Chapter 233 1st Plenary Session

Ye Shan was crouching in front of his work with a focused expression, skillfully writing his opinions and orders on each document. Nara Shikaku would come in from time to time to add tea and water, and also deliver the approved documents to the people waiting outside the corridor.

Time flew by like a white horse, and in the blink of an eye it was noon. Ye Shan rubbed his sore eyes, stretched, and relaxed his tired body.

Nara Shikaku brought a wooden tray just in time. On the tray was today's lunch, but unlike before, it didn't look very good.

"Is this sent by Tsunade?" Ye Shan asked hesitantly. He had never eaten food cooked by Tsunade. That princess was not a good cook. Ye Shan would be thankful if he could lose less money. Cooking was something he couldn't even think about.

As expected, Nara Shikaku smiled and shook his head and said, "It was sent by Yamashiro Star. She said it was a thank you gift, thanking you for your care in recent years."

Ye Shan was getting more and more confused, not knowing what Shan Chengxing was up to, and asked, "Where is she? If she hasn't left, ask her to come in and have dinner with us."

"She's gone. She said she had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and needed to change her medicine."

Ye Shan smacked his lips and said, "Please pay more attention to the members of Team Kakashi and report any problems immediately. It's only been a few days since the incident with Uchiha Obito, and I'm worried that they haven't gotten over it yet."

Nara Shikaku nodded and said, "Hokage, it's time to eat. You have to attend a meeting at the Ninjutsu Research Association later."

As he said this, he took out the food from the tray and put it on the table. Ye Shan washed his hands and sat down again. He picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth after hesitating for a moment.

The fish meat is very tender and the taste is relatively good, but it has a slight fishy smell, which is probably because there is no cooking wine to remove the fishy smell. But it is still edible.

Ye Shan tasted them one by one and finally gave his conclusion: "The taste is average, the level is what a novice should have."

Nara Shikaku looked at the Hokage's face and asked softly, "Then shall I change your work meal?"

Even though the Hokage's working meal consists of only three dishes and one soup, they are all made by well-known chefs. The taste is far better than that of a novice like Yamashiro Hoshi. Moreover, the ingredients are carefully selected and the safety issues are absolutely up to standard.

Ye Shan shook his head and said, "No need. This is a token of their kindness. Besides, it's not bad. I'm not that spoiled. When I was on the front line, what kind of food did I not eat? The most difficult time was when Shan Chengchen and I accidentally ate poisonous mushrooms. My eyes were full of green. Everything I saw was green. Fortunately, we didn't encounter the enemy, otherwise everything in front of us would be green and we would have no place to cry."

Nara Shikaku listened to the Hokage's stories about the past with great interest. This was one of the few happy moments in his day, because the Hokage's stories were always unique and novel, which made people enjoy themselves.

"You don't know, at that time the front line was broken, even people like Uchiha Jing were killed, and the three of us ran away without even looking back. As a result, the dry food we brought with us was only enough for one meal, and we didn't dare to make a fire to roast small animals. In the end, we had no choice but to pick up some mushrooms to fill our stomachs."

Ye Shan ate his rice and continued, "We almost had a fight with another team for a few mushrooms. But mushrooms alone were not enough to keep us hungry, and there was so much green in front of us that we could only hide in a tree hole and pray that the enemy didn't catch up with us."

Nara Shikaku couldn't help but ask, "Then how did you come back alive?"

Ye Shan took a sip of soup and smiled, "It was all due to good luck. The four of Big Bear Duff were walking ahead of us and encountered the enemy and were wiped out. As a result, the three of us got a great advantage. Otherwise, we would have been in trouble."

There was deep helplessness hidden in the faint smile. If he had a choice, Ye Shan hoped that Big Bear Duff would not walk in front of his team. But things did not always go as planned. What had happened was past. What could he do?

"Now when I think of those dark days, I actually feel a little nostalgic. I thought I would choose to forget them."

"I've heard from the elders in the tribe that what you're doing is remembering the good times and never forgetting where you came from." Nara Shikaku flattered him with a relaxed look.

Ye Shan swallowed the last bite of rice, shook his head slowly, picked up the teacup and blew on it, saying: "Don't flatter me, I know who I am." He took a sip of tea and continued: "I am just an ordinary person, I succeeded by luck, I sit in this position by chance, if I can do something, I will be very lucky."

"Look at what you said, Lord Hokage has surpassed his predecessors, and the village is getting better and better under your leadership." Nara Shikaku said with a smile.

