The news of Mitokado Homura's "sick retirement" was like a pebble thrown into water, and the ripples it stirred up in the deep pool of Konoha's upper echelons refused to dissipate for a long time.
On the surface, the announcement board of the Hokage Building posted a sincere letter of condolence, honoring Advisor Homura's contributions dedicated to the village throughout his lifetime.
Secretly, everyone caught a whiff of an unusual scent.
An era seemed to be quietly drawing to a close in a dignified yet ruthless manner.
On the power map, a huge blank space appeared just like that. All factions were restless, casting their gazes toward that plump, lucrative cake of interests left behind after Mitokado Homura stepped down.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Baishi's fingertips stroked lightly across a Konoha organizational chart.
His finger finally stopped on the box for "Konoha Hospital".
This was the final and most stable exclusive domain of the Advisor Faction. Not only did it control the medical resources of the entire village, but more importantly, it held the health data of all Konoha ninja, from ordinary genin to the Hokage himself.
An independent kingdom where not a drop of water could leak in.
Shikaku Nara stood across the desk, looking at Baishi's movement with slightly narrowed eyes. He knew the Hokage was going to make a move.
"Shikaku."
Baishi spoke, his voice level.
"How is the execution progress of the special rehabilitation fund for severely wounded ninja that was approved some time ago?"
Shikaku replied immediately: "The report has already been submitted to your desk. Overall it is going smoothly, but in terms of specific material allocation and personnel arrangement, the Medical Department... has encountered some resistance."
He chose his words carefully, using the word "resistance".
"Dean Morino of the Medical Department gave feedback