I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 397 An HR professional who can handle job transfers well is an excellent HR professional.

"You've worked hard these past few days, Tatsuma. But for me, could you do some talking to Sakumo and prepare him mentally?"

After finishing their business, upon hearing this, Tatsuma knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had most likely taken his suggestion to heart. He nodded, raised his cup, finished his tea, and said:

"Lord Hokage, this matter must be handled swiftly. I understand that Lord Orochimaru is working on improving the cursed seal of Root. Once the cursed seal is improved, it will be difficult to uncover anything even in the secret techniques of the mountains."

After saying that, Tatsuma was about to get up and take his leave, but Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly picked up the teapot and poured another cup for Tatsuma.

Tatsuma, who had placed his hands on his knees in preparation to stand up, had to stop now. He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who nodded and said:

"I understand, but there is one more thing I would like to ask for your opinion on."

"Please speak, Hokage."

"Leaving aside the fact that Shinnosuke couldn't see through your scheme, what do you think of his performance?"

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma pondered for a moment and said, "You have plenty of courage but lack foresight. You should calmly hone your skills. The Anbu is an excellent place to train ninjas, and different roles can hone skills in specific areas."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was definitely not asking whether Shinnosuke was qualified to join the Anbu. After all, by saying "not mentioning that Shinnosuke couldn't see through your scheme," he eliminated the biggest potential shortcoming of Shinnosuke.

This was to help Tatsuma find his place based on Shinnosuke's performance, and Tatsuma's answer made Hiruzen Sarutobi fall into deep thought.

There aren't many positions in the Anbu that are suitable for quiet honing one's skills. If it were someone else, Hiruzen Sarutobi might feel that he only needed some missions to hone his skills and experience some setbacks to naturally calm his mind.

However, he still didn't want Shinnosuke to take too many risks, so finding a suitable position was what he needed to do.

After a moment's thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The Anbu's framework is intact and its personnel structure is stable. I really can't think of a suitable position for Shinnosuke. Do you have any recommendations?"

As the direct superior of the Anbu, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi not find a suitable position for Shinnosuke? If necessary, creating another position would be acceptable.

What he wanted to ask wasn't that he really didn't know where to send Shinnosuke, but rather what to do with the people who were replaced by Shinnosuke.

The intact framework indicates that Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to create an extra position specifically for Shinnosuke, as this would not be a good thing for Shinnosuke, who had just joined the Anbu. It might even make people think that Shinnosuke was just there to go through the motions and gain experience.

The stable personnel structure means that all positions suitable for Shinnosuke are now filled, the ANBU personnel are very streamlined, some positions are only held by one or two people, any more than that would be redundant.

Excessive personnel is also a form of disrupting the framework, and it will also worsen Shinnosuke's image in the eyes of other members of the Anbu.

Therefore, the only option is to replace him, and then arrange a "better" position for the person being replaced, so as to protect Shinnosuke while preventing him from being bothered by rumors.

Chenma looked thoughtful, but he wasn't really thinking about anything; he was just putting on an act, since he had already planned everything.

"If we're talking about the most composed and steady ninja in the ninja world right now, it would undoubtedly be you, Hokage. Learning from you would be of great benefit to Shinnosuke."

Hearing Tatsuma's compliments, even though he knew the brat was being somewhat obsequious, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mood brightened, and he nodded.

The job assignments are good, but what about the people in the original positions?

Although Shikaku was determined to retire, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't let him go. On one hand, he was afraid others would mistakenly think Shinnosuke had pushed his colleague away; on the other hand...

This little brat hasn't suffered enough. Just thinking about Shikaku, who supposedly "protects the Hokage" but actually takes naps in his office every day, makes Hiruzen Sarutobi feel resentful.

Despite possessing exceptional administrative skills, just like his father, he was only interested in slacking off. Thinking of Shikaku, Hiruzen Sarutobi said:

"But what about Shikaku? Although he is also very outstanding, he needs to continue to hone his skills. If he retires now, it may not be good for his development."

Tatsuma idly scratched his fingers on the table before saying, "Why don't we let Shikaku take charge of the squad that will soon have a vacant squad leader position and manage the squad?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. What's wrong with Tatsuma? He refused to run for department head, and only after much difficulty agreed to be a squad leader, is he going back on his word now?! Absolutely not!

"I'm afraid that's not appropriate. It's not that I doubt your judgment of people, nor that I question Lu Jiu's abilities. It's just that he has never been on field missions before, his qualifications are insufficient, and his reputation is not well-known. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to convince the public."

Furthermore, the current outcome of Shinnosuke and the others' operation was due to your prior authorization as squad leader. You can forget about refusing the squad leader position again.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting a little anxious, Tatsuma explained, "Hokage-sama, I never said I wouldn't run for squad leader."

Although everyone knew that Tatsuma's promotion to squad leader was predetermined, it couldn't be made public. Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression softened, and he nodded, signaling Tatsuma to continue.

