Chapter 271 The Grand Commander Only Collects 90% Tax
These merchants, as commoners, only underwent a simple chakra check upon entry. After confirming they weren't ninjas, they were allowed to pass. However, the merchants from the Land of Fire, who had received advance notice, didn't seem particularly welcoming to these outsiders.
Led by Gato, these merchants who had invested in Konoha since the Land of Fire moved its capital had reaped the benefits of the new capital's development in recent years. Although 70% of their profits were subject to taxes or required to be used to support the Land of Fire's economy, their earnings had increased significantly since the pie grew. The major merchants from the Land of Lightning, who had previously been critical of Uchiha Touko due to taxation issues, had also shifted their business focus to the Land of Fire after tasting success in the past two years.
Furthermore, after Uchiha Touko led Konoha to a major victory in a special military operation against the Land of Lightning, these earliest merchants from Konoha felt a strong sense of security.
After all, doing business in the ninja world is quite dangerous. While ninjas from major ninja villages generally follow the rules, rogue ninjas and wandering ninjas frequently raid their businesses. However, ever since Uchiha Touko severely damaged Kumogakure in the battle, they haven't needed to lift a finger when hiring Konoha ninjas to protect their caravans; Konoha's headbands are enough to deter many petty criminals in the ninja world.
Now, facing merchants from the Land of Lightning transferring cash, they spontaneously banded together, trying to stop this influx of capital.
After all, although the Land of Fire's pie is huge, who would want others to take a slice of what's already in their mouth?
But they also know that their opinions are worthless before Uchiha Touko, the Hokage and Minister of State with almost unlimited power. Therefore, they can only send representatives to plead with Uchiha Touko not to let these people in.
Soon, Gato was chosen by this group and brought to Uchiha Touko's office.
"Lord Hokage, this is a gift from Kinoshita Koji, the president of the Kinoshita Group. He asked me to bring you some Snow Mountain Rock Tea from the Land of Snow. Since the geothermal facilities in the Land of Snow started operating these past two years, the production of this tea has been decreasing. This year, only this much was produced. That guy spent a fortune at the auction and asked me to bring it to you." As soon as Gato entered the office, he placed several bags at the door and took out several exquisite gifts. "And this is this. This is a new type of tea that I've had cultivated on an island I leased near the Land of Water. However, I'll need your feedback on the taste and how to improve it."
"Keep the new tea you cultivated. Take the others back later. That Snow Mountain Rock Tea is almost 3.5 million yen per tael now. It wouldn't look good if others knew I was drinking it," Uchiha Touko said, gesturing for Gato to sit down on the sofa.
After Kado sat down on the sofa, he conscientiously lit the stove and boiled water for Uchiha Touko before speaking, "What are you saying, Hokage? Do you think I don't know what kind of person Kinoshita Koji is? He's just a nouveau riche who got rich thanks to the reforms of our Land of Fire. In your hands, this tea is something to appreciate, but in his hands, it's a complete waste. As a master of tea ceremony in our Land of Fire, you certainly wouldn't want such good things to be wasted, so please accept it."
"I really can't do anything with you. Don't let this happen again," Uchiha Touko said, shaking his head helplessly.
To be honest, while Uchiha Touko loved tea, he had only briefly studied the tea ceremony when he first started out, and had relied entirely on his own learning since. Even so, the higher-ups in the Land of Fire were now saying that he, Uchiha Touko, was currently the most accomplished tea master in the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Touko selected the tea leaves that Gato had brought, brewed them, and took a sip.
"How is it? Hokage, is the tea I had cultivated to your liking?" Gato asked expectantly.
This tea was specially cultivated from carefully selected tea seeds. It required a lot of sunlight and rain, so Gato even spent a fortune buying a remote island in the southern part of the Land of Water and having it cared for by specialists. He did all this so that Uchiha Touko would be satisfied.
"Hmm, not bad. Thank you for your thoughtfulness," Uchiha Touko nodded.
"Hehe, I'm glad you're satisfied." Seeing that Uchiha Touko was pleased, Kado smiled as well.
"Speak, what brings you here in such a grand manner?" Uchiha Touko put down his teacup and asked.
"Well, thanks to the Hokage's patronage, I'm now the president of the Fire Country's Business Association, aren't I?" Having worked under Uchiha Touko for years, Kado knew that Uchiha Touko wasn't the type to waste time on trivial matters, so he got down to business. "We've heard that recently, due to the oppressive policies of the Lightning Country, many businessmen have brought capital into the Fire Country. I wonder how Your Hokage plans to deal with them?"
"I've heard about that too," Uchiha Touko said. "However, as you probably know, I'm not very knowledgeable about business. I'd like to hear your opinion on this matter."
"Your Excellency, you're sometimes too modest. With your understanding of business, if you hadn't become a ninja, you could easily be the richest person in the ninja world," Kado said, first flattering Uchiha Touko before continuing, "However, according to the Fire Country Business Association, they don't really want these people to join. They nominated me to come to your office to express their wishes. But personally, I still think this is a decision only Your Excellency can make."
"Is that so?" Uchiha Touko said with a half-smile, "Then what if I said I intend to let these merchants from the Land of Lightning in?" "
Then naturally, I will follow Your Excellency's will. I will appease the opinions of the business association members for you. If there are any particularly strong reactions, I will also help you deal with them," Kado hurriedly replied.
"Can you tell me why you don't want them to enter our Land of Fire?" After hearing Gato's declaration of loyalty, Uchiha Touko nodded in satisfaction before asking.
