side, and the other side of the table was empty except for the advisors since the civilian council was dismissed. The Hokage was seated at the head of the table right in front of Naruto's standing place.

Naruto did a classical ninja kneeling in front of their leader since a bow wasn't appropriate for his position as future clan head. "Rise, Naruto-Kun. We are here to listen to your proposal about the changes to the academy curriculum." The Hokage said.

Naruto took a deep breath before starting. "Thank you for this opportunity. As you have all been informed beforehand, there are many factors to this decision, and since we are not here to discuss the reasons, I will just go through the proposed changes." Naruto handed out the files over the table.

"As explained in the files, the first major change is for the basic medical training. There are many accidents and small injuries that can be treated in the field to lower mortality or permanent injury. If students are taught how to treat things like flesh wounds, broken bones, or common poisons, they can have a better opportunity in fights."

"You can also see in the statistics provided that such injuries are the cause of 40 percent of mission failures in genins. While most jonin have this training, there are still reasons provided as to the benefits and situations it can prevent based on the mission reports of past five years."

"The training will consist of wounds and field treatment, poisons and antidotes, and how to care for the injured person. There are also some teachings about diseases and infection. The complete lesson plan was confirmed and suggested by the head of the medical department."

"As for the extra skill that each genin is required to have, we have Kenjutsu, Genjutsu, ciphers, trap making, fuinjutsu, medical jutsu, and poisons. If the areas get confirmed, I will get the confirmation of the departments or instructors in charge for this year."

"The students are not expected to become experts, but they must show high genin competency in one of the areas. The expectation is that they will pursue a field even after they pass the academy and raise the level of experts in the village."

"If there are any questions, I will be happy to clarify," Naruto said.

The clan heads all looked at the papers in front of them going through them. Hiashi Hyuga was the first to ask a question. "Uzumaki-san, while I am not opposed to the idea, why would there be a need for clan children to also participate in these extra activities?"

"While clan children learn ninjutsu and taijutsu from their families, there are still areas for them to explore. Some of the best medics in the village are from the Hyuga clan. By giving the children a way to explore these fields and possibilities, we are giving way to a higher number of ninjas who stay after passing the academy."

"There is a high number of dropouts after passing the academy test. Some are due to the famous genin test. And some others are due to the gentle nature of some who want to avoid direct fights with other ninjas."

"We have non-confrontational divisions where only a small number are ever active in the field even at wartime, such as ciphers, fuinjutsu, medical jutsu, poisons, and even T&I., Of course, these are just examples, and many shinobi of these divisions are active in the field."