The sun hung high in the sky.
Haru was still sprawled across his bed, fast asleep. He had no idea how much alcohol had been forced into him the night before. All he knew was that he'd drunk until he blacked out.
Knock knock knock!!
Knock knock knock!!!
A rapid knocking rang out at the door. Manji, who had been sleeping nearby, got up unwillingly to answer it. The moment he opened the door, an older woman hurried inside. She had come to deliver Haru's Hokage robe.
The ceremonial robes of the previous two Hokage had both been made by this same woman, and she had extremely high standards for the embroidery of the words Third Hokage on the back. Ever since Tobirama died, she had been staying up late every night to finish it. Fortunately, she had completed it in time.
That auntie had truly lived a long life. Haru remembered her. She had lived from Hashirama's era all the way to Naruto becoming Hokage, practically a living fossil of Konoha.
Haru quickly got dressed, thanked her sincerely, then draped the Hokage robe over his shoulders and put on the Hokage hat.
"Little Manji!"
"Do I look handsome or what?"
Haru took a smug look at himself in the mirror, and the more he looked, the more he admired himself.
He was basically Konoha's Xu Gong.
"Handsome!"
Manji lifted one paw and declared his honest opinion at the top of his voice.
Haru beckoned with one hand, and Manji skillfully jumped onto his shoulder.
"Let's go. Time to take office as Hokage!"
Before long, Haru arrived at the Hokage Building in the very center of Konoha. Behind it stood the stone faces of the First Hokage, Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama. As for Haru's stone face, it was still being carved.
That was delicate work. As the first Uchiha Hokage, Tomita was personally overseeing the carving, so it would probably take some time.
In front of the Hokage Building stretched a huge plaza, and below it was packed full with Konoha's ninja and villagers. Their hearts were still full of expectation for Konoha's new Hokage.
"From today onward, I am Konoha's Third Hokage. Konoha's future is now in my hands!"
A wave of cheers erupted at once.
Naturally, the loudest voices came from the Uchiha Clan. The Hyuga were also cheering loudly. The Senju, on the other hand, looked miserable and could only force themselves to clap a little out of respect for Haru's new status.
The higher-ups of every major clan were all present. From the stage, Haru noticed that Mito was nowhere to be seen. Presumably, the swelling on her face had not gone down yet.
The succession ceremony dragged on until noon. By the afternoon, Haru's first official meeting as Hokage began.
Inside the meeting room, Haru sat in the center. Tomita sat on his left, while Toma sat on his right. The other clans were seated according to their relative standing and strength.
"Today is my first day as Hokage. Konoha has countless things to rebuild. Speak freely in this meeting and share your thoughts on Konoha's future development."
Haru decided to broaden the channels and first listen to the opinions of Konoha's local power players.
"Hokage-sama, questions of rebuilding Konoha can wait for now. Let's first talk about the debt issue."
Toma spoke with a serious face, not giving Haru even a token smile. His attitude was entirely official.
From inside his sleeve, he pulled out a sheet of paper. On it was recorded the debt Konoha owed the Senju Clan. Just in strategic resources alone, the amount exceeded eight hundred million ryo, more than the debt to the Uchiha by an entire margin.
And that was not all.
There was also compensation owed for Senju clan members who had died for Konoha.
Three hundred and twelve genin had died.
One hundred and fifty-eight chunin had died.
Forty-eight jonin had died.
According to Konoha's regulations, compensation for an ordinary genin ranged from three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand ryo. For chunin, it jumped up to eight hundred thousand to one million ryo. Jonin lives, however, were in an entirely different category, three million to five million ryo, adjusted upward or downward depending on merit.
Even by the minimum standard, that still meant nearly three hundred million ryo in compensation.
From the Senju Clan alone, Konoha owed around one and a half billion ryo.
Tobirama had been Konoha's Hokage, and as the Hokage's clan, it was natural that the Senju had given the most for Konoha. They had practically thrown more than half their family fortune into the war effort.
Konoha's finances had become a pile of filth. If Tobirama were still Hokage, the Senju could have endured a little longer. But now Haru was in charge, and not one coin of the Senju's money could be lost.
"That much?"
Looking at the astronomical number, Haru's head started to ache.
An elite jonin executing an S-rank mission would only start at one million ryo. This debt was equivalent to Haru taking more than a thousand extremely dangerous S-rank missions.
A staggering amount.
Toma produced a whole file bag stuffed with promissory notes, each bearing Tobirama's official seal.
"If Hokage-sama doesn't believe it, you may verify the accounts yourself."
Haru flipped through the promissory notes, his brow knotting tighter and tighter.
"Hokage-sama, in truth, Konoha also owes the Hyuga Clan more than eight hundred million ryo. The specific breakdown is as follows..."
Takuya, seated below, spoke up with an awkward expression.
Now that Toma had opened the issue, Takuya naturally had to speak for the Hyuga's interests.
Friendship was friendship.
Money was money.
Not one coin could be missing.
Once Konoha's two premier noble clans had both raised the matter of debt, the remaining ninja clans saw no reason to keep acting polite. Many of them had originally planned to speak privately to Haru about it afterward, but now there was no need to be reserved. After all, taller people were already standing in front. If Haru wanted to blame anyone, it certainly would not all fall on them.
Haru's eyes had already started turning red.
Added together, the debts totaled around eleven billion ryo.
Yet Konoha's treasury was a complete joke.
It was nothing but deficits.
"Enough!"
"I'll deal with these accounts!"
Haru ground his teeth and shot Toma a vicious look.
On the very first day of the first meeting, that bastard had dropped a bomb this big on him.
Toma simply looked at his nose, then at his heart, and did not meet Haru's gaze at all.
He was already calculating that the moment the money arrived, he would immediately restart the experiment involving Hashirama's cells.
"Meeting adjourned!"
Haru could not be bothered to argue with this group of money-grubbing bastards. He ended the meeting on the spot.
Thus, his first meeting as Hokage ended in total discord, and his grand ambitions suffered a massive blow.
Inside the Hokage's office, a mentally exhausted Haru collapsed back into his chair.
"What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"How am I supposed to pay all that back?!"
Tomita, standing nearby, saw Haru's dejected expression and hurriedly stepped forward to remind him,
"Haru-sama, don't forget the financial aid that the Fire Daimyo promised to give Konoha. That's a huge amount of money."
"Right!!!"
Haru slapped the desk with his hand.
The sheer size of the debt had stunned him so badly that he had forgotten about that.
He had to move at once.
(End of Chapter)
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