Yes, the Hokage

“If I give it to you, you’ll definitely cause trouble. I’ve worked with you for so many years, I still have that much ‘trust’ in you.” The Third Hokage sneered. “And don’t forget Danzo, I am the Hokage. I have the right to interfere in anything that happens in the village.”

"Bam—!"

After he finished speaking, he slammed the door shut.

Within a single day, Danzo was subjected to Feng Lan's sarcastic remarks, Shisui's murderous intent, and the Third Hokage's reprimand. In the end, he could no longer maintain his cunning demeanor. With a "whoosh," he suddenly swept everything off the table, displaying his desktop cleaning master skills on par with Liang Feifan.

【but……】

The Third Hokage, though seemingly calm upon leaving, was inwardly plotting: "That Feng Lan has indeed been acting too recklessly lately. It's time to teach him a lesson, to let him know that Konoha isn't a playground where one can come and go as they please just because of a little cleverness."

……

The high-level meeting proceeded as scheduled the following day.

"The main topic of this meeting will revolve around the proposal put forward by Feng Lan." The Third Hokage took out the document that should have been on Minato's desk. "Also, based on his suggestion, we need to add a recorder to the meetings in the future to record the meeting proceedings. I personally think this is a good proposal. I wonder if anyone has any recommendations?"

This was clearly just a formality. Feng Lan waited a few seconds and, seeing that none of the elders were going to speak, smiled and said, "I think Uchiha Fugaku is a good candidate. The Uchiha clan has served as the security force and has done a lot for the village. His character and experience are trustworthy, and he is more than qualified to be a recorder."

Danzo immediately snorted coldly: "Mr. Fugaku is too busy as the captain of the security force to have time to organize and record any documents."

He was clearly there to stir up trouble and show his hostile stance towards Feng Lan, but the latter didn't care at all: "Everyone here is busy with their own affairs, working tirelessly for Konoha. If you can all squeeze out time for a meeting, I think Mr. Fugaku certainly won't be stingy with his efforts, will he?"

“Hmm, that makes sense.” The Third Hokage nodded. “Then let’s vote by raising hands. I think Fugaku is the best choice.”

He was the first to raise his hand, followed by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Danzo, unsurprisingly, cast his vote against it. As for Fuuran, he only had the right to speak but not the right to vote. The issue had already been passed before the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had even spoken.

Logically, the meeting could have ended at this point, since such matters concerning the advisors, guards, and the Hokage's office finances were not worth discussing openly. However, the Third Hokage continued, "Next is an excellent proposal in the plan: reducing redundancy in the middle management."

Feng Lan's eyelids twitched immediately, sensing an ominous atmosphere: "Third Generation Lord, didn't you say before that cuts might cause discontent?"

"Heh, Konoha isn't my personal fiefdom. This is just to discuss the feasibility of its implementation with everyone." The Third Hokage chuckled enigmatically. "What do you all think?"

“I think it’s feasible.” Surprisingly, Danzo was the first to jump out again.

Feng Lan's lips twitched. You old geezer, are you deliberately trying to make it hard for me to live a life of obscurity?

"Yes, I also think this is a good opportunity to improve finances and increase efficiency." Minato also expressed his opinion, he sincerely hoped that Fenglan's plan could be implemented.

[Damn it! Big brother, don't cause trouble at a time like this!] Feng Lan already knew what was going on, but given his current position, he absolutely could not object.

"Hehe, young people are bold indeed." Koharu Tsurugi chuckled. "Since it was Fenglan who came up with the plan, this proposal will naturally be handed over to him to implement."

[It's a thankless task for anyone to implement these policies, as it doesn't bring much benefit but always offends people. Why don't you do it, Grandma?]

Feng Lan was internally ranting, but on the surface he could only force a smile and say, "Haha, I'm still young and inexperienced, and I don't know much about the structure of mid-level ninjas..."

"That's alright... I will naturally lend you a hand." As luck would have it, Danzo spoke up again.

[You old codger, you've come to get involved too!]

