Asking for Money? Sorry, Not a Single Ryo!

Asking for Money? Sorry, Not a Single Ryo!

"Uchiha Hanjō's Merchant Guild?"

Uchiha Itachi frowned as he looked at his father's furious expression and couldn't help asking, "Does his Merchant Guild have problems with order? Should we go inspect it?"

The thought of Uchiha Hanjō's Merchant Guild being in trouble immediately piqued Itachi's interest.

He dared recruit clansmen from the Military Police Force to do business? Let's see how he dealt with him this time and make them submit to the clan completely.

"Young Clan Leader, we're not going there to handle matters or enforce the law. We're going to borrow money!" Dark Circles walked over and told Itachi, his tone equally numb.

"Borrow money? Does our clan not have any money left?" Itachi frowned, but when he saw the slight anger on his father's face, he said, "Dad, we don't need to borrow from a merchant. How much do you need? I currently earn 20,000 Ryo in wages. You can use it first!"

He earned 20,000 Ryo a month now, and he received extra rewards whenever he went out on missions. He wasn't short on money at all!

Seeing his father set aside his pride to borrow money from Uchiha Hanjō was simply absurd. A Clan Head borrowing money from a clansman?

"Your 20,000 Ryo?" Fugaku looked at his innocent son. He knew Itachi meant well, so he did not reprimand him, only shook his head helplessly. "That's far too little. The Military Police Force needs at least 1,500,000 Ryo to get through this crisis!"

1,500,000 Ryo?

When Uchiha Itachi heard that they needed so much money, the corner of his mouth twitched!

That was enough money that he would need to work without eating or drinking for at least five years to earn it. But... how could the Military Police Force be so short of funds?

He wanted to ask more, but his father and the other clansmen all wore lifeless expressions and said nothing more. Instead, he followed his father to Uchiha Hanjō's Merchant Guild.

Inside the Merchant Guild.

"Dad, believe it or not, Uchiha Fugaku will come to borrow money from us later. No, not borrow—demand it." Xuanyu looked at his father while continuously stuffing food into his mouth. As his Sharingan evolved, he felt it craving even more energy!

Food energy, as well as Chakra!

It simply could not be fed enough.

Beside him, the little girl Hua Yu cleared away Xuanyu's dishes. He ate so quickly that a single table could not hold them all.

"Surely not? Uchiha Fugaku is the head of a clan, after all. Knowing I won't give him money, he shouldn't come demand it, right?" Uchiha Hanjō picked up a chicken leg and ate it slowly, apparently deep in thought as well.

Xuanyu was speechless at his father's innocence.

His father was a master at business, but he lacked foresight in politics. Perhaps he simply had not considered human nature to be so ugly.

"You don't understand, Dad!" After wolfing down the last chicken leg, Xuanyu let out a full belch before saying unhurriedly, "I recently heard that Konoha only gives the Uchiha Police Force 500,000 Ryo a month. And over the past few days, the Third Hokage has deducted over 300,000 Ryo for all sorts of reasons. The remaining money still has to be used to repay those little thugs. You could say that the Uchiha Police Force simply can't pay wages this month!"

Hiss~~

Uchiha Hanjō drew a deep breath upon hearing that.

This?

He had been busy expanding his business recently and had not paid attention to what was happening in the village.

Hearing this now, he could not help but say admiringly, "Hokage-sama is quite capable. He makes the Uchiha Clan work themselves to death for Konoha, yet doesn't pay them wages. He's even more ruthless than a big merchant like me!"

At the very least, Uchiha Hanjō had never owed any of his subordinates even a single Ryo in wages.

"So the remaining people in the Military Police Force have no wages, which means they have no source of income." Xuanyu nodded before continuing, "Do you think Fugaku will go to the Third Hokage for wages, or come to you for money?"

"He'll come to me!" Uchiha Hanjō pointed at himself, the sucker. Then, seeming to realize something, he said angrily, "So they think I, Uchiha Hanjō, am easy to bully? They don't dare ask the Third Hokage, who screwed them over, for money, so they come to me, the sucker?"

"Congratulations, Dad. You got it right!" Xuanyu nodded.

"What should we do?" Uchiha Hanjō was at a loss as well. Should he give them the money or not?

"Don't give them any. Not a single Ryo!" Xuanyu shook his head decisively. "Others may treat us like suckers, but we can't treat ourselves like suckers too. We won't give them a single Ryo!"

"That's right, we won't!" Uchiha Hanjō nodded as well.

Just as father and son made up their minds, Uchiha Xia entered. His expression was rather ugly. "Boss, Clan Head Fugaku has arrived with some clansmen!"

Uchiha Xia also knew that Fugaku had once sent someone to borrow money and had been refused by Uchiha Hanjō. Yet now Fugaku had come himself, brimming with killing intent. Clearly, he had come with ill intentions.

"He's already here?" Uchiha Hanjō had not expected Uchiha Heifugaku to arrive so quickly. Rising to his feet, he said to Xuanyu, "Son, come greet the Clan Head with me!"

Fugaku was still the Uchiha Clan's current Clan Head. The proper courtesies naturally had to be observed.

"Clan Head, what brings you to my Merchant Guild? Please, come in!" Uchiha Hanjō spoke to Fugaku with a cheerful smile, but Fugaku did not return even the slightest pleasant expression.

As Uchiha Hanjō moved, the Uchiha clansmen who had been resting in the Merchant Guild also came out to greet them, numbering sixty or seventy in total.

They had only recently joined the Merchant Guild and had not yet been assigned escort missions. Every day, they chatted, drank tea, and practiced ninjutsu in the resting room. Over the past few days, they had grown fair and plump, and their complexions were much better than before.

In contrast.

Other than Uchiha Itachi, whose complexion was rosy, every ninja Fugaku had brought wore deep exhaustion on their faces. They were physically and mentally drained, yellow and thin, with dark circles under their eyes.

When the dozen or so people who had remained in the Military Police Force saw their former colleagues looking rosy-faced, all wearing satisfied smiles, they quietly began to regret it. Why hadn't they followed Uchiha Hanjō and joined him back then?

Seeing familiar faces, some Uchiha clansmen from the Merchant Guild stepped forward to greet them. "Hong Qiu, have you been dieting lately? Why have you gotten so much thinner? Mm, your face has gotten paler too, though the makeup under your eyes is a bit heavy!"

Across from him stood a female ninja. It was unclear whether those words were teasing or a genuine greeting.

Amid the noise, Uchiha Heifugaku led Itachi and several loyal subordinates behind Uchiha Hanjō into the inner room!

Behind them, Uchiha Xia and the other four captains who were not out on missions exchanged glances before following them inside.

They took their seats one after another.

Uchiha Fugaku came straight to the point. "Hanjō, I assume you know why I've come to your Merchant Guild. The clan urgently needs money right now. Give me 1,000,000 Ryo first to tide us over!"

Uchiha Fugaku had asked for 2,000,000 Ryo this time, already lowering his stance somewhat.

"No." Uchiha Hanjō shook his head decisively. There was no way he would lend even a single Ryo!

Seeing Uchiha Hanjō refuse so decisively, Fugaku frowned in displeasure. Still, he endured it and backed down once more. "Then 500,000 Ryo!"

"No." Uchiha Hanjō shook his head decisively again. "Clan Head, let alone 500,000 Ryo, I can't take out even a single Ryo right now. Please think of another way!"

Crash!

The moment those words were spoken, Uchiha Fugaku and the people who had come with him all stiffened, their expressions turning extremely ugly.

Uchiha Itachi's brows rose as he stared at Uchiha Heifugaku.

The misspelled name has been corrected!