Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 130 Power Reform in Konoha Village

The Hokage coronation ceremony was very simple.

Xia Zuo picked up the Hokage hat and put it on his head, thus completing the ritual.

Because the Third Hokage died, the Fire Daimyo was not qualified, so he had to do it himself.

Then, standing in the center of the Konoha Jonin Tournament venue, he announced his new plans for Konoha Village as the Hokage.

"The Jonin of Konoha are the pillars of Konoha Village. After today, the conference will be disbanded, and everyone will return to their respective posts to continue their work."

"Have you all noticed that decisions made after everyone is gathered together are executed exceptionally smoothly?"

Nara Shikaku responded first: "The Hokage is right. The decision, made after debate and voting at the Jonin Conference, was implemented very smoothly."

Xia Zuo continued, "I believe the reason it was executed so smoothly is because the decision made was absolutely correct."

"In addition, after thorough discussions and reaching a consensus with all stakeholders, we were able to implement it smoothly."

"The biggest advantage of this collective decision-making method is the completeness of information, which can avoid wrong decisions made out of ignorance, similar to those made during the Third Hokage's dictatorship."

Yamanaka Inoichi understood that Natsume was delegating authority. He said with delight but hesitation, "Hokage-sama, collective decision-making can indeed ensure the correctness of the decision and allow for thorough communication in advance."

"But holding meetings with so many people is too inefficient for decision-making. In the past 20 days, the village has been overwhelmed with a lot of affairs."

"Furthermore, without the management and deterrence of Konoha Jonin throughout the Land of Fire, signs of chaos have begun to emerge."

"The Konoha Jonin Tournament must be disbanded today."

Xia Zuo nodded and said, "The Yamanaka Jonin is right. Collective decision-making can also be inefficient and restrict the core Jonin."

"So I devised a compromise solution."

"I formally propose that 15 Konoha Jonin be selected from among the Konoha Jonin, and together with myself, the Fifth Hokage, form the permanent decision-making committee for the Konoha Jonin Tournament."

"The Jonin Council will be responsible for discussing major events on a regular basis and making decisions through voting."

"Decisions made by the Jonin Council have authority exceeding that of the Hokage's orders, and can only be vetoed by a Jonin Conference in which all Konoha Jonin participate."

The ambitious Konoha Jonin's eyes lit up; they smelled the scent of power.

That's an opportunity to participate in the Hokage's decision-making process, equivalent to being an assistant to the Hokage during the Third Hokage's era.

Look at Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. They became a privileged class above all the Jonin of Konoha precisely because they participated in the Hokage's decisions.

Which ambitious Konoha Jonin wouldn't want to become the new Hokage's assistant?

Even the unambitious Konoha Jonin were happy. The Fifth Hokage, who rose from the bottom, truly respected the opinions of the Jonin.

Even Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were revitalized. They had thought all hope was lost, but who knew they would have such a chance to turn things around.

With 15 members of the council, it should be the turn of these two former elders of Konoha.

Once they entered the council, they tightly restrained the Fifth Hokage, preventing him from ever making a decision detrimental to himself and his clan.

In short, it was a win-win proposal, receiving far more votes in favor than Xia Zuo’s votes of confidence, reaching an unsurpassable 100%.

Following this, Xia Zuo pressed his advantage and proposed and passed many resolutions.

He categorized the various affairs of Konoha Village and reorganized the existing parts of Konoha Village.

For example, the counter-espionage work that was simultaneously handled by the secret service, the intelligence department, and the security department was all merged into the intelligence department.

At the same time, Xia Zuo stripped the Intelligence Department of its function of collecting intelligence on foreign countries and merged it with the Second Training Department of the Dark Division to create a new intelligence agency named the Listening Department.

Ultimately, Xia Zuo established 15 specialized departments to handle all affairs of Konoha Village.

Then Xia Zuo submitted 15 candidates for department heads, and Mitokado Yan and Utatane Koharu were naturally not among them.

The newly reorganized 15 departments have very broad jurisdictions, and the ministers have enormous power, which sounds very tempting.

Most importantly, there are 15 ministers, the same number as the members who make up the Jonin Council.

This can't even be considered a hint; the Fifth Hokage was making it a blatant declaration.

Therefore, the competition for the 15 ministerial positions was extremely fierce.

One after another, Jonin stood up, enthusiastically recommending themselves, wanting to become the head of the new department.

Not to mention Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, even not every Konoha Jonin nominated by Natsume could pass the vote.

The 15 ministers who ultimately rose to power were all the most famous and capable Jonin of Konoha.

They formed the permanent decision-making committee for the Konoha Jonin Tournament, as mentioned by the Fifth Hokage.

The power that the Third Hokage had painstakingly held onto was mostly discarded by Xia Zuo without a second thought.

As Hokage, Xia Zuo only had the power to appoint and dismiss 15 Jonin in charge, the power to audit the finances of 15 departments, and the power to command the Anbu, which was reduced to a size of 70 people.

The Fifth Hokage even rejected the Hokage Guard.

Uchiha Shisui grew anxious and shouted, "Fifth Hokage, why don't you even want the Kage's Guard?"

Nara Shikaku successfully rose to the position of minister and was now full of pride, his loyalty to Natsuko reaching new heights.

He stood up as well, anxiously asking, "Without the Shadow Guard, how can you guarantee your safety, Hokage?"

Xia Zuo laughed heartily upon hearing this and retorted, "The Shadow Guard protects me, but does that mean the Fifth Hokage is safe?"

"Nara Jonin, what kind of dangerous enemy do you think could be stronger than the Fourth Raikage and his army of eight thousand ninja?"

"If such an enemy were to appear, would Konoha be able to assemble a ninja team to defend against them?"

Xia Zuo's question left Uchiha Shisui and Nara Shikaku speechless.

The other Konoha Jonin were also momentarily dazed, then suddenly realized the problem.

Yes, the Fifth Hokage was different from the Third Hokage. He was a monster who could take on an entire ninja village single-handedly and didn't need any protection at all.

Xia Zuo seemed to have guessed what the Konoha Jonin were thinking, and nodded, saying, "I don't need any protection. Even if we set up a Shadow Guard, it would only be used to show off."

"If we encounter danger, I'll have to protect the members of the Shadow Guard, just like the Second Hokage did."

There is a precedent for this: the brilliant and mighty Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was dragged down by the Third Hokage's group of Kage and died in the internal strife of Kumogakure.

If it weren't for this incompetent guard, the Second Hokage, who was the fastest ninja in the ninja world at the time and mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, would never have lost his life.

As a result, the Hokage's Shadow Guard was abolished.

The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, saw his overt power drastically reduced, to less than one-thirtieth of that of the Third Hokage.