Yes, the Hokage

[Hmm, that's about right. We can't push him too hard, or this fragile researcher will explode from the pressure.] Dealing with someone who, despite his advanced age, is incredibly innocent...cough, innocent-minded, Feng Lan has only two words: control.

So he stood up and ended the conversation: "Think it over carefully, and then we can talk."

Furthermore, Feng Lan subtly displayed her compassion: "Daohuo, Tiehuo, don't let the Uchiha come in and bully him for the next few days, and provide him with some food and water as appropriate."

Hiruko wasn't Orochimaru; he didn't have the ability to escape by spitting out snakes. Therefore, a little preferential treatment wouldn't cause any serious consequences. On the contrary, it made this innocent guy breathe a sigh of relief and start seriously considering how to persuade Fenglan to cooperate with him.

However, after leaving the security building, Feng Lan's once-commanding expression turned dejected, naturally due to what she would face that night.

"Blind date, blind date..."

The thought flashed through his mind, making him feel even more frustrated. He could only drag his tired body home. But when he opened the door, the house was full of people, not a single one missing: Minato, Fugaku, Hizashi, Shikaku, or Shiro.

"No..." Feng Lan was speechless. "What are you doing here?"

“You gave me the key.” Minato waved the object in his hand.

"I asked how you got here, not how you got in." Feng Lan's lips twitched uncontrollably.

"Hmph, you don't understand, do you!" Minato said smugly, hands on his hips. "Today is your first date, so of course we seniors should give you some advice."

"Ah, speaking of which, one or two of them are married men." Feng Lan cast a pitying glance at them. "What's so good about marriage? Nothing beats the carefree life of being single."

"It's because you always have these kinds of thoughts that Kushina is worried about you!"

"Is she worried about me? She's afraid I'll keep instilling DDF thinking in you."

"And it's not just Kushina, we're worried about you too," Minato said helplessly. "Seriously, Fenglan, what are your thoughts on marriage?"

"Do you think you're my dad? You're still worrying about my marriage." Feng Lan rolled her eyes in annoyance and stated her opinion, "My motto in life is: Don't let women control you, but have women on both sides of you."

“Hmm…” Minato was unusually quiet, looked at him with sympathy for a while, and then patted Fenglan on the shoulder, “Although I don’t want to say anything too harsh, you’re not good-looking enough to be a playboy.”

"I think you must have misunderstood something. Who wants to be that kind of thing?" Feng Lan squinted and retorted. "Or to answer you with a famous line from Yu-Gi-Oh!, I'm going to be number one in the world. Women are just a hindrance!"

"Ah, you taught me that before. It's a typical strategy of using grand narratives to avoid discussing personal feelings! And what the heck is Yu-Gi-Oh!? Can't you just settle down and have a proper relationship?!"

"Heh, what's the point of a world romance that focuses on the friendship of Konoha!" Feng Lan held back for a long time before telling Minato that his son would be the number one male ninja in the future.

"Fine, I'm starting to not understand your wild ideas anymore." Minato sighed. "Anyway, wear this tonight."

Feng Lan took it and frowned slightly: "Such a high-end suit must have cost a lot of money. How did you, a guy with nothing to his name, manage to afford it?"

Others might not know Minato, but he certainly does. After becoming Hokage, he no longer goes on missions and only receives a fixed salary. Unfortunately, the position of Hokage itself doesn't pay much. This idiot doesn't know how to make money, and every month he has to use the money to help the civilians affected by the war. If it weren't for the widespread success of Fenglan's orphanage, this kid would probably have to treat everyone to drinks himself.

"I've received an advance on next month's salary," Minato replied seriously.

"I'm really at a loss with you." Feng Lan sighed. "Alright, I can wear the clothes, and I'll go to the blind date dinner tonight, but there's one condition you have to agree to."

"What are the conditions?" Seeing Feng Lan compromise, Shui Men immediately perked up.

