Chapter 344: 288. Chapter 286: A Village Doesn't Necessarily Have Only One Boss

288. Chapter 286: A Village Doesn't Necessarily Have Only One Boss

Although Tobirama Senju really did not want to admit it, the fact that Madara Uchiha was one of the top combat powers in Konoha was laid out right before his eyes.

Especially for a mission like capturing a Tailed Beast, aside from Hashirama Senju who possessed Wood Release, only Madara Uchiha could complete it solo.

In the current situation, the Hokage himself certainly could not go out personally; the incident where his own older brother was assassinated upon returning from the Land of Wind last time was still fresh in his memory, and every time he thought of it, Tobirama Senju would break out in a cold sweat.

Therefore, he now had to think of a reason to trick Madara Uchiha into leaving the village to find the Nine-Tails and bring it back to guard the house.

Thinking of this, a red glint flashed in Tobirama Senju's eyes, and he spoke up, seemingly unintentionally but actually with intent,

"I never expected the power of the Nine-Tails to be so terrifying; Brother, you must never do such a dangerous thing again in the future!"

Hashirama Senju, who had just finished lying, was stunned upon hearing this, not knowing why his younger brother kept bringing this up, but he did not want to dampen Madara Uchiha's confidence, so he nodded hurriedly,

"That goes without saying, the Nine-Tails is too dangerous!"

Madara Uchiha, who was pricking up his ears to the side, had an even deeper look of contemplation in his eyes; as someone who had been suppressed by Hashirama Senju his whole life, he felt as if he had found a breakthrough point.

At the thought of himself controlling the Nine-Tails to beat up Hashirama's wooden man, Madara Uchiha couldn't help but laugh out loud,

"Hehe~"

"Madara, what are you laughing at? Is there some good news?"

"Uh..."

Madara Uchiha, having been discovered, tightened his expression, terrified that his little thoughts would be exposed. Just at this critical moment, he suddenly caught sight of Tobirama Senju, who had a teasing smile on the side, and his eyes lit up. He immediately straightened his back and said with a look of sorrow but a smile on his lips,

"Sigh~ it's nothing good, it's just that kid Izuna..."

"Hmph! Caused trouble again? I've said it before, that guy has never been a good egg since he was little~"

Tobirama Senju only heard half of what was said before speaking up to mock him; his relationship with Izuna Uchiha could be described as natural-born rivals, and as long as they met, a round of sharp-tongued bickering was inevitable.

"Madara, don't be angry either. If a younger brother goes down the wrong path, just correct him in time; there's no need to resort to hitting or scolding."

Whenever the topic of younger brothers came up, Hashirama Senju would get spirited. Many years ago, he and Madara Uchiha had even compared the length of their respective brothers by a small river.

The unit of measurement was neither roots nor strips.

Tobirama Senju and Izuna Uchiha, who had been competing for many years, one more sinister than stagnant water and the other a complete diamond body, had combat records that could be described as evenly matched.

However, after the founding of Konoha, Izuna Uchiha clearly shifted his focus to family affairs, while Tobirama Senju took the opportunity to mix into Konoha's political circles, which could be considered a slight edge.

Therefore, there was a hint of smugness in Hashirama Senju's expression; after all, his younger brother was more outstanding.

"Sigh~ actually it's not a big deal, it's just that Izuna started dating recently. I reckon it won't be long before I can be an uncle~"

Madara Uchiha deliberately raised his voice, but his eyes remained fixed on Tobirama Senju, who was snickering to the side.

"Nani?"

Tobirama Senju was shocked upon hearing this. Even though they were of similar age, that hedgehog-head had actually secretly gotten off the market; wouldn't that make him very awkward?

"Ah! This..."

Hashirama Senju, who had been smug just a moment ago, was immediately struck dumb, his proud expression frozen on his face. He had thought he could tease Madara well and step on his brother, but he hadn't expected himself to become the clown.

After a long while, he squeezed out a stiff sentence,

"That's really great, congratulations."

"Can't help it, my younger brother isn't great at anything, his only merit is that he saves me worry, unlike some people who are still single at their age, not considering the continuation of the family at all."

