"Shinya."
Hiruzen's voice carried through the office.
"Lord Hokage." Shinya pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Hiruzen got straight to the point. "Notify everyone—we're holding a jonin meeting in a week. Attendance is compulsory. Any jonin who can't be there must submit a written explanation. Also, all clan leaders are required to attend. No excuses."
Shinya hesitated for a moment, noticing the seriousness on Hiruzen's face. Was something big happening? But he didn't dare to ask.
"One more thing," Hiruzen continued. "Send a word to recall Torifu, Danzo, Shikaru, and the others."
"Understood. I'll handle it right away." As soon as Shinya left, the office fell into silence again.
Hiruzen sat at his desk, deep in thought. This time, he wasn't going to compromise with the ninja clans. He had initially planned to restructure the Security Department by the end of the year, but now, he needed to take things further—he had to establish a Foreign Affairs Department as well.
The village had too many scattered departments, making the entire system looks messy and inefficient. He took a sheet of paper and wrote down every existing and planned department,
° Anbu
° Customs
° Patrol
° Guard
° Foreign Affairs
° Medical
° Government Affairs
° Intelligence
° Education
° Assessment
Ten departments in total.
Looking at the list, he realized they could be grouped into three main divisions.
1. Defense Division: Customs, Patrol, and Guard—all offshoots of the existing Security Department—would fall under a newly formed Ministry of Defense.
2. Foreign Affairs Division: Anbu, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence would operate under a Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Administrative Division: Medical, Education, Assessment, and Government Affairs. The Government Affairs Department would be upgraded into a central administrative body, overseeing all village operations with a council of nine advisors assisting the Hokage.
With this structure, power would be more evenly distributed, making the system more efficient and sustainable.
Hiruzen had never cared much about consolidating power for himself. But as a time traveler, he felt a responsibility to reform the village—otherwise, what was the point of having this knowledge? His earlier attempts had been met with resistance, but now, he understood the reality of this world. Power wasn't in the system—it was in strength. If he had absolute strength, people would follow him naturally.
This was a solid plan, but before putting it into motion, he needed to establish his authority and for that, he needed an opportunity—something to make an example of.
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. "Let's see which clan decides to be the sacrificial lamb this time."
Before he could dwell on it further, the door suddenly burst open.
"Hiruzen, what's going on?"
It was Koharu. She must have heard from Shinya and rushed over immediately.
Hiruzen frowned slightly. "What's the urgency?"
Koharu narrowed her eyes at Hiruzen, her expression unreadable. "Did you just summon all the jonin for a meeting in a week?"
Hiruzen barely looked up from his papers. "Yeah. The meeting is in a week. You're not expecting me to hold it now, are you?" His tone was dismissive.
Koharu didn't let it go. "What's so urgent that you had to call for a full jonin assembly? You better not make this a waste of time."
Hiruzen frowned but said nothing. The sharpness in her tone annoyed him, so he simply picked up another document, flipping through it absentmindedly.
Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, Koharu sighed and settled herself on the sofa. She poured herself a cup of tea, making it clear she wasn't leaving without answers.
Moments later, a knock on the door broke the silence.
"Come in," Hiruzen called out, not looking up.
The door opened to reveal Homura, holding a document. He hesitated for a moment, noticing the tense atmosphere. "Uh… Hiruzen, are you busy? I can come back later if—"
"It's fine. Just bring it here," Hiruzen interrupted, gesturing for the document. If it was something official, he might as well deal with it now.
Homura handed it over, and Hiruzen quickly scanned the contents. It was about the newly formed Medical Department, specifically regarding the every 6 months medical checkups for the Academy students.
Technically, this could have been submitted directly to his office. There was no reason for Homura, his assistant, to deliver it in person. It wasn't urgent.
Sighing, Hiruzen set the paper down. "Let me guess. You're here to ask about the jonin meeting too?"
Homura gave a cautious nod. "I just wanted to check if something major happened. You don't call these meetings often."
Hiruzen's patience was wearing thin. "So now do I need a crisis to hold a jonin meeting? Or do I, as a Hokage, not even have the right to call one?"
Homura held up his hands in surrender. "Of course, as Hokage, you can call a meeting whenever you see fit. Just wanted to make sure. If you have it under control, then I won't ask any further."
Koharu, still lounging on the sofa, scoffed. "Hiruzen, what's gotten into you? We're just looking out for you. Has becoming the Hokage changed you that much?"
Homura's expression tightened. He could tell that comment wouldn't go over well. Quickly, he grabbed Koharu's arm and pulled her up. "That's enough, Koharu. Don't say things like that. Can't you see Hiruzen is busy? Let's go."
With that, he all but dragged her out of the office.
The moment the door clicked shut, Hiruzen's expression darkened.
Hadn't he always been good to Koharu? When he became the Hokage, he made sure all his old teammates were promoted to key positions.
Danzo became his enforcer, putting out the fires wherever needed. Kagami had even helped him reorganize the Security Department by convincing his own clan to step back. The results weren't perfect, but Kagami had at least tried. Even Torifu, who was usually laid-back, had found his place—whenever Hiruzen left the village, Torifu was always by his side as a bodyguard.
When Hiruzen had to leave for the Land of Iron for three years to negotiate for Danzo's return, who stayed behind to manage the village? Koharu and Homura. Whenever he dealt with the daimyo, Homura was there too, handling logistics.
So why was Koharu acting like this now?
Hiruzen exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples. Maybe it was time to remind everyone who the Hokage was.
It wasn't that Hiruzen never gave Koharu the opportunity to go out—it was that she simply didn't want to. Fine, he thought. If she preferred to stay in the village, then she could focus on handling the internal affairs.
But even that didn't go smoothly.
He had originally entrusted her with overseeing the distribution of death pensions and disability allowances. It should have been a straightforward task, yet it took her months to complete. In the end, Hiruzen had to personally step in and push for the results.
When he attempted to reorganize the Security Department, he assigned Homura to handle political matters within the department while Koharu took charge of the Political Affairs Department. The result? A complete disaster. The Political Affairs Department quickly fell into chaos, forcing Hiruzen to recall Homura to clean up the mess. That failure may very well have been one of the reasons the Security Department's reorganization never truly succeeded.
At this point, Koharu was nothing more than a bureaucrat who issued orders but couldn't execute them. She had no combat ability, no leadership skills—just a title as the Hokage's assistant, which she wielded as if it meant something.
This was why Hiruzen recently added a new directive to the Ministry of Government Affairs regarding school welfare. He had noticed an increasing number of civilians immigrating to Konoha and applying for naturalization—something managed by the Ministry's Registration Office.
When he reviewed the records, he was shocked to find that 90% of all naturalization approvals bore Koharu's signature. Whether or not there were underhanded dealings involved, he couldn't say for certain but one thing was clear—something wasn't right.