Cheap Ninjas

The Anbu withdrew, their doubts dispelled. The killing intent around them eased, though they remained on guard.

The person addressed as Hokage-sama, who had failed to reach Bao Dan and been reborn in another body, sat back down. He appeared to be staring blankly ahead, but he was actually considering the most important information he had obtained so far.

Hokage-sama.

Hokage.

Naruto?

That seemed to be an anime? It was so famous that even though he was a National Martial Arts practitioner devoted to martial arts and did not watch anime, he had still heard its name.

Something about a legend of eyes?

And brawls between five villages?

There was even some company that had started out in chat services and was apparently mocked as "TX Eyes" or something?

He did not quite understand, but he knew this world seemed to revolve around ninjas. More precisely, the kind of "superpowered ninjas" who could use magic.

He had vaguely heard of something called Chakra.

So the terrifying power within him, closely connected to this body's essence, energy, and spirit, seemingly capable of endless transformations—was that Chakra?

But he remembered Chakra as a concept from Indian yoga.

As a martial artist of profound attainment, practically a grandmaster, he naturally drew upon the strengths of many schools and had encountered the concept before.

Chakra referred to "circles," to "wheels," but the flow of Chakra energy within his body seemed more like it operated according to "meridians" and "Acupoints."

What kind of mishmash was this?

Yet precisely because it operated through meridians and Acupoints, it was easier for him to understand and master the use of this powerful ability.

After all, how could a National Martial Arts grandmaster who also practiced Chinese medicine not understand such things?

Chakra, and ninjutsu?

His interest was piqued. He wanted to try the so-called "ninjutsu" of these ninjas who could use magic.

But before acting on that interest—

He lowered his head and looked at the documents before him. He picked them up and read the papers written in "Japanese." He could understand Japanese, and this body seemed to retain an instinct that made the language feel familiar to him. He could understand it at a glance, and even the handwriting felt familiar.

These documents were all reports and applications concerning various village matters.

The village was called Konoha, and the reports were all damage reports: casualties, property damage, various losses suffered by the village, how repairs and arrangements should be made, and what funds needed to be requested.

The person reviewing these reports, this body's Hokage-sama, had also signed his name on them—Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Furthermore, without exception, these reports mentioned last month's unrest: the Nine-Tails' Rampage!

It seemed that this upheaval had inflicted heavy losses on the village and left the current Hokage-sama overwhelmed.

They also mentioned that another Hokage—Minato Namikaze—had died in the upheaval.

There were also reports on Minato Namikaze's orphan, a newborn infant named Naruto Uzumaki, who had the Nine-Tails sealed inside him and had been classified as a "Jinchuriki."

And reports on the surveillance of the Uchiha Clan.

Reports on the surveillance of Konoha's major Ninja Clans as well—but the Uchiha Clan was the absolute priority of that surveillance!

Another matter given special emphasis was the report on the movements of the other Four Great Nations and Four Great Shinobi Villages after the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

It seemed that Konoha's weakening after the Nine-Tails' Rampage had made the other Four Great Shinobi Villages somewhat restless. If the Shinobi World War had not ended so recently, they likely would have been unable to hold themselves back.

According to the intelligence analysts' assessment, the other Four Great Shinobi Villages would at most threaten and extort Konoha. Konoha did not need to be overly nervous; everyone was licking their wounds and recovering their strength.

After all, only a year had passed since the Shinobi World War ended, and wars had never been something easily launched.

Of course, after the Nine-Tails' Rampage, Konoha's forces would have to contract somewhat. That, in turn, involved the struggle for Mission Quotas, an important economic pillar of a shinobi village.

Mission Quotas?

The Hokage frowned and carefully reviewed the documents on the desk again. They inevitably mentioned the village's sources of income, and he discovered that a shinobi village's economic support actually came from subsidies granted by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the nation's supreme ruler, as well as funds earned by ninjas completing hired missions, with Konoha taking a cut as the platform.

And this platform was internal, not external. It was not a service available to any ninja; it was limited to Konoha ninjas.

Of course, it was understandable to look after one's own to some extent, since Mission Quotas were limited.

But to this Hokage, it felt rather incongruous.

After all, this kind of employment arrangement carried the flavor of a private mercenary organization. Yet Konoha seemed to be the country's highest military and national defense institution, while the Land of Fire was a great nation with several hundred million people!

The highest military and national defense institution of a great nation was actually making a living as mercenaries?

Was it because ninjas possessed superhuman abilities, so the nation's authority over them was insufficient? But these subsidies were far too absurd.

The Hokage stared at the amount of the Daimyo's subsidies in the documents, his brows tightly furrowed.

Then he pulled out a report on Konoha's prices, and his eyebrows began twitching as he read it.

The Daimyo was handing out money like he was feeding beggars!

Were ninjas really that cheap?

Yes, ninjas were cheap. Extremely cheap. Their weapons were kunai and Shuriken, with barely any expensive, high-end weaponry involved. In truth, training a ninja did not cost much.

Although ninjas required aptitude, such aptitude was not particularly rare. Otherwise, how could the Five Great Nations replenish their ninja populations after the massive losses of war?

What expenses were there in raising a ninja?

Were kunai and Shuriken expensive? No.

Did ninjas require any special resources? No. Ninjutsu was similar to knowledge and could be reused. The greatest expense was food, but while ninjas ate more than ordinary people, their appetites were not outrageously large.

Even if the average ninja consumed ten times as much food as an ordinary person, how many registered ninjas did Konoha have? Say ten thousand.

Ten thousand people at ten times the consumption meant food for one hundred thousand people.

And the Land of Fire was a great nation with several hundred million people, one that had already entered the industrial and electrical age!

It could not afford to support such a tiny military population?

Especially when their military equipment consisted of such crude and inferior kunai and Shuriken.

What kind of cheap superpowered military force was this?

They were risking their lives for that little money?

Had the superpowered ninjas of this world grown accustomed to being dogs?

Subconsciously, he picked up the pipe on the desk, took out the lighter he carried with him, lit the tobacco that had already been packed inside, and took a puff.

Then he froze.

After thinking it over, he continued puffing away.

He had to resolve these troublesome matters before him.

After all, that was the only way to fit his current identity and avoid exposing any flaws.