"Hokage-sama?"

Sougen pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, seeing Akimichi Torifū sitting behind the desk and Jiraiya lounging on the guest sofa. "Jiraiya-senpai is here too!"

"Sougen, Shisui, please sit down," Torifū invited the two of them. Nara Saltwater, who had recently taken on the role of Hokage's secretary, quickly brought tea. After proving himself on the battlefield, this young member of the Nara clan had returned to the village, where Torifū soon appointed him as his secretary—not just to handle daily tasks, but also to offer advice during emergencies.

As for Nara Shikaku, he was now the head of the Nara clan and also a Jonin squad leader, part of the village's core leadership. While Shikaku used to frequent the Hokage's office to assist the newly appointed Fifth Hokage with various tasks, it wasn't sustainable to rely on him for everything.

Thus, after careful selection, the twenty-something Nara Saltwater became the Fifth Hokage's full-time secretary.

"Sougen, have you made all the preparations?" Torifū glanced at Shisui, knowing full well what was happening. The Scroll of Seals was always kept under the Hokage's personal protection, and anyone wishing to view it had to get the Hokage's permission. Sougen had already discussed this matter with him, and after only a brief hesitation, Torifū had agreed.

He knew that the Uchiha clan had never been granted access to the Scroll of Seals, no matter how much they contributed to the village. But times had changed, and he wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Even though both he and Sarutobi were students of the Second Hokage, Torifū did not inherit the Second Hokage's intense suspicion and vigilance toward the Uchiha clan.

"There's nothing much to prepare, really. Shisui might not even learn anything from it, just like me before," Sougen said, gently swirling the tea in his cup, watching the light green liquid spin inside.

Torifū chuckled, then stood up, walking over to the bookshelf and casually retrieving the Scroll of Seals. There it was—nearly 90% of Konoha's forbidden jutsu, all in this massive scroll, simply sitting on the shelf. No unbreakable barrier, no intricate seals, not even a decent safe.

Anyone walking into the Hokage's office could easily grab the Scroll of Seals. Of course, they'd have to survive getting in and out first. Though it seemed unguarded, the office was always under the watch of the ANBU, and not just one or two. In fact, the number of hidden ANBU operatives inside the Hokage's office building far exceeded the number of visible personnel.

Even a legendary ninja like Jiraiya would have a hard time sneaking in undetected.

The Scroll of Seals wasn't really a book but a giant scroll, about a meter tall. Holding the scroll, Torifū opened it to the section on the Flying Thunder God Technique before handing it to Shisui.

"Shisui, you can study it here. The Scroll of Seals is not allowed to be taken out, and regardless of whether you learn the Flying Thunder God Technique or not, you are forbidden from sharing the knowledge you gain in any form. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Hokage-sama," Shisui said seriously, standing up and nodding.

"One more thing: if you ever find yourself in a disaster and no comrades are around to help, the first thing you must do is destroy your own brain. According to the original rules left by the Second Hokage, everyone who viewed the Scroll of Seals had a self-destruct seal placed on their mind. However, this practice was considered taboo. In any case, you must protect the secrets in your brain at all costs. Understood?"

"I understand very well," Shisui replied.

The idea of a self-destructing seal placed on the brain wasn't new, though it had limited practicality. Such seals weren't foolproof, and if something went wrong, it could cost the person their life. Additionally, setting up these seals was difficult, which made them hard to implement widely. Not everyone was willing to have an uncontrollable seal placed in their mind.

This practice faded after the death of the Second Hokage, though Danzo had later adapted it into the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, which became a foundational technique for the ROOT organization.

After about five minutes of back-and-forth on the conditions and requirements, Torifū finally handed over the Scroll of Seals. Shisui, without wasting time, took the scroll to a corner, sat down, and dove into the study of the Flying Thunder God Technique with intense focus. Ninjutsu research was one of his few passions, and in this area, he had an incredible ability to concentrate.

Sougen watched Shisui for a few seconds, confirming that he was fully absorbed, and then turned his attention to Jiraiya, who was calmly sipping tea across from him. "Jiraiya-senpai, when do you plan to take Naruto to Turtle Island for training?"

"Where did you hear that?"

Jiraiya, still holding his tea, casually asked.

"My sister told me. She's asked me several times about it. Naruto seems quite troubled by the matter lately."

"I see."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, pausing for a moment before responding, "I was just discussing this with the Hokage before you arrived. I do plan to take Naruto for some training outside the village, and Turtle Island will be one of the stops. His life in the village has been heavy lately. Perhaps a change of environment will help him forget some of his unpleasant memories."

"However, the Hokage doesn't agree with me. He doesn't want Naruto to leave the village for too long, believing that staying here will help him develop a stronger bond with the village."

"Isn't that right? If Naruto gets too used to wandering around at his age, what if he doesn't want to stay in the village later? He's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. We can't have him running all over the world," Torifū interjected irritably.

Before Sougen arrived, the two had been arguing for nearly an hour, unable to reach a consensus.

Jiraiya, instead of continuing the debate with the Fifth Hokage, turned to Sougen. "What do you think, Sougen?" Knowing they were at an impasse, Jiraiya sought a third-party opinion. He was aware of Sougen's considerable influence on Naruto.

"My opinion?"

Sougen smirked.

Frankly, he didn't care much about the matter. Although he could have forced his way into the discussion, as the Hokage's assistant, he didn't feel the need. Either way, it didn't matter to him.

But since Jiraiya had asked, it wouldn't hurt to offer an opinion.

"My opinion is: why not ask Naruto himself? The kid is smart. Don't treat him as some clueless little child just because of his age. This world has no shortage of talented youths who mature quickly. In my view, Naruto's talent is no less than his father's."

