Though the ceremony hadn't been held, Tsunade had briskly handed over power, then happily clocked out.
Truly clocked out.
She even spirited away Shizune from the Guard to hit the casinos and spend wildly.
With zero consideration for Natsume's feelings.
"Hokage-sama."
Along the way, Natsume kept nodding in greeting.
But he noticed a problem.
Not enough loyalty—or awe.
His prestige still couldn't match Tsunade's.
More precisely, it couldn't match any Hokage, including Minato.
Minato had made great merits in the Third Shinobi War, saving many lives.
Natsume had done missions these past years, but he hadn't shocked people as deeply.
Water Release plus Sage Mode sounded impressive,
But most had no direct sense of his strength.
Add in his youth, and they naturally looked down on him.
Even if he was truly strong—how strong could he be?
"Time to stir the pot."
Seated in the Hokage's soft chair, Natsume rubbed his chin, thinking.
Showing off his power outright would be foolish.
Best if someone came knocking, forcing his hand—then he'd harvest a wave of Fate Points.
Perfect.
"What's the Pot Kage up to?"
Natsume knew Danzo was in Sunagakure, because a year ago he used Fate Points.
And with Rasa and Gaara together, a total of ninety.
Easy to guess.
Danzo must have provided sealing techniques from the Uzumaki to reinforce Gaara's seal, reducing rampages.
In return, the "Pot Kage" lived in Suna.
In truth, despite Danzo's poor record and Hiruzen's suppression in Konoha, in another village he'd be treated as an honored guest. Show a little, make a big impact.
Suna rivaled Kiri for bottom of the Five Great Villages.
Gaara, the One-Tails jinchuriki, had sealing issues—he became an insomniac panda.
Sleep, and Shukaku rampaged.
And Rasa, to test stability, loved assassination attempts.
Absurd.
It was luck Gaara hadn't defected.
Now with Danzo, versed in Uzumaki seals, he was a huge help.
Knock knock.
Natsume looked up. "Come in."
The former Hokage Guard filed in.
Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and Kurenai Yuhi.
Shizune wasn't there—she'd gone gambling with Tsunade.
The three wore different expressions.
Might Guy, full of vigor, shouted "Hokage-sama!" expecting a mission.
Kakashi stared with dead-fish eyes, a lazy aura, motivation low.
Kurenai looked troubled, worried.
She could guess why Natsume had called them.
To reassign roles.
Usually, a new Hokage wouldn't use the previous Hokage's team.
Especially a unit as intimate as the Hokage Guard.
Most famously, Minato's Guard—
Even with joint Flying Thunder God techniques, Hiruzen had forced them away from the center of power.
In Kurenai's view, Shizune wouldn't be affected, being Tsunade's disciple.
Kakashi and Guy also wouldn't, given their strength and backgrounds.
Only her—short on both background and strength—would likely return to being an ordinary jonin.
Besides status, there was money.
At Natsume's suggestion, the Hokage Building fully adopted a pay system.
Considering strength, the Guard received 300,000 ryo per month.
Quite a lot.
An S-rank mission started at a million ryo and took a month or two—even for jonin, extremely dangerous.
And there weren't that many S-ranks.
Take Kurenai: officially, she'd completed only fourteen S-rank missions.
Most were A-rank or below, just tens of thousands.
Of course, monsters like Minato and the Sannin were different, with more S-ranks.
But they were exceptions; jonin like Kurenai were the norm.
Working in the Building, you could get 300,000 a month.
Plus time to take missions for extra cash.
For Kurenai, it was great.
Her family wouldn't worry every day.
She didn't yearn for things like the Hokage position, so this was her ideal life.
"Though my teacher is no longer Hokage, I won't change what she left."
Natsume smiled at them. "You three will continue on the Hokage Guard."
"Yes! Hokage-sama! I won't let you down!"
Might Guy teared up, excited.
Kakashi glanced at Natsume in mild surprise, said nothing, and nodded.
Kurenai was both surprised and delighted, sincerely grateful. "Thank you for your trust, Hokage-sama!"