Uh... why does it feel like I was AOE'd too? Dealing a thousand damage to the enemy while taking eighty thousand damage myself.

Feeling bitter inside, Tobirama Senju put on his usual deadpan face and said coldly,

"Do not discuss matters unrelated to work during office hours."

Hashirama Senju nodded hurriedly in agreement, fearing that his younger brother would grind his teeth in jealousy.

Seeing Tobirama Senju with a sour face, Madara Uchiha knew when to stop; after all, he was a straightforward ninja who held his ground, so he didn't continue the sarcasm and instead lowered his head to continue processing the mountain of documents.

For a time, in the quiet office, there was only the rustling sound of flipping pages.

After a long time, Madara Uchiha suddenly raised his head, looked at Hashirama Senju on the Hokage throne, frowned, and asked,

"Hashirama, if we didn't help you, when would you ever finish a day's work?"

Just now, while processing documents, Madara Uchiha discovered that these submitted government affairs were a jumbled mess that made one's head ache; the previous one was a report on mission completion rates, and the next one was an application for the village to distribute stud pigs. The overly erratic content almost made his brain crash.

This situation was common, which was why Madara Uchiha asked this question.

The classification of government affairs was unclear, and the lack of distinction between primary and secondary tasks clearly reduced the efficiency of the Hokage's work.

"Without your help, I might only be able to complete less than a third."

When asked, Hashirama Senju scratched his head. He had actually discovered this problem too, but there were simply too many documents submitted every day to classify them in time. Moreover, as Hokage, he had to be meticulous about everything; even if a toilet was being repaired at the entrance of the village, he had to think it over repeatedly before making a decision.

"Instead of having time to discuss this kind of problem, you'd better hurry up and work."

Tobirama Senju, who had long been accustomed to this rhythm, raised his head with an unhappy expression. As the fastest person in Konoha on the surface, his speed at processing government affairs was faster than Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha combined.

And regarding this problem, he had a solution, but it hadn't been perfected yet.

"I don't think this can go on. For example, this plan regarding border defense arrangements is definitely one of Konoha's most classified pieces of intelligence, yet it's just mixed in so carelessly with the mission lists of Genin. If there were an oversight, wouldn't that lead to a catastrophe?"

Madara Uchiha had always cared for Konoha; he did not want this village, which he and Hashirama Senju had founded together, to suffer any harm.

"Where are there so many oversights?"

Even though what Madara Uchiha said made sense, Tobirama Senju still retorted with a cold face. The other party had mocked him for being a single dog earlier, and he would remember this grudge for a lifetime.

"You!"

He hadn't expected that his good intentions would not only be unappreciated by Tobirama Senju, but met with an expression of "you're too meddlesome," which made Madara Uchiha's fists itch.

"Alright, Tobirama, Madara is right!"

It was the daily mediation again. Hashirama Senju stood up helplessly to smooth things over, then looked at the indignant Madara Uchiha and said with some difficulty,

"Madara, I understand what you mean, but now all kinds of affairs, whether it's people's livelihood or military, require me to review them. This is the duty of the Hokage~"

Hashirama Senju knew that Madara Uchiha was worried about him overworking and was very moved, but for the time being, he hadn't thought of a better solution.

"Sigh~ Hashirama, you just have too much sense of responsibility; you'll be very tired this way."

Regarding Hashirama Senju's explanation, Madara Uchiha could only shake his head and sigh,

"Brother, I have already thought of a solution, it's just not refined yet. I'll present it to you after I perfect it in a while."

Seeing his older brother and Madara Uchiha exchanging glances, Tobirama Senju was suddenly furious, then stood up and said,

"Bang bang bang~"

Just at this moment, a familiar knocking sound rang out. The three people present raised their eyebrows, feeling that the visitor was not coming with good intentions.

"Please come in~"

Hashirama Senju said in a loud voice.

"Creak~"

Only to see a curly-haired person poking out from the door crack, the very unhappy Gin Uchiha arrived~

"Isn't this Brother Gin? What wind blew you here~"

Seeing that the visitor was Gin Uchiha, Hashirama Senju hurriedly walked down and greeted him very enthusiastically.

