Hiruzen Sarutobi's Disappointment

The Ninja World War will inevitably develop into a national affair, with major powers vying for the vital resource of their allies. The Five Great Nations will not only fight on the lands of smaller nations, but will also need to draw upon the human, material, and financial resources of other countries through these satellite nations.

Uchiha Fugaku's entire plan will be quite difficult to implement, requiring the full cooperation of Leaf Village and the Daimyo's Court, but it is indeed feasible.

That's enough. To enter the Hokage Building, both practical and theoretical abilities are indispensable.

Stroking his beard, Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled and leisurely took a puff of his cigarette.

This year's Hokage assistant election is really interesting.

Hopefully, the Sarutobi Clan can also perform well.

On stage, Uchiha Fugaku continued his speech, while the audience members repeatedly asked questions, all of which were patiently answered by the candidate.

This was a very successful speech. The previous two speakers were all on their own from beginning to end.

This has been the case throughout history.

This is the first time something like this has happened to Uchiha Fugaku.

Later, the candidates couldn't hold back any longer and started asking questions.

Nara Shikaku asked the most questions; he no longer treated it as a speech, but subconsciously put himself in the role of an advisor.

His questions were all quite practical.

Uchiha Fugaku was very pleased; he sensed a strong sense of approval from Nara Shikaku's attitude.

Nara Shikaku wasn't nitpicking; he was seriously discussing the feasibility of this plan with Uchiha Fugaku.

"Chief Fugaku, how do you plan to set the standards for distributing welfare benefits?"

"This is limited to production activities that directly promote village development and people's use of public transportation. For example, transportation fares are subsidized, and production activities are mostly interest-free or low-interest loans."

"Businessmen need to make money; how can you convince them to lend money to the villagers if they don't want to make money?"

"Well, this involves something rather complicated, Nara Shikaku. You can think of it as this not being a direct action by the investors, but rather a component of the long-term products they've purchased. The funds are locked up and won't be allowed to be withdrawn until the term expires."

"Then how can we ensure that the person performing the operation has no ulterior motives?"

"Firstly, this benefit is only available to eligible villagers, so its scale is limited. Secondly, the village and the operator are jointly managed; the village only supervises. If someone tries to cause trouble... well, Nara Shikaku, we're not businessmen, we're ninjas, we have our own methods."

"Okay... I won't ask what method it is or what conditions need to be met?"

"Of course, firstly, one must be a villager of Konoha, and then one must be a producer, meaning one's actions must be directly engaged in agriculture and handicrafts. The amount of the subsidy varies depending on the specific product."

"Does it only include production activities and exclude commercial activities?" Nara Shikaku raised this point, which is the most criticized aspect of this proposal.

This excludes all interest groups within the village.

A good reputation is important, but the ninja clan won't do things that only bring them fame.

How did the Uchiha Clan convince the Hyuga Clan and Inuzuka Clan? And how did this plan even pass the Uchiha Clan's own scrutiny?

"Commerce is a stable source of profit. The village doesn't pay any taxes, so how can we subsidize it?" Uchiha Fugaku retorted, then continued, "Agriculture is affected by many external factors, leading to poor harvests or no harvests at all. The grassroots workers in handicrafts are also very important. These villagers have limited income capacity, and it's difficult for them to become wealthy normally. The village must help them."

At this point, he forgot his lines, so he took out his notebook and flipped to the corresponding section.

"Moreover, the fact that these villagers have become wealthy is itself a form of support for commerce. The village's support for commercial activities is not through subsidies, but by helping eligible commercial organizations and individual businesses obtain working capital for different periods. Of course, a certain fee needs to be charged, and the use of funds must be monitored to ensure compliance."

Putting away his notebook, Uchiha Fugaku gave a loud summary.

"Without rules, there can be no order. The village must not only protect everyone, but also pay attention to everyone's income and reasonably adjust income levels in order to achieve common prosperity."

"... Clan Chief Fugaku, you've prepared very thoroughly."

"I'm ashamed to say that most of it was actually Shingen's suggestion."

"How modest, Fugaku." Nara Shikaku smiled. "I've asked all the questions I wanted to ask."

"You flatter me." Uchiha Fugaku smiled slightly, looked around, and asked, "Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Yes," Sarutobi Saizo answered.

