By the time of the Fourth Hokage, Dan Katō, he had just taken office after the Third Shinobi World War. Logically, he should have taken some time to recuperate and gradually spread his ideas before proceeding to the next step.
Whether or not to expand overseas will have to wait a few years.
However, Madara's existence was based on unprecedented external pressure on Konoha, which meant that Dan Katō could only do one thing in the past few years.
Externally, they relied on the Meikyō to block Madara's pressure; internally, they used their political abilities and the strong political foundation brought by the alliance of the Senju and Uchiha to develop Konoha.
"That's true, but the premise is that we have to defeat Madara. Of course, I believe that with the village's current strength, we can defeat him. However, the key problem is, where exactly is Madara? The Ninja World is so vast, we won't find him so easily. If things continue like this, it will only give Madara more time to develop and improve his strength..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
"Monkey, you're getting senile."
Tobirama Senju shook his head.
"Madara's target is the Tailed Beast. He will definitely appear when the Three-Tails and Nine-Tails have an opportunity."
The Third Hokage remained silent.
He, who has always been conservative in his actions, would never have considered such a risky plan.
Unfortunately, I lack the ability and strength to take risks.
"So... what exactly is this opportunity?"
The Third Hokage asked in murmurs.
"Ahem, I forgot to share some good news with you all. The other day, Nohara Rin, the Jinchuriki the Three-Tails, came to Konoha Hospital for a check-up and found out that she is two months pregnant."
Now I understand.
"Now, let's move on to the next topic..."
Meikyō's enthusiasm for Hokage lasted only a week.
Just as Uchiha Yu said, he has a personality that hates trouble and would rather be a hands-off manager forever.
However, the position of Hokage is not ordinary; even if you want to be a hands-off manager, there are still many things to do.
Fortunately, he still has people he can use.
Moreover, he is an exceptionally capable person, a tool who could excel even if directly placed in the position of Hokage.
"Meikyō, these are the documents from today's Administrative Affairs Department regarding the rating and release of the mission, and this stack is a list of members of the Anbu being handed over. I think Shisui has already given you the relevant information."
Minato Namikaze placed a stack of documents, about half a person's height, on the Meikyō Table, then took out a highly confidential Sealing Scroll, opened it, and took out another similar stack.
"Is everything almost done?"
Meikyō put on a serious expression and asked Minato Namikaze.
"Ah, it's not so much about handling it, but I've annotated the attachments to the documents with suggestions based on the village's past practices."
"Oh, I see. Thank you for keeping me company while I work overtime again, Minato."
"It's not hard work at all. I'm happy to be able to do these things for the village."
Minato Namikaze smiled warmly, keeping his thoughts to himself.
Although he was already a high-ranking official in the village, Meikyō clearly trusted his close friend greatly after taking office, giving him important responsibilities and entrusting him with many important matters.
Minato Namikaze naturally dared not slack off in the slightest.
He's been working overtime for a week straight and hasn't been home a day. Now even Naruto at home is starting to complain.
"Then I'll have to Minato. If you feel there's too much to do, you can transfer Shikaku from the administrative office to the Hokage's Office to be the Hokage's secretary."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Meikyō."
Minato Namikaze breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Minato Namikaze push open the door and rush home after work using Flying Thunder God, Meikyō looked helplessly at the two stacks of documents that were taller than a person when stacked together.
"Tsk, why does being a Hokage mean handling every little thing in the village? Even something as simple as Genin picking up trash in the Naka River requires writing two thousand mission reports to the Hokage. Tobirama Senju, how many people were there in Konoha when you set those rules? Konoha is much more troublesome now than it was back then."
Meikyō rubbed his temples in pain.
When the First Hokage established Konoha was really just a village, at most equivalent to a small town. It developed during the Second Hokage and Third Hokage's reigns, making it impossible for the Third Hokage to handle all the administrative affairs on his own. In addition, he needed a few old classmates to support him and solidify his position, which led to the emergence of the Hokage Advisor to help the Hokage handle administrative affairs.
