The bond between Tsunade and Hoshiyomi had grown even closer.
Before, their bond had already been deep, but there had always been some unspoken restraints between them. Now, however, those restraints were gone, and they could be completely at ease with one another.
Still, no matter how close they were, they couldn't spend every moment stuck to each other. Tsunade was the Fourth Hokage now; she couldn't spend every day at the Senju compound, bickering and flirting with Hoshiyomi.
The next morning, the two arrived at the Hokage building on time. But unlike her usual bold and confident stride, Tsunade's steps were noticeably smaller. Those who knew her simply assumed she was acting more dignified now that she'd become Hokage.
Tsunade, however, quietly clenched her teeth and gave Hoshiyomi's arm a painful pinch.
Hoshiyomi inhaled sharply from the pain, but couldn't hide the smile tugging at his lips. Remembering everything from the night before, only one thought echoed in his heart:
This alone makes my life worth it.
Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, they finally dropped their playful expressions. As they opened the door, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already waiting for them.
Unlike before, he was no longer wearing the Third Hokage's robes. Instead, he wore ordinary civilian clothes. At forty-four, he wasn't particularly old yet, and in simple attire he actually appeared more scholarly and refined.
Seeing the two arrive, Hiruzen smiled. He patted Tsunade on the shoulder and said:
"You're here. Come, let me introduce you to the day-to-day work…"
The Hokage's daily work weren't actually as overwhelming as they had appeared in the anime when Tsunade first took office. Back then, things had been hectic mainly because, after Orochimaru's "Konoha Crush" plan, the village had fallen into long-term stagnation.
Coupled with Tsunade's rushed appointment, the result was that mountain of paperwork she had to face.
Now, however, with the Third Hokage still alive and the transition of power being smooth and orderly, things weren't nearly that chaotic.
In truth, the Hokage only had about thirty or forty documents to process each day. Otherwise, Hiruzen wouldn't have had time to spend peeking at Naruto or the women's bathhouses.
Aside from paperwork, the Hokage's other main task was listening to mission reports. D- and C-rank missions didn't require reporting; only B-rank and above did, and even then it was usually just a formality, not something that dragged on for long.
After going over the daily work , Hiruzen had Tsunade sit in the Hokage's chair. Watching her seriously sign off on a few documents, he finally felt at ease.
With the daily work explained, Hiruzen relaxed completely. Taking a sip of tea, he glanced at Tsunade and Hoshiyomi sitting in his old spot, then said with a smile:
"Well then, it's time to talk about your next moves. There's an old saying: 'When a new official takes office, they light three fires.' I imagine the two of you already have your own plans?"
At this, Tsunade and Hoshiyomi didn't bother hiding anything. They answered openly:
"That's right—we've already prepared our three fires."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow with interest.
"Let's hear them. I can help you analyze whether they're reasonable."
Tsunade and Hoshiyomi had no reason to guard themselves against him. They knew Hiruzen would never harm them, so they spoke without reservation about what they were planning to do next.
Tsunade adjusted her posture slightly, her expression turning serious as she declared:
"First of all, Hoshiyomi and I plan to revive the Senju clan."
Hiruzen furrowed his brows at that, but still nodded and said:
"That makes sense. You'll definitely need the Senju clan as your political foundation. By the way—you've confirmed the list of Senju members, haven't you? Would you mind letting me take a look?"
Tsunade didn't bother to hide anything. She reached into Hoshiyomi's belongings and pulled out the list of Senju clansmen who had already been reactivated on the battlefield.
After scanning the names, Hiruzen's pupils contracted—there were quite a few familiar faces here. Mito-sama's arrangements had indeed been brilliant. Looking at the list, he couldn't help but sigh:
"With both the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan standing behind you, your position as Hokage is naturally far more secure than mine ever was. Mito-sama truly went to great lengths for your sake. When I succeeded the title, if I'd had the support of such a vast family power, it wouldn't have taken me so many years just to stabilize the situation."
Hiruzen's tone was laced with the bitterness of envy. Compared to Tsunade's abundant political resources, his own accession back then had truly been the epitome of a beggar Hokage.
The Senju had vanished, the Sarutobi were few in number, rebels were constantly scheming, and outside enemies like Kumo and Suna loomed restlessly—he had been surrounded on all sides.
But Tsunade? She rose to power on the heels of a decisive victory in the Second War, with four Kage-levels (counting herself) and two semi-Kage standing behind her, along with two great clans guarding her flank. This starting hand was nothing short of a VIP15 package deal.
Only upon abdicating did Hiruzen finally realize the enormous gap between the free-to-play player experience and that of a VIP whale.
He took two heavy puffs on his pipe to calm his mood before asking again:
"What about next? What other plans do you have?"
This time, Hoshiyomi was the one to answer, his tone firm:
"After reviving the Senju, our second step is to abolish the Hokage Advisor system. The third step is to eliminate or merge redundant departments, creating a streamlined system with a strong Hokage core."
At those words, Hiruzen's hand trembled violently as he held his pipe. Truth be told, this was the very system he had once dreamed of achieving.
Because he had ascended as a Hokage of meager background—practically a pauper, even a refugee—he had been forced to decentralize Hokage authority just to keep the village stable and prevent internal strife from inviting external attacks.
That strategy had allowed him to weather the hardest years, but it left behind endless troubles. By the time he resolved external conflicts and turned inward, he discovered with despair that the powers he had delegated were now firmly in the grip of others.
And since it was he who had given away that authority, he couldn't simply take it back. On the contrary, he had to live in constant fear of them banding together to overthrow him.
That was why the Advisor system and the twisted existence of Root had emerged—but even then, all he had really done was set wolves against tigers.
He had originally planned to gently remind Tsunade of these issues in due course. But he never imagined she and Hoshiyomi had already identified the crux of the problem at the very start of her reign—backed by the absolute strength to sweep away all opposition.
Sigh… my politics really were inadequate after all.