Assuming the Hokage Role and a Mountain of Debt

The sun shone brightly overhead.

Uchiha Nan was still lying in bed, snoring loudly. Last night, he had no idea how much he'd been forced to drink—in the end, he just blacked out.

Thump thump thump!!

Thump thump thump!!!

A frantic knocking at the door roused Manji, who was sleeping nearby. He reluctantly got up to answer it. An auntie rushed in urgently—she had come to deliver Uchiha Nan's Haori!

This same auntie had made the Haori for the first two Hokages. She was extremely particular about the embroidery for the words "Third Hokage" and had started working on it overnight after Tobirama Senju died. Fortunately, she finished it just in time.

This auntie had indeed lived a long time. Uchiha Nan remembered her—she had survived from Hashirama Senju's era all the way to Naruto becoming Hokage. She could be called a Konoha Fossil!

Uchiha Nan quickly threw on his clothes, thanked the auntie, draped the Haori over his shoulders, and put on the Hokage Hat.

"Little Manji!"

"Am I handsome or not?"

Uchiha Nan glanced at himself in the mirror, admiring his reflection more and more. He was practically Konoha's Xu Gong!

"Handsome!"

Manji raised his paw and shouted his honest opinion loudly.

Uchiha Nan waved at Manji, who nimbly jumped onto his shoulder.

"Let's go—time to take office as Hokage!"

Before long, Uchiha Nan arrived at Konoha's Hokage Building. The building stood at the very center of the village, with the stone statues of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, directly behind it. As for Uchiha Nan's statue, it was still being carved!

It was a meticulous job. As the first Uchiha Hokage, Uchiha Tomita was personally overseeing the carving, so it would likely take some more time.

Below the Hokage Building was a massive plaza, packed with a sea of Konoha's ninja and villagers. They were all filled with anticipation for the new Hokage.

"From today onward, I am Konoha's Third Hokage. Konoha's future is in my hands!"

A roar of cheers followed. The loudest shouts naturally came from the Uchiha Clan, while the Hyuga Clan also cheered enthusiastically. The Senju Clan's faces were grim, clapping half-heartedly out of respect for Uchiha Nan, the new Hokage.

All the high-ranking members of each clan had gathered. Standing on the platform, Uchiha Nan noticed Mito Uzumaki was absent—probably because her face hadn't healed yet.

The inauguration ceremony dragged on all morning. By the afternoon, Uchiha Nan's first official meeting as Hokage began!

In the meeting room, Uchiha Nan sat at the center. Uchiha Tomita sat on his left, and Senju Touma on his right. The other clans took their seats according to their clan's strength.

"Today is my first day as Hokage. Konoha is in ruins and needs rebuilding. Feel free to speak openly in this meeting—share your views on Konoha's development."

Uchiha Nan decided to open the floor and first hear what these local powers of Konoha had to say.

"Lord Hokage, let's set aside village construction for now and talk about the debt issue."

Senju Touma's face was stern, offering Uchiha Nan no smile, his demeanor strictly businesslike.

He pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve. It listed all the debts Konoha owed to the Senju Clan. Just various strategic resources alone amounted to 800 million ryo—more than double what the Uchiha Clan owed.

And that wasn't all. There were also the survivor benefits for Senju clan members who died fighting for Konoha: 312 genin killed in action, 158 chunin killed in action, and 48 jonin killed in action.

According to Konoha's regulations, standard genin Survivor Benefits ranged from 300,000 to 500,000 ryo. For chunin, it stepped up to 800,000 to 1 million ryo. A jonin's life was far more valuable—reaching 3 million to 5 million ryo, with fluctuations based on merit.

Even calculated at the minimum rates, compensation would cost nearly 300 million ryo. Just for the Senju Clan alone, Konoha's treasury owed 1.5 billion ryo.

Tobirama Senju had been Hokage, so it was only natural for his clan to sacrifice for the village. They had paid the heaviest price, pouring in nearly half their entire fortune.

Konoha's finances had become a complete mess—unfit even for a glance. If Tobirama Senju were still Hokage, the Senju Clan might have endured it. But now Uchiha Nan was in charge, and the Senju Clan wouldn't let a single ryo slide!

"That much?"

Uchiha Nan stared at the astronomical figure, his head throbbing.

An Elite Jonin undertaking an S-rank mission started at 1 million ryo. This debt meant Uchiha Nan would have to complete extremely dangerous S-rank missions over a thousand times.

An astronomical number!!!

Senju Touma pulled out a file folder filled with various IOUs, each stamped with Tobirama Senju's seal.

"If Lord Hokage doesn't believe me, you can cross-check the accounts!"

Uchiha Nan flipped through the IOUs, his brow furrowing deeply.

"Lord Hokage, actually, Konoha's treasury also owes the Hyuga Clan over 800 million ryo. The details are as follows—"

Hyuga Takuma sat below, looking somewhat embarrassed. Since Senju Touma had brought up debts, he had to speak up for the Hyuga's interests.

For the sake of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Takuma naturally had to stand up and voice their concerns. Friendship was friendship, but money was money!

Not a single ryo could be spared!

With two of Konoha's top-tier noble clans demanding repayment, the remaining ninja clans naturally wouldn't hold back either. They had originally planned to be polite and discuss it privately with Uchiha Nan.

But since the floodgates were open, there was no need to hide. With the big shots leading the charge, even if Uchiha Nan wanted to blame anyone, it wouldn't fall on them.

Uchiha Nan's eyes were already turning red. All the debts added up to roughly 11 billion ryo, yet Konoha's finances were utterly dismal—nothing but red ink!

"Enough!"

"I'll handle these debts!"

Uchiha Nan gritted his teeth, shooting Senju Touma a fierce glare. On the very first day of the meeting, he had to drop a bombshell like this.

Senju Touma kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, not even glancing at Uchiha Nan, still calculating that once the funds arrived, he would immediately begin his father Hashirama Cells experiments.

"Meeting adjourned!"

Uchiha Nan couldn't be bothered to argue with these money-grubbing bastards and called the meeting to a close. His first meeting ending in discord dealt a heavy blow to his lofty ambitions.

Hokage Office

Exhausted in both mind and body, Uchiha Nan lay slumped in his chair.

"How the hell am I supposed to deal with this!"

"With so much debt, how am I ever going to pay it back!"

Standing nearby, Uchiha Tomita watched Uchiha Nan's gloomy expression and quickly stepped forward to remind him:

"Lord Uchiha Nan, don't forget—the Daimyo of the Land of Fire promised to provide Konoha with financial aid. That's a huge sum of money!"

"That's right!!!"

Uchiha Nan slammed his hand on the desk. He had been so stunned by that astronomical figure that he had completely forgotten about this.

He had to set off immediately!