The Hokage Building,
Mitokado Homura appeared once more,
and immediately saw Utatane Koharu as well,
The two exchanged glances, surprise evident in both their eyes.
They hadn't expected to be summoned to this elders' meeting. Judging by Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude last time, he would either throw them out of the Council of Elders or drastically strip them of their authority.
As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally had no shortage of capable people. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had reached their positions not only because they were naturally part of the Hokage faction, but also because of their long-standing ties with him.
But given how gruesomely Danzo had died, it was clear that Sarutobi Hiruzen had grown fed up with old-timers like them.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged another glance. Not daring to linger, they went straight inside.
This was the conference room normally used for Jonin meetings. It was spacious enough to seat a hundred people.
When the two entered, the room was sparsely occupied, but everyone there was a bona fide member of Konoha's High Command.
Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Nara Shikaku.
The heads of nearly all of Konoha's major clans had gathered there. They looked toward Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu with varying expressions.
Some were indifferent, some smiled in greeting, and others nodded to acknowledge them.
Seeing this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu immediately felt that something was wrong.
Before long, the meeting's main figure, Sarutobi Hiruzen, pushed open the door and strode in, taking the seat at the head of the table.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze swept across the room. Still carrying the force of the man who had beaten Danzo to death just days earlier, he made everyone present avert their eyes.
They all greeted him respectfully,
"Lord Third!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen got straight to the point,
"A few days ago, the rogue ninja Danzo tried to assassinate me..."
"He wanted to seize the Hokage Position..."
"I killed him on the spot."
"That made me realize that Konoha needs to make some changes..."
"To strengthen the village's unity and core competitiveness."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had branded Danzo a rogue ninja without hesitation, clearly unwilling to show him even the slightest respect. Everyone present felt a chill at that.
"First, Danzo is dead,"
"The Hokage Assistant position is vacant. Nara Shikaku will take it."
Nara Shikaku remained composed, showing no sign of losing his cool over being promoted to a position second only to the Hokage.
"Thank you for your support, Lord Third!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally trusted Nara Shikaku. He came from a loyal family and was exceptionally capable.
In the past, Konoha had made use of the Nara Clan's intelligence only during wartime. That was because the former Third Hokage had been wary of them, believing that employing clever people like the Nara Clan would make it easy for them to take power away from him.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer had that petty mindset. Failing to use talented people was a tremendous waste.
Besides, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of handing all the authority to one person.
"From now on, the Council of Elders will have five members,"
Sarutobi Hiruzen laid out his plan for reform,
"Each day, we'll sort through Konoha's affairs, organize them, and make recommendations."
"The members of the Council of Elders will be those present here..."
"The Hokage Assistant will serve as Great Elder and oversee the handling of administrative affairs..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't playing any tricks. He was simply improving the existing Council of Elders, effectively setting up a small cabinet.
In the Ninja World, every village generally had a Council of Elders to assist the Kage.
Given the shinobi culture of this world, the Kage of each village was essentially an emperor or lord, if not more powerful.
After all, even an emperor was sometimes subject to checks and balances, whereas a Kage commanded the military and government and wielded the strategic deterrent of a nuclear weapon. They were super-leaders who could generally have the final say in their village.
As for the relationship between an elder and a Kage, it mostly depended on whether the Kage was willing to show them respect.
An elder like Chiyo of Sunagakure, who possessed considerable strength, prestige, and seniority, could certainly stand up to her village's Kage. But in most ninja villages, elders had little room to maneuver.
The elders of Konoha had been so arrogant largely because the former Third had indulged them.
So now that the Third was taking a firm stance, everyone else could only comply.
Sarutobi Hiruzen then carefully explained how the administrative work and recommendations would be handled.
That was right: Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to take it easy, but he couldn't stop working altogether. So he borrowed a system from his previous life and gave the elders the right to make recommendations, but not to make decisions on anything beyond minor matters.
But in truth, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't very interested in handling administrative affairs. In this world of supernatural powers, as long as one person's strength surpassed everyone else's, everything else was a minor detail.
So he would most likely delegate authority later on, or pass the position to someone else after bringing the Ninja World under control.
"Lastly..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen brought up the final matter,
"Recently, the Cloud Ninja on the Land of Fire's border have been acting up."
"They're probably planning to take advantage of Konoha's weakness and rob us while we're down."
Everyone present grew serious at his words. This was clearly the main issue.
The reforms to the Council of Elders were mostly because Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to take it easy. He didn't want to handle administrative matters every day, and he was tired of having those two old men, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, constantly underfoot.
The old Third would certainly have tried to negotiate or show weakness.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't willing to suffer in silence anymore. Besides, the Cloud Ninja represented substantial spoils and Space-Time Source Points.
He could not only obtain a substantial amount of Space-Time Source Energy, but also restore Konoha's waning prestige and intimidate the Ninja World once more, paving the way for his future plans.
The members of Konoha's High Command present clearly understood this,
"They think Konoha—and I, Sarutobi Hiruzen—are easy targets..."
"Then let's make them understand"
Sarutobi Hiruzen radiated unprecedented confidence and authority, speaking as if he looked down on the entire Ninja World.
"Which village is truly the strongest in the Ninja World."
"If they want a fight, then we'll fight until we've won completely!"
"We'll fight until they don't want to anymore!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was cold and commanding. For a moment, those present seemed to see not the mild-mannered Third, but the ruthless Second Hokage.
"Shikaku..."
"How many active-duty shinobi does the village have who can be sent to the battlefield at once?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked,
"Fewer than three thousand."
As a strategist in the Third Ninja War, Nara Shikaku knew Konoha's military strength very well.
Konoha's standing ninja force had originally numbered over five thousand, but after the Third Ninja War and the Nine-Tails Incident, its casualties had clearly approached half that number.
"Then pull out a thousand and form an army."
"The Cloud Ninja will surely station troops at the border to intimidate us..."
"I'll hit them before they can!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen then looked around at everyone present. He certainly wouldn't let the great clans enjoy the benefits without contributing.
There had never been a precedent for clan heads to take part in governing, but Sarutobi Hiruzen had opened the door now so he could make these people contribute to the coming war with the Cloud Ninja.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's meaningful gaze swept across the room before he continued,
"The Sarutobi Clan can send three hundred shinobi,"
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