Utatane Koharu was in charge of logistics, Mitokado Homura was in charge of diplomacy and propaganda, Danzo was in charge of intelligence and was responsible for handling some matters that the Third Hokage could not handle personally, and also had certain military power. In the early stages, Kagami Uchiha also influenced the Konoha Military Police Force, and Torifu Akimichi the relationships between the various Ninja Clan.
However, in the later stages of the Third Hokage's rule, as the foundation laid by the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and early Third Hokage generations began to emerge, and as time went on, various problems also began to arise.
By this time, the shortcomings of the Third Hokage in terms of ability were magnified, and many problems arose in the later stages of their rule.
It wasn't until Dan Katō came to power that, on the one hand, he relied on external pressure to unite the internal forces, and on the other hand, he had the backing of powerful groups like Senju Tsunade and Meikyō, centered around Tsunade and Uchiha, who possessed strong political and military capabilities but had not received commensurate benefits during the Third Hokage's reign. In addition, Torifu Akimichi and the Third Hokage appeased the old-fashioned forces, and it was in this decade that Konoha completed various reforms, eliminated the drawbacks of the Third Hokage's era, and basically integrated the internal forces of Konoha.
Furthermore, with Tsunade and Orochimaru at its core, Dan Katō promoted the advancement of Konoha's medical and technological fields in recent years, leading to Konoha's tremendous development over the past decade.
This laid a solid foundation for Meikyō, but also brought far more problems than during the Third Hokage generation.
Konoha is now a large city. If even the Genin has to deal with the tasks of finding cats and dogs for the Hokage, it would be too troublesome.
This was after matters such as finance, education, logistics, and medical care were handed over to other senior officials.
Meikyō roughly categorized these files, extracting those for missions of A-rank and above, as well as those from the Anbu. As for the rest...
"Call..."
With a gentle breath, his Psychic Power activated, spreading the documents one by one throughout the room. Then, the stamp flew into the air, leaving afterimages, and stamped the documents with its red seal within ten seconds.
"As expected of me, I completed 100% of the document processing in just ten seconds!"
Meikyō nodded in satisfaction, then clapped his hands and looked at the remaining small stack.
Well, it's called a small stack, but it's actually thicker than an encyclopedia.
This includes not only all the reports on Konoha's recent A-rank and above missions, but also the intelligence department's analysis and speculation on these reports.
In addition to the simple personnel lists, the documents of the Anbu also contain relevant information about each person, from their birth to their time at the Ninja Academy and up to the present. While not exhaustive, they are still incredibly detailed.
Because these items are of high standard, they are definitely more troublesome to handle.
"In that case..."
Meikyō extended two fingers and made a cross.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
A clump of trees quickly detached from the Meikyō and transformed into another Meikyō.
"Hey, the real body!"
The Wood Clone quickly made a gesture reminiscent of Er Kang raising his hand.
"It's up to you."
Meikyō placed the document in front of the Wood Clone and then quickly disappeared from the Naruto World.
"Why..."
The Wood Clone sat down at the table speechlessly and began to miserably deal with official business.
Ten minutes later.
"Hiss... Ha! This is how life should be lived to be comfortable!"
In the One-Punch Man World, Meikyō rests his head on Fubuki's lap, eats grapes that Fubuki feeds him, and watches TV with a leisurely expression.
With his current Chakra reserves and the unique nature of his Wood Clone, a single Wood Clone can last for two months as long as it's not used in battle.
Although the memories, fatigue, and feelings accumulated by the Wood Clone over the past two months will all return to the main body when I return, it will only be a short while, and I can handle it completely.
Meikyō chose to enjoy the benefits for two months first.
"It is reported that Metal Bat recently became the third former S-Class Hero of the Hero Association to transfer to the NEO Association, following Overlord Emperor and Superalloy Darkshine. Silver Fang, the third- S-Class Hero, also stated in a recent interview that he is close to retirement..."
The latest news was being broadcast on television.
The Overlord Emperor is actually the Child Emperor. He disliked the name Child Emperor, so after switching sides, he changed his title to a hero and transformed from a well-behaved elementary school student into a "Yakuza Boss".
Wearing a small black suit, sunglasses, and slicked-back hair, the only constant was the lollipop in his mouth.