He hadn't said a word; he had just been listening.

It's not that he didn't want to release the dirt, but during Uchiha Fugaku's speech just now, he realized that the dirt was all outdated.

Don't say that many of these are just baseless trolls; there's no truth to it at all.

After all, even the Uchiha Clan is quite fussy when it comes to lending money at high interest rates, only extending credit to those they consider relatively wealthy and powerful individuals or organizations.

We've never bullied ordinary people, let alone targeted the poor. If someone were to do that under the guise of the Uchiha Clan...

The Uchiha Clan may not be good at being a caring and considerate man, but they are very good at taking people home for the New Year.

Now, the Uchiha Clan is even turning around and offering financial assistance to ordinary villagers.

It's called a loan, but what kind of loan is this? The interest rate is just a formality; it doesn't even cover the cost of returning the funds. It's a losing proposition!

After Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, Sarutobi Saizo's manuscript was already discarded.

He actually regretted it; he shouldn't have let Uchiha Fugaku go first.

Chapter Nineteen: Disappointed Sarutobi Hiruzen

Uchiha Fugaku turned his head and looked at Sarutobi Saizo.

"Chief Caizang, what is your question?"

"To do what Chief Fugaku said, wouldn't that bring countless troubles to the village?" Sarutobi Saizo asked.

This wasn't entirely intended to attack Uchiha Fugaku; he genuinely had this question.

"To accomplish what you've described, a large sum of money is required. Only nobles or large ninja clans can afford it. If the costs cannot be recouped, abolishing the policy is a minor issue; the village will make countless enemies."

"Of course we have corresponding countermeasures to avoid this. Chief Cai, you've probably misunderstood. The fundamental purpose of this plan is not simply to collect funds, but to deliver idle and scattered funds to those who need them and make them effective."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the head of the Sarutobi Clan, a sense of superiority inexplicably arose within him.

This feels so refreshing. Wait a minute, was this how Shingen viewed him back then?

You little rascal! Selling my calligraphy is one thing, but you were secretly laughing at me!

Uchiha Fugaku thought angrily.

However, he still had a kind and approachable expression on his face.

"We ninjas undertake all sorts of tasks, and intelligence gathering is something we excel at. In the past, our relationship with the Land of Fire was merely a military-mercenary relationship based on national interests. But ninjas aren't only useful in war. Just like our Genin, besides fighting for the country, they also accept jobs from villagers and people outside the village to help them solve their daily problems. It's the same thing."

Uchiha Fugaku explained to Sarutobi Saizo word by word, while also further clarifying things for everyone.

What he said was relatively easy to understand, and everyone gradually came to understand.

This is simply an objective and real situation.

The Hokage world has a basic financial system. For example, the Five Great Nations all use paper money, and the power to issue it is in the hands of the Daimyo's Court. Depending on whether the money supply in the market is too loose, the Daimyo's Court will also use this system to adjust it.

However, in the Hokage world, the financial transaction market is very immature, with private lending being the only option, and there is a serious lack of official supervision.

Those nobles and ninja clans who controlled large sums of money were the main lenders in the market.

The lending channels between ninja clans are relatively smooth, but if it is a noble, they first need to spend a lot of money to investigate the borrower. If the borrower is also a noble, this investigation work needs to be entrusted to ninjas.

This resulted in extremely high costs and risks associated with borrowing in the Hokage world. Ordinary people could hardly afford to borrow money, and nobles dared not invest casually for fear of losing a fortune. As a result, a large amount of wealth was not actually invested in society and remained idle.

How to make use of these idle assets is also the most troublesome thing for Daimyo's Court.

After all, Daimyo's Court couldn't force these nobles to contribute their wealth.

The Daimyo's Court cannot force them, but Hidden Leaf Village has the ability to guide them and thus benefit from it.

Relying on the deterrent power of the ninja army as a military entity and the ninjas' overwhelming expertise in information gathering and analysis, this task is incredibly easy for them, and all parties can benefit.

Even if unforeseen circumstances arise and a breach of contract does occur, the amount the ninja village would have to pay to individual exchanges is incomparable to its total revenue; it would be pure profit.

The more Uchiha Fugaku spoke, the more serious the expressions of the four high-ranking officials in the Hokage Building became.

