Before beginning any major undertaking, one first had to prepare the proper tools.
Inside his study, Kizaru sat at his desk, carefully designing the structure of his future administration and deciding how he would manage Konoha once he became Hokage.
Kizaru enjoyed taking things easy and disliked unnecessary trouble, but that did not mean he was irresponsible. Nor did he intend to take the position of Hokage only to leave the village in ruins.
Once someone accepted a position, they had to fulfill the duties that came with it, shoulder the corresponding responsibilities, and do the best they could.
That had always been Kizaru's minimum standard when it came to work.
To him, taking it easy did not mean avoiding responsibility or pushing his work onto someone else. It meant finding the most efficient method, completing the necessary work with the least wasted effort, and leaving himself with more time to relax afterward.
That was what he considered proper efficiency.
Ignoring work that one was supposed to complete and allowing the consequences to burden one's colleagues or subordinates was not efficiency.
It was simply incompetence.
Kizaru had no intention of behaving that way.
He had lived among the Shimura clan for more than ten years, and despite his often-unconcerned appearance, his feelings for both his family and Konoha ran deep.
There were elders who had cared for him, companions who respected and admired him, friends with whom he shared an unspoken understanding, and even women who had come to love him.
Deep down, Kizaru sincerely hoped that after becoming Hokage, he could lead Konoha toward a more prosperous future.
As long as he performed his duties properly and continued moving the village in a better direction, there should be nothing wrong with him enjoying a comfortable and luxurious life during his free time.
The villagers would hardly have reason to complain if their Hokage delivered results.
That was why Kizaru had spent the past several days considering what kind of reforms would allow him to govern Konoha efficiently without letting an endless stream of trivial matters consume his entire life.
After thinking it over repeatedly, the basic outline of his new administrative system had finally begun to take shape.
The first issue he needed to address was the future position of Konoha's four senior leaders: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.
According to the established customs of the hidden villages, none of those four—who were not even fifty years old yet—would simply retire after Kizaru took office.
With the involvement of his uncle and his teacher, they might be willing to relinquish a portion of their authority, but it was impossible to expect them to surrender everything and withdraw from Konoha's leadership entirely.
Of course, with Kizaru's strength and influence, he could probably force the two advisers to "voluntarily retire."
However, such a direct approach would be no different from overturning the entire table.
The consequences would be severe, potentially causing instability not only within Konoha but throughout the Land of Fire.
Therefore, the first major problem Kizaru considered was how to place those four in suitable positions.
He needed them to continue contributing their experience without allowing them to interfere with his authority or create unnecessary trouble while he governed the village.
After considering the matter for some time, Kizaru drew upon the political and historical knowledge he had retained from his previous life.
Eventually, he came up with an arrangement that he found quite satisfactory.
Taking inspiration from the cabinet and central councils used during the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as several systems from the modern era, Kizaru intended to establish two departments at the center of Konoha's administration.
The first would be the Council of Elders.
The second would be the Secretariat.
Kizaru planned to appoint Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, and Homura Mitokado as the three members of the Council of Elders, granting each of them the official title of elder.
However, the three elders would be stripped of the authority to directly command Konoha's executive departments.
They would possess only one primary responsibility.
Their work would resemble the role once performed by the grand secretaries of the Ming cabinet, who reviewed government matters and drafted recommendations before the ruler issued a final decision.
Under Kizaru's system, all important village affairs would first be reviewed by the three elders before being presented to him.
After examining each case, the elders would write down their proposed course of action and attach it to the relevant documents.
Kizaru would then read both the original report and the elders' recommendations before deciding whether to approve their proposal or choose a different solution.
In the governments of his previous world, this final act had once been compared to an emperor adding his decision in vermilion ink.
Through this system, Kizaru could make full use of the three elders' extensive governing experience, significantly reduce his own workload, and still keep the village's ultimate decision-making authority firmly in his hands.
At the same time, the second central department—the Secretariat—would play an equally important role in reviewing those recommendations and further reducing Kizaru's workload.
The Secretariat Kizaru envisioned would contain three types of positions: personal secretaries, administrative secretaries, and standing secretaries.
Personal and administrative secretaries would primarily handle routine matters while assisting the Hokage, the standing secretaries, and the elders.
Their responsibilities would mostly be supportive, so the positions were not especially powerful. As long as the candidates passed a thorough background and loyalty investigation, there would be no major issue in appointing them.
The true core of the Secretariat would be its small number of standing secretaries.
For those important positions, Kizaru intended to select only young or middle-aged shinobi whom he trusted and who possessed proven intelligence, judgment, and strategic talent.
The standing secretaries would classify every matter submitted to the Hokage according to its importance and scale, much like the ranking system used for shinobi missions.
