This Punch Will Hurt the Ninja Clan.

Over these past few days, Orochimaru had been busy cooking the books, siphoning funds from the Konoha accounts into his own private laboratory.

It was quite pathetic, really.

To avoid detection, he only skimmed 300,000 ryo at a time—the equivalent of a single B-rank mission.

If only he were the Hokage; he could swipe five million ryo in one go and no one would dare audit him.

Orochimaru had been poor for so long that his dream was simply to have ten million ryo a month to fund his experiments.

The entire office was filled with military commanders, not civil administrators.

As it stood, the primary source of Konoha's wealth, excluding the Daimyo's subsidies, was still the infrastructure established back when Tobirama was alive.

One couldn't say Konoha's economy hadn't progressed over the years, but compared to the Tobirama era, the growth was hardly noticeable.

"If war breaks out again, Konoha will likely..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi held a pessimistic view of the war's trajectory; the Konoha treasury had already bottomed out, and they had even taken out a loan.

"You should have demanded reparations when Sunagakure surrendered." Danzo, as usual, opened fire on Hiruzen. This damn monkey hadn't asked for a single cent in compensation, only insisting on an alliance with Sunagakure, making it look as if they were the ones who had lost the war.

Hiruzen shot him a look of annoyance. You dare bring that up? If not for you getting defeated at Kikyo Pass, causing the Daimyo's dissatisfaction—if not for you throwing lives into the meat grinder and burning through supplies to drag things out—how could Konoha be this broke?

"Hmph." Danzo knew he was in the wrong, so he only took a small jab at Hiruzen.

That was merely a minor interlude.

The focus remained on how to make money.

If they had any ideas for generating revenue, they would have discussed them long ago, but the truth was, they had nothing.

The only thing they could think of was increasing the commission cut from the village ninjas' mission earnings.

But they had already raised the standard 12% commission to 53% for wartime.

The remaining 47% split between the jonin team leader and the three squad members was already a pittance.

To cut any more... it would be disastrous.

For a moment, the jonin conference room was thick with the smell of Hiruzen's pipe smoke.

Actually, Zhengyi had a solution, but it was a move he was hesitant to play.

Encouraging production or urging villagers to go out and trade—these were things that would take too long to bear fruit.

So...

"Do you have an idea?" Orochimaru noticed his student's hesitation.

"Um... yes." Zhengyi responded, though his voice lacked conviction.

"Heh, Teacher, it seems Zhengyi has a way." Orochimaru felt this was what legacy was all about.

Just as his teacher had once believed in him, he now believed in Zhengyi.

And just like that, Zhengyi was pushed out into the spotlight by Orochimaru.

The gazes of the high-ranking officials and jonin in the room were filled with scrutiny; they were curious to see what kind of idea Zhengyi could propose.

Zhengyi felt this method was a double-edged sword.

Either a hundred years from now his coffin would be dug up and whipped, or a hundred years from now he would be worshipped as a "Sun."

"Speak. If you truly have an idea, you could save the village from this crisis." Hiruzen gave a bitter smile; he didn't believe Zhengyi could offer anything substantial.

Since the village treasury was in the red, he had no choice but to propose it.

"Third Hokage, I propose that after the mission commission is split, every ninja contributes an additional 15% as a tax."

The jonin present: "?"

"Cough, cough. Nonsense." Hiruzen nearly choked on his smoke.

They were already taking 53%; to take another 15% from the individual's share—Hiruzen felt he still had a reputation to maintain.

If looks could kill, Zhengyi would have been reduced to a bloody mist by the jonin in the room.

"Listen to me first."

Amidst the gnashing of teeth, Zhengyi proposed a pension system.

Ninjas had no pension in their old age; if they had no money, they could only starve or struggle to take on missions well into their sixties.

Zhengyi's idea was that everyone would contribute 15% of their personal income while young, and when they grew old, the village would provide a pension based on their contributions—covering things like medical bills or children's schooling—along with a monthly stipend.

Why did Zhengyi think people might whip his grave in the future?

Because Konoha also had civil servants. They worked in offices, didn't take missions, and lived off the village's payroll. They didn't pay this tax, yet they would still receive a pension when they grew old.

And then there was the Anbu, who operated under a similar principle.

Civil servants and the Anbu held higher status than ordinary ninjas, so naturally, they would receive the largest pensions.

The money in the pool would be earned through the blood and sweat of young Konoha ninjas, but in the end, the civil servants and Anbu would take the lion's share.

A hundred years from now, it would be a miracle if the Konoha ninjas didn't dig up his grave.

"This..." None of the jonin could foresee the consequences a hundred years down the line; they were only thinking about the security of their twilight years.

If given the choice, who would want to keep taking missions at seventy or eighty years old?

It is better to endure more hardship when young and take on a couple extra missions; wouldn't that allow one to enjoy life in old age?

"Good!" Orochimaru was the first to clap in approval. The more money in Konoha's accounts, the more funding he had for his experiments; he had no reason to refuse.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi and several advisors carefully weighed the proposal, they realized... hmm? It was indeed feasible. Ninjas retired at sixty, but to speak bluntly, given the average life expectancy in the ninja world, how many years of pension would a Konoha ninja actually collect?

This calculation was definitely not a loss.

"Very well." Hiruzen Sarutobi also gave a polite round of applause.

But...

It was not enough.

This amount of money was still not enough.

A 15% personal income tax seemed significant when compared to the usual 12% commission, and the accumulation over time would be terrifying. However, during wartime, the village was already taking 53%, so when calculated this way, it wasn't actually that much.

"Hiruzen, I believe this policy could be expanded to the entire village, not just limited to the ninja profession," Utatane Koharu suggested.

Hashirama had been benevolent back in the day, firmly believing that the tall should shield the short from the wind and rain. Consequently, taxes for Konoha villagers were practically non-existent, amounting to little more than rent and utilities, which was why the cost of living in Konoha was so low.

Upon hearing what Utatane Koharu said, Zhengyi hurriedly distanced himself. This was her suggestion, it had nothing to do with him; he had spoken of ninjas, while she was talking about everyone.

The ninja clans present looked as if their parents had just died.

The Nara Clan controlled the raw materials for the medicine used in the Konoha Hospital, so one could imagine their profits this year. Now, they were actually expected to hand over 15% in personal income tax?!

How was this any different from carving flesh from their bodies?

However, after a few hushed whispers among the Nara Clan members, they found a way to cope.

It was simple! Not troublesome at all.

They only needed to raise the prices when selling their materials to offset the losses, and they could still collect a pension for free when they grew old.

While the other ninja clans were panicking, the Nara Clan was already happily dreaming about their retirement life.

However, the next words Zhengyi jumped out with nearly shocked them to death.

This punch would cause the ninja clans great pain:

"Konoha is currently in a state of war, so this period should be treated with special measures. Lord Third should dispatch the Anbu to audit shops under individual names, investigate their income, and redefine the tax rates for these people based on their earnings; the higher the income, the higher the tax."