"Hmph~"

Gin Uchiha was very angry. Clearly, Konoha's development had already entered the right track, and the news of the completion of the Konoha Prison a few days ago had also reached his ears. The ecstatic curly-haired man had waited at home for several days, but hadn't seen a shadow of an appointment letter, not even a job entry text message.

At first, he thought Hashirama, his "prisoner brother," had just forgotten, but as many old colleagues returned to their posts one after another, his heart sank day by day. Finally, upon hearing that the Konoha Prison had already admitted its first batch of criminals, Gin Uchiha was completely insane.

Early this morning, Gin Uchiha rushed to the Hokage Building in a rage, swearing to demand an explanation for himself. He had clearly done quite a few things for Konoha before, so how could he not even land a position as a jailer?

Today, he was going to find Hashirama Senju to question him face-to-face: was it intentional, or was it accidental?

Along the way, the guards of the Hokage Building, seeing the foul-faced Gin Uchiha, all hid far away, not daring to come up and chat like they used to, for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves.

"Big Cousin, I've already rested enough, I can go to work!"

Thinking that the unhappy Gin Uchiha was here to drag him home to rest, Madara Uchiha hurriedly stood up to explain,

"It has nothing to do with you, if you love working, you can work for a lifetime."

Gin Uchiha ignored his anxious big cousin and instead cast his gaze on the innocent-looking Senju brothers, gritting his teeth as he accused them,

"The Konoha Prison is finished!"

"Uh... yeah, I even went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony a few days ago."

Not understanding what Gin Uchiha meant, Hashirama Senju nodded subconsciously and replied,

"Good, good, good, I thought you didn't know about this."

Gin Uchiha was so angry he laughed. His black dead-fish eyes stared at Hashirama Senju, with flames faintly spraying out from them.

"Ha?"

"What about your promise?"

"Ah!"

Reminded by Gin Uchiha, Hashirama Senju finally woke up as if from a dream. He had indeed promised Gin Uchiha before that he would arrange for him to work in the prison.

It was just that because Gin Uchiha had made extremely outstanding contributions regarding the Tailed Beast issue, Hashirama Senju hadn't thought of how to reward this great hero for a while. If he rashly arranged for him to be a jailer in the prison, wouldn't people who didn't know the truth think that he, the Hokage, was greedy for credit and harming the loyal?

"Brother Gin, don't be anxious yet."

Thinking of this, Hashirama Senju tried to appease him repeatedly.

"Anxious, anxious, anxious, can I not be anxious!"

It had been too peaceful lately, and he couldn't find anyone to farm "Steel" (Heart of Steel). Those guys in the Ninja Clan Alliance all had friendly expressions when they saw him, and he couldn't activate the Heart of Steel at all. Besides, Gin Uchiha was currently carrying a Konoha forehead protector in his pocket; he couldn't just go bully civilians, right?

Missing one day of work meant missing one chance to farm Steel, and Gin Uchiha felt like he was losing his shirt.

"You curly-hair, we've been too busy lately, where would we have time to manage your trivial matters."

Seeing Gin Uchiha being so disrespectful to his older brother, Tobirama Senju spoke up, which counted as giving him an explanation.

"Busy? With you guys working like this, how could you not be busy!"

Sure enough, these guys had forgotten what they promised him completely. Gin Uchiha was so angry he almost activated his eyes to teach the white-haired one a lesson with a Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. Looking at the mountain of documents on the three people's table, he mocked them with great disdain.

"Oh? Are you implying that there is a problem with the way we handle our work?"

Upon hearing Uchiha Gin's words, Tobirama Senju rarely retorted, instead asking with genuine interest.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Uchiha Gin did not beat around the bush; he stepped forward, casually picked up a document from the table, and upon seeing the file name, rolled his eyes dramatically before waving the document in his hand and speaking in a strange tone:

"You are the Hokage, so why are you concerning yourself with the breeding of someone else's sows?"

"Uh... isn't this also a matter of public livelihood?"

Hashirama Senju scratched his head in embarrassment; he had already approved many such documents, and in terms of the importance of the matter, there was indeed no need for a Hokage to handle it.

"He isn't very bright, so why are you following a madman's lead?"

