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After aimlessly wandering around for a while, Kazuki signaled to Orochimaru that he could kindly disappear.
Having someone who was neither clearly male nor female by his side would make anyone uncomfortable; it was just plain awkward.
While Konoha prepared for the upcoming New Year, the other villages had no such mood.
Kirigakure and Sunagakure were still locked in stalemate, and Iwagakure and Kumogakure began contending on the Land of Waterfalls battlefield.
Poor Land of Waterfalls. It went from being plundered by Iwagakure to now becoming the direct battlefield for two of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Judging by the situation on the Land of Waterfalls battlefield, Iwagakure and Kumogakure had no mind to celebrate any New Year.
Kazuki thought he could stay in the village and enjoy a lively New Year's celebration in peace, but after only a few days of tranquility, new troubles arrived.
"We need someone in charge to personally go to the border line to stabilize the situation?" Kazuki asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I remember the village dispatched quite a few ninja for support, didn't we?"
"The old man is worried that Iwagakure might have some underhanded schemes, so he doesn't dare to casually mobilize the ninja from the camps. But the number of refugees flowing into the Land of Fire from the Land of Waterfalls keeps increasing. The capital's intention is to accept as many as possible. The capital will cover the material costs for the initial stage. The village is responsible for providing personnel to help stabilize the situation and construct settlements."
This matter also gave Tsunade a headache.
If it were just the Sunagakure front, that would be one thing. But who could have expected that as the war in the Land of Waterfalls intensified, a massive number of refugees from the Land of Waterfalls would pour into the Land of Fire?
This put the Third Hokage in a difficult position.
Having suffered a major setback in Amegakure, the current Third Hokage was now exceptionally cautious about mobilizing border troops, fearing that any misarrangement on his part could lead to major problems.
There were large numbers of war refugees needing resettlement, yet he didn't dare mobilize the camp's ninja to maintain order or assist in building villages.
With no other choice, the Third Hokage resorted to his tried-and-true method of passing the buck, shifting the problem back to the village headquarters for them to decide.
As long as I don't act, then I cannot make a mistake!
If problems arise later, the blame won't fall on me.
"...."
Kazuki hadn't expected the Third Hokage to play it like this. Logically, he should have taken responsibility for the matter. Why the sudden change in character?
This didn't seem like the Third Hokage's usual modus operandi.
Seeing Kazuki's look of utter incomprehension, Tsunade explained helplessly:
"Because he's made too many mistakes in the past, causing his reputation within the village to suffer too greatly. The situation is similar with the clans. The old man is now extremely cautious in his actions. How about this: I'll make the trip, and you stay in the village to handle official duties?"
"Get out of here!"
As soon as Kazuki heard this, he was not having it.
Trying to leave me in the village to deal with all this paperwork?
Not a chance.
With the New Year approaching, this period was filled with a mountain of trivial matters that could exhaust a person half to death each day.
Even with two people sharing the workload it felt heavy, let alone one person shouldering it all. Kazuki decisively rejected Tsunade's suggestion.
"I'll go to the border line to resettle these war refugees. You, THE Hokage stay in the village and handle the official duties."
Tsunade: "....."
I just wanted to get out and clear my head a bit. Did you have to reject it so firmly?
Kazuki left Tsunade no room for wishful thinking, turning decisively to leave.
In short, staying behind was out of the question. He'd rather spend the New Year on the border line than remain in the Hokage's administrative building, staring at piles of documents and scrolls for over a dozen hours every day.
At most, he could leave Shikaku behind to assist Tsunade. There was no way he was going to be stuck in the Hokage's office.
This was non-negotiable.
The Mission Assignment Department would arrange the ninja teams for assistance. The capital would cover the material costs; they just needed to send people to transport them.
Kazuki could simply head to the border camp with his guards.
While the Third Hokage didn't dare to casually mobilize the ninja stationed at the border camps, Kazuki had no such reservations. As long as border security was ensured, mobilizing a group of ninja wasn't a big issue.
Besides, the current Iwagakure wouldn't dare provoke Konoha. The Land of Waterfalls battlefield was already giving Ōnoki enough headaches.
Unless Ōnoki had lost his mind, he wouldn't, while simultaneously facing Takigakure and Kumogakure, come bouncing over to the Land of Fire to poke at Konoha's nerves.
"Lord Advisor, rest assured. I will take full responsibility for arranging these missions and teams."
Although it would be tiring work, Shikaku was quite willing to take it on.
With the New Year approaching, many ninja in Konoha were eagerly hoping the village would issue more missions and commissions, allowing these lower-ranked ninja to earn some money and have a better holiday.
Helping refugees rebuild villages and transporting supplies—such missions were basically free money for lower-ranked Genin.
Although the shinobi world's situation was chaotic, the interior of the Land of Fire was very safe.
Accepting these village-issued missions, the probability of them encountering enemies wasn't as exaggerated as winning the lottery, but barring accidents, it was practically zero.
Who wouldn't like missions and commissions that were a bit tiring and time-consuming but otherwise straightforward to complete?
By being responsible for arranging this work, Shikaku could also earn goodwill from the lower-ranked ninja toward the Nara clan. For him, this was a good thing.
"I'm confident leaving these matters in your hands. If possible, try to help the Hokage share more of the workload in general. With the New Year approaching, don't let all those trivial, nitpicky matters pile up endlessly in the Hokage's office."
"Lord Advisor, don't worry. I will handle it accordingly."
Shikaku gave a solemn assurance.
"Oh, right. Have the recently graduated squads participate as well. It'll be good experience for them, letting them see the harsh realities of war."
Patting Shikaku's shoulder, Kazuki decisively left the Hokage's administrative building.
He signaled for his guards waiting outside the building to follow and then left the village, heading straight for the border line.
"Stop looking. He's already gone. Should I have the Anbu catch up and swap you with Izumi?"
Seeing Shizune standing by the window, gazing toward the village entrance, Tsunade couldn't help but complaint.
"What's wrong? Does having you stay with me in the Hokage's office to handle official duties make you that uncomfortable?"
This time, when Kazuki went to the border line, as he needed to handle many matters, he took along his assistant, Izumi.
The thought that Izumi had left, and she, Shizune, with few close friends, would be left alone keeping Tsunade company, made Shizune feel a bit sad.
And Tsunade seized the opportunity to criticize her.
"How could that be?" Shizune immediately grew flustered and hurried to explain.
"I will always stay by Lady Hokage side. I would never leave."
"You silly girl..." Tsunade didn't quite know what to say.
Over the years of being together, Shizune had come to regard her as the closest person. Their relationship appeared to be that of mentor and student, but in reality, it was more like family.
"It's snowing."
Not long after leaving Konoha, goose-feather snow began to fall from the sky, making the already overcast and gloomy sky even darker.