Feng Lan was already in a state of shock. He finally understood what was going on. The Third Hokage was using this incident to give him a warning. "You like to push new proposals, right? We're not going to offend anyone anyway. Go ahead and take down those current members of the clans one by one. Let's see who will follow you after this whole operation, except for the Uchiha."

Oh, speaking of redundancy in the middle ranks, the Konoha Police Force of the Uchiha clan is the largest middle rank. Will you, Fenglan, nerf it or not?

Danzo, that old bastard, is even more ill-intentioned. He came under the guise of helping to cause trouble, and he might even be planning to place his Root organization's people in the middle ranks. Anyway, he's leaving all the offending stuff to Fenglan. But if the result is good, the credit will definitely belong to our glorious and righteous elders who passed the proposal.

And so, the proposal that Fenglan thought was the least likely to be implemented in the plan was passed unanimously!

Chapter 13: Both Support and Opposition

After the meeting, in the Hokage's office.

"That's wonderful, Fenglan." Minato seemed very happy. "The plan you've been pushing so hard has finally taken its first step. I think it's all thanks to that excellent proposal that the Third Hokage saw the potential it held."

There are perhaps far too many possibilities hidden within this.

Feng Lan rolled her eyes inwardly, but could only force a smile: "That's right, the Third Hokage is indeed farsighted. The courage to implement new policies during the most difficult time after the war is not something that ordinary people can have."

"After all, the Third Hokage was appointed Hokage in a time of crisis when he was younger than me, and he led Konoha to where it is today," Minato said with emotion. "There is so much I need to learn."

That's a lot indeed; I can't believe I wasn't being sarcastic.

Feng Lan forcibly suppressed the complaints that were about to come out: "Then I'll go and make some preparations first. These middle-level redundancies are all members of various families, which is a matter that can offend people."

“Yes, just go ahead and do it,” Minato said earnestly. “If you encounter any obstacles, come to me anytime. I will definitely support you to the end.”

"I'm relieved to hear you say that."

Feng Lan said this, but his face was full of annoyance when he turned around. If he had to trouble the Hokage to promote a project as the chief advisor, he would appear very incompetent and be questioned about why he was in this position. So, he could not trouble Minato with this matter under any circumstances. Otherwise, not to mention the Third Hokage and others, Danzo would definitely be the first to come out and cause trouble.

After leaving the Hokage's office, he didn't make any preparations and went straight to continue training with Dai. Feng Lan's first way of dealing with the big trouble thrown at him by the Third Hokage was to stall. Anyway, a project takes a lot of time from announcement to implementation, and he would never take the initiative. As he said in the meeting, Feng Lan, as an outsider, actually didn't know much about Konoha's middle-level structure.

He doesn't even know who can be cut, or who cutting someone would be like cutting off a vital artery. Does he really think he can ask Danzo?

If you go ask that old schemer who's become your mortal enemy, it's already kind of him to keep quiet. The worst thing is if that guy rattles off a whole bunch of stuff and then gives a completely wrong answer, saying you don't understand properly. In that case, Feng Lan will be a laughingstock.

His choice was to wait and see, first letting out the news that he, as the chief consultant, was planning to reduce redundancy in the middle management. He would then observe which middle managers would lose their composure and which would be too confident to be replaced, and thus conduct a preliminary screening.

"Haa, haa..."

With Feng Lan's stamina, she can't run a hundred laps in one go right now; she has to stop and rest halfway through.

Taking the opportunity, Shisui came over and offered a bottle of water: "Lord Fenglan, you don't seem happy."

"Who said that?" Feng Lan gulped down a mouthful of water. "I'm just a little short on stamina. I'm overjoyed to be able to train with Mr. Dai."

“That’s not what I meant.” Shisui frowned. “I meant… even though your plan is progressing smoothly, you don’t seem happy. Not only is your smile different from usual, but you also don’t seem very enthusiastic about implementing it. Is there something you’re worried about?”

"If it concerns the Uchiha clan, I'm willing to communicate with the clan head and members. The Uchiha are willing to set an example for you by reducing a number of redundant security personnel..."

"Hahaha."

Feng Lan couldn't help but laugh. This kid was really straightforward: "You calm down first. After this gets out, I shouldn't be the one in a hurry. Right now, our most important target is still Obito and Orochimaru."