Ignoring the embarrassed Hashirama Senju, Uchiha Gin set his gaze on Tobirama Senju, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed. This white-haired man was usually full of schemes, so why was he becoming increasingly dull in his work?

"I already have a solution."

Being directly confronted by Uchiha Gin, Tobirama Senju immediately retorted.

"Oh? Then tell me your solution."

He would give this white-haired man a chance and listen to what high-minded ideas he had.

"Hmph~ I intend to establish a Council of Elders under the Hokage to refine responsibilities and manage various affairs through decentralized power."

Good grief, so the Council of Elders was created by you, kid? Just to distribute work to those wicked disciples of yours, right?

Upon hearing the words "Council of Elders," Uchiha Gin's head buzzed; the infamy of the Konoha F4 was truly terrifying.

"Stop! Let me ask you, does your Senju clan have elders?"

Uchiha Gin started at zero frames, interrupting Tobirama Senju.

"Uh... naturally, there are."

Any larger family would have a few elders, Tobirama Senju replied, not understanding the point.

"Then what kind of existence do you think an elder is?"

This question left Tobirama Senju speechless. He subconsciously recalled his own clan's elders and realized that those guys would pop up to seek attention whenever they had the chance, and usually, relying on their seniority and reputation, they would point fingers at the clan head.

When Hashirama Senju had just succeeded as clan head, he had suffered no small amount of hardship from the elders. It was only out of respect for their age that the two brothers had endured it. Now, thinking back, the knuckles of Tobirama Senju's fingers were itching.

"Hmph~ aren't they annoying? Not only do they not help with anything, but they cause trouble from time to time. When it's time to act, they say you're too reckless; when you're ready to stop, they say you're too cautious. They just want to go against you in everything, right?"

Uchiha Gin's words struck a chord with Tobirama Senju. The elders he had encountered were all like this, and they were two-faced, acting in compliance but secretly defying orders, making it impossible to accomplish anything significant.

"That's just within a clan of the same bloodline. If you let unrelated people serve as elders, you wouldn't even know if the position of Hokage had been sold out from under you."

"Indeed, it was my oversight."

After Uchiha Gin's words, Tobirama Senju rarely argued, instead lowering his head to ponder the possibility.

This curly-haired man had a point. Although the elder system could share the Hokage's workload, in the long run, it would inevitably breed dissent. Once it accumulated to a certain degree, the elders might break free from the Hokage's control and usurp the Hokage's power.

"Since that's the case, what good ideas do you have?"

Seeing that Uchiha Gin spoke with such logic, Tobirama Senju decided to humble himself and ask the curly-haired man for advice.

"Huh?"

Uchiha Gin, who had just been spouting off, looked at the slightly respectful Tobirama Senju and couldn't help but scratch his own curly hair; he was just a "keyboard warrior" after all~

"Big Cousin, if you really have a good method, please share it!"

Uchiha Madara, who was standing to the side, saw Uchiha Gin's strange expression and thought his big cousin was unwilling to answer because he didn't like Tobirama Senju. Concerned for Konoha, he hurriedly spoke up to persuade him.

"That's right, Brother Gin, please help us~"

Hashirama Senju also joined in, wanting Uchiha Gin to solve his troubles. After all, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang; perhaps his method could help him solve the current dilemma.

"Uh..."

Stared at by three pairs of expectant eyes, Uchiha Gin found himself in a difficult position. Just as he was hesitating, Tobirama Senju spoke slowly.

"If your method is helpful, the appointment letter for the Konoha prison can be issued today."

"It's a deal!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin felt as if he had been injected with adrenaline. His brain spun rapidly; even if it was just for the position of jailer, he had to squeeze out a plan for these guys.

"..."

And so, Uchiha Gin began to pace back and forth in the office, his gaze darting between the faces of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, and he stopped in his tracks.

"I have a plan, but I don't know if I should say it."

With a draft already in his mind, Uchiha Gin looked at the three people before him and spoke slowly.

"Brother Gin, don't feel burdened, just speak your mind."

Hashirama Senju nodded, telling Uchiha Gin to speak freely.