Tatsuma added, "The platoon leader is different from the members of the Dark Unit or the squad leader. They are involved in a lot of administrative work, which will greatly distract the platoon leader's energy."

Personally, even if I were elected and become a squad leader, I wouldn't want to waste too much time on this.

Upon hearing Tatsuma's explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed his understanding. For the other squad leaders, the administrative management work they were involved in was also a form of training, making it easier for them to take on management positions in other functional departments after their retirement.

But for Tatsuma, it was really just a trivial matter. After all, Tatsuma was someone who could handle all the administrative work in the Hokage's office perfectly, so he didn't need any training in this area.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned again and said, "Providing you with an administrative assistant is something I cannot agree to. Providing one to every squad leader would violate the principle of streamlining the Anbu."

"If I am elected, there will be a vacancy in my team. I can let Lu Jiu join my team first, and when I need to go out on field duty, I will call on the members of his team."

Minato and the others accompanied me on field missions, while Shikaku temporarily filled my vacancy, taking charge of administrative work and managing other teams.

From being a Hokage's bodyguard to a squad member, it seems like just a transfer, or even a demotion in some ways, since he's now far removed from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi understood the implication in Tatsuma's words: Tatsuma would be the squad leader and would handle the missions, but administrative work and some benefits could actually be given to Shikaku.

To put it bluntly, Tatsuma is a nominal squad leader, but he still does the work of a team leader. Shikaku, on the other hand, is a squad leader with real power. Although he is not nominally in charge, his real power to manage other teams in the squad is certain.

In this way, not only will the loss of half a rank be compensated, but it will even be possible to gain another half a rank on the original basis, which is in line with the compensation for giving up a position.

Furthermore, the team management work is also very suitable for Shikaku to do, since Shikaku will probably take over his father's job as long as nothing unexpected happens.

"It's a good arrangement, but it's a bit unfair to you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, indicating his agreement with Tatsuma's plan. In this matter, the only one who could be considered to have suffered a loss was actually Tatsuma himself, because he used the real power he was about to gain to help Hiruzen Sarutobi out of a predicament.

In response to Hiruzen Sarutobi's seemingly apologetic tone, Tatsuma didn't offer any grand pronouncements about "serving the village." Instead, he smiled and said:

"Do I feel wronged? I don't think so. On the contrary, it helps me get rid of some worries and continue to focus on moving in the direction I'm working towards."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction. As expected, Tatsuma was a good kid. But then, he suddenly realized something and said, "Since you've decided to hand over the administration to others and only handle fieldwork,..."

"Well, there's really not much difference between a squad leader and a department head. Why don't you run for department head too? It's not too late to go through the procedures now, and I'll give you special permission."

"Lord Hokage, you're pushing your luck a bit."

Tatsuma teased, and Hiruzen Sarutobi finally smiled. After hearing the news brought back by Shinnosuke and the others tonight, the heavy feeling in his chest finally eased.

"But you have indeed worked hard. Go back and rest early. I will handle the rest. You'd better not get involved. Just focus on doing a good job of comforting Shuo Mao."

"I understand, thank you, Hokage-sama."

Tatsuma raised his cup again, drank the tea, and placed it back on the tea table. He didn't let go immediately, but glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi to make sure he didn't want any more tea before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Standing up, Tatsuma said, "Hokage-sama, I won't bother you any longer. Please let me know if you need anything in the future."

"Um."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand. He didn't get up to see him off, not because of the difference in status, but because he knew that getting up would be pointless. He didn't even bother to say "take care" because he knew that Tatsuma would definitely choose to leave using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Moreover, his first stop is most likely not home. Tatsuma's enthusiasm far surpasses that of most ninjas, so his first stop is more likely to be...

In Hatake Sakumo's home, hiding in the tea room, Hatake Sakumo, who was secretly reading a parenting book, frowned, slightly adjusted his body, and prepared to exert his strength. Only then did he look towards the place where something was wrong.

"Tatsuma? When did you get back? When I went to the base, I heard you went to be an examiner."

Upon seeing Tatsuma, Sakumo Hatake relaxed again. Tatsuma slowly approached Sakumo, giving him ample time to put away the "Parenting Guide 101" in his hand, and said at the same time:

"I just got back today. The trip went very smoothly."

"What could possibly go wrong with the assessment?"

Sakumo Hatake was taken aback. Tatsuma sat down opposite him, took out a scroll, and said, "Lord Sakumo, you might need to unleash your fury soon."

Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo took the scroll with a puzzled look, and said jokingly, "It took me decades to learn to be calm. I really can't find the feeling to unleash my fury right now."

"It's okay, I felt it right away after seeing you."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, he observed Sakumo Hatake. Sure enough, within ten seconds, Sakumo Hatake's blood pressure spiked.

(End of this chapter)