The sun shone overhead.
Uchiha Nan was still sprawled in bed, fast asleep. He had no idea how much he'd been made to drink last night. All he knew was that he'd eventually drunk himself unconscious.
Knock, knock, knock!
Knock, knock, knock!!!
A rapid knocking sounded at the door. Manji, who was sleeping nearby, reluctantly got up to answer it. An auntie hurried inside. She had come to deliver Uchiha Nan's Divine Robe!
The auntie had made the Divine Robes for the previous two Hokage. She had been very particular about embroidering the words "Third" on this one, and had started working through the night after Tobirama Senju's death. Thankfully, she had finished it ahead of time.
This auntie really had lived a long time. Uchiha Nan remembered her: she had lived from the era of Hashirama Senju all the way until Naruto became Hokage. She was practically a living relic of Konoha!
Uchiha Nan quickly got dressed, thanked the auntie, then put on the Divine Robe and Hokage hat.
"Manji!"
"Do I look handsome?"
Uchiha Nan admired himself in the mirror. The longer he looked, the more he liked what he saw. He was the very picture of Xu Gong of Konoha!
"Handsome!"
Manji held up his paw and loudly spoke the truth.
Uchiha Nan beckoned to Manji, who expertly leaped onto his shoulder.
"Let's go. Time to take office as Hokage!"
Before long, Uchiha Nan arrived at the Konoha Hokage Building. The building stood at the very center of Konoha, facing the stone statues of the First, Hashirama Senju, and the Second, Tobirama Senju. As for Uchiha Nan's statue, it was still being carved!
It was a meticulous undertaking. As the first Uchiha Hokage, Uchiha Tomita was personally overseeing the statue, so it would probably take some time.
A huge plaza lay below the Hokage Building, packed with Konoha's shinobi and villagers. They were all full of anticipation about Konoha's new Hokage.
"Starting today, I am Konoha's Third. I entrust Konoha's future to myself!"
A roar of cheers followed. The Uchiha Clan naturally cheered the loudest, while the Hyuga Clan also applauded enthusiastically. The Senju Clan looked thoroughly miserable, managing only a halfhearted round of applause to show their respect for Uchiha Nan, the new Hokage.
The leaders of every clan had come. Standing on the stage, Uchiha Nan noticed that Mito Uzumaki was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the injuries on her face hadn't healed yet.
The inauguration ceremony dragged on all morning. In the afternoon, the first meeting of Uchiha Nan's tenure as Hokage was officially called to order!
In the meeting room, Uchiha Nan sat at the head of the table. Uchiha Tomita sat to his left, and Toma Senju sat to his right. The other clans took their seats in order of strength.
"Today is my first day as Hokage. Konoha has much to rebuild, so feel free to speak your minds and share your thoughts on the village's development."
Uchiha Nan decided to open the floor and hear what the local powers of Konoha had to say.
"Lord Hokage, let's set aside the rebuilding of Konoha for now and discuss the debts."
Toma Senju wore a grave expression and didn't offer Uchiha Nan even a hint of a smile. He was strictly business.
He pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve. It listed Konoha's debts to the Senju Clan. They owed 800 million ryo for all kinds of strategic resources alone—more than twice what they owed the Uchiha Clan.
And that wasn't all. There was also compensation for members of the Senju Clan who had died fighting for Konoha: 312 Genin, 158 Chunin, and 48 Jonin.
Under Konoha's regulations, the compensation for an ordinary Genin's death ranged from 300,000 to 500,000 ryo. For a Chunin, it stepped up to 800,000 to one million. A Jonin's life was far more expensive: 3 to 5 million ryo, depending on their achievements.
Even if they paid the lowest rates, the total compensation would come to nearly 300 million ryo. Konoha's debt to the Senju Clan alone added up to 1.5 billion ryo.
Tobirama Senju had been Hokage of Konoha. It was only natural for the Hokage's clan to contribute to the village, and they had paid the highest price of all, nearly emptying their coffers.
Konoha's finances had turned into a complete mess—so bad it was painful to look at. If Tobirama Senju were still Hokage, the Senju Clan might have been willing to put up with it. But Uchiha Nan was in charge now, and the Senju Clan wouldn't let even a single coin go unpaid!
"Is it really that much?"
Uchiha Nan stared at the astronomical sum, his head beginning to pound.
An elite Jonin could earn a starting fee of one million ryo for an S-rank mission. This debt meant Uchiha Nan would have to take on well over a thousand extremely dangerous S-rank missions.
An astronomical sum indeed!!!
Toma Senju took out a document folder filled with all kinds of IOUs. Each one bore Tobirama Senju's seal.
"If you don't believe me, Lord Hokage, you can check the accounts yourself!"
Uchiha Nan leafed through the IOUs, his brow furrowing.
"Lord Hokage, the village also owes the Hyuga Clan more than 800 million ryo. The details are as follows..."
Hyuga Takuma sat below the stage, looking a little embarrassed. Now that Toma Senju had brought up the debt—
For the sake of the Hyuga Clan's interests, Hyuga Takuma naturally had to speak up for them. Friendship was one thing, money was another!
Not a single coin could be left unpaid!
With the two top clans of Konoha demanding repayment, the other shinobi clans couldn't keep being so polite. They had originally planned to make a few tentative pleasantries and speak to Uchiha Nan in private.
But since things had come to this, there was no need to hide anything. The bigger clans were leading the charge. If Uchiha Nan got angry, he couldn't blame them all.
Uchiha Nan's eyes had gone red. The debts added up to roughly 11 billion ryo, but Konoha's finances were in a terrible state—nothing but deficits!
"Enough!"
"I'll handle these debts!"
Uchiha Nan gritted his teeth and shot Toma Senju a furious look. On his very first day of meetings, the man had dropped a bombshell on him.
Toma Senju kept his gaze lowered, not looking at Uchiha Nan at all. He was already calculating how soon he could start experimenting with his father's Hashirama Cells once the money came in.
"Meeting adjourned!"
Uchiha Nan couldn't be bothered to argue with this bunch of money-grubbing bastards, so he ended the meeting. His first conference had ended on such a sour note that his lofty ambitions had taken a serious blow.
Hokage's Office
Exhausted, Uchiha Nan slumped in his chair.
"What am I supposed to do now?!"
"How am I supposed to pay back that much money?!"
Seeing Uchiha Nan's dejected expression, Uchiha Tomita hurriedly stood up to remind him:
"Lord Uchiha Nan, don't forget that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire promised to provide Konoha with financial aid. That's a huge sum!"
"Right!!!"
Uchiha Nan slapped the table. He'd been so stunned by the astronomical debt that he'd completely forgotten about that.
They had to set out right away!
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