"Interns?"
Shizune was indeed distracted by Aoba's words and asked curiously, "What are you planning to do this time?"
"I mean it literally. After all, the Hokage's secretary is an important position, and there are very few people who can truly handle it."
"So I'm planning to set up several intern positions under each Hokage secretary. They'll work while learning at the same time. Simple tasks like organizing documents can be handed over to them. And once an intern's ability is strong enough, they can directly take on the role of Hokage secretary."
"That way, Shizune-nee, your workload would be much lighter, right?"
Aoba explained it in a simple way.
After listening, Shizune's eyes immediately lit up.
She understood at once the benefits of these so called interns.
Because although the Hokage secretary's work was heavy, a lot of it was not actually complicated.
For example, reviewing ninja mission reports, drafting and delivering standardized documents, and sorting and filing records. Those could completely be handed over to interns.
According to Aoba's idea, not only would she not be as tired as she was now, she might even be able to slack off in the office.
"Looks like Shizune-nee is quite satisfied with this system too."
Seeing her eyes shining like light bulbs, Aoba laughed.
"It's alright. Do you already have candidates for the interns?"
Shizune curled her lips slightly and asked again.
"Mm… For the first batch, I'm planning to bring in Sakura, Ino, and the others," Aoba directly stated his thoughts.
"Sakura and the others are pretty quick witted. They're suitable."
Shizune was not surprised at all by the names he mentioned.
Just like she had said before, this secretary team was practically turning into a harem. Then wouldn't the interns be the reserve force for it?
Still, she had no objections.
They were all familiar faces, so communication would be easier.
"Let Sakura follow me."
Shizune picked one candidate first.
Sakura could be considered half her junior apprentice. She had also trained in medical ninjutsu under Tsunade for a period of time.
"Alright. I'll go notify them in a bit."
Aoba naturally had no objections.
"Mm. Then who's the new Hokage secretary?"
Shizune remembered that he had mentioned there would also be a new Hokage secretary.
"As for that… I still need to ask for her opinion. Once it's confirmed, I'll tell you, Shizune-nee."
Aoba kept it a secret for the time being.
"Fine then."
Shizune did not pay much attention to it. In any case, the coming days should be much more relaxed.
"By the way, if you're going to look for Sakura and the others, they should happen to be gathered together right now. If you want to notify them all at once, it's convenient."
"Mm? Are they celebrating something?"
Aoba asked curiously.
"Not exactly celebrating."
Shizune shook her head, "This morning, Kurotsuchi received a message from her grandfather, telling her to return and inherit the Tsuchikage position."
"She'll probably be leaving in the next couple of days, so they're planning to get together one last time."
"I see. Looks like Onoki already knows about Kumogakure's current situation. He knows when to adapt."
Aoba immediately thought of the reason why Onoki suddenly asked Kurotsuchi to return and inherit the Tsuchikage position.
He was not surprised.
After all, with Kumogakure already reduced to that state, it was meaningless for Iwagakure to keep holding out.
"Mm."
Shizune only gave a soft response and said nothing more.
The office fell quiet for a moment.
"Ahem! Well…"
Aoba cleared his throat and continued, "Since that's the case… I'll leave the work here to Shizune-nee for now. I'll go notify them."
Shizune only rolled her eyes at him without speaking.
Before the little interns officially started work, the tasks here still had to be handled by her alone.
Seeing that, Aoba hurried off.
———
Since there was no Flying Thunder God mark at the place he was heading to, he could only walk there.
After leaving the boundaries of Konoha and climbing up a mountain, he arrived at the entrance of a carefully renovated orphanage.
He remembered that the last time he had come here was right after graduating from the Ninja Academy, when he took on a C rank commission from Tsunade.
It was the commission posted by Kabuto.
Back then, the orphanage had been in ruins. Now, although it could not be called magnificent or luxurious, compared to before it was like heaven and earth.
There was even a faint sense that things had changed with time.
And the candidate for the new Hokage secretary was the former ace spy of Root, who had now transformed this orphanage and run it in an orderly and refreshed state, Yakushi Nono.
Although Konoha's support was indispensable for the orphanage's reconstruction, Konoha basically only allocated a sum of funds each year and ensured the safety of the surrounding area.
Everything else was left to the orphanage to handle on its own.
Yet in just two or three years, the land area of the orphanage had expanded to more than double its original size.
From Aoba's rough perception, the number of children had increased several times as well, already reaching several hundred.
That was a considerable number.
It was not that the number of orphans in Konoha had increased over these years. Rather, as the orphanage was renovated, backed by Konoha's support, and with population movement in Konoha growing over the past two years, basically the surrounding regions all knew there was an orphanage here.
There were probably not many orphanages in the entire ninja world, so most orphans from other regions were sent here.
Even so, the orphanage remained orderly, even more standardized than before.
That was enough to show Yakushi Nono's talent in management.
Of course, as an ace intelligence agent, it was only natural that she was proficient in many fields.
"Hokage-sama!"
Aoba's appearance quickly drew the attention of the orphanage staff. As the most famous figure in the ninja world at present, someone immediately recognized him and hurried over to greet him.
"Idiot, call him Daimyo!"
Another person beside him quickly elbowed the one who had spoken.
That person suddenly realized and hurriedly corrected himself, "Sorry, Daimyo-sama, I…"
"No need to mind it. In Konoha, just call me Hokage. Daimyo sounds unfamiliar to me."
Aoba smiled and waved his hand, then took out a scroll with a smile, "This is an extra batch of supplies I'm donating to the orphanage on behalf of Konoha. I came this time mainly to see Director Nono."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama, for the donation."
A staff member respectfully accepted the scroll, "Please come in first. We'll go inform the director to come see you."
"No need. Just take me to her."
"Yes!"
Since it was Aoba's own request, the staff did not dare delay and immediately began leading the way.
Along the way, there were no children running around playing. Instead, from the rooms along the corridor came the sound of someone teaching.
The orphanage was even carrying out preschool education, which surprised Aoba a little.
Soon, they arrived at the door of the director's office.
After knocking, the staff member pushed the door open and entered.
Yakushi Nono still had her blonde hair, glasses, and a nun's outfit.
Compared to when he first met her three years ago, there was not much difference. She still carried that mature and gentle temperament.
If there was any difference, perhaps it was that she somehow looked even a few years younger than before.
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