Transfer Orders: The Chase

"I'll bring the rotating staff along as well."

"After all, it was the Senju who seized the goods, and it was the Uzumaki who was detained." Izuna held the scroll in his hand. "The Senju are your clansmen, Uzumaki are your in-laws. You are related to both sides."

"If the Hokage handles it, no matter what, some people will always think you're biased towards the other side. But if I go, it's different."

He smiled slightly, "I have no blood relation with the Senju, nor any vested interests with the Land of Whirlpools. I'm just an outsider, and as an outsider, they have no grounds to criticize me."

Hashirama leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed over his stomach, and listened to his words in silence for a long while.

From a rational perspective, Izuna's analysis is correct, and it can even be said that it coincides with his own thoughts.

Izuna's reputation, built up since his performance of "The Tale of the Heike" in Kyoto, has earned him immense credibility among Envoys from various countries and among the various clans of Konoha. Anyone brought along by him is sure to defend Izuna.

Given Izuna's reputation, the caravan from the Land of Whirlpools will most likely not make things difficult for him.

The Senju clan members who were blocking the border, no matter how dissatisfied they were, dared not act recklessly in front of Izuna.

After all, he was the Second-in-Command the Uchiha, a figure known as the "God of Slaughter" within Senju Uchiha Senju during their struggles.

If they were tired of living, they wouldn't be causing me all this trouble and making things difficult for me!

From both a moral and logical standpoint, Izuna is the most suitable candidate.

But Hashirama still didn't nod immediately.

"Izuna," Hashirama spoke, his tone calm but serious, "You're right about everything. But I've still decided to let Tobirama handle this."

Izuna blinked. "Huh? Then all that talking was for nothing?"

Hashirama was amused by his expression and a smile crept across his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

He removed his hands from his abdomen, interlaced his fingers on the desk, adopting a formal office posture. "It's not because you're unsuitable. It's because of the procedure."

"Program?" Izuna frowned.

"I previously drafted the regulations governing the Military Police Force with Tobirama," Hashirama said, pointing to Tobirama who was still engrossed in reviewing documents. "One of the regulations stipulates that only the head of the Military Police Force can directly mobilize troops. If it is necessary to mobilize a garrison force exceeding a certain size, it must be jointly authorized by at least two of the Hokage, the Diplomat, and the CEO."

In other words, if the Minister of the Military Police Force doesn't want to deploy troops, then having the authorization is useless.

Izuna frowned at Tobirama. "You disagree?"

"Um."

Why?

Tobirama had just finished writing a line when he sighed softly and looked up, "Your expression right now is asking if I deliberately used this program against you."

"Do not you?"

"No. This regulation was drafted not long after Konoha was established. Its original purpose was to prevent certain individuals from arbitrarily mobilizing troops to cause trouble."

"Who are you referring to, 'certain people'?" Ban interjected coldly.

"Guess." Tobirama said without changing his expression.

Ban scoffed, but didn't pursue the matter further.

Izuna, who was listening nearby, understood that the regulations were originally intended to prevent spots.

Because the Guard Corps was originally intended to be the responsibility of the Uchiha Clan.

Tobirama was worried that Madara Uchiha would act arbitrarily with a large army, so he worked with Hashirama to develop a system of checks and balances on authority.

Unexpectedly, the first time this system actually came in handy, it was by stopping me.

"But wouldn't Tobirama also need to mobilize troops to go to the border?" Izuna pressed.

"If he does it, then it's not called troop mobilization." Hashirama, "We've long planned to rotate the border guards and redistribute them back to the villages. The rotation doesn't require authorization; all I need to do is sign a transfer order."

"I've already signed the transfer order, and I'll hand it over to Tobirama tomorrow along with his travel documents. But if you want to go with the team..."

Izuna was speechless. "Alright, alright... I'll obey procedural justice. But I still need to see the merchant caravan from the Land of Whirlpools after Tobirama finishes dealing with the border matters. They've waited so long; simply issuing a formality isn't enough. Someone needs to apologize."

