The Barbaric Village

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye, and it is now the sixtieth year of Konoha. Under the leadership of the Grand Elder and the Second Elder, the entire Land of Fire has begun to flourish.

When Qingcheng abolished the poll tax and replaced it with commercial taxes, property fees, garbage management fees, and other taxes, the taxes of the Land of Fire were basically contributed by the city's residents. They contributed a small portion, but the Land of Fire had a population of 130 million. Even this small portion, when added together, amounted to a staggering 50 billion Silver Coin.

And all this money, from the high-ranking officials of the Land of Fire, would be sent to Konoha intact, giving the already wealthy Konoha another chance to amass a fortune.

Inside the Hokage Building, Uchiha Kun, along with his Kun's Squad students, arrived at the Mission Department to receive missions. Looking at the crowded scene, they saw that everyone there was a mission-taking ninja.

There was also a group of Genin there, cheering on their instructor.

Three genin wearing Konoha Forehead Protector shouted at Genin jonin leading the queue from within the line:

"No matter how fast the teacher moves, it'll be our turn soon. The S-rank Mission is beckoning us. Come on, don't give up! We, Class 375, are definitely not clowns!"

Seeing this explosive scene, Uchiha Sasuke's heart sank again. His face filled with panic, he complained:

"The mission lobby is too crowded. If this continues, I don't think I'll be able to get any missions by tomorrow morning. Maybe I should just switch to A-rank Mission."

Naruto, his face also darkening, looked at the S-rank Mission in the mission hall where everyone was scrambling for them and said in astonishment, "Teacher Kun, they're all crazy! They seem even more obsessed than my Uncle Prison. Did they eat Uchiha Clan- brand Soldier Pills?"

Nawaki stared wide-eyed, looking around at the S-rank Mission team, which numbered at least three hundred. He sighed heavily and exclaimed, "Oh dear!"

Taking a deep breath, Nawaki shouted:

"Could you please give me some face? My grandfather was Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of Konoha; my great-grandfather was Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage of Konoha; my cousin's husband was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha; and my brother's husband was Uchiha Qingcheng, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, and also the First Blaze Emperor of the Land of Fire."

Uchiha Kun heard Nawaki shouting, and nobody paid him any attention. But when Nawaki shouted, "My brother-in-law is the Fifth Hokage," all the teachers in charge made way for him.

Some of the teachers leading the group, upon hearing the name of the Fifth Hokage, all showed respect and shouted:

"So it's the Fifth Hokage's brother-in-law. Make way for him, let the Hokage's brother-in-law go first. Anyone who blocks his way is disrespecting the Hokage's brother-in-law."

Uchiha Kun looked at the window for accepting S-rank Mission, and immediately stepped aside to make way for him. Some of the instructors leading the teams nodded to him, indicating that he should pass.

Uchiha Kun smiled slightly, raised his right hand and waved to everyone, saying gratefully:

"I am the Third Elder of the Uchiha Clan. I am truly grateful to everyone. If you ever need anything in the future, I, Uchiha Kun, will definitely help you. Thank you all."

Nawaki laughed heartily, waved to everyone, and shouted happily, "Hello, teachers! Thank you so much for your help this time. This is our first time doing S-rank Mission, so what should we pay attention to?"

An Elite Jonin wearing glasses said with a serious expression:

"When doing S-rank Mission, just don't overexert yourself. If the situation is uncertain, bring the employer back to Konoha directly. Don't die on the way, or you'll lose points on your assessment."

Another Elite Jonin slicked-back hair and a powdered face laughed heartily and said with a steady expression:

"The lives of those employers are secondary. If they don't obey, you can just take action and beat them up on the way. They'll behave then. Then drag them back to Konoha, pay them more, and turn S-rank Mission into SS-rank Mission. That's the essence of a mission ninja."

Uchiha Kun walked to the windowsill, a slight smile on his face, and said to the mission ninja, "We are Team 7, here for the S-mission. I wonder what other missions are currently scheduled?"

The ninja from the Mission Department, a member of the Nara Clan, produced a letter of introduction and said with a smile:

"There's a bridge-building mission in the Land of Waves. Along the way, there are some wandering ninjas, and a local yakuza organization. The mission is to eliminate that organization and bring all their stock to Konoha."

Uchiha Kun extended both hands and accepted the letter of introduction. His eyebrows slightly raised, and he said with a smile, "Okay, we understand. We'll go carry out the mission immediately."

After saying that, Uchiha Kun immediately turned and left, opening the letter in his hand. Looking at its contents, he learned that the employer of the mission was still waiting for the ninja at the Konoha Grand Hotel.

Uchiha Kun then said to Naruto, Sasuke, and Nawaki, "Let's go to the Konoha Grand Hotel. The employer is in room 257."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Nawaki, upon hearing this, all looked excited and shouted, "This is fantastic! We can do S-rank Mission too!"

The four immediately turned and walked out of the mission hall, heading in an orderly fashion towards the Konoha Grand Hotel, ready to meet their employer.

Thanks to the reform of Konoha's mission system, all Konoha can accept S-rank Mission, and they can even beat up the employers who issued the missions on the way.

This further damaged Konoha's reputation, to the point that some mission ninjas, disliking their employers, would beat them up on the way, abandon them, and rob them of all their money.

Despite Konoha's damaged reputation, a large number of people still come to Konoha to post missions, which is something even the employers can't do anything about.

Other ninja villages dare not compete with Konoha for missions. If ninjas from other villages try to pass through the Land of Fire, they are usually severely beaten by Konoha Ninja. Over time, Konoha has monopolized all missions in the surrounding countries, and they even steal missions if the missions aren't offered. All the countries are terrified of Konoha and have no choice but to come to Konoha to post missions.

The employers who post these missions are basically used to being bullied. If they don't post missions through Konoha, they'll be robbed by Konoha Ninja —this is common knowledge. So they have no choice but to come to Konoha and spend more money for peace of mind.