Bank Run

By the time the Daimyo arrived, the bank's doors had already been smashed in. The guards' faces were red with exertion, and the wall of people they had formed was bowing inward under the pressure.

He swallowed. Since taking charge of the Land of Lightning, he had never seen anything like this. If they were attacking—

He hurriedly banished the dangerous thought from his mind. At first, he had thought the bank manager had mishandled things, but it seemed the situation was not so simple.

"The Daimyo has arrived!"

The attendant's loud announcement made the frenzied crowd seem to find someone to rely on. One after another, they knelt before him.

"Sir, you're finally here! That heartless scoundrel has stolen all our money!"

"Sir, all my savings are in there. If they're gone, there'll be no point in living!"

"Sir, you have to give us justice!"

"Sir!"

"..."

The Daimyo looked at the crowd kneeling not far away, then at the several Guardian Ninja beside him. He did not feel particularly safe.

These people were not poor folk from the lower classes. After all, how could they afford to deposit money in a bank? Most of the depositors were Chunin or higher-ranking ninja, along with merchants who ran sizable businesses.

For one thing, he recognized several of the ninja kneeling before him. If he mishandled this and they were driven to desperate measures, they would pose a grave danger to him and the Land of Lightning alike.

"Don't worry. I'll give you a satisfactory answer."

The Daimyo first tried to calm them down, then entered the bank.

"You're finally here."

The bank manager came hurrying over, wiping sweat from his brow.

As the head of the national bank, he was naturally no stranger. The fat, jowly man was actually the Daimyo's cousin, as well as one of his trusted aides.

"What happened? Why haven't you paid them when they want to withdraw their money?"

With guards nearby, he still gave his relative some consideration.

"My lord, it's not that I don't want to. It's just... the bank really has no money left!"

"Nonsense! How could the bank—"

The Daimyo began to protest, but then seemed to remember something. He looked at the manager, whose eyes darted away.

This really wasn't the manager's fault. The Daimyo had ordered him to allocate funds to Kumogakure, and the manager had even warned him that doing so would leave the bank's reserves depleted. But the Daimyo had been in a difficult position too!

The Cloud Ninja hadn't spent these past few years merely seizing treasures and secret techniques. They had also propped up friendly regimes and assassinated officials in other countries who were hostile to the Land of Lightning. They had done plenty of the things the Stone Ninja did in secret, too; they were simply clumsy at covering their tracks and kept getting exposed.

It was easy to imagine what would happen if Kumogakure fell into decline. The countries it had offended over the years would take their revenge in full.

So when the Raikage told him that the hostages could be ransomed for supplies and currency worth a total of 1.2 billion, his heart stopped. He cursed and raged, smashed his beloved amber coral to pieces, and beat his concubine half to death.

In the end, after just one night, he gritted his teeth and agreed.

Another assassin had appeared in the Daimyo's Mansion, making him realize just how many people wanted him dead.

It also made him understand how important a powerful Kumogakure was to him.

Of those supplies worth 1.2 billion, the Land of Lightning was paying for ten billion. After all, Kumogakure's yearly income was only twenty or thirty million after expenses, so it could hardly shoulder such an enormous cost.

After a long silence, the Daimyo asked with difficulty, "How much money does the bank still have?"

"L-less than a hundred million."

"How much is left in the inner treasury?"

An attendant stepped forward and answered quietly, "There's about two hundred million in the treasury, but most of it is food, swords, and spears. It would take time to sell."

"How much do the people wanting to withdraw their money need?"

"Roughly... seven hundred million."

The Daimyo's vision went black. Never had he hated his people's wealth so much.

There was so much money that even borrowing from other countries would not cover the shortfall. And with the Land of Lightning's reputation, it was far from certain that they could find a country willing to lend them anything.

He even wondered: if he told the people outside the truth, would he be able to make it back home?

Just then, a commotion arose behind him. He shuddered, thinking the people outside had lost patience and forced their way in.

"My lord!"

At the sound of the voice, the Daimyo turned and saw who it was. Only then did he relax. His expression softened, and he let the guards admit the visitor. "Daigo, what brings you here?"

Shikano Daigo dropped to his knees and cried out anxiously, "My lord, the Shikano family's businesses urgently need cash flow, but our money is stuck in the bank and we can't withdraw it. Please order them to return our funds first!"

Daigo saw the bank manager's displeased expression. He did not want to offend the man, but the family had deposited a great deal of money in the bank for its businesses, and they could not afford to wait any longer. He had no choice but to come and ask, despite his misgivings.