For matters ranked C-level or below, the standing secretary responsible for the case would directly examine the documents and the recommendation submitted by the Council of Elders.
The secretary would then decide whether the proposed solution should be approved.
If the proposal was accepted, the standing secretary could authorize it with an official seal.
If the proposal was rejected, the matter would have to be reported to Kizaru. The standing secretary would explain the reason for the rejection and submit an alternative solution, after which Kizaru would make the final decision.
B-level matters would require the joint review of every standing secretary on duty that day.
The proposal could only be approved if all of them reached an agreement.
If they disagreed, the matter would be presented to Kizaru. Each standing secretary would submit their own recommendation, and Kizaru would decide which course of action to follow.
As for matters ranked A-level or above, the standing secretaries would only possess the right to examine the documents.
They would have no authority to approve them.
Every A-level matter would have to be submitted directly to Kizaru for a final decision.
The same restriction would apply to the Council of Elders.
With this administrative structure in place, Kizaru would not be buried beneath an endless mountain of minor paperwork like the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Hokage he remembered from the original story.
Those Hokage had been forced to waste enormous amounts of time and energy on trivial matters, leaving them unable to directly and effectively oversee the village's broader development.
Kizaru had no interest in repeating that mistake.
At the same time, the power to draft recommendations and the power to approve them would remain separated.
The Council of Elders and the Secretariat would supervise and restrain one another, ensuring that neither department could gradually erode the Hokage's authority.
In addition to those two departments at the center of Konoha's government, Kizaru intended to establish two new executive departments.
The first would be the Propaganda Department.
The second would be the Ministry of Commerce.
Kizaru intended to appoint Koharu Utatane, one of the current Hokage's advisers, as the first head of the Propaganda Department.
The position would also serve as compensation for excluding her from the Council of Elders.
Kizaru had not left Koharu out because he doubted her abilities.
He simply intended to permanently limit the Council of Elders to three members.
Kizaru placed considerable importance on the Propaganda Department.
During its initial stage, it would be given two primary responsibilities.
The first would be establishing Konoha's official newspaper, which would guide public opinion and promote the village's culture and policies.
The second would be secretly creating a film production company under Konoha's control.
That company would specialize in producing films that presented Konoha in a positive light. Those films would then be shown both within the Land of Fire and in foreign countries.
Through cultural influence and carefully managed public messaging, Kizaru intended to build a favorable image of Konoha's shinobi among the ordinary citizens of the Land of Fire and the populations of other nations.
The goal was to make people naturally develop a positive impression of Konoha and its culture.
Having been reincarnated from modern society into the shinobi world, Kizaru understood better than most how powerful cultural promotion and public opinion could become.
Such measures would help Konoha secure a larger share of the mission market.
More importantly, if his uncle remained stubborn and continued pursuing the unification of the shinobi world, Konoha's positive reputation could reduce the resistance and hostility of ordinary citizens in other countries.
In Kizaru's opinion, the Propaganda Department possessed the potential to become a powerful weapon for both himself and the village.
Its influence could eventually prove far greater than most people imagined.
The second department Kizaru intended to establish was the Ministry of Commerce.
Its main responsibility was straightforward.
It would supervise and consolidate the various commercial ventures Konoha had established over the past three years while continuing to guide and promote the village's economic and commercial development.
Kizaru had not yet decided who should become the Ministry of Commerce's first minister.
He was still considering whether to hand the position to Kakuzu or appoint an experienced and trustworthy merchant from within the village.
There were clear advantages to placing Kakuzu in charge.
Whenever money was involved, Kakuzu was exceptionally serious and diligent.
He was also unlikely to abuse public authority for private benefit or accept bribes.
However, Kakuzu possessed no actual experience in commercial administration.
The methods he understood best were those used by shinobi to earn money.
Perhaps the better arrangement would be to allow a professional merchant to manage the Ministry of Commerce while placing Kakuzu in charge of financial supervision and disciplinary investigations.
As that thought occurred to him, Kizaru picked up his pen and added the new arrangement to the draft spread across his desk.
After finishing, he placed the pen down, leaned back in his chair, and stretched lazily.
The document before him was covered with organizational diagrams and detailed explanations of each department's authority and responsibilities.
Looking over his work, Kizaru allowed a satisfied smile to appear on his face.
He was quite pleased with the system he had designed.
Once he became Hokage, he intended to implement it regardless of anyone else's objections.
After all, when the time came, he only needed to say one thing.
"Oooh... if this reform cannot be approved, then I suppose I won't become Hokage after all."
Kizaru could already imagine the expressions around the conference table.
"You can handle everything however you like."
When that happened, they would find out who became anxious first.
It certainly would not be Kizaru.
•••
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