“Here, one of the four properties we used as bait before. Consider it a gift from your godfather to Naruto.” Feng Lan casually rummaged through the drawer and tossed a contract to Minato. “Move over there in a few days. Don’t squeeze into this apartment anymore. I still have a use for this place.”

The apartment that Shuimen is currently living in is actually his property, but Fenglan has never asked him for rent.

"Fenglan..." Minato asked with a mixture of gratitude and doubt, "How many properties do you own?"

"Good question." Feng Lan sneered. "Not only Konoha, but the biggest real estate developer in the entire Land of Fire is myself. And now my business has already expanded to Amegakure. It's only a matter of time before I get my hands on Kirigakure and Sunagakure as well."

"To put it bluntly, I am currently richer than a country."

The clan leaders inside the room didn't know what expressions to make. They looked in different directions, some even wishing they were not there. Could they usually express such feelings to their superiors with an expression of immense pride?

In any case, if it were the Third Hokage's era, a scene from "In the Name of Konoha" would have been staged on the spot.

However, Minato's reaction was: "I knew you were rich, kid. You'll be treating everyone to drinks next month!"

"It's not like I'm not treating this month." Feng Lan rolled her eyes. "Alright, everyone, please go back now. I'm going to change my clothes."

"Wait a minute." Minato put on a stern face. "Before you leave, I need to give you some advice. How exactly are you planning to start your date tonight?"

"Three minutes to ask the other person's name, age, and job title; two minutes to ask about their special skills and abilities; one minute to ask about their future aspirations; and then ten minutes to have a meal and come back."

Feng Lan had obviously already thought it through, and said without hesitation, "If the woman insists, I'm not unwilling to spend a little more money and treat her to ice cream or something, after all, it would be a waste of her precious time."

“Fenglan…” Minato sighed and rubbed his forehead. “This isn’t a date, it’s a job interview.”

Chapter 162 Workplace Heart-to-Heart Talk

The last rays of sunlight sank below the horizon, and Konoha had completely returned to its usual bustling and prosperous state after nightfall, unaffected by the previous battles.

Uchiha Momo was standing in front of a restaurant that Kushina had booked in advance. She was wearing a dark blue kimono, her sash was tied perfectly, and her hair was styled like an adult's, showing a poise and composure beyond her years.

At first glance, it would be absolutely impossible to imagine that this gentle and virtuous Uchiha girl was tearing Feng Lan's leather jacket in the prison cell not long ago, and then biting his face with a typical infatuated smile.

But if you look closely for a while, you'll notice something interesting: throughout the entire waiting process, this Uchiha girl has been using her Sharingan, clearly indicating that she's incredibly excited.

Finally, Feng Lan slowly walked over from around the corner. He was wearing an ultra-luxurious suit that Shui Men had specially bought for him, which made his ordinary face look even more attractive. He was carrying a high-end bouquet of flowers given to him by the mountain flower shop. Although his expression was not dejected, it carried a hint of businesslike determination.

"Lord Fenglan!"

Uchiha Momo's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly lifted her kimono and ran to greet him, saying, "You've come!"

"Sorry, have you been waiting long?" Feng Lan said calmly, her tone as natural as if she were asking a subordinate in an office if the documents were ready.

"No, no, it's my honor to wait for Lord Fenglan." Uchiha Momo blushed slightly. "Um... I'm so sorry about noon, I... I couldn't control myself for a moment, and... hahaha, haa, haa..."

She initially tried to laugh awkwardly to ease the embarrassment, but perhaps recalling the situation, she started panting as she laughed.

Feng Lan: "..."

He took a step back without making a sound, and began to consider whether it would be better to use the Flying Thunder God technique to escape.

Fortunately, Uchiha Momo managed to control her emotions in time, quickly wiped away her drool, and resumed her gentle and serene demeanor: "Excuse me, Lady Fenglan, please come in."

She took the initiative to open the restaurant door and made a gesture of invitation, making people marvel at how quickly a person's demeanor can change.

However, Feng Lan glanced at the situation inside from the doorway and became even more speechless.

