Succession to Hokage and a Mountain of Debt.

The sun shone brightly.

Uchiha Nan was still fast asleep in bed, having no idea how much he'd been forced to drink last night. He'd passed out completely.

Knock knock knock!!

Knock knock knock!!!

A series of urgent knocks echoed. Manji, sleeping beside him, reluctantly got up to open the Gate of Opening. An auntie rushed in; she was here to deliver the Hokage robe to Uchiha Nan!

This auntie had made the Hokage robes for the previous two Hokage. She had extremely high standards for the embroidery of "Third Hokage." She'd stayed up all night after Tobirama Senju died, but fortunately, she'd finished it in advance.

This auntie had truly lived a long life. Uchiha Nan remembered her; she had lived from Hashirama Senju's era all the way until Naruto became Hokage, a true living fossil of Konoha!

Uchiha Nan quickly put on his clothes, thanked the auntie, and donned the Hokage robe, putting on the Hokage hat.

"Little Manji!"

"Don't I look handsome?"

Uchiha Nan admired himself in the mirror, growing more pleased with every glance. He was practically the most handsome man in Konoha!

"Handsome!"

Manji raised its claws and loudly spoke its true feelings.

Uchiha Nan beckoned to Manji, who skillfully jumped onto Uchiha Nan's shoulder.

"Let's go, new Hokage!"

Before long, Uchiha Nan arrived at the Hokage Building in Konoha. The Hokage Building was located in the very center of Konoha, facing the stone statues of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. As for Uchiha Nan's statue, it was still being carved!

This was meticulous work. As the first Hokage from the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Tomita was personally overseeing the statue's creation, which would likely take some time.

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

"From today on, I am Konoha's Third Hokage! The future of Konoha is in my hands!"

Following this declaration, there was a roar of cheers, with the Uchiha clan naturally shouting the loudest. The Hyuga clan also cheered heartily. The Senju clan, however, looked glum, managing only a perfunctory clap to show their respect for Uchiha Nan, the new Hokage.

The high-ranking members of each clan were all present. Uchiha Nan stood on the stage and noticed Mito Uzumaki's absence, likely because the injuries on her face hadn't healed yet.

The inauguration ceremony dragged on for the entire morning. By the afternoon, the first meeting after Uchiha Nan became Hokage was officially convened!

In the conference room, Uchiha Nan sat in the center. Uchiha Tomita sat to his left, and Toma Senju sat to his right. The other clans were seated according to their clan's strength.

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

Uchiha Nan decided to open the floor for discussion and first hear the opinions of these local powers in Konoha.

"Hokage-sama, let's set aside the matter of Konoha's reconstruction for now and discuss the debt issue."

Toma Senju's expression was stern, and he offered no smile to Uchiha Nan, maintaining a strictly business-like demeanor.

He pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, detailing Konoha's debts owed to the Senju clan. The amount for various strategic resources alone was 800 million ryo, more than double that of the Uchiha clan.

This wasn't all. There were also subsidies for the Senju clan members who died fighting for Konoha. 312 genin, 158 chūnin, and 48 jōnin had fallen.

According to Konoha's regulations, the compensation for a regular genin ranged from 300,000 to 500,000 ryo. For a chūnin, it increased to 800,000 to 1 million ryo. The lives of jōnin were exceptionally valuable, fetching 3 to 5 million ryo, with adjustments based on merit.

Even calculating at the lowest compensation standards, the payout would be nearly 300 million ryo. The Senju clan alone had incurred debts of 1.5 billion ryo for Konoha.

Tobirama Senju was the Hokage of Konoha. It was only natural for the Hokage's clan to contribute to Konoha, and the price paid was naturally the greatest. They had poured almost half of their fortune into it.

Konoha's finances were a complete mess, an eyesore. If Tobirama Senju were still Hokage, the Senju clan might have tolerated it. But now that Uchiha Nan was in charge, not a single cent of the Senju clan's money would be overlooked!

"That much?"

Uchiha Nan's head was spinning at the astronomical figure.

The starting fee for an elite jōnin to undertake an S-rank mission was 1 million ryo. This debt was equivalent to Uchiha Nan having to undertake extremely dangerous S-rank missions over a thousand times.

An astronomical sum!!!

Toma Senju produced a file bag containing various IOUs, all bearing Tobirama Senju's seal.

"Hokage-sama, if you don't believe me, you can verify the accounts!"

Uchiha Nan flipped through the IOUs, his brow furrowed.

"Hokage-sama, actually, Konoha's debt to the Hyuga also amounts to over 800 million ryo. The specific details are as follows..."

Hyuga Takuma, seated below, looked a bit embarrassed. Since Toma Senju had brought it up, he had to speak on behalf of the Hyuga. For the sake of the Hyuga's interests, Hyuga Takuma naturally had to stand up and voice their concerns. Friendship was friendship, but money was money!

Not a single cent could be missed!

With two of Konoha's top affluent families demanding repayment, the remaining ninja clans naturally wouldn't be so polite. They had initially intended to be hesitant and make their requests privately to Uchiha Nan.

Since that was the case, there was no need for pretense. After all, with the taller ones taking the lead, they wouldn't be blamed if Uchiha Nan got angry.

Uchiha Nan's eyeballs were starting to turn red. The total outstanding debts amounted to roughly 11 billion ryo, yet Konoha's finances were a disaster, entirely in deficit!

"Enough!"

"I will handle these accounts!"

Uchiha Nan gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at Toma Senju. On the very first day of the meeting, he had already caused such a massive problem for him.

Toma Senju kept his gaze neutral, his eyes fixed forward, not looking at Uchiha Nan at all. He was still contemplating how, as soon as the money arrived, he would immediately begin experiments on his father's Hashirama cells.

"Meeting adjourned!"

Uchiha Nan couldn't be bothered to argue with this bunch of greedy bastards and ended the meeting. His first meeting had ended in a sour note, dealing a huge blow to Uchiha Nan's ambitions.

Hokage's Office

Exhausted, Uchiha Nan slumped into his chair.

"What is to be done!"

"With so much money, how will I ever repay it!"

Standing by, Uchiha Tomita saw Uchiha Nan's dejected expression and quickly stood up to remind him:

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

"Right!!!"

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

He had to set off immediately!