Chapter 168: The Storm of Reform

Following the Uchiha messenger all the way, Uchiha Ri soon arrived at the Military Police Force building.

Looking at the familiar yet long-changed building before him, Uchiha Ri stepped inside.

As soon as he entered, Uchiha Ri sensed that something was amiss.

Ever since the reform of the Military Police Force, it had integrated members from various clans and even commoner ninjas, leading to a considerable expansion in its overall scale.

However, today the Military Police Force building appeared somewhat vacant, with only the basic duty personnel present.

"At this hour, where has everyone gone?"

Plagued by doubt, Uchiha Ri walked into Fugaku's office.

Uchiha Fugaku was sitting upright at his desk as usual, earnestly reviewing the official documents in his hands.

Yet, Uchiha Ri noticed something unusual: a trace of hesitation and worry was etched upon the clan head's face.

Such an expression had not appeared for quite some time, ever since the relationship between the Uchiha and the village had improved.

And now, it had unexpectedly resurfaced on Fugaku's face.

Seeing Uchiha Ri's figure, Uchiha Fugaku put down the documents in his hand and asked directly, "You're back?"

"Yeah." Giving a brief acknowledgement, Uchiha Ri asked straight to the point, "What happened? Why is a clan meeting being called?"

Without concealing anything, Uchiha Fugaku replied, "Minato has sent an official document to all the major clans, stating that he intends to reform some of the village's outdated systems..."

As he spoke, Fugaku pulled a document from his drawer and handed it to Uchiha Ri.

Taking the document, Uchiha Ri glanced at the words on the cover and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Preliminary Pilot Proposal for the Reform of Konoha's Ninja Structure..."

Silently reciting the title on the cover in his heart, Uchiha Ri then officially opened the document.

A proposal detailing reforms regarding ninja ranks, welfare, and benefits lay before his eyes.

Skimming through the text at ten lines a glance, Uchiha Ri quickly grasped the core message the document sought to convey.

Minato pointed out bluntly in the document that Konoha's power and resources had long been monopolized by clan factions, making it difficult for truly talented and capable ninjas to rise and grow.

Therefore, Minato wished to change this status quo and introduced a new proposal.

The village's benefits and resources would no longer be allocated directly to the major clans for them to distribute independently.

Instead, a system of "Ninja Rank-Based Allocation" would be implemented.

The so-called ninja rank-based allocation system roughly meant that the unified distribution of village resources would be based on three distinct tiers: Jounin, Chuunin, and Genin.

As the elite of the village, Jounin would naturally enjoy the highest welfare and benefits, and could directly assume important positions within the village.

As the backbone of the village, Chuunin would receive secondary welfare, hold general positions, and lead squads.

As the foundation of the village, Genin would receive basic welfare—comparable to the original provisions—and execute missions under the leadership of a team captain.

The aforementioned welfare included various ninjutsu and financial subsidies that were previously attainable only by rendering distinguished service.

In other words, the era when clans monopolized ninjutsu knowledge was likely coming to an end.

The village would directly grant each ninja the corresponding ninjutsu knowledge and heritage!

Furthermore, to ensure fairness in the reform, the village would conduct a comprehensive public examination to reassess and re-verify the rank of every ninja.

That was the gist of the document's contents, and Uchiha Ri could sense a brewing storm hidden beneath its words.

After finishing, Uchiha Ri chuckled softly and said, "With a document like this coming out, I'm afraid some people are going to be quite anxious."

"Anxious is an understatement." Uchiha Fugaku shook his head, a worried expression on his face as he said, "Once this is officially made public, it will likely provoke opposition from a large number of people."

A seemingly simple reform that merely clarified the rights of ninjas at various ranks appeared harmless on the surface.

In reality, however, the profound implications contained within this reform went far beyond that.

Once the contents of this document were officially implemented, the scope of those affected would be extremely vast.

The impact would undoubtedly be greatest for the major clans.

In the past, the major clans not only directly enjoyed the resources distributed by the village, but also possessed a vast amount of ninjutsu knowledge denied to commoners.

It was precisely due to this monopoly on ninjutsu knowledge that the major clans had been able to maintain their commanding lead.

As for the Uchiha, the ninjutsu held within their clan was among the absolute best, far surpassing many other families.

Within Konoha, probably only the Hyuga clan could barely compare in this regard.

This situation was not unique to Konoha; it was the same in all other hidden villages.

Yet now, if the reform proposal were implemented, the inherent advantage held by clan ninjas would surely cease to exist.

Moreover, over the years, there has been no shortage of Jounin among commoner ninjas; they would now gain access to vast amounts of ninjutsu and begin participating in the village's affairs.

Through such a reform, the very concept of "clans" in the future would be subtly and gradually diluted by the village.

"Then, Lord Clan Head, what are your thoughts? Do you agree or oppose?"

Uchiha Ri naturally understood the weight carried by this reform document.

He could see even further into the matter than Uchiha Fugaku.

Seemingly a reform, it was better described as a probing test by Minato.

More than two years had passed since he took office, and Minato was likely using this to test his current degree of control over the village as Hokage.

One must remember that although the Third Hokage stepped down after issuing his public confession of fault, the advisory council he established was still in place.

While the two advisors rarely restricted Minato regarding village matters nowadays, they remained figures Minato could not directly dismiss.

However, if this reform proceeded smoothly, the two members of the advisory council would likely have no place left to stay.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura owed their positions as advisors primarily to their seniority in the village and the endorsement of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Yet once positions were demarcated strictly according to ninja ranks, these two elderly individuals would likely lack the qualifications.

After all, they were both advanced in age, and having abstained from combat for many years, it remained questionable whether they even maintained their chakra training on a daily basis.

Deducing this, Uchiha Ri could not help but feel a deep sense of admiration.

He had once believed that Namikaze Minato would be the key to maintaining a harmonious coexistence between the village and the Uchiha.

After all, given Minato's personality, he would harbor no prejudice against the Uchiha.

Yet now it seemed that anyone capable of becoming Hokage was far from simple.

"If Minato's probe this time succeeds, the previous paradigm of clans 'dominating' the village will gradually dissolve, and perhaps vanish completely years from now."

"He is formidable indeed, Senior Minato, to be able to take such a step..."

Uchiha Ri sighed inwardly, as Minato's warm, smiling face surfaced in his mind.

Yet beneath that gentle smile lay a ruthlessness and a sharpness of ambition that no one could have anticipated!

Many people had probably forgotten one crucial point:

Despite his renowned fame, Minato should actually be considered a true "commoner Hokage" in every sense of the word.

And in all the hidden villages, commoners and clans have historically...