Two reanimated Hokage sent to gather intelligence? How did that manage to sound so unreliable?
With their strength, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, could probably wipe out the Mist Village and Zabuza's entire rogue ninja unit seven or eight times over.
In the face of the Senju brothers, numbers were meaningless. Even though there were only two of them, and their reanimated bodies only held Jonin-level chakra, ninja battles are never about simple arithmetic.
After being ravaged by the "Bloody Mist" era, the only notable ninja the Mist Village could field was likely Mei Terumi, the woman with two kekkei genkai. On Zabuza Momochi's side, he was the only elite jonin-level figure. Hashirama Senju could probably handle him with one hand, couldn't he?
"Let's not talk about that," Naruto Uzumaki said, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyway, with the First and Second's power, there won't be any mistakes. I need to make arrangements for the people we brought back from the Waterfall Village..."
"The people from the Waterfall Village?"
"The jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails, Fū. Let's place her near Gaara," the young Hokage said casually, fiddling with a pen on his desk. "Also, Orochimaru's subordinate, Kabuto Yakushi. He surrendered to me. I plan to assign him to the Konoha Orphanage..."
"What about Orochimaru?" Tsunade's voice suddenly dropped.
Naruto shook his head. "His whereabouts are unknown for now... probably still in one of his bases. Alright, Granny Tsunade, you don't need to worry about things outside the village... Hmm, where's Master Jiraiya?"
"..."
Tsunade's face instantly darkened.
Naruto's own expression turned a bit awkward. If Jiraiya was in Konoha, he was either peeping at the hot springs or on his way to do so. Having such an embarrassing old friend was truly infuriating.
"Should I go talk to him?" After a moment of silence, Naruto looked up at Tsunade. He cautiously slid off the desk, preparing to sneak out of the office.
"You, get back here!" Tsunade grabbed his Hokage robe, pulling him back. "Don't go! What if you pick up his bad habits!" she said with a cold expression.
"...How could I become that kind of person!" Naruto naturally defended himself. He was an upright person.
In his previous life, he'd almost gone down the same path as Master Jiraiya, but Sasuke's defection had sobered him up. From then on, he focused solely on his training, missing out on a lot of... scenery.
"I heard the first jutsu you invented was the Sexy Jutsu..." Tsunade gave him a disdainful look and pulled him into an embrace. "Since you're back, you can learn how to handle official business with me!"
"...Does this still need to be learned?" Naruto's eye twitched.
In his one-hundred-year career as Hokage, his time in power had been longer than all the other Hokage combined. He had stubbornly outlasted ten generations of Kage from other villages, fiercely defending Konoha's pride and proving that being Hokage wasn't necessarily a high-risk profession.
Tsunade, of course, refused to believe him.
After a while, however, she saw how skillfully he handled the paperwork. Feeling relaxed and comfortable, she lay down on the office sofa to sleep, simply handing all the official documents over to him.
"Honestly, how much sleep did you get last night..." The young Hokage glanced helplessly at the blonde kunoichi, took off his Hokage robe, and draped it over her.
Knock, knock, knock...
Two young women walked in. One had hair as red as fire, the other had warm, lovely pink hair. They were Karin and Sakura Haruno.
"Sakura!" Naruto's eyes lit up. He hadn't seen his old teammate much since becoming Hokage.
"Naruto!" Sakura first called out in surprise, then raised a finger to her lips, gesturing towards the sleeping kunoichi. "Lady Tsunade is resting... We came to deliver some documents."
Ever since becoming Tsunade's disciples, Sakura and Karin had been serving as assistants to the Hokage, since Shizune, who was originally in charge of taking care of Tsunade, had become the director of Konoha Hospital.
Many people came and went from the Hokage's office. Besides Sakura and Karin, Naruto saw a few more old friends. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio of Team 10 arrived to report the completion of their mission.
His peers were all living fulfilling lives.
Only he, as Hokage, couldn't go out on missions. He could only handle official documents in this office, with just a sleeping blonde kunoichi for company.
"I kind of miss Team 7," Sakura sighed softly. "Since we disbanded, we haven't seen each other much. I wonder what kind of mission Sasuke is on, and if he's run into any danger..."
"Don't worry," Naruto shook his head, comforting her in a low voice. "Sasuke is very strong now... stronger than most of the jonin in the village. He's probably just a little weaker than me!"
Sakura: "..."
Even though her teammate had become the Fifth Hokage, he still sounded as unreliable as ever.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't look at me like that!" Naruto couldn't help but protest. "I've always told the truth!"
"..."
Sakura shook her head with a look of disdain, her expression identical to Tsunade's. She suddenly said, "Anyway, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, and Kiba are all getting together for dinner tonight. Do you want to come?"
"Ramen?" The young Hokage rested his chin on his hand, reminiscing. "I feel like Uncle Teuchi's little shop couldn't possibly fit that many people."
"Of course it's Choji's favorite BBQ restaurant! There's no way Ichiraku Ramen could fit all of us. Gaara and Temari are coming too!"
From what Sakura said, it seemed the new generation of Konoha genin got along quite well with the Fifth Kazekage. They were all the same age, so no one really treated Gaara like a hostage.
"Oh, that's good then," Naruto nodded and reminded them, "By the way, you should invite Tenten and Neji, and your new friend Fū. They'll probably be taking missions in the village again soon."
"Huh? Aren't they your guards?"
"I dismissed them."
"You... as Hokage... you've already fired two guard squads, haven't you?"
Sakura's gaze was just like Sasuke's, as if she were looking at a foolish king.
"Konoha needs them in more important places."
Naruto's answer was still so official. He was telling the truth, but because of his age, it always made people feel like he was trying to shirk responsibility.
Sakura shook her head and said softly, "The Summer Festival is coming up, but there are still so many mission requests pouring in. There's no sign of them stopping. I don't know when everyone will have a chance to get together again..."
"..."
With his friends so busy with missions, Naruto, the Hokage, couldn't escape the blame. The culprit awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry! Although the missions won't stop, this year's Summer Festival will be even livelier than before!"
The land under Konoha's effective control now included the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, Land of Rivers, Land of Rice Fields, and Land of Waterfalls. These countries all had considerable populations. Konoha's Summer Festival was set to be a grand event, attracting people from all over.
The villagers were sure to have a lot of fun. But the ninja responsible for maintaining order... they were probably in for a tough time.
-----
Bonus:
Naruto: Is your work very hard? You guys don't even come to hang out with me!
Shikamaru: Is it hard? Of course it's hard. Don't you have any idea why, Lord Hokage?
Sakura: Heh... The missions just never stop!
Hinata: It's... it's okay!
Kiba: What do you mean, okay?! We have missions seven days a week!
Choji: But we do earn more money.
Hinata: Naruto, during the Summer Festival, can we go have fun together?
Naruto: ...Do you want me to be honest?
Hinata: O-of course.
Naruto: Forget about having fun. I just signed a document. The investigation team will be working in three shifts to maintain order and prevent spies from infiltrating. Your Team 8 happens to be on the 2 PM to 10 PM shift, so you don't even have to think about it.
Hinata: ...Let's get a divorce.