"How has it gotten better? Many people have cursed me behind my back, saying that I am some kind of Bodhisattva Hokage or a compassionate ninja. The people in the Root are actually good at eavesdropping on other people's affairs all day long." Ye Shan said lightly with his eyelids half closed.

"It's because the people below don't understand your true purpose and grand plan. I'll have people pay more attention to it."

"What are you paying attention to? The mouth is on other people's body, they can say whatever they want." Ye Shan raised his head, put down the teacup in his hand and said seriously: "The Konoha Village has been established for decades, and there have been four Hokages, but I have never heard of anyone being punished for saying a few words."

"I'm not bringing this up to ask you to shut them up, but to warn you to seek truth from facts and say less sweet words. You should do things down to earth and point out my shortcomings. Do I need you to serve tea and water?"

Nara Shikaku nodded with a serious look. He had been the office director for more than two years and was no longer the pure person he was before. Ye Shan's words were very straightforward, almost cursing out loud, which attracted Nara Shikaku's attention.

Why did Ye Shan criticize his work style? Nara Shikaku asked himself, he had been working diligently for more than two years and never showed partiality to anyone, so why was he not doing things in a down-to-earth manner?

Ye Shan glanced at the other person and said calmly: "You are a smart person. You understand what I mean even if I don't say it clearly. Ninjas should not always focus on the benefits when doing things. Sometimes being too smart is a bad thing."

Nara Shikaku's heart leapt, and he immediately understood what the Hokage meant, and he opened his mouth to say something perverted, but was interrupted: "You don't have to say anything, this matter ends here."

"You don't need to accompany the Ninjutsu Research Association meeting later. Ino-Shika-Chou needs a spokesperson, so you can attend as a representative."

"I am extremely sorry, Hokage-sama. I will take this as a warning."

Ye Shan stood up, turned his back to the other party, and looked at the scenery of the village through the window. His words seemed to be filled with ice: "The Yamanaka clan will select a direct ninja to join the Root, the Akimichi clan will deduct 30% of this year's funds, and I will not fine the Nara clan for your sake."

Nara Shikaku had cold sweat on his forehead. It was the first time he felt the winter was so hot. He knelt on one knee with his head lowered, listening respectfully to the instructions of the Hokage.

"Listen, let me emphasize this one last time: I have never been a self-centered person, nor am I a nepotist Hokage. Whether it's the Sarutobi Hiruzen clan or the Uchiha clan, as long as the ninja is dedicated to their work, I will make full use of them! But if they say one thing in public and another in private, don't blame me for turning my back on them!"

"Yes!"

Ye Shan waved his hand and said, "Go down and do your job properly!"

Nara Shikaku left in a panic. In the face of absolute power, he could only obey and obey, and had no room for resistance at all.

It's not that Hayama is difficult to serve, but Ino-Shika-Chou is simply treating him like a fool. Even the three Hokages took time out to participate in such an important meeting, but they sent a few small fish and shrimps to fool around. Who wouldn't be angry?

Ye Shan clapped his hands lightly, and an office ninja instantly appeared, waiting for instructions.

"Take the food away, and ask the two Vice Hokages to come over. Tell them that I have something to discuss with you."

"Yes!"

A few minutes later, Uchiha Fugaku and Namikaze Minato came together. Seeing that Ye Shan looked unhappy, they asked curiously, "Who was so blind as to offend you?"

Ye Shan took out a cigarette, threw one to each person and said, "It's nothing serious. The meeting will start soon. How are your preparations going?"

"Everything is ready, just waiting for you, the Hokage, to come and check it in person." Namikaze Minato said jokingly.

Ye Shan took a puff of cigarette and said calmly, "This meeting is held on a tight schedule but is of great significance. There must be no mistakes."

"I know, don't worry, everything is ready." Namikaze Minato replied with a restrained smile.

Uchiha Fugaku lit the cigarette in his hand and said in the rising smoke: "It's almost time, we should get ready to go to the venue."

Ye Shan nodded, took down the Hokage haori from the clothes rack on the wall, put it on in no time, looked at himself and found that there was no problem, then said: "Let's go."

The three of them walked down the street, one in front and two behind, and immediately became the most dazzling presence. Many ninjas stopped what they were doing and came forward to greet them. Since the establishment of Konohagakure, Yeshan was the first Hokage to allow others to wear white haori. Although the haori of the two deputy hokages was quite different from that of the main hokage, at first glance there was no big difference, as if there were three hokage in the village.