"It's like this, Hokage," Gato replied. "As you know, while the development of Konoha and the Land of Fire has relied heavily on your leadership in recent years, the members of the Business Association also believe they have contributed to the Land of Fire's development. Now, these people, who previously disliked the Land of Fire's high taxes when Konoha was still developing, want to come in and share the spoils because of some external reasons. Naturally, everyone is dissatisfied."
"Don't worry, they won't get a piece of your pie anytime soon after they come in." Uchiha Touko stood up and patted Gato on the shoulder. "I've seen all the contributions your Business Federation has made to the Land of Fire over the past two years, so I won't forget your contributions to the country."
"However, the Land of Lightning has now forced these people to abandon their established businesses and come here with cash to invest. Out of humanitarian considerations, we can't turn them away. So, to protect your interests, I've decided that if they want to do business in the Land of Fire, their businesses will pay 90% of their taxes for the first 10 years." Uchiha Touko laughed. "With this tax rate, if they want to make money, they'll have to find a way to open up new avenues, instead of trying to squeeze into the industries you've been cultivating for years and compete with you for a piece of the pie."
"Huh? Ninety percent? Will they even come?" Kado was startled by Uchiha Touko's words. They currently paid 70% tax, which guaranteed their businesses would grow at a rate of about 30% annually. Uchiha Touko had suddenly raised the tax rate to 90%. Wouldn't that scare them away?
"Who knows? The policy is there. Whether they come or not is their own decision. Besides, if they're scared off by this tax rate, wouldn't that be exactly what you wanted?" Uchiha Touko said with a smile.
"Alright, then should I go back and tell the Business Association?" Kado asked.
"Go ahead!" Uchiha Touko waved his hand, indicating that Kado could leave.
The Business Association members breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Uchiha Touko's policy. In their minds, the 90% tax was just an excuse to keep these people out. The Hokage still remembered their contributions!
However, to their surprise, facing a 90% tax rate, 80% of these merchants who had fled the Land of Lightning actually gritted their teeth and accepted it, starting businesses in the Land of Fire.
This wasn't unexpected for Uchiha Touko, as the merchants of the Merchants' Association were unaware of the specific situation in the Land of Lightning and didn't understand why these people were so desperate to escape.
The Land of Lightning, already on a path of militarism, simply robbed these people of their businesses, forcibly converting their factories into military factories to produce ninja tools and other war equipment.
Initially, they naturally wouldn't sit idly by. Having cultivated their influence in the Land of Lightning for many years, they naturally had some official support. But after two days, they discovered that the Land of Lightning was now under the absolute rule of the Raikage and Grand Minister of State.
Those who spearheaded the use of official power to try and stop the Raikage from seizing their property were executed along with their entire families. The Cloud Village ninjas even hung the corpses of these families at the entrance of the Lightning Country's Merchants' Association, terrifying the merchants so much that they fled overnight with their cash.
Before this, these Lightning Country merchants had mocked the Fire Country's suckers for obediently paying 70% tax.
But now, compared to the Raikage, Uchiha Tokō was far superior; although his taxes were high, at least he was reasonable.
Therefore, faced with the Fire Country's demand for 90% tax, they gritted their teeth and accepted. After all, Commander Uchiha Tokō only wanted to collect 90% tax, but the Raikage behind him was going to kill entire families!
As for other countries, the Land of Water is not a suitable place to invest right now. The market in the south is already almost entirely divided up by merchants from the Konoha faction. As for the north, who in the entire ninja world doesn't know that General Terumi Mei is the most steadfast partner of the Land of Lightning? Going north would be suicide!
As for the Land of Earth, let's put it this way: if the ninja world had a credit system, Onoki and A's creditworthiness would be about the same. In Uchiha Touko's previous life, they were the kind of people who had to pay a 99-dollar deposit to borrow a lighter from someone at the village entrance. Having just escaped one danger, how could they dare gamble that the Land of Earth might be the next wolf's den?
Therefore, Konoha is currently their only option. At least Uchiha Touko's attitude towards merchants willing to make money under his rules is the most generous among all the major ninja countries. Moreover, the tax is only payable for ten years, right? After ten years, they might have a chance to make a comeback.
After these merchants entered Konoha, they used their funds to invest in the Land of Fire, leading to development in some of the poorer areas.
After dealing with these matters, news came from Jiraiya that Naruto had resumed his journey after a trip to the Tailed Beast Protection Area, and Sasuke had learned Snake Sage Mode and returned to Konoha. Neji
, while alone, completed the special examination set for him by Uchiha Touko and became a Jonin.
The day after Neji became a Jonin, Uchiha Touko summoned Hyuga Hiashi to the Hokage's office.
"Hokage, what are your orders?" Hyuga Hiashi asked after greeting Uchiha Touko upon entering the office.
"It's like this," Uchiha Touko said. "Recently, the Land of Lightning has been making a lot of moves. To guard against them, I plan to send another force between the border garrisons of the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Rice Fields to connect the two countries' border garrisons. "And after much thought, it seems that the only one in the village who is capable and qualified to lead this force is you, Clan Chief Hiashi."
"Since it is the Hokage's order, then I will certainly live up to the Hokage's trust," Hyuga Hiashi said.
"It's good that Clan Chief Hiashi has this awareness," Uchiha Touko said with a smile. "However, Clan Chief Hiashi, what will happen to the clan's affairs once you go to the border? The Hyuga clan is different from Inuzuka and Aburame. It is the second largest clan in the village after our Uchiha clan. There are many daily affairs, which is why I'm hesitating. After all, we can't let national affairs interfere with your Hyuga clan's family affairs."
Upon hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi understood why Uchiha Touko had come to him today. Now that Neji has grown up, it's time for this old man to step down.
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
30+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Horizons685
______________________________________
(End of this chapter)