The Daimyo looked awkwardly at his trusted aide. "Well, um... first of all, this isn't a simple problem. It's complicated and full of contradictions, and it deserves careful thought. How about you go home for now? The manager and I will discuss it and get back to you as soon as possible."

In the past, he could have drawn on the inner treasury, but now he did not dare touch its funds so freely either.

"...Yes."

Daigo had served beside the Daimyo for many years, and he understood more or less what the man meant as soon as he spoke. He forced a smile and left, but once he was outside, he could no longer hide his grim expression.

Many people at the entrance knew Daigo had gone in to ask for money. Some families had even sent people to keep an eye on the situation. When they saw that even Daigo had failed to get his money, everyone knew something terrible had happened.

The Land of Lightning was out of money.

"Something's wrong. Why did they all suddenly come to withdraw their money?!"

After finally calming the crowd and returning to the Daimyo's Mansion, the Daimyo suddenly realized how suspicious the situation was. He hurriedly ordered his attendants to find out from those who had withdrawn their money that day what had happened.

About half an hour later, one of them returned and reported to the Daimyo.

Before he had even finished listening, the Daimyo angrily snatched up a vase and smashed it hard against the floor. His face twisted with fury as he roared:

"Damn the Land of Fire!"

"Go! Connect me to the Raikage!"

The old-fashioned, boxy Display Screen had a coarse, grainy texture. It was the most advanced communication device in the Ninja World at the moment. Hoshino Maki had originally thought the technology was being developed, but A had vetoed it.

"Raikage, merchants from the Land of Fire have been collectively dumping goods in the Land of Lightning and spreading rumors about the bank, pushing it to the brink of collapse. Did you know about this?"

The burly Third Raikage on the screen shook his head. "I'm sorry. I've been dealing with village affairs these past few days and haven't been following events outside."

As he spoke, the Iron Pagoda of a man wore a look of undisguised exhaustion.

Orochimaru had killed Fukai and released the Eight-Tails. Somehow, word had spread through Kumogakure, causing an uproar.

The Eight-Tails Incident could be called the worst destruction a Tailed Beast had ever inflicted on a village in the history of the Ninja World.

Even the Nine-Tails' two attacks on Konoha in the original history had not caused as much damage as this.

During the first attack, Uchiha Madara had brought the Nine-Tails to assault Konoha, but his main target was Hashirama Senju, not the village. Hashirama had willingly led him outside the village, where they fought and created the Valley of the End. During the second attack, the Yellow Flash had used Flying Thunder God to teleport the Nine-Tails away halfway through. Neither attack had dealt a devastating blow to the village.

The Eight-Tails was different. Orochimaru had broken its seal right in Kumogakure. No one in the village knew Space-Time Ninjutsu, so Kumogakure itself had become the battlefield. Countless people had died or been injured.

An untold number of people had lost loved ones because of the incident. Many of those who had survived had since become the village's backbone or even its strongest fighters. How could they not demand answers for their friends and family now that they had heard the news?

The rumor was especially convincing because it was so detailed. It even knew that Orochimaru had murdered a doctor, impersonated him, and drugged the Jinchuriki. That made the story seem all the more credible.

Of course, with the Cloud Ninja, how credible a story was did not really matter. What mattered was that if they suspected you, you had to answer for it.

But this time, it was Konoha...

The Raikage was not impulsive. Instinct told him something was fishy, but he had no time to investigate. The villagers were furious and demanded that Orochimaru come and stand trial. Faced with the wrath of the entire village, he truly could not refuse.

But anyone could see that it was impossible. No matter how much the Dove Faction, led by Sarutobi, favored peace, they would never send his disciple to Kumogakure. That would not merely be a slap in Konoha's face—it would be like grinding that face into the dirt!

So he wanted to stall for time, wait for the villagers' anger to cool, and get to the bottom of things before deciding whether to fight. But he needed the Daimyo's support, because Kumogakure was out of money again.

Though the Land of Lightning was paying the largest share of the compensation, the village had paid a great deal too. Its finances were stretched thin, and without the Daimyo's support, the coming winter would be very difficult.

The Land of Lightning was especially cold because it was so mountainous. Some places started getting snow as early as August or September, and they relied heavily on outside supplies. Kumogakure had already struggled to cope in the past. Now that it had paid out a huge sum, it could only depend on the Daimyo's help.

After the Raikage had explained the situation, the Daimyo's expression shifted between dark and grim. "I'll give you an answer in an hour."

One hour passed.

Then two.

Just as the Raikage was about to call again, the Display Screen lit up. The Daimyo's expression was solemn and resolute. "We have supplies, but prepare for war!"