"But if we implement it quickly, it will be of great benefit to the entire village of Konoha." Shisui's strategic vision was impeccable; he deeply understood that the proposals in Fenglan's plan were all for the good of Konoha.

"It may be of great benefit to Konoha, but not to me." Feng Lan lay down on the grass to try to recover some strength as soon as possible. "There is always a priority in doing things, and unfortunately... I have always put myself before others."

"You mean..." Shisui paused, then suddenly said something that startled even himself, "You don't want Konoha to become too good?"

As a guard, he should never have asked such a question, but the boy was too straightforward. He tried to hold back but couldn't help but blurt it out, startling Tie Huo, who was drinking water and resting nearby, so much that he trembled and spilled water all over himself.

“You can understand it that way,” Feng Lan smiled.

"Why?" Shisui tried to keep his tone from being accusatory. "Aren't you the Hokage's chief advisor?"

“It is precisely because I am in this position that I do not want to push things too fast.” Feng Lan sat up and glanced at him. “Because once Konoha is completely stable, it will no longer need advisors.”

"This……"

Zhi Shui was about to speak again when Feng Lan interrupted him, saying, "Besides, you should know that I'm not the only advisor. I can idly run laps around the village with Mr. Dai, but what about the others?"

Even if he didn't understand the dirty dealings between high-ranking officials, Feng Lan had made his point so clear that Zhi Shui should understand, and his expression instantly turned very ugly.

At this moment, Feng Lan had already stood up again, ready to continue running with Dai: "If you have the chance, rethink the Will of Fire and consider your conclusions?"

……

Shisui's contemplation didn't last long. The next morning, he took a thick stack of petitions and said to Fenglan with some unease, "Sir, although you don't want to push the project forward quickly, all the villagers of Konoha are very excited and strongly support it after learning about the reduction of redundancy in the middle management. They want to see you achieve some results."

"Hmph, the news spread among the villagers before it reached the middle-level officials? There must be someone pulling the strings behind this." Feng Lan sneered. "That's easy, just do another survey to show that they oppose this project."

“But sir!” Shisui exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. “They cannot both support and oppose the same thing.”

“Of course they can,” Feng Lan said lazily. “Imagine Zhi Shui; when a lovely young lady comes up to you and asks a question, you naturally want to make a good impression rather than make a fool of yourself, right?”

“…Yes.” Although Shisui himself wasn’t particularly interested in the opposite sex, Fenglan’s words made sense, so he naturally agreed.

“Now, young lady, please begin your questions.” Feng Lan pretended to pick up a piece of paper and start taking notes. “Mr. Shisui, are you worried that Konoha’s wealth and funds are being used for meaningless purposes?”

“Yes,” Shisui replied immediately.

Are you worried that some people are lining their own pockets while neglecting their duties?

"Yes."

Do you think more funds should be used to improve people's quality of life?

"Yes."

Do you agree to prune the middle ranks of Konoha?

"Yes!"

Seeing Shisui's happy and excited expression, Fenglan smiled slightly and put it another way: "Mr. Shisui, are you worried that the structure of Konoha will be shaken?"

"Yes."

Are you worried that someone might abuse power to exclude dissidents?

"Yes."

Are you worried that a large number of ninjas losing their jobs will cause widespread panic among the people?

"Yes."

Are you worried that malicious people from other villages might take this opportunity to stir up trouble?

"Yes."

"Do you oppose cutting off the middle ranks of Konoha?"

"Um...I think this should be..."

"Simply answer yes or no."

"……Yes."

“This is it.” Feng Lan casually tossed the paper onto the table. “It’s a very simple questioning technique. Since someone wants to use those troublemakers… cough cough, those Konoha villagers to pressure me to speed things up, I can naturally use the villagers’ attitude to tell them that haste makes waste.”

Sure enough, only a morning had passed when Shuimen received news that made his vision go black: "What? More than 70 percent of the villagers actually oppose reducing the number of middle-level cadres?!"

"Over seventy percent? My God!" The instigator, Feng Lan, feigned surprise, saying, "Let me see."