"Is old man Silver Fang retiring too?"
Meikyō precisely spat the grape seeds into the trash can and asked Fubuki.
Fubuki slapped down the mischievous hand on Meikyō and explained:
"That's how journalism is. In his own words, Old Man Bang said that after he has done what he should do, he might consider retiring. He also said that he is currently in good condition and can continue to work in the heroic field."
"So that's how it is."
Meikyō used the hand that had been slapped away by the Fubuki to continue her mischief.
This time, Fubuki did not refuse. She let out a soft moan, her face flushed, and she went limp.
A few hours later.
Meikyō, feeling refreshed, put on his belt and got out of bed.
Fubuki looked like she'd been played with terribly, her face flushed, leaning against the headboard, panting heavily, her eyes lifeless.
It took him a long time to catch his breath.
"You tore my new stockings again."
Fubuki put on her clothes and looked at the black stockings that had been torn into strips, saying to Meikyō.
"Oh, then I'll buy you two later, one to wear and one to tear."
Meikyō scratched his head and said shamelessly.
Fubuki:...
"I think in the end both of them will definitely be torn up."
"Then let's just take all the stockings in the store home. I was hoping to see you in a tank top, and glossy nude stockings would suit you well too. White stockings could also be a good option..."
Fubuki rolled her Byakugan at Meikyō, letting him figure it out for himself, before speaking:
"Alright, it's time to go to Dr. Genos to start today's training. I've made great progress in my Psychic Power recently, and I should have reached a pretty good standard even among Dragon-level. I can go and help you try to see if you can start Black Hole Class training. Didn't the doctor say last time that your physical condition has reached the lower limit for starting Black Hole Class training?"
The Teleportation Circle opened, revealing Genus's laboratory.
"Gentlemen, the equipment has been debugged. The doctor went to the neighboring City M today to discuss advertising sponsorship fees for an e-sports event and will not be back until tomorrow."
The Armored Gorilla diligently served tea to the two of them.
"Let's make a change. Today we're going to try out Black Hole Class Gravity Training Room. Didn't the doctor say that the electricity accumulated from the newly built large power plant is enough to activate Black Hole Class once?"
Fubuki said to the Armored Gorilla.
"Well... alright, but the doctor said that even Dragon-level esper can only activate Black Hole Class for less than ten minutes at most. To truly make the Black Hole Class esper the intensity of Scarlet Ninja's daily training, the only Psychic Power on this planet who truly meets this requirement is Tatsumaki the Terrible. If you can't hold on for a while, I will stop the equipment from operating."
Armored Gorilla explained to Fubuki while adjusting the equipment's settings.
"I understand. If I really can't do it, I'll explain to my sister. Even without the help of the drug, this device can still be used to temper and solidify Psychic Power. My sister will definitely be interested."
Fubuki sat inside the Psychic Power brainwave directional amplifier and began using her Psychic Power in conjunction with the equipment to create a gravity training field in the Gravity Training Room.
Meikyō was already dressed in her training uniform and waiting inside.
Suddenly, a heavy pressure pressed down on me.
Even for Meikyō today, this gravity still almost made him lose his footing.
Try extending your finger; Meikyō can feel that the gravity here is so strong that even light is distorted.
Light has no mass and should not be affected by gravity, but under the influence of an extremely strong gravitational field, space itself will be Space Distortion, causing light, which normally travels in a straight line in spacetime, to bend.
For light, it still travels in a straight line in the distorted space. This is why the path of light is deflected when it passes through massive celestial bodies such as black holes in the universe.
"It has a very strong training effect. Gravity and space influence each other. The Gravity Fist that I learned from the Blast was a reverse application of this principle. It distorts space to create a powerful gravity field and applies it to the fist to damage the enemy."
Meikyō clenched his fists, made a few movements, and stretched his body. Only after feeling that he had adapted did he take out the Ama-no-Ohabari to absorb blood energy and begin training.
The gravity this time was just too great.
Even someone with physical abilities as strong as Meikyō wouldn't be much better than an average person in terms of athleticism under such a powerful gravitational field.
It was just blocked, so I changed it.