Robbing the Rich to Help the Poor

From the very beginning, Natsume had established the balance of power in the entire Flame Hidden Village.

Supreme authority, judicial power, and military command all belonged to him.

He assigned and deployed every ninja in the village. He would never allow anyone else to meddle with military command!

With that as the foundation,

Natsume had given others considerable freedom over all other matters concerning people's livelihoods, leaving them in other hands.

He had even handed over control and allocation of the village's finances.

He had done so generously.

After all, building a village involved far too many different aspects.

Just keeping track of daily income, expenses, and allocations was enough to give anyone a headache.

Natsume had no desire to pore over the books himself.

He only needed to set the general direction and keep spending within reasonable limits.

So even though he had "borrowed" a total of 148 million ryo from the vaults of Konoha and Iwagakure,

he hadn't gone around throwing money at everything.

Instead, he had deposited the entire sum into the Flame Hidden Village vault.

The clan elders overseeing the new village's construction would manage and distribute the funds to help build it.

Meanwhile, Natsume had also

assigned Uchiha Toh from his personal guard.

To act in his place.

To monitor and keep track of how the huge sum was being spent.

He wouldn't give anyone the chance to embezzle funds.

Of course, the overall strategy

was still to "provide relief through work."

Through a series of steps—"designating projects, recruiting workers, building facilities, and paying wages"—

they would help build the village, create jobs, and support the clan.

Natsume would never use the foolish approach of simply handing out money and stimulating the village economy by killing people's motivation to work.

Overall, judging by how lively the village had been these past few days, the results seemed pretty good.

Natsume took the weekly financial report Toh handed him.

He skimmed through it.

He hadn't realized how bad it was until he looked. The figures were startling.

The village had spent a staggering 3.5 million ryo in just one week!

That was far beyond what Natsume had expected.

But when he examined the report closely,

every expense was accounted for and orderly. Nothing had been fabricated.

The village had a little over 400 people in total.

Aside from the elderly, children, and women, more than a hundred able-bodied adults had all taken part in basic construction work. Even the dozens of ninjas were among them.

On average, every worker had to support four people!

The village paid their wages each day, ranging from 200 to 400 ryo per person.

At an average of 300 ryo,

130 people working for seven days meant 273,000 ryo in wages.

And that was before the costs of building shops, roads, an Orphanage, a Medical Clinic, bathhouses, schools, and more...

They also had to buy stone, glass, equipment, and other supplies.

Then there were the necessities for everyday life: pots, bowls, firewood, rice, oil, and so on.

All in all,

spending only 3.5 million ryo in a week was actually quite reasonable!

That was after the clan elders had carefully watched every penny and barely managed to keep expenses down.

But at this rate,

their full reserve of 148 million ryo would last only 42 weeks—not even ten months...

And as the village expanded, improved, and gained more residents,

its expenses would only keep growing.

By then, the money might not even last half a year!

That was far less time than Natsume had originally predicted...

It was further proof that maintaining and developing a village was no simple task.

Military strength was only the first line of defense.

Without a strong enough economy, it was impossible to keep a village running!

That was why

even the mighty Hidden Leaf Village had to bow and scrape to the Land of Fire. It even needed the Daimyo's approval before someone could inherit the title of Hokage...

After all, the Daimyo held its economic lifeline!

A village's ninjas alone couldn't support the entire village!

Looking at the long string of figures, Natsume felt a headache coming on.

Thinking back, in all those Naruto novels he'd read in his previous life, the protagonists would get a sudden idea, clap their hands, and build a hidden village out of thin air.

That was complete bullshit!

Here, he had every advantage imaginable.

Yet even building a small hidden village had him walking on eggshells!

As the saying went, "Winning a kingdom is easy; holding on to it is hard!"

In any case, they couldn't keep living off their savings.

Even if the vault could last another six months, they had to find a way to generate income as soon as possible.

Without a steady source of income, they couldn't build a thriving village!

"Good. I understand!"

"The Second Elder and the others have done a fine job."

"Toh, pass on my thanks. Tell them to keep it up!"

"Also, they don't need to be too frugal with the budget. Even if we spend more, that's fine."

"Building the village properly is our top priority!"

"After all, from now on, this is our new home! Why pinch pennies when we're building our own home?"

"Understood! I'll be sure to pass that on!"

Uchiha Toh's face brightened, and he immediately agreed.

"That's right, Uncle Toh. Why not suggest that the elders make the bathhouse a little bigger?"

"Better yet, add a mixed-gender bath. Now that would be relaxing!"

Uchiha Gin took the opportunity to egg him on.

"Pah! What are you talking about, you little brat?"

"Isn't it you who wants a mixed-gender bath?"

Toh gave the stinky brat a playful rap on the head, scolding him with a laugh.

Then he composed himself.

At last, he turned to Natsume and asked:

"Still, Young Clan Head, we can't keep spending so freely forever."

"This money will run out eventually..."

"What should we do next?"

Natsume said, "Don't worry. I'll find a way."

Uchiha Gin asked, "Are you planning to target another village, Young Clan Head? Are you going to loot their vault?"

"Whack—"

Gin got another rap on the head from Natsume.

"Don't talk nonsense! It's not looting. It's 'robbing the rich to help the poor'!"

Natsume corrected him with a perfectly straight face.

Hearing that, Uchiha Gin's eyes lit up. He suddenly understood.

He seemed eager to experience the thrill of "robbing the rich to help the poor" himself.

"But 'robbing the rich to help the poor' can't be a long-term plan! Any village we've robbed once will surely strengthen its defenses."

"Next time, it won't be so easy to pull off!"

Natsume nodded approvingly.

"Toh is right."

"Purely 'robbing the rich to help the poor' isn't sustainable."

"We have to develop our own source of income and create a virtuous cycle if we want to make the village prosperous."

"But we're all rogue ninjas now. The major nations won't let us take ordinary missions and earn a reward. How are we supposed to make money?"

Uchiha Gin asked with a troubled expression.

In fact, that was exactly why

most ninjas had a hard time after defecting from their villages...

Even an outstanding ninja like Zabuza, the Mist Demon,

had to rely on taking mission after mission to save up ryo.

"Don't worry. I already have a target in mind."

"What target, Young Clan Head?"

"Of course, the Land of Waves..."

Natsume smiled warmly, baring fangs as sharp as a vampire's.