Soon, they arrived at the large conference room located about one kilometer east of the Hokage Building. This was originally the venue for the jonin meetings, a large venue that could accommodate two hundred people at a time, but today it was still overcrowded and there were not enough seats, so many people had to stand during the meeting.

As soon as we entered the conference room, we saw the huge and bright Konoha Village logo on the wall behind the podium, accompanied by hundreds of ninja family emblems. The most prominent of them were the Senju Clan emblem and the Uchiha Clan emblem, which were placed in the middle of the village logo, implying that the two are inseparable. In the middle of the podium was a rectangular table covered with red silk cloth, and paired with a blue and white porcelain teacup made by a master craftsman from the Land of Earth. It was simple but not simplistic.

The conference room is illuminated by the latest LED bulbs. Hundreds of identical bulbs are cleverly arranged to form the Konoha logo, which is stunning when viewed from below.

Hundreds of ninjas wearing Konoha's standard vests sat in a neat and orderly manner. Of course, there were also many recorders and reporters from various major countries standing, making the conference room look very crowded.

When Yeshan appeared at the entrance of the conference room accompanied by two deputy hokages, all the ninjas stood up in unison. Without any unnecessary movements, they just watched them walk step by step to the podium.

Ye Shan took off the Hokage hat on his head, smiled slightly and said, "Everyone, sit down."

Except for those who had no seats, everyone sat down immediately, in an orderly manner like robots.

"Everyone, don't be too restrained. This meeting is not for the Hokage election, so you won't lose points if you smile." Ye Shan made a little joke.

"Hehehe"

"Hehehe"

The people below continued to sit upright, but Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku started laughing.

This is also related to Yeshan's personality. He always works with a stern face. Over time, the ninjas in the village dare not be too casual.

"First of all, before the meeting officially begins, please allow me to extend my sincere congratulations to you on behalf of the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Ninja Village! Congratulations on successfully surviving the war, and congratulations on being selected by the Association!"

"crash"

This time there was no dull moment, everyone applauded. Ye Shan smiled and continued, "We are holding a meeting today to elect the leadership of the Ninjutsu Research Association. I hope everyone will actively participate and cast their precious votes as fairly and impartially as possible!"

After the applause, Namikaze Minato smiled and said, "The Hokage's speech just now was very concise, which is also in line with our association's down-to-earth work style. The number of people who should have attended this meeting was 279, and the actual number of people who attended was 247, which is in line with the association's regulations. Any decision made at the meeting will be valid once it is passed!"

"I declare the first general meeting of the Ninjutsu Research Association official! Now let's proceed to the first item of the meeting: electing the president and vice president of the association!"

There were two huge transparent boxes on both sides of the rostrum. Ye Shan took out a folded piece of paper from his arms and put it solemnly in front of everyone.

Uchiha Fugaku and Namikaze Minato followed suit and also threw in notes. Then, one participant after another threw in their own notes.

After everyone finished voting, Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi opened the boxes one on each side in full view of everyone, while Namikaze Minato acted as a recorder. The three of them checked the representatives' opinion notes in public.

"Chairman Baiyun Yeshan's one vote"

"One vote for Vice Chairman Uchiha Fugaku"

"One vote for Vice Chairman Minato Namikaze"

"One vote for Hyuga Hiashi Vice Chairman"

"..."

In the end, Yeshan was elected with 246 votes. The lost vote was cast by himself, and it was for Uchiha Fugaku, which made the latter speechless.

Uchiha Fugaku unfortunately lost the election for the chairmanship by 246 votes, but was elected vice chairman with a high vote of 213 votes.

Namikaze Minato was elected vice chairman with 197 votes and was almost overthrown by the Hyuga clan, but it was a close call.

In recent years, the Hyuga clan has become more and more active. Of course, this is inseparable from Yeshan's secret support, but the ultimate reason is that they have the ability to do so.

The Hyuga clan now firmly controls the village's defense system, intelligence system, and reconnaissance system, and their lives are much better than when the Third Hokage was in power.

Ye Shan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his capable general Minato Namikaze was not overturned, otherwise many subsequent tasks would not be able to be carried out.

In order to ensure openness and fairness and to select candidates that he is satisfied with, Ye Shan always has wild ideas.

According to Uchiha Fugaku's idea, this matter could be decided by just a word from the Hokage, so there was no need to go through the trouble of choosing.

But what he didn't know was that decades later, when future generations talked about the origins of democratic and liberal ideas, they would be unable to avoid the meeting that seemed cumbersome today.