"Does the 'anyone' you mentioned—including the Hokage—really mean anyone?"
Namikaze Minato had sharply noticed the implication in Uchiha Ren 's words and asked directly.
Ren nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. That includes the Hokage."
Hearing this, Minato—the future Fourth Hokage—did not feel any dissatisfaction.
Instead, he began to think carefully about the meaning behind Ren 's proposal.
Minato was no longer the naïve man he once was.
Although his political instincts were not as sharp as some others, once he calmly analyzed a situation, he could still grasp the underlying logic.
Before long, he spoke.
"Is it because the Hokage's power is simply too great?"
Ren smiled, his tone carrying a hint of approval.
"Exactly."
"The Hokage, as the leader of the village, occupies an extremely special position."
"To a certain extent, the Hokage himself represents the will of the village."
"So if the Legislative Council were placed under the Hokage's authority, it would only take a little manipulation for the Council to become nothing more than the Hokage's supporters."
"And if a Hokage with questionable intentions used certain methods to control the Council's discourse…"
"Then the Legislative Council would completely betray the purpose for which it was created."
"So the Council doesn't necessarily need to stand above the Hokage."
"But it must remain independent from the Hokage's control."
"In fact, it must remain independent from everyone's control."
"Only then can its fairness be guaranteed."
Minato nodded.
"I understand. Go on."
Ren continued:
"I've drafted a preliminary structure for the Legislative Council."
"It will consist of ninety-two official members."
"Among them:
2 Permanent Councillors20 Clan Representatives20 Civilian Shinobi Representatives50 Civilian Representatives"
"The Legislative Council will hold one public session each month, and villagers will be allowed to observe the proceedings."
"During these meetings, council members may propose amendments to existing laws or introduce new legislation."
"These proposals will be openly debated."
"A proposal must receive at least three-quarters of the votes to pass."
"Once passed, the results and discussions of the meeting will be made public to the village."
He continued explaining the election system.
"Except for the Permanent Councillors, all other members—Clan Representatives, Civilian Shinobi Representatives, and Civilian Representatives—will be elected once per year."
"The elections will take place village-wide in March, June, and September."
"The process will roughly proceed as follows."
"First, the village will collect nominations from candidates willing to run."
"Then the villagers will vote to select fifty Civilian Representatives."
"These fifty Civilian Representatives will then elect the Civilian Shinobi Representatives."
"Finally, the Civilian Representatives and Civilian Shinobi Representatives together will elect the Clan Representatives."
"Only through such a structure can the will of the Legislative Council truly represent the collective will of Konoha's people."
Ren added another safeguard.
"The Inspectorate Division will also have the authority to supervise members of the Legislative Council."
"If any council member is found abusing their power for personal gain, the Inspectorate may gather evidence and submit the case to the Judicial Division."
"The offender can then be stripped of their council seat and punished according to the law."
"This is how we ensure the Council's fairness."
As Minato listened, he nodded repeatedly.
However, a trace of confusion remained.
"There's something I don't quite understand," he said.
"Everything else seems fine, but what about the two Permanent Councillors?"
"From what you described, their positions seem somewhat special… almost like they carry certain privileges."
Ren did not attempt to hide anything.
"I reserved those two seats for the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan."
"One seat for each."
"And the Permanent Councillors will also be responsible for maintaining the Council's daily operations."
"The Uchiha and Senju clans founded Konoha."
"It's not unreasonable for them to have a small privilege like that, is it?"
It was easy to imagine that in the future, the power held by Legislative Council members would be immense.
Leaving a permanent seat for the Uchiha was essentially Ren 's way of preserving a fallback path for the clan.
"Not unreasonable," Minato said after thinking for a moment.
He did not raise any objections.
After all, the special status of the Uchiha and Senju clans was undeniable.
A small privilege would not provoke much criticism.
And compared to the Council's ninety-two votes, the single vote held by each clan would not affect the Council's overall fairness.
So Minato did not dwell on it.
However…
After hesitating briefly, he asked:
"The Uchiha are one thing."
"But the Senju clan…"
"Isn't Lady Tsunade the only one left now?"
"And she's already left the village."
"Would she even agree to become a Permanent Councillor?"
Ren shook his head calmly.
"Whether we offer the position reflects our attitude."
"Whether she accepts it is her decision."
"Either way, we will leave the seat for her."
"And whether she attends meetings or not won't affect the overall system."
Ren 's real intention was simply to leave a safety net for the Uchiha clan.
Including the Senju was mainly to make the arrangement appear more legitimate and politically proper.
Whether Tsunade accepted the seat or not was irrelevant.
Minato chuckled and shook his head.
He could clearly see Ren 's personal bias, but he didn't dislike it.
In fact, that small selfishness made Ren seem more human.
After all—
If someone didn't care about their own family or clan, who would believe they could truly care about their comrades or village?
Without small love, how could there be great love?
After a moment, Ren 's expression turned serious again.
"Minato."
"When you go back to meet the Third Hokage, you can tell him that I intend to decentralize some authority."
"You can even mention my plan to reorganize the Military Police into the three divisions."
"But the matter of the Legislative Council must remain absolutely secret."
"Not a single word."
Minato was stunned.
"Why?"
"Wouldn't revealing the Legislative Council make your proposal even more convincing?"
Ren shook his head.
"No."
"People are not all the same."
"The reason I was able to conceive of the Legislative Council system is not only because I care about the village's future."
"The most important reason is that I haven't been controlled by power."
"I haven't become a puppet of authority."
"But Hiruzen Sarutobi is different."
Ren continued calmly.
"I won't deny that Hiruzen Sarutobi genuinely cares about the village."
"As Hokage, he has worked hard to improve Konoha."
"For many years, he has also worked tirelessly to stabilize the power in his hands."
"At the beginning, perhaps he did this for the sake of the village."
"But what he himself may not realize is that over time…"
"His motivations have fundamentally changed."
"His mind has already been influenced by the power he holds."
"And now his thinking may have become inverted."
"He develops the village so that he can better control his authority."
"The existence of the Legislative Council would undoubtedly restrict the Hokage's power."
"And Hiruzen Sarutobi is not like you."
"He will never allow his authority to be limited."
"So the best course is to wait until you become Hokage before implementing the Legislative Council."
"For now, you only need to tell him that I intend to invite many people from the village to participate in revising the existing laws."
"How much influence he gains in that process…"
"Depends entirely on how much he's willing to pay."
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