"Since everyone has said so, let's settle on the new tax law.
Also, don't say I'm not giving those big merchants a way to make a living.
As long as they're willing to invest and build factories around Konoha, providing jobs for the people, we can offer tax breaks.
In this way, the people have jobs, they earn money, and we get tax revenue—a win-win-win situation," Uchiha Touhuan said calmly.
"The Grand Minister's move is well-thought-out; we admire it," Kazuo said.
"Also, you must take the issue of prices I mentioned earlier seriously," Uchiha Touhuan glanced at the ministers in the court. "I'm only giving you one month.
The prices of all necessities must return to normal levels. I don't want reports of village ninjas struggling to afford food to appear on my Hokage's desk again.
Anyone who dares to manipulate food prices will have their head taken. Understand?"
"Understood," the ministers nodded hastily.
"Don't take this lightly," Uchiha Touhuan coldly reminded them. "Commoners might leave their homes if they can't afford food, but ninjas will kill if they can't afford food."
Uchiha Touhuan's words sent chills down the spines of the court officials. "Furthermore, I don't care what you've done before, now that you're in Konoha, you'd better behave yourselves.
Don't think you're being discreet; your tricks are nothing compared to those of ninjas," Uchiha Touhuan said.
The court officials, especially those from Kazuo's faction, lowered their heads deeply upon hearing Uchiha Touhuan's words, not daring to attract his attention. The fact that Uchiha Touhuan had so casually presented evidence of Murayama Takumi's embezzlement made it clear to them that Uchiha Touhuan was not lying.
Their money-making methods used to work without issue in the Land of Fire, but now, Konoha is teeming with ninjas engaged in intelligence work. Their every move is practically under Uchiha Touhuan's watchful eye.
After reprimanding his ministers at court, Uchiha Touhuan returned to his Hokage office.
Soon, news of the morning's court proceedings spread throughout the entire village.
Even the most unruly villagers couldn't argue with Uchiha Touhuan's policies; after all, they were genuinely policies to improve people's lives.
Even some villagers who had just been released from the Three Pure Ones' Training Corps and, after enduring torture, could only bury their resentment towards Uchiha Touhuan deep within, could only grit their teeth and say that Uchiha Touhuan had at least done something worthwhile.
Under Uchiha Touhuan iron-fisted policies, the soaring prices in the village were quickly curbed, especially grain prices, which returned to normal levels.
The grain merchants who had been hoarding goods initially tried to unite in resistance, since they controlled most of Konoha's food supply; if they didn't sell, the village would starve.
However, less than half an hour after the village's major grain stores put up their closure signs, Kakashi arrived with the security ninja.
Soon after, these grain merchants, who had met the previous night to unite against the price-cutting policy, reunited on the banks of the Naka River.
Along the banks of the Naka River, these grain merchants, once immensely wealthy in the Land of Fire, were now bound hand and foot, kneeling neatly beside the river.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kakashi Hatake, captain of the Konoha Guard. You've got some nerve, daring to defy the orders of the Grand Minister of State.
You dared to band together and close your shops when asked to lower prices," Kakashi said, a forced smile on his face, looking at the row of grain merchants.
"Lord Kakashi, we're innocent!" one of the grain merchants hurriedly said. "Our grain reserves are indeed insufficient."
"Insufficient grain reserves?" Kakashi calmly took out a small booklet, flipped through it, and finally found the information on the man who had spoken earlier. "Kawakami Naoto, right? That granary in the northeast of Konoha should be yours, right?
The grain inside is piled up like mountains. If this is called insufficient grain reserves, then what about the people of Konoha who can't afford your high-priced grain?"
"Lord Kakashi, the prices we sell are normal. There's no such thing as high-priced grain," another grain merchant said.
"You call grain that's almost 40 taels per jin a normal price? The price of grain in the village has never exceeded 6 taels per jin before," Kakashi said.
"Konoha is now the capital of our Land of Fire, so prices can't be calculated like that," another grain merchant spoke up, discussing with Kakashi the economic theory that the influx of people into Konoha would cause prices to rise due to supply falling short of demand, and that an invisible force would naturally adjust prices to a suitable level.
Kakashi nodded repeatedly, and the grain merchant, seeing an opening, spoke even more enthusiastically.
"So, the current grain prices are the result of natural market development. You can't wrong us."
"Yes, yes," the others quickly echoed.
"So this is a normal economic choice?" Kakashi said. "What you all say has enlightened me. It's clear you all understand economics."
"Yes, yes, in my opinion, it's all a misunderstanding. We didn't explain things clearly to Lord Kakashi beforehand. We will definitely come to apologize in a few days," Kawakami Naoto said.
"I may not be as knowledgeable about economics as you all, but as a ninja, I do know some things you might not. As a way of repaying you for helping me, I'll share some information with you," Kakashi said with a cold smile. "Zaito."
Uchiha Zaito came to Kakashi's side.
"These wealthy people have explained economic principles to us. In return, let's let them know about our ninja interrogation methods," Kakashi said.
"Yes!" Uchiha Zaito nodded and waved.
At this moment, several members of the security team walked over to the men who had been working the hardest, picked them up one by one, and threw them into the Naka River.
The Naka River, as the mother river of Konoha, is not very deep or fast-flowing. You could say that as long as you know a little swimming, falling in wouldn't be a big deal.
But at this moment, these people were bound hand and foot and were thrown into the river unexpectedly, so they struggled violently as soon as they entered the water.
