Reforming power in Konoha

The Hokage Coronation Ceremony was very simple.

Shazo picked up the Hokage Hat himself and put it on his head, thus completing the ritual.

Because the Third Hokage died, the Fire Daimyō was not qualified, so he had to do it himself.

Then, standing in the center of the Konoha Jonin Assembly Meeting Hall, he announced his new plans for Konoha in his capacity as Hokage.

"The Jonin Konoha are the pillars of Konoha. After today, the tournament will be adjourned, and everyone should return to their respective posts to continue their work."

"Have you all noticed that decisions made after we've gathered everyone together are executed exceptionally smoothly?"

Shikaku Nara responded first, "The Lord Hokage is right. The decision, made after debate and voting at the Jonin Conference, was implemented very smoothly."

Shazo continued, "I believe the reason it was executed so smoothly is because the decision made was absolutely correct."

"Furthermore, thanks to thorough discussions and the consensus reached with all stakeholders, the project was able to be implemented smoothly."

"The biggest advantage of this collective decision-making method is the completeness of information, which can avoid erroneous decisions made out of ignorance, similar to those made during the Third Hokage's dictatorship."

Inoichi Yamanaka understood Shazo's intention to delegate authority. He said with delight but hesitation, "Lord Hokage, collective decision-making can indeed ensure the correctness of the decision and allows for thorough communication beforehand."

"But making decisions in meetings with so many people is too inefficient; the village has been overwhelmed with a lot of affairs in the past 20 days."

"Furthermore, without the management and deterrence of Konoha Jonin throughout the Land of Fire, signs of chaos are beginning to emerge."

"The Konoha Jonin Assembly must be disbanded today."

Shazo nodded and said, "The Yamanaka Clan Jonin right. Collective decision-making can be inefficient and can hinder the development of Jonin."

So I devised a compromise.

"I formally propose that 15 Konoha from Jonin Konoha selected, and together with myself Jonin, the Fifth Hokage, form the Konoha Jonin Assembly Permanent Decision Council."

"The Jonin Council be responsible for discussing major events and making decisions through voting."

"Decisions made by the Jonin Council have authority exceeding that of the Hokage's orders, and can only be vetoed by Jonin Conference attended by all the Jonin Konoha."

The ambitious Konoha 'Jonin eyes lit up; they smelled the scent of power.

That's an opportunity to participate in the Hokage's decision-making process, equivalent to Hokage Assistant during the Third Hokage's era.

Look at Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. They became a privileged class Jonin all the Konoha of Konoha precisely because they participated in the Hokage's decisions.

Which ambitious Konoha Jonin wouldn't want to become the new Hokage Assistant?

Even the unambitious Konoha Jonin happy; the Fifth Hokage, who rose from the bottom, truly respected the opinions of the Jonin.

Even Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were revitalized. They had thought all hope was lost, but who knew there would be such a chance for a turnaround.

With 15 members of the Council, it should be the turn of these two former Konoha Village Elder.

Once they entered the Council, they tightly restrained the Fifth Hokage, preventing him from ever making a decision detrimental to himself and his clan.

In short, this was a win-win proposal, receiving far more votes in favor than Shazo's votes of confidence, reaching an unsurpassable 100%.

Shazo pressed his advantage, proposing and passing numerous resolutions.

He categorized the various affairs of Konoha and reorganized the existing parts of Konoha.

For example, the Counterintelligence that was simultaneously handled by the Anbu, the Intelligence Department, and the Konoha Military Police Force was all merged into the Intelligence Department.

At the same time, Shazo stripped the Intelligence Department of its function of collecting intelligence on foreign countries and merged it with the Second Training Department of the Anbu to create a new Intelligence Agency named the Tingting Department.

Ultimately, Shazo established 15 specialized departments to handle all affairs of Konoha.

Then Shazo submitted 15 candidates for department Department Head, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were naturally not among them.

The newly reorganized 15 departments have very broad powers, and the Department Head have enormous authority, which sounds very tempting.

Most importantly, there are 15 Department Head, the same number as the members who make up the Jonin Council.

This can't even be considered a hint; the Fifth Hokage was practically making it a blatant declaration.

Therefore, the competition for the 15 Department Head was extremely fierce.

One after another, Jonin stood up, enthusiastically recommending themselves, eager to become the Department Head of the new department.

Not to mention Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, even not every Konoha Jonin nominated by Shazo could pass the vote.

The 15 Department Head who ultimately rose Jonin power were all the most famous and capable Konoha of Konoha.

They formed the Konoha Jonin Assembly Permanent Decision Council, as mentioned by the Fifth Hokage.

The power that the Third Hokage had painstakingly held onto was mostly discarded by Shazo without a second thought.

As Hokage Shazo Zuo only had the power to appoint and dismiss 15 Jonin charge, the power to audit the finances of 15 departments, and the Anbu Command Authority, which had been reduced to a size of 70 people.

The Fifth Hokage even rejected the Hokage Guard.

Shisui Uchiha grew anxious and asked loudly, "Fifth Hokage, why don't you even want the Hokage Guard Platoon?"

Shikaku Nara successfully rose to the position of Department Head and was now full of pride, his loyalty to Shazo reaching new heights.

He stood up as well, anxiously asking, "Without the Hokage Guard Platoon, how can you guarantee your safety, Lord Hokage?"

Shazo laughed heartily after hearing this and retorted, "The Hokage Guard Platoon protects me, Fifth Hokage's safety?"

"Nara Clan Jonin, what kind of dangerous enemy do you think could be stronger than the Fourth Raikage and his Eight Thousand Ninja Army?"

"If such an enemy were to appear, would Konoha be able to assemble Ninja Squad to defend against them?"

Shazo's question left Shisui Uchiha and Shikaku Nara speechless.

The other Konoha Jonin also momentarily dazed, then suddenly realized the problem.

Yes, the Fifth Hokage was different from the Third Hokage. He was a monster who could take on an entire ninja village single-handedly and didn't need any protection at all.

Shazo seemed to have guessed what the Konoha Jonin were thinking, and nodded, saying, "I don't need any protection. Even if we set up a Hokage Guard Platoon, it would only be used to show off."

"In case of danger, I'll have to protect the members of the Hokage Guard Platoon, just like the Second Hokage did."

There is a precedent for this: the brilliant and mighty Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, was dragged down by the Third Hokage's group of Hokage Guard Platoon and died in the Kumogakure Internal Rebellion.

If it weren't for this incompetent guard, the Second Hokage, who was the Ninja World's Fastest Ninja at the time and mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, would never have lost his life.

As a result, the Hokage's Hokage Guard Platoon was abolished.

The Fifth Hokage Shazo, saw his overt power drastically reduced, to less than one-thirtieth of that of the Third Hokage.