No way, you think you can just use a transformation spell to pretend nothing happened and spy here? The whole restaurant is full of acquaintances, and they're all couples. Among them, that blond guy's acting is the most exaggerated. He doesn't even try to fake the excitement in his eyes. Do you think my perception is useless?

Feng Lan: "..."

He suddenly grabbed Uchiha Momo's wrist with his left hand, threw the bouquet in his right hand into the air, and took advantage of the falling petals to make a lightning escape.

"Wow!"

When Minato ran out in alarm, Feng Lan and Uchiha Momo had already disappeared. The other onlookers, who were just there to watch the show, couldn't help but show awkward but polite smiles.

"Sigh, it failed as expected."

Minato looked somewhat dejected, while Kushina smiled and took her husband's arm: "I told you not to come. Fenglan has his own pace, and you don't want other people watching when you're on a date with me, do you? Besides..."

She looked up at the petals fluttering in the air: "Don't you think this is romantic too?"

……

When Momo was teleported by the Flying Thunder God Technique for the first time, she seemed a little lost, especially since the position of Feng Lanfei was also very special, as it was right above the head of the Third Hokage, Iwa.

"Wow~~"

Uchiha Momo looked down and saw the entire Hidden Leaf Village under her feet. This was something she would never dare to do or even think about normally, which made her even more excited.

"Sorry, but personally, I think it's more enjoyable to eat skewers here than in those upscale restaurants."

"It's okay, it's okay, I think it's great too... Haa, haa..."

Sensing that the other person was about to have a seizure, Feng Lan quickly used Flying Thunder God Technique to run away and soon returned with a bag of food.

During this process, Momo slapped her cheeks hard, trying to calm herself down and stop showing that infatuated look: [Momo, Momo, be rational! You represent not only yourself, but the entire Uchiha clan! You absolutely must act as dignified as Lady Mikoto and win over Lady Fenglan in one fell swoop!]

Upon seeing Feng Lan return, she quickly clasped her hands together on her lower abdomen, striking the pose of the perfect wife she had always imagined, and bowed slightly: "Welcome back, Lord Feng Lan~"

“What do you mean by welcoming me back…” Feng Lan couldn’t help but chuckle. “This isn’t my home, is it?”

"Yes, yes." The girl lowered her head somewhat awkwardly.

"Well, don't be so nervous. I know you're here on a mission, just like me."

"No, no!" Uchiha Momo was startled and hurriedly tried to explain, "It's not just about the mission, I also have feelings for Lord Fenglan..."

Before she could finish speaking, her mouth was stuffed with a meat skewer: "Anyway, this is the place where Minato used to sneak off to drink with me before he became Hokage. Since you're here, don't be shy, relax and have a drink."

As Feng Lan spoke, she had already opened a can of beer: "You should be old enough to drink by now, right?"

"Yes, I can drink now!" Uchiha Momo nodded quickly, feeling a little delighted. It was such a special place that Lord Fenglan had brought her here on their first date. She felt very hopeful, very hopeful indeed!

"Speaking of which, you do clerical work in the security force, right?" Feng Lan had already sat down. "I just talked to Fu Yue a little, and he said you're a very responsible and reliable person."

Wow, Lord Fenglan praised me! I must hold back, I really must!

Uchiha Momo forcibly suppressed her urge to pounce, and carefully moved her body to sit down next to Feng Lan: "I'm just doing my duty."

"It's already quite an achievement to be able to do that." Feng Lan smiled and handed over a can of beer. "There are many people in this world who hold high positions but can't even do their jobs well."

Momo Uchiha took the beer, took a careful sip, and tried her best to maintain the Yamato Nadeshiko image she had learned from Mikoto.

"Have you encountered any troubles at work?"

"Yes! Everything went smoothly~"

"Speaking of which, you've awakened the Sharingan, haven't you considered officially joining the police force?"

"Haha... The clan chief said that I lose my mind when I fight, so he made me do more paperwork to temper my character."

"After all, you're from the Uchiha clan. Speaking of which, Fugaku said he had some excellent candidates to be my assistant before, and you should be one of them, right?"

