Early in the morning.
"Sister, let me help you put on your shoes," Natsume said eagerly as he squatted down and looked up at her. "It's inconvenient for you to put on your shoes while standing."
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to," Tsunade said, looking down at him with a sharp gaze. She then slowly stretched out her bare foot.
Just when Natsume thought she had agreed to let him help her put on shoes, she lifted his chin with the top of her foot and then stepped on his chest, pushing him away.
"Humph, do you think I'll still give you a reward?" Tsunade said as she put on her own shoes. "Come on, stop pretending and get up to have a meal."
"Aren't you having breakfast again?" Natsume got up, a bit annoyed, and said, "I should never have let you become the Hokage. You're so busy that you don't even have time to eat!"
"I have my meals in the Hokage's office," Tsunade said. Her eyes paused for a moment, and her face softened as she ruffled his hair with her right hand.
"Hey, you're messing up my hair," Natsume said. Seeing that she didn't stop, he immediately grabbed her hand. "Let's go. I'll go with you to the Hokage's office."
"You're going with me?" Tsunade sized him up from head to toe with a teasing tone. "Do you know what the Hokage does?"
"I've said I'm quite capable," Natsume said as he continued to play with her hand. "I'm going to be the Hokage in the future!"
"Okay then," Tsunade said as she withdrew her hand and smiled. "It'll be good for you to learn about the Hokage's work in advance."
"Thanks, sister," Natsume said. Then he turned to Shizune and said, "Sister Shizune, we're leaving first."
"..." Shizune was speechless.
Forget it. I'll eat by myself.
At the Hokage Building.
"Lord Hokage," all the ninjas they met greeted her respectfully.
Tsunade responded casually, looking nothing like the Hokage.
When they reached the office, she rubbed her face and mumbled, "Being the Hokage is really a hassle."
"Sister, you don't have to care about them," Natsume came up with a bad idea and said, "You're the Hokage now. You don't have to pay any attention to them."
"If I let you be the Hokage, you'll offend everyone in this building in a few days," Tsunade said as she gave him a look. "As the Hokage, you can't be too aloof. Understand?"
"I got it!" Natsume replied loudly and obediently.
"Why are you shouting so loudly?" Tsunade said as she casually flipped through the documents in front of her and warned him, "When there are other people around, don't call me sister. Call me Lord Hokage."
"Okay, Lord Hokage," Natsume said with a grin as he stepped forward and unceremoniously sat on the Hokage's soft chair.
This chair was designed to be quite large, so it wasn't too crowded even for two people to sit on it.
"What are you doing?" Tsunade's heart skipped a beat and she said, "This is the Hokage's seat. What would others think if they saw you sitting here?"
Feeling the softness of her hips and the curve of her waist, Natsume refused to leave no matter what.
"I'm hungry. Go and get something to eat," Tsunade used her wisdom as an older woman to send Natsume away.
The breakfast prepared in the Hokage Building is quite simple.
Rice balls.
Natsume casually grabbed rice balls for two people and returned to the Hokage's office.
"Sister, let me feed you," he said considerately when he noticed Tsunade was already reading documents. "This way, it won't waste your time."
Without waiting for her consent, Natsume took out a rice ball and brought it to her lips.
Tsunade glanced at him but didn't refuse. She took a bite and chewed slowly.
One fed while the other ate, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
After finishing the rice balls, Natsume put his index finger in front of her.
Because Tsunade's attention was all on the documents, she instinctively opened her mouth and bit his index finger.
Instantly, she felt something was wrong with the taste.
She frowned and bit down more forcefully.
"Ouch! It hurts!" Natsume pretended to gasp.
"You deserve it!" Tsunade spat out his finger and said, "You're clearly up to something!"
"Come on! I was just testing if you were focused," Natsume said with a smile as he wiped his finger, spouting nonsense.
"If you have so much free time, help me with my work," Tsunade said as she picked up a stack of less important documents from the desk and stuffed them into his arms.
"But I don't have a place to sit," Natsume said as he eyed her Hokage's soft chair.
But Tsunade wouldn't let him.
She thought it would seriously reduce her work efficiency.
In the end, she arranged a new stool for Natsume, right across from her.
The Hokage's desk became a two-way working area.
Natsume wondered what this was like.
Joint rule?
Thinking about it, he opened the top document.
"Villager Zetaifu, who was scared on the night of the clan's extermination, is requesting 30,000 Ryo in mental compensation."
"No," Natsume picked up a pen and wrote two words.
"Villager Seiichiro requests that the Ninja Academy be relocated because the Demon Fox, Naruto Uzumaki, passes by his house on his way to and from school."
"Move it if you pay for it," Natsume held back his urge to complain and continued reading.
"There are wild cats near my home that meow horribly every night. I hope the Hokage sends someone to kill them."
"Wild cats have lives too," Natsume finally understood why Naruto Uzumaki was so busy after becoming the Hokage.
There was definitely something wrong with the Konoha institution.
There was a think tank, such as Shikaku Nara, but they were only responsible for handling major events.
On a daily basis, they were all occupied with their own missions or business.
Natsume raised his hand and asked, "Sister, can I make a request as a Konoha ninja?"
"Go ahead," Tsunade said without looking up. "The Hokage will fulfill reasonable requests."
"Sister, shouldn't we establish a Hokage secretary team?" Natsume held back from making excessive requests and said seriously, "Relying solely on those two ineffective Hokage advisors is highly inefficient."
Moreover, the presence of Hokage secretaries could share the power of the Hokage advisors and gradually render them powerless.
For this reason, it was necessary to select ninjas with enough influence.
"It really seems like a good idea," Tsunade was a lazy person by nature.
Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was eager to hold onto power.
Fortunately, he is old now. Otherwise, Tsunade would be in the same situation as Minato Namikaze, who became the Hokage but couldn't control the Anbu and Root.
"So, do you have any candidates in mind?"
Tsunade put down the documents in her hand and asked with interest.
"Set up a comprehensive office next to the Hokage's office. There will be seven members, selected from the major ninja clans."
After a brief thought, Natsume said, "For example, the Hyuga clan and the Ino–Shika–Cho clans. As long as the candidates are smart enough."
"You're really good at taking shortcuts."
Tsunade squinted at him but still approved of the suggestion.
The Hokage shouldn't be dealing with petty things.
It would be more reasonable to hand everything over to the Hokage secretary team.
Tsunade remembered that the Raikage of Kumogakure had a special secretary position.
In Konoha Village, there were only Hokage advisors and assistants.
Moreover, their powers were too great.
Tsunade took out the rosters of the major ninja clans and started discussing the candidates with Natsume.
Well, what should I say?
There were many people, but Natsume basically didn't know them, or rather, they didn't appear in the original story.
It was mainly Tsunade who made the final decisions.
By the time the matter was settled, it was already noon.
Natsume suddenly remembered something and asked, "Can the Hokage take a leave?"
"What's up?"
Tsunade put down the documents and asked.
"It'll be your birthday in a few days. You promised to go to the seaside with me. I've already rented an uninhabited desert island."
Natsume said anxiously, "You can't ditch me!"
"Oh, this."
Tsunade rolled her eyes, admired his anxious expression, and said with a smile, "Let's go after the Hokage secretary team is in place."
Fifth update.
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