Cloud Hidden's Money Bag

Reflecting on today's events, Dada secretly shifted his perspective, organized his thoughts, and said:

"Father, the financial revenue of Kumogakure only comes from two sources: the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and the commission taken from the missions performed by the village's ninjas, correct?"

"That is correct. It seems the books you usually read aren't entirely useless." A was pleased that six-year-old Dada could express his thoughts so clearly, even though he hadn't expected Dada to have any profound insights.

"But neither of these revenue streams is something Kumogakure can fully control. Let alone both, if even one of them runs into trouble, it would be a very serious situation for the village. The book Bone and Spirit of Lightning: Thirty Years as an Official states that it is best to diversify the financial revenue of a region. Otherwise, once a natural or man-made disaster strikes, one cannot endure it. If you rely only on farming, everyone will starve when a drought comes; if you rely only on animal husbandry, everyone will starve when disease strikes. Only with diverse sources of income can one face various uncertainties."

A rubbed his chin. His son's answer surprised him; it was quite logical and even cited other books.

"Look at the Daimyo. He can collect taxes from the farmers of the Land of Lightning, from merchants coming to the Land of Lightning, and from shops operating in the Land of Lightning. Even hunters in the mountains must share a portion of their game with the Daimyo. Furthermore, he possesses a vast amount of property, which is why the Daimyo is very wealthy and cannot be easily toppled by sudden circumstances. But Kumogakure only has two sources of income; if one fails, it becomes a matter of life and death."

Dada continued, "Kumogakure cannot collect taxes on every aspect like the Daimyo, not even if the scope is limited to within the village, because the ninja clans would not agree. They do not feel that income outside of missions has anything to do with the village. Conversely, the village has not actively participated in economic activities outside of missions. This is the reason why, despite the village having absolute control over a territory, it cannot collect reasonable taxes."

If A had initially held a mindset of testing his son, he was now completely taken aback. That his six-year-old son could have such insights left A somewhat astonished...

A had felt similar things after becoming Raikage, but he had only seen the anxiety and the crisis without seeing it so clearly; it had been more of a vague sense of urgency.

The development of the village relied on finances, and finances relied on the Daimyo's support and mission commissions. The village's development would always hit a bottleneck because neither the Daimyo's support nor the missions could be infinite. The volume of missions in the Land of Lightning and surrounding small nations, as well as the wealth and level of support from the Daimyo—no matter how high these were, they always had a limit. Once they reached a critical point...

The ninja villages of the Five Great Nations were basically all like this, merely differing in wealth. Considering the relationships between the villages of the Five Great Nations, once one or several villages approached this critical point, then it would erupt...

War...

It was not just that; besides reaching a critical point from above, decline from below would also become a reason to launch a war...

Dada continued to talk eloquently, briefly explaining the situations of various countries he had read about in books. Observing A's expression, he felt he had said enough and began to conclude: "This is because the village has no way to solve these problems internally, so it can only solve them externally. And according to the habits of ninjas, they generally choose the path of war... That is roughly how it is, Father. I read all of this in books. Do you think it makes sense?"

Dada acted cute.

Still digesting Dada's insights, A forcibly pulled himself back. To avoid being discovered as having been stunned, he pretended to cough and said: "Ahem, not bad. It seems you are very diligent in your studies..."

Afterward, A chatted with Dada about daily trifles, but he was clearly distracted, his mind constantly pondering what Dada had just said. He thought to himself that these miscellaneous books actually contained such precious knowledge, something ninjas had never valued...

Seeing that the timing was right, Dada said: "Father, I went to the orphanage today and felt that it was a bit too stern over there. Implementing militarized management for children my age and starting high-intensity taijutsu training early might increase future uncertainties..." Dada expressed his concerns.

A thought about it briefly and said: "What you say makes sense. I will have someone handle it tomorrow. The children in the orphanage have just arrived in Kumogakure; they should be given some time to adapt..."

In truth, A was still mainly thinking about the financial issues of Kumogakure at this moment. The orphanage matter seemed like a small thing to him, but after their conversation, Dada's thoughts were now valued by A, at least to the point where they would no longer be dismissed as a child's prattle.

"Then who does Father intend to have handle it?" Dada inquired.

"Hmm, Dodai, I suppose... He is more familiar with these things," A said.

"Very well, Father. I have some other ideas regarding the orphanage. May I go talk to Uncle Dodai about them later?"

The Third Raikage A thought about it and felt it was harmless. Dodai was not a fool; even if Dada had some childish ideas, Dodai would not necessarily listen to them, so he agreed to let Dada participate in the orphanage affairs.

Having achieved his goal, Dada was naturally well-behaved. After A chatted a bit more about cultivation, he left. Before leaving, he said to Meizi: "In the future, whenever Dada wants to add any books, try your best to find them for him..."

"As you command, Lord A..."

The next morning, in the Raikage Building, the Third Raikage A and several Kumogakure advisors were holding a meeting, with some elite jonin involved in internal affairs also present.

"...That is roughly the situation. Our control over the financial lifeline of the village is insufficient. The level of support from the Daimyo and the volume of missions in the Land of Lightning and its surroundings are not things we can control. Just sitting in the village waiting is too passive."

"Lord A is truly far-sighted..." several advisors said with sincere admiration.

A blushed, though his dark skin hid it well. He did not say that these were ideas Dada had come up with; for one, it would not garner the attention of others, and for another, it would be hard to explain.

He himself had only just discovered that his second son possessed such wisdom, and he wouldn't know where to begin explaining it, as he usually only knew that Dada liked to read various idle books...

"But most ninja villages are like this... Where should we start?" an elderly advisor with a white beard asked.

This advisor had come from the Warring States Period. The ninja village system had only been in place for 33 years. Many high-ranking officials and leaders of major ninja clans in the village were remnants of the Warring States Period. If one were to say that ninjas under the ninja village system had an average education level of elementary school, then the Warring States Period was an era of self-study for everyone...

It was not that they were stupid; stupid people could not possibly survive the battlefield or become high-level officials in the village. But ninjas were skilled in missions and combat, yet neglected learning and governance; they lacked the ability for critical thinking.

Think about the governance levels and methods of the various Hokage and advisors (including the likes of Danzo) in the original work...

Only the Second Hokage had some sense of order; the others were simply showing off their lack of intelligence...

The people on the Kumogakure side had no good ideas for a moment...

However, the seed had already been planted, and eventually, something would grow from it. The high-level officials of the village were not truly stupid...

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