"Yes! If Itachi hadn't strongly recommended Izumi, I should have been your assistant!"

"..."

As the conversation flowed, Uchiha Momo's nervousness gradually dissipated, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that the aloof Lord Fenglan was not so unapproachable after all; in fact, he was quite kind, like an older brother or boss who looked after her in the workplace.

That's right, having a workplace romance like this...

[That's not right!] Uchiha Momo suddenly woke up with a start. [It's supposed to be a blind date, but why are we acting like superiors and subordinates? There's absolutely no closeness between us!]

There's a saying circulating online: "Never argue with a complete idiot, because they'll drag you into their own idiotic territory and then defeat you with their vast experience."

While Feng Lan wasn't an idiot, he was used to communicating with people in areas he could control, and the emotional space was clearly an area he wasn't good at. So, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to switch scenes and dominated the situation from beginning to end. Young kids like Uchiha Momo could only be led by the rhythm in front of such a powerful guide.

By the time she realized it, sorry... the date was already over.

Chapter 163 Let's figure out a way to pounce on him!

When Feng Lan opened the door, he found that the living room was still full of people, just like when he left. If he hadn't sensed these people at the entrance of the dining room earlier, he might have suspected that these married people hadn't moved at all.

"You're back?" Minato was the first to stand up, his eyes shining. "How was it?"

Feng Lan casually took off her suit jacket and hung it up: "It went very smoothly. She arrived, we ate the skewers, drank the wine, chatted, and then went home separately."

Minato waited a few seconds, then realized he had finished speaking: "...That's all?"

"What else do you want? Strangers meeting for the first time and going to sleep together?"

"I can overlook everything else, but you didn't even hold hands?"

"The moment I took her away with the Flying Thunder God technique should be considered holding hands."

"Alright," Minato sighed, "So what exactly did you talk about?"

“We talked about the paperwork she was in charge of, the potential for developing the Sharingan, and why Fugaku didn’t assign her to be my assistant but sent Izumi over instead…” Feng Lan’s expression gradually became professional. “I think she has a lot of potential for development. After all, there aren’t many people who can awaken the double tomoe at this age, and this girl has never participated in any direct combat from beginning to end.”

"I'm not asking you to judge from a ninja's perspective, I'm asking you to judge from the perspective of the opposite sex!" Minato rolled his eyes.

"From the perspective of the opposite sex?" Feng Lan shrugged. "She arrived a few minutes early, remained polite throughout, and although she had impulses, she managed to control herself. The entire interaction was moderate and appropriate, and there were no obstacles in communication between the two parties."

Even by the most critical standards, this was a successful date.

Minato was speechless for a moment and could only look at the others with pleading eyes.

Fugaku's expression was somewhat complicated. He was undoubtedly the one most eager for the blind date to go smoothly, but precisely because of this, he couldn't offer any advice from his position, otherwise he would seem too eager.

So Minato's gaze lingered on his face for two seconds, then he didn't press the matter and looked directly at Shikaku, who was Konoha's strategist.

Shikaku sighed inwardly and could only offer his advice: "Lord Fenglan, in principle, I shouldn't interfere in your private affairs, but are you treating this date like a diplomatic incident? Forgive my bluntness... but the girl seemed to have a good time on the date, though that feeling was based on you acting like a considerate superior, not..."

"Lu Jiu, do you know that what you're saying sounds like something a middle-aged person would say to pressure their son into marriage?" Feng Lan retorted.

“That’s because I’m now playing the role of a middle-aged person trying to do ideological work with young people.” Lu Jiu sighed. “You’ve secretly changed your position and are treating dating like a task, so no matter how many times you do it, there won’t be any real progress.”

"That's how ninjas are, everything can be a mission." Feng Lan changed the subject again. "The core goal of dating is to establish initial contact. Once contact is established and no negative impression is formed, it's a successful start."

"So you... you talked to her the whole time about her work arrangements and her views on the garrison, and did you ask her about her hobbies or what she did during her last vacation?"