"I'll go with you then," Hashirama said, his tone tinged with apology.

"Okay." Izuna nodded, not insisting any further. After a while, he left his workstation to rehearse.

Hashirama watched his retreating figure, he silently went over his words again in his mind.

Actually, there was another reason he didn't say for asking Tobirama to handle this matter.

He didn't know why the Senju tribe on the border would be so tacitly obedient. He considered himself to have a say in the tribe, and the first reason these people could do this was because the emperor was far away, and the second... probably was because there was some reason they considered very important that he didn't know about.

If we let Izuna, an Uchiha, clean up the mess the Senju made, the resentment in those people's hearts will not only not subside, but will burn even brighter.

By having Tobirama in, the Senju clan members were given a way out, but also given a warning: the Clan Head had sent his own brother to clean up the mess, which showed just how serious the situation was. They should consider the consequences themselves.

Of course, these words couldn't be said to Izuna's face.

It wasn't because of distrust, but because he didn't want Izuna to feel like he was still being treated as an outsider and guarded against.

Izuna proved that he was not an outsider, but the more he proved that he was not an outsider, the more Hashirama could not allow the internal conflicts of the Senju Clan to affect him.

Madara had maintained a faint smile on his face since earlier, and he was quite pleased with Hashirama's behavior of protecting his younger brother.

They had hoped that after the Memorial Service, they would have time to sit down and sort out all the minor problems that had accumulated in Konoha.

He had compiled and stacked all the documents concerning border matters, the merchant caravans from the Land of Whirlpools, and minor disputes arising from cooperation between various families.

The Memorial Service was unexpectedly so moving that it revitalized the entire Konoha. In just one afternoon, the number of documents that were almost finished being approved doubled.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire and Diplomats from the other Four Nations submitted their requests to stay, the families in the village reiterated their stance, and reports of various transactions, orders, and related events poured in.

If the border mobilization order hadn't been issued before the Memorial Service began, they might really be too busy to deal with things on the border now!

Hashirama stared at the backup of the transfer order in his hand, then slammed his head on the table, crying, "Tobirama... why did I transfer you out... come back and save my brother... so many files... I can't take it anymore..."

Ban, suppressing a laugh, patted him on the shoulder.

Hashirama looked up from the pile of documents, glanced around, and realized that someone was missing from the Office.

He turned to Madara: "Where's Izuna?"

"I told him to stay home," Ban said calmly, leaning against the window. "I went a bit too far this time. I'm afraid someone might hurt him because of it."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Everyone is thanking him, who would hurt him?"

"There will always be fools in this world," Ban said softly, his gaze fixed on the window. "They're everywhere... I have to be careful; after all, they're my family whom I lost and then found again."

In the sunlight, his eyelashes drooped, casting a very light shadow on his cheekbone. This slight undulation suddenly made his sorrow concrete. This man, cold as a knife on the battlefield, only showed such an expression when mentioning a certain person.

It's a fear that lingers after the torment of loss, a fear that can never be completely erased.

Hashirama looked at Madara's profile, his lips tightened slightly, and then his eyes visibly filled with tears.

He threw down his pen, sprang up from his chair, and lunged at Ban with open arms. "Don't be sad, Ban--"

Ban whirled around, his expression shifting from serious to horrified, and he leaned back halfway. "What are you doing! Don't come any closer! It's disgusting!"

Hashirama was struck squarely by the word "disgusting." Standing two steps away from the desk, with his arms outstretched, he tearfully complained, "I'm being rejected! Madara! You weren't like this before!"

"Don't give me that!" Madara dodged Hashirama's next attack. "Get back to your paperwork! Say another word and I'll tie you up!"

"You just tied them up?! Madara! You're too kind!"

"Where did you see that?! Get out of here!"

Rokuhiko stood at the door, watching the two of them chase each other around the crowded Office like two children, and stared blankly with Dead-Fish Eyes.