"Tsunade, why are you so angry? I'm back, aren't I?"
Jie calmly withdrew his hand.
"Easier said than done." Tsunade scoffed but didn't try to hit him again. "Are you the Hokage, or am I? I haven't seen your face in a whole month!"
A hint of joy crossed Jie's face at her words. He spoke up quickly. "You want to be Hokage? ...You should have said so earlier. I'll step down right now."
He had truly had enough of the Hokage position.
Even though the new departmental council system he had implemented had greatly reduced the administrative burden, being trapped in Konoha was an unpleasant feeling.
Besides, it had been over five years. Aside from his Taijutsu, which naturally improved as his body grew, Jie felt the rest of his skills hadn't progressed much at all.
Of the three major goals he had set for himself, only his Senjutsu was complete. The Perfect Sage Body was still one step away, and there was absolutely no sign of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Although his ocular powers had been strengthened several times over the past five years, Jie hadn't felt any indication that he was close to awakening it.
To keep his strength from stagnating, Jie decided it was time to wander the ninja world again. So, Tsunade wanting to take over the Hokage position was truly fantastic news.
But Tsunade just sneered coldly and mercilessly shot him down. "Keep dreaming. Konoha only has Hokage who die in battle. There are no retired Hokage."
Jie inhaled sharply. This old hag was ruthless.
"Then didn't the First Hokage retiring and passing the title to the Second Hokage count as retiring?" Jie caught the loophole in her words and countered.
"That's why my grandfather and granduncle are both dead now," Tsunade replied without missing a beat.
Jie fell silent for a moment. Then he gave her a thumbs-up, his face full of genuine admiration. "When it comes to bickering.... I declare you the strongest."
Listening to their exchange, Izumi couldn't help but laugh from the sidelines. Little comedic scenes like this played out every so often. Most of the time, they ended in Jie's defeat. The times he actually won an argument against Tsunade were few and far between.
With their routine argument out of the way, Jie returned to his Hokage seat and looked at Tsunade. "Is there anything urgent going on in Konoha lately?"
"Just the Chunin Exams in a month. The Secretariat has already issued the orders and put Jiraiya in charge of handling it." When it came to work, Tsunade instantly reverted to her capable, professional demeanor, showing no trace of her earlier irritability.
"Alright. We'll leave it at that then," Jie said, nodding casually.
It was just the Chunin Exams. They happened every year, and even the assessment content was the same old routine. A standardized event like this didn't require his personal attention.
The only thing he'd probably need to do was sit in the Kage booth during the final tournament, give a speech, and act like a spectator.
"Anything else besides the Chunin Exams?" Jie asked.
"There are also these three early graduation applications. The Secretariat has already approved them. Their graduation exam is the day after tomorrow." A wicked smirk crept onto Tsunade's face as she pulled out three application forms and placed them in front of him.
"Early graduation applications? Three of them? Did the Ninja Academy produce a few more geniuses I don't know about?" His interest was instantly piqued.
'Was this simulation game called Konoha finally spawning some mutated super-generals?'
He felt quite expectant for a moment. But upon seeing the three familiar faces on the forms, his anticipation quickly flattened into disappointment.
"So it's these three brats. Give them an inch and they take a mile."
"I've been gone for a month and they dare to apply for early graduation. Looks like I haven't disciplined them enough." Losing interest, Jie tossed the forms back onto the desk with a sigh.
Hearing his grumbling, Izumi immediately realized who had submitted those applications. "Jie, aren't you well aware of Sasuke and the others' strength?"
"...Even if they stay in the Academy, there's nothing left for them to learn. Taking advantage of peacetime to graduate early and experience ninja life isn't such a bad idea, is it?" she offered with a gentle smile.
"Of course I'm not worried about those two monkeys. I just didn't expect Hinata to join in on their nonsense. What a headache." Jie explained with a helpless look.
The two "monkeys" he referred to were, naturally, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.
The current Uchiha clan was vastly different from how they used to be. With Jie serving as Hokage and holding a vast majority of Konoha's authority, the clan had long since integrated into every aspect of the village.
Having received the care and respect of the villagers, the Uchiha had fully realized their true nature as the "Clan of Love." Aside from some lingering restrictions on intermarriage among core members, the Uchiha were now inextricably linked to the rest of Konoha.
Under these circumstances, Sasuke, as the second young master of the Uchiha, enjoyed incredible advantages. With his outstanding natural talent and the full backing of his clan, Jie would have found it embarrassing if his strength had grown slowly.
As for Naruto, once Jie publicly revealed his true identity, the boy had gained the acknowledgment of all the villagers.
When Jiraiya returned to the village, he had immediately taken Naruto under his wing to personally train him.
With the aid of the Nine-Tails' chakra and the meticulous instruction of a master like Jiraiya, Naruto's training progress was terrifyingly fast. The idea that he would graduate from the Academy without even knowing a basic Clone Jutsu was utter nonsense now.
And as for Hinata Hyuga, she was Jie's own masterpiece.
Ever since Jie tossed the position of Deputy Commander of the Konoha Military Police Force to Hiashi Hyuga, things had changed.
Hiashi, now holding actual authority, had reversed the Hyuga clan's previous decline, slowly leading them to prosper once again.
Deeply grateful, Hiashi never again mentioned any pointless talk about competing with the Uchiha for the title of the number one clan in Konoha. Partially because he knew they couldn't win, but mostly because he wanted to bury the hatchet.
So Hiashi simply had his eldest daughter, Hinata, follow Jie around, hoping she could become his apprentice. After all, Jie had saved Hinata multiple times, and she had a very favorable impression of him. She wasn't opposed to the idea in the slightest.
This arrangement served to bridge the gap between the Hyuga and the Uchiha, while also securing a powerful teacher for Hinata. It was a massive win for the Hyuga clan.
As for whether Jie would refuse? ...Upon seeing Hinata nervously poking her fingers together in front of him he had agreed without a second thought.
He just couldn't bear to see the little girl disappointed.
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