Ever since the Cabinet was established, Kazemori Masaki had consulted the Consultants, his fellow disciples, on every issue concerning the village as a whole. Although he had the final say, he never simply vetoed their proposals. Instead, he listened carefully to their advice, accepting sound suggestions and using reason and heartfelt appeals to persuade them—or at least most of them—when their suggestions were unreasonable. That way, even exercising his final authority would cause little friction.
They had all studied under Tobirama Senju. Even after rising to high office, none could consider himself above the others. Kazemori Masaki suspected that this bond was why Hiruzen Sarutobi had never been able to bring himself to punish Shimura Danzō before he committed a grave mistake. Besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō shared a relationship much like that of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, or Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Kazemori Masaki was affected by such feelings himself. No matter how rational someone was, emotions could still cloud their judgment. Fortunately, although the seven of them disagreed in their daily work, those disputes remained professional. In private, they were as close as ever and had not drifted apart.
Kazemori Masaki truly hoped their relationship would stay that way, rather than following the path of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō. Differences in their ideals had driven those former friends apart until they became hostile toward each other, one condemning the other as radical, the other accusing his counterpart of being too naive. Had it remained a personal matter, that would have been one thing. Instead, it had affected their work and even caused problems in the village's administration.
Following their usual procedure, Kazemori Masaki would reach a broad decision with the Consultants, then bring it before the Jonin meeting for discussion and confirmation. He therefore