"You... what are you trying to do? Let me warn you, we all have nobles backing us from the Land of Fire. Don't go too far!" A man on the shore shouted sharply.
"Is that so? So there are nobles involved. Can you tell me which noble family is behind you?" Kakashi chuckled.
"You..." The man who had just spoken hesitated. They did indeed have nobles backing them, and most of the money they earned went into the pockets of those nobles. However, at this moment, he dared not reveal the identities of the nobles behind them.
"Let me see." Kakashi slowly flipped through another booklet. "Your name is Shimizu Rensuke, right? Your parents are the older sister of the previous daimyo of the Land of Fire, and servants in Princess Chika's household.
Because you have some talent in business, you were sent by the princess's household to manage the household's businesses."
"It's good that you know." Shimizu Rensuke said, "Even the daimyo has to give the princess some face. If you do this, once the princess gets angry, you will definitely not be able to withstand her wrath!"
"Is that so?" Kakashi put away the information and said, "Someone, this guy seems to be out of his mind. Let him have his brain cleaned up in the Naka River."
As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, a member of the security force stepped forward and kicked him into the Naka River.
The remaining people on the bank were also kicked into the river one after another.
The once calm Naka River became chaotic with their arrival, as they struggled violently, splashing water everywhere.
Kakashi, however, sat in his chair, leisurely taking out his favorite book, "Icha Icha Paradise," and began reading at a leisurely pace.
After a while, the first group thrown into the river finally figured it out, struggling to keep their heads above water, gasping for the hard-won fresh air.
At this moment, Kakashi put down his book and turned to the security force members behind him.
"How's your practice of the ninjutsu the security force has been issuing lately?" Kakashi asked.
"Reporting, Captain-Commander! We have mastered all the ninjutsu issued by the security force!" a member of the security force stepped forward and reported.
"Is that so?" Kakashi chuckled. "Then, you all give a demonstration here. Although our Security Force doesn't face powerful enemies as often as the Anbu, our own strength can't be neglected. You go first."
"Yes, sir!" The person chosen went to the riverbank, quickly formed hand seals, and puffed out his cheeks.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He suddenly unleashed a huge fireball, shooting it across the Naka River towards the opposite bank, where it exploded in the center.
The intense heat emanating from above startled the grain merchants who had surfaced in the river to breathe.
"Very good, do it a few more times." Kakashi clapped his hands, then addressed the other Security Force members, "You too, let these friends who just tirelessly answered your economic questions witness the strength of the Konoha ninja!"
Soon, dozens of Security Force members took turns stepping forward, using various ninjutsu on the riverbank.
In an instant, various elemental ninjutsu techniques exploded across the surface of the Naka River like colorful fireworks, making the river scene even more lively. However, this was a nightmare for the swimmers still struggling in the Naka River.
Every time they surfaced for air, they faced mortal danger.
Half an hour later, Kakashi finally ordered his team to stop the ninjutsu practice and pull the people out of the Naka River.
Once ashore, these wealthy merchants were all on the verge of death, and some of the less skilled swimmers were practically dead.
At this point, the medical ninjas from the security force stepped forward. If they had been teaching the ninjas interrogation techniques before, this was now a demonstration of military medical care.
The medical ninjas stepped forward one by one, pressing their feet on the obese bellies of the men to induce vomiting. Those near death, disregarding the potential shortened lifespans from forcibly stimulating cellular energy, were immediately subjected to the Healing Palm Technique. Soon, they all regained consciousness.
"Now, what level do you all think the village's grain price should be set at?" Kakashi sat in his chair, a kunai flashing in his hand like a butterfly flitting among flowers.
At this point, the merchants dared not try to fool Kakashi with the "invisible hand" theory anymore. After all, the "invisible hand" they spoke of was unseen, but the tangible kunai in Kakashi's hand could truly kill them!
"Ten taels! Including transportation costs, we can reduce the grain price to at least ten taels per jin," the grain merchant representative hurriedly said.
"You don't really think we ninjas don't understand economics, do you?" Kakashi said coldly. "Someone, take this guy away to calm down."
"Eight taels! Eight taels! This is really the lowest price." Seeing the guards approaching again, the man said, tears streaming down his face.
"That's more like it." Kakashi said, then turned to look at the other merchants selling meat and other necessities.
Soon, they all gave a reasonable price.
After Kakashi recorded their prices, he let them go. After dealing with these matters, Kakashi went to the Hokage Building.
"So, have those guys behaved themselves?" Uchiha Touhuan asked after pouring Kakashi a cup of tea.
"Those guys have behaved themselves a lot more, but their high profits are probably all going into the hands of those nobles. Among the nobles behind them, the most powerful is Princess Chika, whose fief is in the northeast of the Land of Fire." Kakashi said.
"Princess Chikamaru? The Daimyo's aunt?" Uchiha Touhuan took Kakashi's report, glanced at it, and then raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll trouble you to make the trip and tell that old woman that the Minamoto clan doesn't have the final say in the Land of Fire now."
"Hey, I feel like I'm busier following you than when I was in the Anbu," Kakashi remarked casually after finishing his tea.
"Thank you for your hard work," Uchiha Touhuan said. "I don't trust anyone else to handle this."
"Alright," Kakashi said. "By the way, you still have one spot left for your personal disciple, right? How about I have Naruto become your apprentice?"
"Of course, I was just about to tell you that," Uchiha Touhuan nodded.
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