Seeing the Anbu Captain leave, Fujin's clone smirked and thought, 'Homura will be busy with the mission report for some time. I guess I'll just continue annoying Koharu. Thanks to the image she created, she can't even say no without taking a significant hit to her reputation.'

He flickered a few times and reached his office. Yasushi and Haruma were slightly surprised to see Fujin arrive so early. Fujin's clone took his seat and said, "Bring all the files that appeared in the last couple of weeks. Also, send a messenger to call Katsuhiro. Ask him to see me immediately and bring the proposal with him."

Yasushi was surprised but nodded and got to work immediately.

While he did so, Monkey reached Koharu and informed her about what he needed. He even mentioned that all that needed to be done in three days. With an annoyed expression, Koharu scolded, "Boy, how many times do I have to tell you to not bother me for such small matters? I already told you to approach the other officials. Do you think I am free to attend every small matter?"

Monkey got a bit nervous. However, he recalled Fujin's words and thought, 'She acted just like he anticipated. Now, is this just an act or is she really annoyed? Sigh, I don't get paid enough for such a risky job.'

He bowed slightly and replied, "I apologize, Elder Koharu. However, Suzuki Fujin instructed me to make this request to you. He said that only if you take care of this will the kids get the best possible environment to train and become stronger."

Hearing his name, Koharu was annoyed even more. She cursed, 'That brat! He is purposefully annoying me! From what I know, he didn't approach Homura even once. It must be because I was the one to speak against him. Unfortunately, declining his requests isn't easy. If the issue blows up, I could lose my hard-earned reputation over a small matter, just like Danzo."

Both Koharu and Homura were informed by Danzo about the injustice he had suffered. Both were shocked by how such a small matter had blown up. It had made the two of them look at Fujin in a different light. It was also one of the factors why Homura tried to dig up on his past and didn't argue when Hiruzen said that Fujin could scheme in the dark as well.

In the end, Koharu said in an unpleasant tone, "I'll look into it. However, ask him to not bother me again for such small tasks."

Monkey was surprised. He exclaimed internally, 'She accepted? I was sure that she would decline! Could Fujin be right? Could it be that this was really an act?'

He immediately gathered his thoughts and said, "Thank you, Elder."

He was still confused but decided to get the job done first.

Katsuhiro entered the Hokage Building and walked towards Fujin's office. En route, several eyes noticed him. He ignored them and reached Fujin's office. Even before he could knock, he heard, "Come in."

He entered the office and saw Fujin's clone going through several files. To his surprise, the clone closed the files and set them aside. Generally, the clone would make him wait until he was done reading the files he was going through. It was the first time Fujin's clone had given him any priority.

Fujin's clone looked at Katsuhiro and asked, "Have you made the corrections to the proposal?"

Katsuhiro answered, "I made the changes you suggested and made some changes of my own."

He handed Fujin's clone the file. Without saying anything, the clone began going through the proposal. Several times, disappointment appeared on the clone's face. It was visible to everyone in the room, including Katsuhiro.

Katsuhiro gritted his teeth in rage while trying to control his anger. He cursed internally, 'This demonic brat! How much will he humiliate me? This is the 8th time I have visited him and the 6th time I made changes to the proposal! Don't tell me he will tell me to make changes again! The Council Meeting is in a few days. If we miss it, then I won't be able to put forth this proposal for several months again! Why doesn't he just admit that he doesn't want to pass this proposal and let me take this credit?'

The past couple of months had been extremely irritating and humiliating for Katsuhiro. It was so bad that he began suffering from high blood pressure!

Initially, Fujin had planned on using bureaucracy to keep pushing the proposal for a couple of years by using the tactic of denying Katsuhiro opportunities to meet with him and making him redo the proposal whenever he couldn't avoid a meeting.

However, after he had a change of heart and decided to increase his political weight while Hiruzen was still in charge, he decided to make Katsuhiro go through the years-long process in a couple of months. As a result, the old Elite Jounin was in mental agony. He often regretted listening to Danzo and picking up a fight with Fujin.

Fujin's clone sighed and muttered, "I'm disappointed in you, Katsuhiro-san. This is your 7th attempt. Why is the proposal still so full of mistakes?"

The way he spoke, everyone could easily feel the vast disappointment in his voice. Katsuhiro gritted his teeth hard and did his best to not lose his composure. He didn't want to show to everyone that Fujin had gotten under his skin. At the same time, Yasushi and Haruma were also doing their best. They had an even harder time controlling their laughter. Luckily for Katsuhiro, they somehow managed to do so.

Katsuhiro asked as calmly as he could, "What are the mistakes? I'll fix them again."

Fujin's clone shook his head and replied, "The Council Meeting is in a few days. If I let you continue making the proposal, who knows when it'll be good enough to be put forth. I'll take care of it. You can leave."

Katsuhiro was surprised by his sudden statement. He expected Fujin to continue using his delaying tactics. He never imagined that Fujin's clone would do the opposite. He should have been pleased by this development. Unfortunately, the joy was all sucked out since Fujin's clone hadn't given up the opportunity to insult him once again.

Katsuhiro controlled his anger while thinking, 'I was afraid that he'd keep pushing the proposal ahead. Looks like I was wrong. If he puts forth the proposal in the next council meeting, I can have a chance to lay a claim to his seat! I'll endure for now. He'll quickly realize what a grave mistake he has made.'

He said, "Alright. I'll leave it to you then."

Fujin's clone nodded without even looking at him. He didn't need to think much to know what Katsuhiro was thinking. However, Fujin didn't really see him as a threat. Any annoyance would come from the other council members. At best, Katsuhiro would be used as a tool like how Danzo tried. Even if Fujin eliminated him, they could just use someone else instead. So, he wasn't interested in spending any more time on Katsuhiro. Giving him sleepless nights and high blood pressure was enough punishment for aiming at Fujin's seat.

As Katsuhiro exited Fujin's office, he heard some soft voices

"Look, it's Katsuhiro-sama. He visited Councilor Suzuki Fujin's office again."

"Yeah, he has been visiting here a lot. In the last two months, this is his sixth visit. I wonder why he visits him so often."

"I wonder about it as well. It's almost like they are best pals!"

"No way, he is like 30 years older than the Councilor, haha."

A few similar comments were passed by others. Fujin had become famous inside the building for showing up so rarely. Hence, whenever he appeared to work, it would gain everyone's attention. Some out of genuine interest, others out of jealousy. After all, who wouldn't like to work just once every 1 or 2 weeks?

And every time Fujin visited his office, Katsuhiro would show up. Quite a few eyes had noticed it and had become interested. Several speculations flew as to why Katsuhiro visited him every single time.

Katsuhiro gritted his teeth and continued moving while ignoring the small talk of others. He cursed, 'Best pals? I'd fucking kill him if I could do it and get away with it! Thankfully, no one knows what exactly happened inside the office. I'll just need to ensure that his two assistants stay quiet.'

Back in the office, Fujin's clone finished reading the proposal Katsuhiro had sent. He chuckled while thinking, 'Not a bad proposal, it is pretty much perfect. I just need to make slight changes to it so that I can include the clans as well. This way, even if they aren't happy with this, they still won't be offended as their ninjas will benefit as well. While they won't benefit as much as civilian ninjas, the clans can't complain as everyone gets the same benefits.'