Having successfully transformed its business model and accumulated a solid reputation, the Uchiha Clan will occupy an absolute dominant position in this strategy, irreplaceable by anyone.

If this strategy is to be implemented in the Hokage Building, then Uchiha Fugaku must enter the Hokage Building.

He must become the Hokage's assistant.

The Uchiha Clan has presented them with a choice, with only two options.

Either everyone benefits, or no one benefits and we'll keep going.

The Hokage Building couldn't refuse this; to maintain a military organization of Hidden Leaf Village's size, financial strength is the most important factor, bar none.

The Land of Fire has been invaded time and again. Although it has not been driven into its homeland, it has weakened its ability to exploit Land of Fire countries, while the Kumogakure, which was the initiator of the two major wars, has been continuously strengthened.

As the ability to suck blood weakens, the gap between the rich and poor in the Land of Fire begins to widen. As a result, the Daimyo's Court has to spend a considerable amount of money every year to maintain social stability and production, keeping the local officials extremely busy.

For example, a series of basic infrastructure projects would be carried out to provide jobs for the poor who were starving and to subsidize their lives. In order to prevent the abandonment of infants by people who were in extreme poverty, Daimyo's Court also had a child support fund system.

The Land of Fire remains the most powerful nation, but its ability to invest in ninja villages has been weakened.

This ebb and flow has directly affected the financial strength of Hidden Leaf Village and Kumogakure, resulting in different development situations and village governance strategies.

In the original timeline, Kumogakure became the wealthiest village in the Ninja World for the next ten years or so, with strong village cohesion and a powerful military, while Hidden Leaf Village's military strength shrank to only half of its peak, and the village's strategies were extremely conservative, with many internal problems.

The extermination of the Uchiha Clan in the original timeline was one of the worst consequences that occurred against the backdrop of Leaf Village's deteriorating financial situation, shrinking military strength, and intensified infighting among the village's various clans.

In this timeline, such a thing wouldn't happen, but if the Hokage Building still intends to keep the Uchiha Clan out of the circle, it's foreseeable that, given the gradually tightening financial situation, at least a reduction in military strength is inevitable.

The decline of Hidden Leaf Village was absolutely unacceptable to Namikaze Minato.

When he was born, Leaf Village was on the rise, and everything was thriving.

This was also intolerable to the various ninja clans.

This means that all the previous sacrifices were in vain.

The people died in vain.

When Uchiha Fugaku laid this bloody reality before everyone, the scales of public opinion began to tip.

The crowd had long forgotten that they had come to watch a play.

Sarutobi Saizo was completely speechless.

At this point, anything you say will be a joke.

Sarutobi Clan falls, Konoha might not be in any better shape, but if Konoha falls, Sarutobi Clan will definitely not be safe. What's the point of gambling everything on this?

Uchiha Fugaku is not only presenting a choice to the Hokage Building, but also to the Sarutobi Clan.

The solution is right in front of you, so why not take it or not?

He was numb, his emotions were extremely conflicted, and his previous resolve had vanished.

"Clan Chief Saizo, do you have any further questions?" Uchiha Fugaku asked again.

"I..." Sarutobi Saizo his mouth, but he was at a loss for words.

He looked around; everyone was looking at him.

In everyone's eyes, Sarutobi Saizo sensed a hint of impatience in their expressions, as if to say—are you stupid or malicious?

What truly shattered his spirits was the presence of members of the Sarutobi Clan among them.

The Sarutobi Clan also includes many ordinary people who fall under the category of "villagers".

"I have no further questions..." Sarutobi Saizo. "However, I support Nara Shikaku's governing strategy."

Nara Shikaku looked at Sarutobi Saizo, wanting to curse him.

What business is it of his! His speech was just a hastily prepared collection of clichés!

That old geezer, would it kill him to admit defeat?!

"Lord Saizo," Namikaze Minato suddenly spoke, "You may begin your speech."

"No, Lord Hokage, I give up," Sarutobi Saizo said sullenly.

He knew Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking at him, and he could feel the disappointment in his eyes.

But he was helpless.

The two sides are simply not in the same league; they're not even qualified to fight to the death now.

"Is that so? I understand..." Namikaze Minato turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Third, what do you think?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a drag of his cigarette and withdrew his gaze from Sarutobi Saizo.

Saizo is really not suited for this kind of thing...