Fugaku frowned.
"Something tangible?"
"Exactly."
Chikage started counting on his fingers.
"First, relocation expenses."
"There are hundreds of households in the clan."
"Pots and pans, furniture and beds."
"Even the valuable flowers and plants in their courtyards have to be dug up and moved."
"Doesn't hiring movers cost money?"
"The village has to foot that bill."
Fugaku was a little bewildered.
"The village said it would arrange people to help everyone."
"That won't do."
Chikage shook his head firmly.
"What if our precious family heirlooms get damaged during the move?"
"Like the chamber pot Lord Madara used back in the day."
"They have to calculate those expenses properly and give the money to each household."
"We'll hire our own movers."
"Next, compensation for lost work."
"Everyone will be busy moving, so they obviously won't be able to take missions as usual."
"The Konoha Military Police Force's patrols will be affected, too."
"The village should make up for any lost mission payments and salaries during that period, right?"
Fugaku opened his mouth.
He had never heard of such a thing.
Ninja risked their lives on missions to earn money. How could anyone expect to keep receiving mission payments while moving house?
"Then there's the cost of building the New Clan Grounds."
Chikage continued.
"I heard they haven't even finished the drainage ditches there."
"The roads are dirt, too."
"They turn into mud whenever it rains."
"We can't just live on an empty stretch of land after moving there, can we?"
"Rebuilding houses, paving roads, connecting water and electricity."
"Are we supposed to pay for all that construction out of our own pockets?"
Fugaku felt as though his brain could no longer keep up.
"The Third said he would allocate some funds..."
"Some funds definitely won't be enough."
Chikage cut him off.
"They have to work out the figures carefully, based on the number of households and people."
"And they can't fob us off with the cheapest materials."
"We're only agreeing to move for the sake of the village's stability."
"Think how much we're sacrificing."
"Using good, fire-resistant timber for the houses isn't too much to ask, is it?"
"The walls and foundations need stone that can withstand the fallout from ninjutsu, too."
Fugaku swallowed.
"I suppose it isn't."
"Most importantly, there are the losses to our shops."
Chikage tapped the table.
"We have so many storefronts on South Street."
"Ninja tool shops, dango shops, clothing stores."
"If we move to the edge of the village, who's going to make a special trip out there to buy things?"
"Business will plummet."
"Who's going to cover those losses?"
"The village has to use our account books from the past few years to calculate our future business losses and compensate us in one lump sum."
"Or set aside an equal amount of retail space in the village center for the Uchiha to keep running their businesses."
Fugaku was stunned.
His head had originally been filled with clan honor and political oppression.
Now it had all turned into sums of gleaming silver.
"Would the village agree?"
Chikage laughed.
"Start high, then negotiate."
"If you don't ask for anything, they'll think you're a pushover."
"But if you present them with a clear, itemized bill..."
"They'll actually think you're seriously considering the relocation."
"As long as we agree on compensation, the Uchiha can be reasonable."
"What the higher-ups fear is us rebelling."
"If we're willing to sit down and go over the figures, they'll breathe a sigh of relief instead."
"Problems you can solve with money and land are always easier than problems that involve drawing swords."
Fugaku sank into thought.
Chikage's reasoning had completely overturned his understanding.
But when he thought it through, it made a damned lot of sense.
Compared with letting the radicals clash with the higher-ups and spill blood...
Securing tangible benefits at the negotiating table was clearly the safer approach.
The higher-ups wanted the Uchiha to relocate.
The Uchiha wanted money, land, and guarantees.
At least that was something they could negotiate.
"And we can't leave out compensation for being uprooted."
Chikage added another point.
"Everyone's being forced to leave the homes they've lived in for generations."
"The elderly will weep with grief."
"The children won't be able to sleep at night."
"If they get sick, won't they need to see a doctor?"
"Konoha Hospital's registration fees aren't cheap."
Fugaku looked at Chikage.
