"You can change it however you want. You're the Hokage, so your word is final. I'm just worried that constant changes will demotivate the ninjas under us," Kagami said, lying back in resignation.
Hiruzen scoffed. "Whose fault is that? If you could actually control your people, we wouldn't have to keep changing things!" He suddenly pinned Kagami down on the sofa and started hitting him.
Just then, Shinya entered the room with a document, only to freeze in shock at the unexpected sight.
"Knock before you come in!" Hiruzen snapped.
Kagami calmly pushed Hiruzen away, straightened his clothes, and acted as if nothing had happened.
Shinya quickly stepped back, knocked on the door properly this time, and waited.
After adjusting his robes and sitting behind his desk, Hiruzen finally said, "Come in."
Lowering his head, Shinya handed over the document. "Lord Hokage, this is the complete medical report on Hiruko."
Hiruzen took the file and instructed, "Alright when Hiruko arrives, send him in."
Realizing the Hokage was still irritated, Shinya quickly left, clutching his chest and muttering, "That was way too intense… I actually saw the Hokage beating up the Head of the Security Department."
Meanwhile, Hiruzen carefully read through Hiruko's medical report and the hospital's assessment. As he had expected, Hiruko had been physically weak since childhood but was determined to become a ninja. Years of malnutrition, overtraining, and a lack of proper guidance had severely damaged his body. Yet, despite these setbacks, he had passed a genin-level assessment, proving his exceptional willpower and talent in ninjutsu.
Hiruzen frowned. Hiruko's condition wasn't something that could be easily fixed, even with electromagnetic body-strengthening techniques. Those techniques worked by stimulating cells to absorb chakra at an accelerated rate, but his body was already too fragile. Instead of helping him, the process could very well kill him.
"He's a rare case," Kagami said bluntly from behind. "His body is ruined at such a young age. He'll probably spend the rest of his life in bed."
Hiruzen sighed. "He's a fresh graduate from the Ninja Academy, assigned to the Anbu. I noticed he seemed weak, so I had him examined."
"How did he even pass? Was there favoritism involved?" Kagami questioned, narrowing his eyes.
"Wait—wasn't the examiner your eldest disciple, Sakumo? That guy's too strict to cheat for anyone."
"He passed fair and square. His mastery of elemental jutsu is already at the Chunin level, and his shuriken skills are excellent," Hiruzen explained.
Kagami clicked his tongue. "With that body, he probably won't make it back from his first mission. What a waste of potential."
"I can use a technique to enhance his body, but his condition is too severe. We need to fix his underlying health problems first," Hiruzen said, deep in thought.
After considering it for a moment, Kagami suggested, "For physical recovery, the Akimichi clan is the best option. If we can't handle it, we should ask for their help. Speaking of which, Torifu has been stationed in the Land of Iron for a few years now. When are you bringing him back?"
Hiruzen sighed, spreading his hands. "There's no one to replace him. I'd love to bring him back, but with the Five Kage Summit gaining more importance, we can't afford to send someone weak. Torifu is actually doing a great job there."
"You can't just keep picking on the nice guy, can you?" Kagami grumbled. "Look at Torifu—he's been stuck in the Land of Iron for three years. He's still not married, right?"
He crossed his arms, clearly standing up for their absent friend.
Hiruzen's eyes lit up with an idea. Laughing, he said, "Fine, I'll pick on someone else. You were the first to get married among us and even have a son now. I've decided—you're going to the Land of Iron as an ambassador next. I'm a genius!"
Indeed, Kagami had married three years ago and had a son soon after. His wife was reportedly the daughter of the Setsuna clan's leader.
"Are you serious? Who's going to run the Security Department after I leave? And do you really think I'm suited for an ambassador's role? The Security Department is already a disaster, and dealing with political schemes between villages isn't my thing."
"Didn't you just remind me about the Security Department? It's already a mess, with or without you. Besides, I plan to reorganize it again by the end of the year, so be ready. I need your help registering all the family-affiliated ninjas in the village's records. You might as well get some ambassadorial experience now. If Torifu can handle it, I'm sure you can do it too."
Kagami sighed dramatically. "This is on me. I made a mistake—I should never have come to your office. That's it, my free time this year is officially over. I'm leaving. Don't call me if you need something."
With that, he marched to the door, slammed it shut, and left.
From inside the office, Hiruzen called out, "Shinya, send a copy of the office door maintenance bill to the Security Department."
Hearing this, Kagami quickly leaped onto the roof and disappeared.
Meanwhile, in the outer office, Shinya covered his mouth, laughing. After composing himself, he asked, "Lord Hokage, do you really want me to send the bill?"
"Of course. Send it to the Security Department."
That was sure to stir things up. Imagine the confusion of the Security Department when they saw a maintenance bill from the Hokage's office.
Shinya sighed, silently copying the bill. Just then, Hiruzen's voice came from behind him.
"By the way, where did the hospital put Hiruko after his check-up?"
"They admitted him," Shinya replied, looking up to see Hiruzen standing beside him.
"Go to the Administrative Department and have his medical expenses covered by the village. Also, prepare some nutritional supplements for him and take them to the hospital. He needs at least three months to recover."
"Understood. I'll do it right after finishing this."
"One more thing," Hiruzen continued. "Notify the ninja academy that from now on, students will be provided free lunch at noon and must undergo a medical check-up every six months, covered by the school."
It was a policy aimed at ensuring the students' health.
"But Hokage-sama, many ninja families practice secret techniques. Their physical conditions often involve clan secrets," Shinya pointed out.
"They can be exempted. This policy is mainly for civilian ninjas," Hiruzen clarified. "Did you note everything I just said?"
"Yes, I wrote it down."
"I'll also be issuing a new directive to the Administrative Department," Hiruzen added. "From today onward, Konoha's naturalization process will be strictly controlled. There will be a fixed number of approvals each year, and applications will be reviewed thoroughly. The Ministry will have to discuss the criteria and submit them to me for approval."
This was meant to prevent an economic crisis caused by an unchecked influx of new villagers seeking for the school's benefits. From now on, every naturalized resident would be carefully screened.