After the diplomat from the Land of Demons left the office, Hiruzen took up their petition, which roughly contained requests for him as Hokage to accommodate some of the rather offensive demands of their princess.

Such as regarding her living conditions and ensuring her identity was not revealed during her schooling, among others.

Although the diplomat from the Land of Demons apologized for the offensiveness, in Hiruzen’s view, these were just normal requests, not at all troublesome for him as Hokage.

He had already arranged a relatively secluded place for her to reside.

For protection, a squad of four Anbu was selected.

These four Anbu Ninja were among the elite, worthy enough to be assigned to a princess of a country.

However, seeing that among the bodyguards accompanying her, there were two witches... this made Hiruzen hesitated, could she be the future leader of witches in the Land of Demons?

After all, she was the adopted daughter of the Mire Witch from the Land of Demons and had been crowned princess, which meant she must possess exceptional abilities in suppressing demons.

The Land of Demons was different from many countries; their princesses were not ordinary humans without special abilities.

All in all, Hiruzen felt that he had to take this matter seriously.

Though he knew the princess from a neutral country wouldn’t provoke any enemies, unforeseen incidents could still occur in Konoha.

He could not afford to be complacent.

Fortunately, she would only study at Konoha for two years, greatly reducing Hiruzen’s workload.

Although external threats to Konoha had dissipated, internal unrest demanded his attention, limiting his capacity to focus on this matter.

◎

Today was a rare day off.

As one of the most formidable combatants within the Anbu, Kakashi had already ascended to the position of Anbu Squad Captain.

Previously, he led a four-man squad, while the Squad Captain managed four of such squads.

There were four Squad Captains in Anbu, and Kakashi was one of them.

Moreover, he was the youngest Squad Captain in history.

Being only seventeen or eighteen years old, compared to predecessors who became Squad Captains in their thirties or forties, his presence was truly an anomaly.

His position in Anbu now ranked just below the Minister and Deputy Minister.

However, those two positions were occupied by members of the Sarutobi Clan; from the perspective of orthodoxy, Kakashi believed he might never assume the roles of Deputy Minister or Minister of Anbu in his lifetime.

Those positions required more than just the trust of the Hokage. And speaking of trust, the Third Hokage trusted his eldest son and daughter-in-law more.

This familial bond, from the start, made Kakashi feel overshadowed.

Nonetheless, Kakashi never felt disheartened by this.

Having never harbored expectations, the concept of disappointment simply never existed.

He just needed to perform his current duties well.

Regularly delivering information to the Land of Demons, Root, and Orochimaru that he was aware of. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Conversely, compared to the Land of Demons, Root and Orochimaru seemed more enthusiastic, valuing the intelligence he provided.

Currently, Root was under Anbu surveillance, and Orochimaru, due to joining a mysterious organization, had become a common target of the combined efforts of Jiraiya, a Sannin, and Anbu.

Acting as Anbu Squad Captain, Kakashi understood the actions of most Anbu members, allowing Orochimaru to deftly avoid suspicion while dodging capture.

Acting too recklessly would arouse Anbu’s suspicion of internal issues; someone might be colluding with Orochimaru.

As Kakashi’s status surged within Anbu, Orochimaru’s appreciation for him increased.

Not long ago, Orochimaru also provided him with various research materials concerning Ninja Techniques, including advanced knowledge pertaining to Forbidden Techniques.

Although Orochimaru’s personality was unappealing, his expertise in Ninja Techniques was undeniably commendable and valued by the Land of Demons.

To them, Orochimaru’s knowledge was potentially more important than his combat prowess.

Having concluded his tasks, Kakashi had no desire to ponder over these troublesome matters on his day off.

Over the years, he had developed a personal schedule that balanced training, work, and relaxation time.

There were many ways to relax, and reading had been a routine practice he adopted early on.

Habitually, he pulled out a novel from his Ninja Tool Bag.

— "Icha Icha Paradise."

Authored by Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin.

The legendary Ninja.

A revered figure among countless gentlemen in the Ninja Realm.

With its official publication, the novel had cultivated a substantial base of devoted fans within the Ninja Realm.

Kakashi was a staunch admirer.

Even within Konoha, he knew quite a few like-minded ’companions.’

There were a few within Anbu as well.

One can envision the book’s rampant popularity.

The rich romance, intricate emotional narrative... along with occasional moments of intense drama, always invoked a youthful stirring.

Kakashi couldn’t help but admire Jiraiya’s talent; truly one of the legendary Sannin.

His first encounter with "Icha Icha Paradise" wasn’t recent.

Years ago, Jiraiya had gifted him a draft of "Icha Icha Paradise," undergone several years of refinement before its official publication.