He looked at the survey data, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Minato, these street survey questionnaires are not entirely reliable, but we do need to use them as a reference. After all, the Hokage is there to protect the village and its people."

“In my opinion…” Feng Lan cleared her throat, “It is obvious that my plan has been unanimously approved in the council, which proves its feasibility. However, based on the villagers’ concerns, I think we can express to the public that after careful consideration, although the plan has been widely recognized, some principles are theoretically feasible while others are too complex and require a delicate balance in practice. Therefore, in principle, a wise and prudent plan is to put the proposal into more detailed consideration, strengthen the continuity between the new proposal and the existing principles, and allow the proposer to suggest approval in the proposal regarding the principle-based debate. In principle, it can still be gradually implemented.”

Minato: "...Huh?"

Honestly, not only him, but also Shisui and Itachi, who were in charge of organizing the documents, were dumbfounded. Fenglan was undoubtedly demonstrating the ultimate skill of talking non-stop for thirty seconds without saying anything. This is also an essential skill for every college student in China when writing a thesis – padding out the word count.

"Simply put, it means not going against the villagers and temporarily suspending the work of eliminating redundant middle-level staff." The series of long and complicated sentences above were undoubtedly a prelude to this statement.

"You're not backing out, are you?" Minato frowned.

“Of course not. I wrote the proposal. I want to see the project implemented more than anyone else, don’t I? What I mean is we can…” Feng Lan made a reassuring gesture, “take it slow.”

"It seems that's the only way." Minato sighed. "Fenglan, you've really had a hard time."

"It's not hard work at all, not hard work at all." Feng Lan resumed her usual squinty-eyed smile. "Compared to me, you are the one who..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a series of "gurgling" sounds. When he looked up, he saw Minato turning his head away with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Uh, Minato." This time, even Feng Lan couldn't hold back anymore. "If I heard correctly, it was your... stomach growling just now?"

Chapter 14 The Intimidation of Jinchūriki

"Uh, it was because of a little accident." Minato looked out the window sheepishly. "Kushina has been under enhanced sealing lately and hasn't had time to cook for me..."

"Besides scrambled eggs, you're probably the only one who can stomach Kushina's lunch."

Feng Lan's eyelids twitched. He had been invited to Minato's home several times and knew very well that Minato usually cooked there. As for Kushina's cooking... to be honest, apart from scrambled eggs, it was all terrible. Only Minato liked to eat it. It just goes to show how great the power of love is.

"I, I've been doing this recently because..."

"It's probably because the Hokage has too many affairs to handle, and doesn't even have time to cook for himself," Feng Lan sighed. "Shisui, could you please go buy a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Yes!" Feng Lan is probably the number one person in the ninja world who can make Shisui of the Body Flicker run away to deliver takeout.

Itachi couldn't help but ask, "Fourth Hokage, even we can eat in the staff cafeteria with Lord Fenglan, but you..."

“Unfortunately, the Hokage position is not suitable.” Feng Lan shrugged. “The previous Hokage all had their own private chefs and did not need to eat in the cafeteria. Minato abolished the position after taking office, not only because he did not want to occupy too many public resources, but also because he did not have the money.”

The first three Hokage were all clan leaders, while Minato was a commoner Hokage who didn't have much money. This can be seen from their living conditions. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and even Fugaku Uchiha all lived in detached houses, while Minato lived in an apartment on the same floor. That's why Fenglan said earlier that he lived next door to Minato.

As mentioned earlier, before Feng Lan made his move, the Hokage's office did not have independent funds. Every financial transaction had to be approved by the elders. Minato himself was not like those old hands. Apart from his mission income before becoming Hokage, he was truly penniless.

Shisui returned quickly, and the expressions of the two Uchiha changed to varying degrees as they watched Minato wolfing down Ichiraku Ramen.

"Isn't it ironic?" Feng Lan chuckled. "The mighty Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage who reigns supreme over all ninjas, can't even afford a plate of scrambled eggs."

“Go away, don’t set a bad example for the kids.” Minato rolled his eyes at him. “This is the path I chose, it’s just that Kushina isn’t home right now…”