"Then I'm going to say it~"

"Don't dawdle, are you still a man or not!"

Tobirama Senju, who had been waiting impatiently, couldn't help but curse.

"Hmph! Whether I am a man or not, naturally someone knows~"

"You!" The white-haired man flared up.

"Alright, Big Cousin, stop keeping us in suspense."

"Ahem... currently, is the Hokage the only high-level official in Konoha, and below him are just you two, the unofficial Hokage candidates?"

Deciding not to bicker with the white-haired man for now, Uchiha Gin looked at the three and asked after a light cough.

"That is indeed the case." Hashirama Senju nodded.

Tobirama and Madara were both helping out of obligation; the so-called Hokage candidates were just titles they used verbally, and they held no real power in Konoha; it was just to make it easier to help the Hokage with work.

"Actually, there's no rule that the village can only have one leader, right?"

"Heh."

Having expected Uchiha Gin to have some high-minded insight, Tobirama Senju was disappointed to hear such a load of nonsense.

"Tobirama, let Brother Gin finish first. Brother Gin, please continue."

"As the leader of Konoha, the Hokage should be considered the village chief, right?"

"That's correct." The three nodded in unison.

"Although the village's affairs are complex, if you categorize them, there are actually only two points."

Looking at the piles of documents in the office, Uchiha Gin held up two fingers.

"Public livelihood and military affairs."

The three of them looked at each other, pondered for a moment, and nodded.

"Among them, public livelihood mainly concerns issues regarding Konoha's development and the ideological education of ninjas, while military affairs are responsible for internal security and stability and external war games."

"Even if the Hokage has endless energy, he cannot fully manage all issues. So my idea is that we only need to establish one more position outside of the Hokage to oversee either public livelihood or military affairs."

"If we divide power like that, it will lead to factional strife, and it will only become more chaotic."

Tobirama Senju saw the flaw at a glance and immediately shook his head in denial.

"If, as you say, one side manages public livelihood and development, and the other manages military and security, the side managing the military will definitely be more powerful. At that point, as long as he gives the order, Konoha will be in his pocket."

"Don't be so pessimistic. Public livelihood is the side that holds the power of finance and the material basis for ninja life. As long as the business of mission delegation remains with public livelihood, the military side will never be able to stir up any trouble, unless everyone becomes a rogue ninja."

Indeed, obtaining rewards through mission delegation had been the main way for ninjas to survive since ancient times. As long as the public livelihood side held the channel and power to issue missions, the ninjas on the military side would not have ulterior motives.

Unless one possessed endless wealth and strength that looked down upon the world, being a rogue ninja wasn't so easy~

"Moreover, as the side in charge of public livelihood, you can implement an elite selection system and form your own unit—let's call it the Anbu—to deal with certain emergencies."

With the Imperial Guard here, who would dare to act out of line~

"Although this provides security, if both sides are always at odds, it won't be conducive to the village's development!"

Tobirama Senju, who was slightly tempted, still felt something was a bit off.

"We just need to optimize resource allocation, reasonably distributing resources between public livelihood and military affairs to achieve the best utility for both, which can promote the relationship between military and public livelihood from a zero-sum game to harmonious coexistence."

Uchiha Gin nodded upon hearing this, then brought his two fingers together; the meaning was self-evident.

"Uh... that seems to have some logic. Then, in your opinion, should the Hokage control military affairs or public livelihood?"

After listening to Uchiha Gin's explanation, Tobirama Senju pondered and then threw out his own question.

"That depends on the Hokage's own personality and methods. If the Hokage is a kind and benevolent person, then he is naturally better at managing public livelihood; but if the Hokage is a decisive person who kills without hesitation, then military affairs will be his happy home."

"I think I can manage public livelihood~"

Hashirama Senju, who had been listening for a long time, hurriedly stood up and recommended himself with a smile; after all, he didn't like war.

"Shut up! Sit down first, and wait until I'm done asking!"

Tobirama Senju angrily slapped his older brother on the head, scolding him for being disappointing, then turned to look at Uchiha Gin and asked.

"Then, besides the Hokage, what should the other position be called?"

"Uh... how about Village Party Secretary?" (End of chapter)