This answer caught both of them off guard.

Asking Naruto for his opinion? Neither of them had considered that. To them, Naruto was just a child, a ninja academy student far from graduation, and such decisions weren't something he should be making.

So, they really hadn't considered asking Naruto for his own opinion.

"Plus, Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Although the Fourth Hokage's seal is strong enough, I think it's still best to keep Naruto's emotions stable. After all, it's better to be safe than sorry. Even though the village is strong enough to suppress the Nine-Tails if it goes berserk, it would still be bad news for both the village and Naruto."

If Naruto were to lose control and go on a rampage, the destruction would be secondary. Just the memory of that night during the Nine-Tails' attack would be enough to rekindle the villagers' fear and hatred toward the tailed beasts and Jinchuriki, feelings they've worked hard to suppress.

For Naruto himself, losing control once could mean there's a second or even a third time... Unless Naruto can become a perfect Jinchuriki, he'll always carry the stigma of being a high-risk, uncontrollable threat.

"Ask Naruto for his opinion? Hah!" Jiraiya let out a deep breath, a self-mocking smile spreading across his face. "Thanks for the reminder, Sougen. I guess I've been overthinking things lately, and my brain's gotten a bit foggy. You're right. This is Naruto's life. We have to ask him what he thinks!"

Torifu Akimichi didn't say anything.

He and Jiraiya were fundamentally different. To him, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was more important than Naruto Uzumaki. But to Jiraiya, Naruto was Naruto first, and only then was he the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Naruto's importance outweighed that of the Nine-Tails.

As long as Jiraiya didn't plan on taking Naruto away from the village for too long, there was no reason for Torifu to argue with him.

"Lord Hokage, I'll go ask Naruto for his opinion. Sougen, thanks again. I owe you a drink next time." Jiraiya, ever the man of action, didn't bother with formalities and leaped out the window instead of using the door. Torifu could only sigh helplessly at his recklessness.

At Jiraiya's level, even the Hokage couldn't constrain him much.

As long as it wasn't a major transgression like Orochimaru's betrayal, where he attacked his own comrades, the higher-ups would turn a blind eye to minor issues. Yes, in the village leadership's eyes, Orochimaru's biggest mistake was turning on his comrades, not his human experiments.

To be honest, everyone knew that the prohibition on human experiments was just a facade. The truth is, such experiments had never really stopped. After all, Konoha's advanced medical ninjutsu, for which Tsunade deserves much credit, also owes much to various human experiments, which have allowed Konoha's medical techniques to dominate the ninja world.

"Seriously... Couldn't he have just used the door?" Torifu muttered.

He shut the window. The weather was so cold, and as an older man, he couldn't handle the chilly wind.

"Lord Hokage, there's one more thing I need to report," Sougen said, sipping his tea calmly as he brought up the second matter that had brought him to the Hokage's office.

"What is it?"

Torifu, now having closed the window, turned to face Sougen.

"I'm planning to reform the Police Force."

"...Reform the Police Force?" Torifu felt a headache coming on as the blood vessels in his temples throbbed. He rubbed his forehead to alleviate the pain, then cautiously asked, "Sougen, what exactly do you mean by reform?"

"Thanks to the Second Hokage's trust and favor toward my clan, the Police Force was entrusted to us. However, over the past few decades, Konoha has grown significantly, and the population has increased substantially. To be honest, the current strength of the Police Force is no longer sufficient to maintain order in the village."

Torifu's eye twitched.

What a load of nonsense about the Second Hokage's trust and favor!

It was more like suspicion and vigilance!

But of course, saying that aloud was not an option.

"If there aren't enough personnel, then expand the force!" Torifu said generously.

"Expansion is necessary, but there's another issue. During the recent war, my clan suffered significant losses. Now, all that's left are the elderly and children. Even if we expand, there's no one available to take up the roles," Sougen sighed. "So I'm thinking of taking this opportunity to bring in ninjas from other clans or even civilians into the Police Force. What do you think, Lord Hokage?"

Torifu was stunned.

Recruit ninjas from outside the Uchiha clan into the Police Force? Did he mishear, or did Sougen misspeak?

Since its creation, the Konoha Police Force had been closely tied to the Uchiha clan. In everyone's mind, the Police Force and the Uchiha were two sides of the same coin. Torifu had never considered the possibility of separating the Police Force from the Uchiha.

"Sougen, do you... do you know what you just said?"

"Of course, I do. In my view, the Police Force belongs to the village. In the past, it was entrusted to the Uchiha clan by the Second Hokage. But times have changed, and so should the Police Force."

Sougen's calm and collected demeanor showed he hadn't lost his mind.

"So, you..."

Torifu's mind was spinning. He pinched his brow harder, trying to stay calm. What exactly was Sougen trying to do? Bringing outsiders into the Police Force—what was the real purpose behind this? Was he trying to use this as an opportunity to align with other clans? Or was he attempting to distance the Police Force from the Uchiha?

Although Torifu wasn't as favored as Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was still a student of the Second Hokage, even if only in name. He knew why the Second Hokage had handed over the Police Force, which held considerable authority, to the Uchiha.

Being enforcers was a prestigious but thankless job. Combine that with the Uchiha's prideful nature, and it was no surprise that the clan's reputation had only worsened over time. When the Second Hokage was still in power, things were relatively stable, with him using open strategies to control the Uchiha. But after Hiruzen became Hokage, Danzo began to secretly smear the Uchiha, and from that point, the clan's reputation hit rock bottom.

Even now, their image wasn't much better.

(End of Chapter)