3 Billion Taels, Gone in the Blink of an Eye

"Very well, very well. Clan Head Masaki Uchiha, you may go and rest now."

The Daimyo's mouth was stretched so wide it nearly reached his ears.

Masaki Uchiha withdrew with a melancholic expression on his face.

With the great hall now completely empty, the Daimyo no longer had to struggle to contain himself.

"Hahahaha!"

Peals of joyous laughter echoed endlessly.

Having just reunited with his clansmen, Masaki Uchiha heard the faint sound of the Daimyo's laughter drifting toward him and couldn't help but chuckle as well.

I am waiting for the right moment, but what are you waiting for?

At this thought, his smile grew even brighter.

His fellow clansmen were left completely baffled.

A few days later.

It was the same location.

And just as before, there were no idle bystanders present.

Only the atmosphere was noticeably different.

"Masaki-kun, I must say, when I first met you, your name sounded somewhat familiar."

"I never imagined you were the 'Scourge Ninja' renowned throughout the ninja world. No wonder you are such a man of talent."

The Daimyo's attitude had clearly shifted; he had even switched to calling him Masaki-kun and was now offering compliments.

It was much more intimate.

It was no joke—a ninja who struck terror into the ninja world was about to become one of his own.

Anyone would be too excited to sleep.

Well, everyone except Sarutobi Hiruzen and his lot.

"You flatter me, My Lord Daimyo."

"This subordinate merely has a modest reputation. Everything I do is for the Land of Fire."

Masaki Uchiha remained as respectful as he had been at the start.

Hmm. Not bad. His mindset is quite correct.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was now very satisfied with Masaki Uchiha's attitude; he was truly different from the Uchiha of legend.

There was no arrogance or overbearing pride.

He would make a fine 'blade' to wield in the future.

"Masaki-kun, after a few days of reflection, have you changed your mind?"

Masaki Uchiha said with a grave expression, "This subordinate's thoughts have never wavered. I only wish to serve the Daimyo and contribute to the Land of Fire. Beyond that, I have no other intentions."

"Good. Then I have decided to accept the allegiance of the Uchiha Clan."

As soon as the Daimyo finished speaking, Masaki Uchiha appeared unable to contain himself, his expression filled with excitement.

Seeing this, the Daimyo felt even more satisfied.

Young people are just young people.

A little bit of favor and they get this worked up.

Lacking composure.

But youth is good; youth is easy to control.

"My Lord Daimyo, this subordinate has a presumptuous request, and I hope you will grant it."

"Oh? What is it? Let me hear it."

Masaki Uchiha took a small booklet from his robes and handed it to the Daimyo with an embarrassed look.

"This is the financial statement of the Uchiha Clan. I beg the Daimyo to help the Uchiha."

Masaki Uchiha's voice was filled with urgency and helplessness. After speaking, he bowed deeply to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

The Daimyo took the booklet and flipped it open, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

The booklet clearly recorded the current financial state of the Uchiha Clan; at a single glance, the pages were filled with nothing but red ink.

No wonder they want to pledge allegiance to me. They're nearly bankrupt.

The Daimyo rubbed his forehead. "Masaki-kun, the financial hole the Uchiha Clan is in is quite large."

Masaki Uchiha quickly interjected, "Yes, My Lord Daimyo. Because of the Third Great Ninja War, the clan's expenditures have been too high, and now we can barely keep it together."

"I have only just taken over as Clan Head and intended to make a great impact, but I never expected..." The grief and indignation in his voice were enough to pierce anyone's heart.

Clearly, the Daimyo understood that feeling all too well.

When the Daimyo of the Land of Fire first ascended to the throne, he had intended to make a grand splash, only to discover there was nothing for him to do.

All foreign wars were commanded by Konoha, leaving the Daimyo with nothing to do but provide the funding.

He was so depressed at the time, wondering who the real Daimyo was.

Without military power in his hands, he didn't even dare to speak too loudly.

Even Danzo dared to snap at him a couple of times.

It seemed the reason the Uchiha Clan was seeking his patronage was simply because they were out of money.

But that was fine; money was something this Daimyo had in abundance.

He could afford to support a mere Uchiha.

"Within a week, I will give you the money to pay off your debts. You know what to do from here on out."

After saying this, the Daimyo even gave Masaki Uchiha a wink.

Suppressing his nausea, Masaki Uchiha maintained an expression of excitement on his face. "Many thanks, Lord Daimyo! This subordinate will never forget your grace!"

Still, to hand over 3 billion ryo to fill a hole without a second thought—the Daimyo was truly wealthy.

He had been afraid that asking for too much would scare the Daimyo, but he hadn't expected the man to cough up the money with a mere blink.

If he had known, he would have asked for more.

What a miscalculation!

However, since the Daimyo was so generous, he would let the man have a dignified exit later on.

It would be a way to honor their relationship.

Some might say this is ungrateful.

But let me give you two examples, and you will understand.

[Landlord Purge]

[Germany in WWII]

I cannot say much more.

One must realize that the vast majority of the wealth held by the "aristocratic" class is extracted from the common people.

Masaki Uchiha was simply trying to extract this money from them as early as possible.

In the future, this money would be taken from the people and used for the people.

As a member raised under the red flag, overthrowing all feudal and slave-owning ideologies was only right and proper.

"However, could I trouble Lord Daimyo to find a path to wealth for my Uchiha Clan?"

"We cannot always rely on your relief to get by."

Masaki Uchiha put on an appearance of thinking for the Daimyo's sake, which made the Daimyo of the Land of Fire burst into laughter.

"You brat, you are truly greedy, just like me. I like it!"

"From now on, your Uchiha Clan will eat at my table. I guarantee you'll have all the women and money you could ever want!"

"But, you must never be like Hashirama Senju, otherwise, there will be no place for you in the ninja world."

The last sentence sounded like a reminder, yet also like a warning.

What was Hashirama Senju like?

He established the one-country, one-village system of the ninja world. (Key point)

He distributed the Tailed Beasts to deter other nations, preventing them from easily starting wars.

Unfortunately, the moment he died, war broke out.

The meaning of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was clear: do not imitate Hashirama Senju, which meant imitating Uchiha Madara.

Madara's plan was to unify the ninja world, only to be stopped by Hashirama Senju.

Therefore, the Daimyo's current thinking was the same as Madara's, and his previous words had implicitly expressed his dissatisfaction with the one-country, one-village system.

"Please rest assured, Lord Daimyo. My Uchiha Clan will surely serve the Land of Fire with total devotion until our dying breath!"

Masaki Uchiha patted his chest, giving his word to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

"Good. Go find the Grand Minister later, take my token, and tell him it's my order. Let him pick a business for you."

As the Daimyo of the Land of Fire spoke, he took out a thumb ring and tossed it to Masaki Uchiha.

"Many thanks, Lord Daimyo."

Snatching the ring, Masaki Uchiha hurriedly stood up to express his gratitude.

"That's enough. Go find the Grand Minister first. We'll discuss other matters when I summon you again."

"Yes, this subordinate takes his leave." Masaki Uchiha immediately rose to depart, keeping his head low and facing the Daimyo, backing away step by step until he reached the door before turning to leave.

Seeing this, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

Still as respectful as ever.

But he would still need to test him from time to time in the future.

Occasional beatings were necessary to ensure he didn't get any ideas of his own.