"Is this what they mean by sitting at home and having rewards fall from the sky?" Jie Uchiha muttered, surprise written all over his face.
The Added-Weight Rock Technique and the Light-Weight Rock Technique were incredibly common in the ninja world. Nothing special.
But slapping the word "Super" in front of them changed the game completely. Unless someone was a rare Earth Release genius, only Hidden Stone shinobi knew these two jutsu.
For a taijutsu specialist, they were god-tier assets.
Super Light-Weight Rock pushed a person's speed to the absolute limit, while Super Added-Weight Rock packed crushing, terrifying power into a single punch.
Even better, using it during training forced the body to adapt to intense gravity, building a flawless physical foundation in record time.
Dust Release, however, was on a completely different level.
Before Kaguya Otsutsuki's resurrection and the very concept of Kekkei Mōra, Dust Release stood alone as the only Kekkei Tōta. It held an absolute, overwhelming advantage.
Best of all, it wasn't a bloodline limit you had to be born with—it could be learned. Onoki, the only living user, had learned it directly from the previous Tsuchikage.
And now, Jie had the exact training method in his hands. It didn't matter how notoriously hard it was to learn; it was no longer a Hidden Stone monopoly.
The System's rewards poured seamlessly into Jie's mind. No years of bitter study were required—he grasped Dust Release instantly.
Along with it came complete mastery over its applications, including the precise execution of its core technique....
"Dust Release: Dismantling Technique"
Jie closed his eyes, feeling the new flow of chakra tracing through his pathways. He clapped his hands together.
As he pulled them apart, a sparkling, semi-transparent cube materialized in the space between his palms.
"So this is Dust Release..." he whispered. "It looks beautiful, but the power packed inside feels terrifying."
Staring at the glittering cube hovering in his grasp, Jie nodded in deep satisfaction.
"Dust Release: Dismantling Technique!"
The System had granted him mastery, but this was still his first time physically casting it. Unsure of the true damage output, Jie carefully injected only a minuscule sliver of chakra.
Instantly, a blindingly bright yellow beam of light erupted from the crystalline structure.
'Crap, that was still too much!'
Jie's heart skipped a beat. He hastily snapped off his chakra supply, but he was a second too late.
The Dust Release beam effortlessly vaporized a massive, perfectly clean hole straight through the wall of the Hokage's office, shooting across the street to leave a deep, scorched crater in the opposite building.
The jutsu instantaneously dismantled any physical matter it touched down to its primitive state. If Jie hadn't reacted with lightning speed to cut his chakra, that little experiment would have likely blasted a hole straight through the Hokage Monument itself.
"Assassin! Quickly, protect the Hokage!"
The sudden, gaping hole in the office wall sent the Anbu stationed outside into a total frenzy. With a single command, every Anbu operative in the Hokage building sprang into action.
Naturally, a commotion of this magnitude couldn't be kept from Shikaku Nara.
Shikaku rushed into the office. "Lord Hokage, what happened?" He inhaled sharply, eyes widening at the devastated wall.
His gaze swept the room, finding only Jie and the Anbu guards stationed at the door. There wasn't an intruder in sight, nor any lingering signs of a struggle.
Shikaku stood there, utterly baffled.
Jie offered a dry, awkward smile. "Uh... if I said I was just doing a simple jutsu test, would you believe me?"
Shikaku's eyes narrowed at the massive crater. He noted its precise location...exactly where the portrait of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, usually hung. Realization dawned.
'Jie must have gotten irritated looking at Hiruzen's face and accidentally flared a bit too much chakra.'
Shikaku sighed, actively choosing to ignore the missing wall as he turned back to Jie. "Well, Lord Hokage, I have the documents requiring your attention today. Do you have time to review them now?"
Jie grimaced, plastering on a flattering smile. "Is it already time for government affairs? How about you just finish them for me, Uncle Shikaku?"
Usually, he had Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha to shoulder the administrative burden, giving him plenty of time to slack off.
But with both Uchiha deployed to the frontlines—and even Tsunade, his ultimate administrative tool, staying behind on the battlefield—Jie's life had become a living hell. The suffocating mountain of paperwork was enough to make his head spin.
Shikaku firmly shook his head. "That won't do. This is the sacred duty of the Hokage, and it requires your specific authority. I do not have the clearance to make these decisions."
Jie perked up instantly. "If it's just about authority, that's easily solved! How about I re-establish the Hidden Leaf Elder Council right now? Uncle Shikaku, you'll be the First Elder. Handle these documents for me, and anything is negotiable!"
Dropping the formalities, Shikaku spoke entirely exhausted. "Jie, just save your breath and focus on your paperwork."
"With the miserable fates of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado as a fresh precedent, no one in the village is going anywhere near that hot-potato Elder position."
Jie wilted like a dying plant at the blunt rejection.
But he refused to perish in administrative silence. Slamming a hand onto his desk, Jie erupted. "No, I need to reform this! Uncle Shikaku, I'm going to implement the Three Departments and Six Ministries system!"
Shikaku arched a brow, his curiosity piqued. "Three Departments and Six Ministries? What is that?" He genuinely wanted to see what novel concept the young Hokage had concocted this time.
"The 'Six Ministries' refers to all the current operational departments in the Hidden Leaf," Jie explained confidently. "That includes the Police Force, the Finance Department, the Medical Corps, and all the rest."
"As for the 'Three Departments,' I've decided to establish the Secretariat, the Think Tank, and the Advisory Staff. All documents submitted by the Hidden Leaf's major ministries will first go to the Think Tank and Advisory Staff for preliminary processing and drafted opinions.
From there, the drafts pass to the Secretariat for judgment. If they deem the plans viable, the documents are sent directly back to the respective ministries for execution."
Jie paused, crossing his arms. "If they aren't viable, they're kicked straight back to the Think Tank and Advisory Staff for a rework."
He spoke with fluid eloquence, and Shikaku found himself nodding continuously as he absorbed the scope of the bureaucratic restructure.
"And what about you, the Hokage?" Shikaku pointed out the glaring omission. "Are you saying the Hokage just won't participate in managing the village at all?"
"Don't panic, Uncle Shikaku. Hear me out." Jie waved a hand dismissively. "If a matter has a major impact—like declaring war on another village, or anything that fundamentally shifts the foundation of the Leaf—then naturally, I will handle it personally."
He leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk. "For everything else, if the Secretariat, Advisory Staff, and Think Tank can't reach a consensus, that dispute gets handed to me for a final ruling."
"Furthermore, if I review their executive opinions and find them lacking, I retain the absolute authority to veto them at any time."
Jie's eyes locked intently on the Nara clan head. "This system drastically lessens my daily burden, while allowing the major clans to actively participate in the village's management. Yet, the overarching decision-making power remains entirely in my hands."
"What are your thoughts on my proposal, Uncle Shikaku?"
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