Rob the Rich to Aid the Poor

From the very beginning, Natsume established the power structure for the entire Flame Hidden Village.

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

All ninjas within the village were to be dispatched and assigned by him. He would never allow anyone else to lay a finger on military power!

Under this foundation, however.

Natsume was quite liberal with all other civil rights, delegating them to others.

He even generously relinquished the village's financial control and allocation rights.

After all, building a village involves far too many facets.

The daily financial income, expenditures, and allocations alone were enough to cause a massive headache.

Natsume did not have the energy to account for every single cent.

He only needed to set the general direction and keep a firm grasp on the limits of fiscal spending.

Therefore, even though he had "borrowed" a total of 148 million ryo from the vaults of Konoha and Rock Hidden Village.

He did not spend the money recklessly.

Instead, he deposited this massive sum into the Flame Hidden Village Vault.

He left it to the clan elders responsible for coordinating the new village's construction to manage and distribute the funds for development.

At the same time, Natsume dispatched Uchiha Toh from his personal guard.

To act in his stead.

He was responsible for supervising and auditing the usage of this large sum of money.

He would not give anyone the opportunity to embezzle funds.

Of course, the overall strategy.

Remained the "work-for-relief" model.

Through a series of operations such as "designating projects, recruiting workers, building facilities, and issuing wages."

He aimed to help build the village, create jobs, and provide subsidies to the clansmen.

Natsume would naturally never use the foolish method of simply handing out money, which would only kill the motivation to work and stifle the village's economy.

All in all, looking at the bustling, enthusiastic atmosphere in the village over the past few days, the results seemed quite good.

Natsume took the weekly financial report handed to him by Toh.

He browsed through it briefly.

As it turned out, he was shocked by what he saw.

The financial expenditure for just this one week reached a staggering 3.5 million ryo!

It far exceeded Natsume's expectations; it was truly alarming!

However, upon closer inspection.

Every expenditure on the report was orderly and legitimate, with no false reporting.

One had to realize that the village currently had over 400 people.

Excluding the elderly, women, and children, the remaining hundred-plus able-bodied adults were all participating in the infrastructure construction, including the dozens of ninjas.

On average, one person working had to support four others!

The village provided daily wages for them, ranging from 200 to 400 ryo per person per day.

Taking an average of 300 ryo.

130 people working for 7 days required a payout of 273,000 ryo.

Add to that the construction of shops, roads, the Orphanage, the Medical Clinic, the Bathhouse, schools, and so on...

The stone, glass, equipment, and other materials that needed to be purchased...

As well as all the daily necessities like pots, pans, firewood, rice, oil, and salt...

When everything was added up.

Spending only 3.5 million ryo in a week was really not much!

This was even after the clan elders had been meticulously calculating and barely managing to save on expenses.

But at this rate.

His own financial reserve of 148 million ryo would only last for 42 weeks, not even ten months...

Moreover, as the village continued to expand, improve, and grow in population in the future...

Expenditures will only continue to expand.

At this rate, it will be difficult to sustain things for even half a year!

This is far shorter than what Natsume had originally predicted...

It further proves that maintaining and developing a village is no simple task.

Military might is merely the first layer of security.

Without a sufficient economic foundation, it is impossible to sustain!

This is precisely why.

Even a power as formidable as the Hidden Leaf Village has to act subserviently toward the Land of Fire, to the point where even inheriting the position of Hokage requires the approval of the Daimyo.

After all, they hold your economic lifeline in their hands!

Relying solely on the ninjas of a single village is simply not enough to support the entire population!

Looking at this long, exhaustive list of bills, Natsume felt a massive headache coming on.

Thinking back to those Hokage novels he often read in his past life, where the protagonists would get a burst of inspiration, clap their hands together, and build a hidden village out of thin air.

That is absolute nonsense!

Here he was, possessing every advantage of timing, geography, and human support.

Yet, even building a small hidden village had him walking on eggshells, as if treading on thin ice!

It truly holds true: "Conquering the world is easy, but governing it is hard!"

In any case, he could not continue to sit idly by and watch their resources dwindle.

Even if the Vault could hold out for another six months, he had to open up his own revenue streams as soon as possible.

Without sufficient economic income, it is impossible to build a prosperous village!

"Alright. I understand!"

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

"Toh, convey my message to them. Tell them to keep it up!"

"Furthermore, do not be overly stingy with fiscal expenditures; even if the costs are higher, it is of no concern."

"Everything must prioritize the construction of the village above all else!"

"After all, from this day forward, this is our new home! There is no reason to be stingy when building one's own home."

"Understood! I will certainly relay that!"

Uchiha Gin's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.

"That's right! Uncle Toh, you should suggest that the elders plan the Bathhouse and such to be a bit larger."

"It would be best to have a mixed-gender bath; that would be truly comfortable!"

Uchiha Gin, standing to the side, took the opportunity to incite him.

"Pah! You brat, what are you talking about?"

"Is it you who wants a mixed bath?"

Toh gave the brat a sharp knock on the head and scolded him with a laugh.

Afterward, he composed himself.

Finally, he asked Natsume:

"However, Young Clan Leader, spending money so lavishly is not a sustainable solution."

"These funds will eventually be exhausted..."

"What should we do next?"

Natsume: "Do not worry. I will find a way to handle that aspect."

Uchiha Gin: "Could it be, Young Clan Leader, that you are planning to strike at that village again? Are you preparing to raid their Vault?"

"Smack—"

Gin received another sharp knock from Natsume.

"Nonsense! That is not called raiding; that is 'robbing the rich to help the poor'!"

Natsume corrected him with a straight face.

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin's eyes brightened in sudden realization.

At the same time, he seemed eager to experience the thrill of this "robbing the rich to help the poor" for himself.

"But constantly 'robbing the rich to help the poor' is not a long-term strategy! A village that has been raided once will inevitably strengthen its defenses."

"I fear that next time, it will not be so easy to succeed!"

Natsume nodded in approval:

"Toh is right."

"Therefore, pure 'robbing the rich to help the poor' is not sustainable."

"We must open up our own revenue channels and form a virtuous cycle to achieve the goal of enriching and strengthening the village."

"But we are all rogue ninjas now; major nations won't let us accept missions to earn payment. How are we supposed to make money?"

Uchiha Gin asked with a troubled expression.

In fact, this was precisely the reason why.

After ninjas defected from their respective villages, they generally lived very difficult lives...

Even an outstanding ninja like the 'Mist Demon' Zabuza.

Had to rely on frequently accepting missions to accumulate silver.

"Rest assured, I already have a target."

"Young Clan Head, what is the target?"

"Naturally, it is the [Land of Waves]..."

Natsume smiled gently, revealing his 'fangs' that thirsted for wealth like blood.