He suddenly felt that this nephew of his was nothing short of a genius.
Those shameless yet perfectly logical arguments would probably give even the old foxes among the higher-ups a headache.
If Mitokado Homura, that old man who kept his eye on the village's accounts, saw this bill, he would probably fly into a rage on the spot.
"Make a list."
Fugaku lowered his voice.
"Write down every kind of compensation you can think of."
"The more detailed, the better."
"Preferably down to the price of every brick."
Chikage pointed at the clock on the wall.
"Uncle, my shift's over."
"Overtime costs double."
Fugaku gritted his teeth.
"I'll pay you out of my own pocket."
"At triple the rate."
Chikage immediately pulled a fresh sheet of paper from the drawer.
He picked up his pen and twirled it between his fingers.
"You got it."
"Watch closely, Clan Leader."
"I guarantee the people in Konoha's Finance Department will go weak at the knees when they see this bill."
"Let's start with transport costs and inventory damage for the clan's ninja tool shops."
Chikage bent his head and began writing furiously.
The pen scratched across the paper.
Fugaku stood beside him, watching as he listed one item after another.
The corner of his eye kept twitching.
"Compensation for demolishing the outer walls of the Uchiha District."
"Compensation for the loss of the Uchiha's exclusive training grounds."
"Compensation for disruption to ancestral rites at Naka Shrine."
Fugaku pointed at the last item.
"What is compensation for disruption to ancestral rites?"
Chikage did not even look up.
"Once the Uchiha District moves, the trip to Naka Shrine will be longer."
"Won't we need some expensive offerings to explain the reason to our ancestors?"
"Naturally, the village should pay for them."
"We can't let our ancestors find out that their descendants were driven out and still had to pay for their own offerings."
Fugaku took a deep breath.
He realized he had practically wasted the past few decades of his life.
As clan leader, he was always talking about honor and dignity.
When faced with unfair treatment, all he knew how to do was seethe or confront the higher-ups head-on.
He had never considered forcing them to acknowledge the price the Uchiha were paying in this way.
Didn't the higher-ups love talking about the bigger picture?
Didn't they love talking about the Will of Fire?
Fine, then.
The Uchiha were willing to make concessions for the bigger picture.
But the Will of Fire couldn't burn the Uchiha alone.
Surely the village had to throw in some firewood, too.
And that firewood was cold, hard cash.
Fugaku's mind suddenly opened up.
He even began imagining tomorrow's negotiations.
The Third Hokage would sit behind his desk, looking at a bill more than a dozen pages long.
That wrinkled face certainly wouldn't look pleased.
Danzo would undoubtedly slam the table and curse the Uchiha for their insatiable greed.
But so what?
As long as the Uchiha didn't draw their swords...
The higher-ups would have no choice but to sit at the negotiating table and haggle.
Haggling was better than bloodshed.
Chikage finished the first page, flipped it over, and kept writing.
"Uncle, how many elderly people in the clan live alone without family support?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I need to calculate special relocation allowances for the elderly and infirm."
"People that age can't handle all that upheaval."
"They'll need dedicated medical ninja to look after them along the way."
"Those callout fees won't be cheap."
Fugaku couldn't help laughing.
He hadn't felt this relaxed in years.
"If you put that clever head of yours to work on your training..."
"You'd have been a jonin long ago."
Chikage curled his lip.
"What's so great about being a jonin?"
"You're out in the wind and sun every day."
"And you're always having to fight for your life."
"It's nowhere near as comfortable as writing reports for the Konoha Military Police Force."
"Aside from the lower pay, there's nothing wrong with it."
Fugaku patted him on the shoulder.
"As long as this bill gets the clan enough compensation."
"Your pay will double from then on."
Chikage's eyes lit up.
"You have my word."
"Just watch me."
"I'll even charge them for the saplings along both sides of the roads in the New Clan Grounds."
"If they pay even one ryo less, we won't agree without a fight."
Before you continue