Natsume smiled.
Their reactions fit their personalities.
"You may go."
He waved.
They bowed and left.
The door wasn't closed.
A head poked in—Ino Yamanaka—peeking, locking eyes with Natsume.
She panicked and withdrew.
Seconds later, she took a deep breath and knocked.
"Come in."
Natsume smiled.
Ino pushed the door open.
Still a tight top and shorts.
But compared to three years ago, her waistline was elegantly slim, no extra flesh, fair and smooth.
"Natsume-kun, congratulations on becoming Hokage."
Ino said sincerely.
At the same time, something subtle changed in her heart.
In Konoha, Hokage was different.
She worried whether this would affect their relationship.
At least her father, Inoichi, had warned her not to be too casual around Natsume.
One misstep could implicate the Yamanaka clan.
"No need to be so stiff."
Natsume beckoned. "Come here."
"Eh?"
Ino swallowed, heart racing.
Is Natsume-kun going to use being Hokage to…? Dad didn't teach me about this.
Feigning calm, she stepped forward. "Um… Natsume-kun, what is it?"
"Don't be intimidated by the title of Hokage."
Natsume stood, gave up the seat, and smiled. "It's no big deal. Sit."
"N-no, I can't!"
Ino jumped, waving her hands.
"Why not? No one's watching."
Natsume didn't want a timid Ino.
Best to dispel her fear of the Hokage.
Ino's eyes widened.
"No one's watching" sounded… exciting.
Her cheeks flushed pink; she didn't know what to do.
Natsume stepped forward, took her wrist, and before she could react, pressed her into the Hokage's soft chair.
"Be good. Don't move."
Ino froze mid-rise.
She felt his warm hand; a rosy flush crept over her face and neck—very cute.
No one else could sit in the Hokage's seat.
This meant Natsume-kun held her in his heart.
Head bowed, Ino's eyes curved like crescents.
Sweetness chased away her nerves; she relaxed.
With Natsume, she returned to her old self.
"Looks like the Hokage has tons of work."
Ino eyed the documents on the desk. "Will you be really busy now?"
"Not really."
Natsume casually flipped a file. "The Hokage Secretariat has processed them. I just need to review."
"That's good."
Ino muttered softly.
That meant they wouldn't have less time together.
"Speaking of which."
Natsume looked at her. "Interested in being a Hokage secretary?"
"Eh?"
Ino pointed at herself, stunned. "Me?"
"Mm."
Natsume said earnestly, "The Yamanaka are adept at intel analysis—perfect for the role."
Ino's heart pounded.
Hokage secretary didn't matter.
But as secretary, she could see Natsume every day—a great deal.
"It's just…"
She tilted her head, conflicted. "I'm young. People will talk, and then you…"
She didn't dare finish.
"Ino, I'm the Hokage."
Natsume smiled, unconcerned. "Who would dare talk?"
Ino blinked, heart speeding up again.
So cool!
"But for your sake, how about this—you'll be an intern secretary, okay?"
Natsume reconsidered—maybe a bit much.
If Tsunade found out, it'd be trouble.
And he absolutely refused to have an uncle like Hiashi as his secretary.
Still, Ino couldn't lead the secretariat yet.
With Hiashi promoted to advisor, he needed a reliable secretary.
Hmm, Kurenai then.
The Guard was mostly ceremonial.
Shizune had doubled as Tsunade's secretary.
Now with Natsume, having Kurenai double up was reasonable.
Of course, he had no other thoughts. Purely for aesthetics.
"Okay!"
Ino agreed happily.
As an intern, there'd be less gossip.
And her goal was achieved.
"Then I'll be counting on you."
Natsume smiled.
"No problem."
Ino patted her chest, confident. "I'll do a great job!"
"I look forward to it."
Looking at her bright smile—yes, pretty girls are easy on the eyes. "I'll take you to meet Uncle Hiashi."
"Mm!"
Ino hopped off the Hokage's seat, unable to hide her joy.
If Natsume weren't watching, she might have jumped for real.