The Daimyo's appointment quickly arrived at Konoha.
Tsunade, one of the Sannin, officially took office as the Fifth Hokage.
In Konoha Plaza, the sun was shining brightly, and colorful ribbons fluttered, but the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Tsunade stood on the high platform, clad in a brand new Fifth Hokage robe, her blonde hair gently swaying in the wind. She surveyed the crowd below, a confident smile on her lips, and began her inauguration speech.
"I will focus on the village's development and strive for it!"
The applause was sparse, and the villagers below were abuzz with discussions.
A hint of doubt flashed in the depths of Tsunade's eyes.
"Why isn't Shun-sama the Hokage?" A middle-aged merchant in the crowd asked loudly.
"That's right, Advisor Shun earned 60 billion ryo for the village." A nearby vendor chimed in.
"Tsunade-sama has been away from the village for over 10 years, hasn't she?"
Whispers surged like a tide, and Tsunade's smile froze on her face. She clenched her fists, her knuckles slightly white.
She was the Legendary Sannin, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and a hero of the Second Great Ninja War.
Tsunade thought for a moment and realized that Shun's achievements in the Third Great Ninja War were also very impressive, and he was quite good at stirring things up. He killed Danzo, exposed the Root base, and revealed the corruption of Hiruzen and others.
Moreover, he publicly beat Hiruzen, extorted 20 billion ryo from him, and distributed it to the ninjas returning from the Sunagakure battlefield. Recently, he also defeated Jiraiya, earning 60 billion ryo for the village, and was called the Konoha God of Wealth by the villagers.
Tsunade thought about it carefully and realized that she really couldn't compare to that little pervert. No wonder the current villagers only had eyes for that Konoha God of Wealth, Shun.
...
As Tsunade stopped speaking, the atmosphere around them became somewhat awkward.
Shun, with a lazy smile on his lips, slowly walked onto the podium.
His voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the plaza. "Fellow Konoha citizens, please be quiet."
Seeing Shun take the stage, the crowd instantly fell silent.
He spread his hands, his tone relaxed. "This is a critical period for post-war reconstruction, and the village needs stability. If I become the Fifth Hokage, it will convey to the outside world the image of the Uchiha dominating Konoha, which will hinder the future development of the village. That's why I suggested Tsunade become the Fifth Hokage."
"So it was Advisor Shun who suggested Tsunade-sama become the Fifth Hokage, then there's no problem."
"Advisor Shun is so devoted to the village that he even gave up the position of Hokage."
"Advisor Shun is truly great."
Tsunade secretly glanced at Shun, her eyes seeming to say: You caused all this, let's see how you'll clean it up!
Shun paused, then continued to amplify his voice with Chakra. "I hope everyone can support Tsunade-sama, just like me, and together build a better Konoha."
After a brief silence, the applause finally grew enthusiastic.
Tsunade looked sideways at Shun, her eyes complex.
What exactly was he thinking?
Was it just as he said before: to become the 'man' of the Hokage?
...
After the speech, many high-ranking Konoha officials returned to the meeting room.
Tsunade sat in the Hokage chair, her hands clasped under her chin, her sharp gaze fixed on Shun opposite her.
Her tone was slightly sarcastic. "Advisor Shun, since you're so popular and don't want to be Hokage, why don't you tell me what I should do next?"
Shun leaned back lazily in his chair, smiling. "Hokage-sama is joking, the decision-making power is in your hands."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But you had quite a lot of 'suggestions' in the plaza just now."
Shun shrugged. "Just helping out a little."
They stared at each other, sparks seemingly flying in the air.
Shikaku cleared his throat, interrupting at the right moment. "Hokage-sama, let's discuss the current situation of the village first."
He opened a document, his voice becoming somewhat heavy. "In the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha lost 12,597 ninjas, and 1,358 were disabled."
"In addition, the Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mito clans evacuated, taking thousands of ninjas with them."
"Currently, Konoha has only 6,652 ninjas left, of which 4,122 are female and 2,430 are male, the gender ratio is severely imbalanced."
Tsunade frowned deeply, asking with a worried expression, "What's the situation in the other ninja villages?"
Seeing this, Shun quickly took over, "Iwagakure has 8,307 people, Kumogakure has 7,140 people, Sunagakure has 5,736 people, and Kirigakure has 3,753 people."
Upon hearing these numbers, Tsunade's expression grew even more solemn.
Konoha, once the largest ninja village, had an undisputed status and strength. However, Konoha had now fallen to this state, which made Tsunade feel immense pain and disappointment.
She sighed, slowly saying, "I never thought the Third Great Ninja War would leave the Five Great Ninja villages in such a state, almost regressing 30 years."
Shun gave Shikaku a look, but the latter pretended not to see it and lowered his head to drink tea.
He could only call him out directly, "Advisor Shikaku, do you have any suggestions?"
Shikaku immediately understood. 'He is suddenly acting so enthusiastic, he's not trying to make me take the blame, is he?'
Seeing him not answer, Shun's smile deepened. "I've recently become very interested in Shadow Imitation Jutsu, why don't we 'spar' after the meeting?"
Shikaku's lips twitched, and he immediately said seriously, "Because of Hiruzen, we lost 2,247 children on the Kirigakure battlefield, which means the students in the Ninja Academy are all only 6-8 years old, so we can't count on Ninja Academy graduates for the next 3 years."
Seeing that his threat had worked, Shun's lips curled slightly upward.
His gaze fell on Shikaku, and he continued to press. "So, Advisor Shikaku, do you have any specific solutions for this problem?"
Shikaku pondered for a moment and said, "Short-term solution: We could consider absorbing idle ninja clans from outside. This would not only increase our manpower but also bring some new Ninjutsu and tactics."
Shun nodded, agreeing, "Since you mentioned a short-term solution, there must also be a long-term solution."
Shikaku took a deep breath and continued, "Long-term solution: We need to encourage marriage and childbirth, especially for widowed female ninjas, they should be encouraged to remarry. After all, the offspring of ninja often have better ninja talent. At the same time, we should also encourage male ninjas to take more wives and concubines."
At this point, Shikaku paused slightly. "After all, there are more female ninjas than male ninjas in the village right now. If we don't take measures, population growth will be limited."
Getting the answer he wanted, Shun showed a satisfied smile.
He praised, "As expected of Konoha's top strategist, your suggestions are very practical and feasible."
***
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