Kumogakure's Money Bag

Thinking back on what had happened today, Dada quietly changed his mind. He organized his thoughts and said:

"Father, Kumogakure's financial income only comes from two sources: support from the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, and a cut of the mission fees earned by the village's ninja, right?"

"That's right. It seems the books you usually read haven't been entirely useless." A was pleased that six-year-old Dada could clearly express his thoughts, though he had not expected Dada to offer any truly insightful views.

"But neither of those sources of income is fully under Kumogakure's control. Let alone both, if either one runs into problems, it would be a very serious situation for the village. The book The Backbone of Lightning: Thirty Years as an Official said that a region's financial income should be diversified. Otherwise, when natural or man-made disasters strike, it will be hard to endure. If you rely only on farming, a drought will leave everyone starving. If you rely only on livestock, a disease outbreak will still leave everyone starving. Only diverse sources of income can handle all kinds of uncertainties."

A stroked his chin. His son's answer surprised him. It made quite a bit of sense, and Dada had even cited another book.

"Look, the Daimyo can tax the farmers of the Land of Lightning, tax merchants who come to the Land of Lightning, tax shops operating in the Land of Lightning. Even hunters in the mountains have to give the Daimyo a share of their prey. Not to mention the vast amount of property belonging to the Daimyo. That's why the Daimyo is so wealthy and won't be easily brought down by sudden crises. But Kumogakure only has two sources of income. If one goes wrong, it could mean the village's survival."

Dada continued, "Kumogakure can't tax every aspect of life like the Daimyo can, not even if the scope is limited to within the village. The ninja clans would never agree to it. They don't believe income beyond missions has anything to do with the village. Conversely, the village has not actively participated in economic activities beyond missions either. That is the true reason why the village clearly has absolute control over an area, yet cannot collect reasonable taxes."

If A had initially been testing him, he was now completely taken aback. His six-year-old son actually possessed such insight, leaving A genuinely astonished...

What Dada said was something A had sensed after becoming Raikage. But A had only seen the worries and the crisis. He had not seen them so plainly, only feeling a vague sense of urgency.

The village's development depended on its finances, and its finances depended on the Daimyo's support and mission cuts. The village's growth would always hit a bottleneck, because neither the Daimyo's support nor missions could be unlimited. The number of missions in the Land of Lightning and the surrounding small countries, the Daimyo's wealth, and the extent of his support—no matter how high these two might be, there would always be a limit. Once they reached a critical point...

The ninja villages of the Five Great Nations were basically the same. Some were merely wealthier, others poorer. Considering the relationships between the villages of the Five Great Nations, once one or several villages approached that critical point, there would be an outbreak...

War...

And it was not just about reaching the limit from above. Decline from below could also become a reason to start a war...

Dada was still speaking at length, briefly explaining the situations of various countries that he had read about in books while watching A's expression. Feeling that he had said enough, he wrapped up, "Because villages have no way to solve these problems internally, they can only solve them externally. And according to ninja habits, they generally choose war... That's about it, Father. I read all of this in books. Do you think it makes sense...?"

Dada put on an adorable act.

Still digesting Dada's views, A forcibly snapped back to himself. To avoid letting anyone notice that he had been stunned, he pretended to cough. "Ahem, not bad. It seems you've been very diligent in your studies..."

Afterward, A chatted with Dada about everyday matters, but he was clearly absentminded. His mind kept turning over what Dada had just said. These miscellaneous books actually contain such valuable knowledge. Ninja have never valued such things...

Seeing that the timing was about right, Dada said, "Father, I went to the Orphanage today. I felt that things there were overly strict. Children around my age are subjected to militarized management and begin intense taijutsu training early. That might increase uncertainties in the future..." Dada voiced his concerns.

A thought about it briefly and said, "You have a point. I'll have someone deal with it tomorrow. The children at the Orphanage have only just arrived in Kumogakure, so they should be given some time to adjust..."

In truth, A was still mainly thinking about Kumogakure's financial problems. The Orphanage was only a minor matter to him. However, after their conversation, A did take Dada's views seriously. At the very least, he would no longer dismiss them as a child's nonsense.

"Then who does Father plan to have handle it?" Dada asked.

"Hmm, Dodai. He's more familiar with these matters," A said.

"All right, Father. I also have some ideas about the Orphanage. Can I go talk to Uncle Dodai about them later?"

Third Raikage A thought about it and decided it was harmless. Dodai was no fool, and even if Dada had some childish ideas, Dodai would not necessarily listen to him. So he agreed to let Dada participate in matters concerning the Orphanage.

Having achieved his goal, Dada naturally behaved himself. After A spoke a little more about training, he left. Before going, he said to Meizi, "From now on, if Dada wants to add any books, do your best to find them for him..."

"By your command, Lord A..."

The next morning, Third Raikage A was holding a meeting in the Raikage Building with several Kumogakure advisers. Some Elite Jonin involved in internal affairs were also present.

"...That is roughly the situation. We do not have enough control over the village's financial lifelines. The extent of the Daimyo's support, the number of missions in the Land of Lightning and even the surrounding areas—none of those are things we can control. Simply sitting in the village and waiting is too passive."

"Lord A is truly farsighted..." several advisers said sincerely.

A's old face reddened, though his dark complexion hid it well. He did not say that Dada had come up with these ideas. For one thing, the others would not take them seriously; for another, it would be difficult to explain.

He himself had only just discovered that his second son possessed such wisdom, and he had no idea where to begin explaining it. Normally, he had only known that Dada liked reading all sorts of idle books...

"But most ninja villages are like this... Where should we begin?" an elderly adviser with a white beard said.

This adviser had come from the Warring States Period. The Ninja Village System had existed for only thirty-three years, and many of the village's high-ranking figures and the leaders of major ninja clans were remnants of the Warring States Period. If ninja under the Ninja Village System had an average elementary-school education, then those from the Warring States Period had an average self-taught education...

It was not that they were stupid. Stupid people naturally could not survive the battlefield, much less become village higher-ups. But ninja excelled at missions and combat while neglecting study and governance. They lacked the ability for critical thinking.

Just think of the governing abilities and methods of the various Hokage and advisers in the original story, including people like Danzo...

Only the Second Hokage had some real structure to his approach. The rest were simply showing off their lack of intelligence...

For the moment, the Kumogakure group had no good ideas either...

But the seed had already been planted. Something would eventually grow from it. The village's higher-ups were not truly fools...