Chapter 95.5- One Thousand Hands

“But then I got the position, and the clearance level to see numbers that I’m sure everyone who’s held this chair before you would rather remain hidden”

“Hmm? A scandal of some sort? One Granduncle and Grandfather would both want to see hidden. Colour me curious”

“Do you know that I am one of only two jounin from a fully civilian background in the village” What?

“That can’t be true” I said instantly.

“I can show it to you. The other is a Tokubetsu Jounin working in Intelligence.” He said.

“Did the others die in the war?"

“Nope. There were two of us before the war, and two after. Jounin with civilian backgrounds actually have a 100% survival rate in war.” He said, smiling cheekily.

“All two of you” I said, still not able to make sense of the number.

“That wasn’t the statistic that got to me though. A good number of shinobi from civilian backgrounds never make it past Chunin. That’s fine. Most shinobi don’t make other past chunin in the first place. That’s what it means to be a Jounin— to be one of an are care of elites. What shocked me are the numbers of shinobi with fully civilian backgrounds that survive their first two years as shinobi.” His tone told me the answer wasn’t one I really wanted to hear.

“The answer is 42%. Less than half the shinobi with fully civilian backgrounds who make it past the academy manage to survive two years doing this. Statistically, this is where I would have ended up without you. Dead in a ditch somewhere” He said.

“I don’t believe you. Maybe you’re reading the data wrong.” I said. Because that could not be true. Because Granduncle would have done something about it. He wouldn’t just keep sending children to their deaths. He wouldn’t have put his hand on my shoulder and used me as a rallying cry to get people of all backgrounds to join the academy if he knew most of them would fucking die.

“I thought you’d say that” He said, plopping a scroll down in front of me. He unsealed a stack of folders. It reached so high I couldn’t see him from behind them without craning my neck pretty steeply.

I picked the first one down from the top of the pile, having to stretch my hand and raise myself off my seat a small bit to do so, and began to read as he spoke.