Finances in Need of Money

Inside the Hokage's Office, Kakashi sat at his desk, still wearing half of the Hokage's sleeve, exactly the same as Hatake Sakumo's Hokage sleeve.

Kakashi said with a resentful look, "I shouldn't have taken this Assistant Hokage. Now look what's happened. The Hokage Tenten slacking off, only coming to the office once a day, while I have to sit in the office and work Tenten. There are just too many documents. I'm going to be busy until midnight again today."

Kakashi's position as Hokage's Assistant Hokage was specially approved by Qingcheng after he broke through to the Kage Level. Qingcheng even convened a village-wide Jonin assembly, presenting Kakashi with Hokage- level half-sleeve in front of the entire village, and emphasizing that Kakashi already possessed Kage Level strength, and that having him assist the Hokage would definitely make the village stronger even faster.

All the Apprentice Jonin Konoha, and even the Standard Jonin, had received guidance from Kakashi and had no objection to the suggestion. The clan ninja, facing Kakashi's Kage Level strength, naturally had no objections either. Therefore, Kakashi was just like White Fang.

Kakashi was initially very grateful, saying, "I will do my utmost to help Konoha become the strongest ninja village."

Then, on his first day as Assistant Hokage, Kakashi was taken to the Hokage's Office by Qingcheng and asked to sit in the Hokage's seat and review the documents.

Qingcheng then smiled and said, "Kakashi, I've given you a lot of authority. Apart from those urgent documents delivered by express courier, you just need to stamp the rest."

Kakashi was initially a little intimidated, seeing such immense power—even Danzo, the Pot Kage, didn't receive such treatment.

Kakashi looked worried and said, "Hokage -sama, can I do such a thing? Isn't this overstepping my bounds?"

Qingcheng chuckled and said seriously, "Don't be afraid. I'm not like Hiruzen Sarutobi. He was afraid someone would take away his power, so he flattered White Fang Assistant Hokage to death. I'm different. I like more outstanding people to sit in their rightful places and serve Konoha together."

Kakashi, seeing the clear look in Qingcheng's eyes, knew the Fifth Hokage was serious, so he sat down at his desk and began reviewing documents for Qingcheng.

However, Qingcheng's exploitation of Kakashi went far beyond that; he also made Kakashi continue to manage the Anbu Ninjas and, at the same time, responsible for training Konoha's Special Jonin, including the Standard Jonin.

By now, Kakashi has been completely drained, and Qingcheng has even brought out Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to help Kakashi handle government affairs.

These two old guys originally wanted to retire, and had applied to the Fifth Hokage several times, saying that they were too old to continue Konoha Advisor.

However, Qingcheng directly rebuked him. "You two old geezers still want to retire? Konoha is still here, and everything is in need of rebuilding. You actually dare to complain about being too old. Do you want to overstep your bounds? Believe me or not, I'll assign you to the border and have you both guard the border."

So the two old men came out of seclusion again, but Qingcheng didn't give them much power. Their role was mainly to review the village's planning, offer some good suggestions, and keep the bad ones to themselves.

Inside the Hokage's Office, Mitokado Homura, hearing Kakashi's complaint, said with a serious expression, "Commander Kakashi, you should just focus on your work! Think about how much power you have; it's the Fifth Hokage's trust in you."

Utatane Koharu also said with a serious face, "Yes, Kakashi, your power is like that of the Second Hokage. When the First Hokage was in office, it was the Second Hokage who helped him manage all kinds of political affairs. Moreover, the First Hokage didn't interfere in anything and let the Second Hokage do whatever he wanted."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi looked surprised and said, "The Second Hokage did all the work, so what was the First Hokage doing?"

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Mitokado Homura said with an embarrassed expression, "The First Hokage was gambling, and he even took Tsunade with him."

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock upon hearing Homura's words. He exclaimed, "So the Second Hokage was constantly exploited by the First Hokage? That's absolutely astonishing!"

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Mitokado Homura shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Of course it wasn't about exploiting labor. The Second Hokage was more quick-witted and handled everything very comprehensively, while the First Hokage was different. He was more naive and always thought the best of things, so the things he did were... well, let's just say they weren't perfect. It was the Second Hokage who helped him refine them."

Kakashi opened another document and looked at its contents. It was a request from the Medical Department to the village for 1 billion Ryo to repair the village's medical equipment.

Seeing this, Kakashi said awkwardly, "The village's finances are currently in deficit, and we simply can't afford to pay that much money to repair the village's medical equipment."

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura said with a serious expression, "Hiruzen Sarutobi left the village with a huge mess. Even though the Fifth Hokage repeatedly took money from the Uchiha Clan to keep the village running, it's still a huge hole that can't be filled in a short time."

Utatane Koharu said with a serious face, "Kakashi, let's take a portion of the Mission Department's reward money and use it to repair the village's medical equipment. Hiruzen Sarutobi used to do this all the time. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Kakashi's face hardened again, and he said sternly, "That's definitely not acceptable. The rewards for those mission ninjas are their livelihood. If we delay paying their wages, it will cause them trouble. This kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul doesn't benefit the village at all."

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura immediately chimed in, "Kakashi is right. Delaying payments to mission ninjas will have many negative consequences. Hiruzen Sarutobi did just that, which is why the village has so many outstanding debts. It's simply outrageous!"

Just then, the door to the Hokage's Office opened again. Qingcheng had overheard these clever people talking right at the door and thought to himself, "As expected of the Konoha Elders members, what an Eradication Plan their entire family. Didn't they consider the consequences?"

Qingcheng thought to himself, "Those mission ninjas are mostly civilian ninjas. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi has to borrow money to ensure their rewards. There are too many of these civilian ninjas. If they gather together and cause trouble, it will be a real problem, and Konoha's basic strength will be paralyzed."

"That's how Qingcheng did it before, sending the Police Force to issue fines on the streets. The result was chaos in Konoha, and even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't handle it all. He could only stand by and watch. That's why the coup in Konoha succeeded so easily."