Rasa Pans for Gold

The conference room in the Kazekage Building was once again shrouded in a heavy atmosphere. Unlike the previous discussions of strategy, this time the air was filled with a more immediate sense of hardship and helplessness. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, sat at the head of the table, his expression grim as he listened to the finance elder report a series of staggering figures.

"...The funding cuts from the daimyo have arrived, and the shortfall is even greater than we estimated. Pensions, medical supplies, puppet repairs, daily expenses... we are stretched thin on every front. Our stockpile of explosive tags, kunai, and soldier pills can at most sustain a medium-scale defensive battle. Trade routes with the outside world have also become unstable due to the war. Prices for many essential supplies have skyrocketed, while the goods we have available for exchange... are far too few." The finance elder's voice was dry. With every number he reported, the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop another degree.

The elders remained silent, their brows tightly furrowed. They were all shinobi who had weathered countless storms, and they knew well that a village without material support was like a shinobi without chakra—left to be slaughtered at another's whim.

"This cannot continue." Rasa finally spoke, his voice low but carrying unquestionable resolve. "We must save ourselves."

His gaze swept over every senior official present as he slowly laid out several difficult decisions:

"First, effective immediately, the number of village missions will be reduced. Border patrols and escorts for vital supplies will take priority. Low-level missions will be suspended."

"Second, all mission rewards... will be cut by one-third."

"Third... organize medical teams to reassess all injured shinobi. Anyone crippled by their injuries and no longer able to carry out missions... advise them to retire, provide