"You're too kind, too kind!"
"It's nothing more than a trivial trick."
"Not just any random nobody is qualified to challenge Konoha."
Haru put on a fake smile and offered false modesty, his scarlet Sharingan fixed on the Daimyo until the man began to feel uneasy inside.
"Of course, of course!"
"The fame of the Uchiha Sharingan is known by everyone across the ninja world!"
The Daimyo nodded repeatedly. He had heard the meaning behind Haru's words. Even if Konoha was not as strong as before, it was still unquestionably the strongest force in the entire Land of Fire.
"Men, take Voidheart away!"
"Useless trash that only looks impressive!"
The Daimyo turned his head, and the smile plastered across his face instantly vanished. He directly ordered his subordinates to drag away the unconscious Voidheart.
Seeing that his show of force had achieved its purpose, Haru stopped keeping a stern face and returned to smiling as he began chatting warmly with the Daimyo.
They talked about all sorts of things.
The Daimyo complained about his hardships and sighed about the difficulty of ruling a country.
His ministers deceived him from below and above, falsified accounts, seized land, refused to pay taxes, and embezzled his money.
That was all his money!
Haru played along at the side and also sighed about how difficult his own life was.
Being a ninja was hard. Being Hokage was even harder!
He rolled through blades and fire, and a single moment of carelessness could mean death.
Sometimes, the joys and sorrows of people really could overlap. So the Daimyo and Haru chatted on and off like that.
Men, after all, could start with history, move on to military affairs, then jump to aliens, then talk about the origin of the universe. The point was freedom. But sooner or later, the topic always circled back to women.
"Was the gift I gave the Hokage yesterday satisfactory?"
The Daimyo wore the sort of smile every man understood. Haru naturally returned the smile. The answer was clear without either of them needing to say it aloud.
"If the Hokage likes that sort, then I have..."
The Daimyo's gaze shifted as he extended another invitation to Haru. For men like them, women were the cheapest thing of all.
If they could be used to draw him a little closer to Haru, the Daimyo would spare no effort to satisfy Haru's desires.
At once, Haru thought of that ridiculous task involving three widows, but he immediately rejected it.
Too twisted!
The little dignity he still had left was not something he wanted to throw away yet.
"No, no..."
"Too much of a good thing is dangerous."
Haru repeatedly shook his head and rejected the Daimyo's kind offer. The Daimyo felt a little disappointed, though he did not show it.
After chatting with the Daimyo for a while, noon arrived, and naturally the Daimyo invited Haru to stay in the palace for lunch.
Since he was already here, Haru naturally would not refuse. The chefs kept by the Daimyo really were excellent.
After lunch, Haru naturally did not forget to pack a portion for Faye and Lynn back in the room. Food that only the Daimyo himself usually got to enjoy would probably be a first for the two sisters.
The sisters stood nervously in the room, waiting for Haru. They had heard that the important man before them was a ninja, and not just any ninja, but Konoha's Hokage!
They did not know much about the title of Hokage, but when it came to ninja, they understood perfectly well.
With a casual movement, ninja could unleash killing techniques. They had not only heard about rogue ninja casually slaughtering civilians, they had seen it with their own eyes.
"Thank you, Master..."
As the older sister, Faye was a little bolder. She stepped forward and took the food box full of dishes. Even though the lid covered it, the fragrance still drifted out from inside.
Gulp.
The two sisters swallowed their saliva. Haru had worn them out half the night before, and they had barely eaten breakfast. Their stomachs were already growling with hunger, yet they still did not open the food box.
Haru had not given permission, so they did not dare.
"Eat. Why are you looking at me?"
"There's cream cake at the bottom too. I figured you'd probably like it, so I brought you some."
"I still have things to do. After you finish lunch, stay in the room and don't wander around."
After giving them a few instructions, Haru stepped out the door. He still had to take the Daimyo's authorization slip to the Ministry of Finance and collect Konoha's funding.
The moment Haru left, the sisters eagerly opened the box and began enjoying the food.
"Big sis, the cake is so sweet!"
Lynn scooped up a bit of cream from the cake and licked it. It was soft and sweet.
Sugar was a rare luxury these days. In this era, commoners were lucky if they could simply fill their stomachs and avoid starving to death. Sugar was something only nobles and officials had the right to enjoy.
Not to mention cream cake.
"Mhm."
Faye nodded. The sweetness in her mouth washed away some of her fear toward the future.
Their master seemed to be a good person.
...
Haru left the palace and made his way to the Ministry of Finance with the authorization slip approved by the Daimyo.
Ministry of Finance
The room was full of ledgers. In front of each clerk were towering stacks of account books, and the abacuses in their hands clicked nonstop.
A middle-aged man in a black robe sat there doing nothing, slowly sipping tea with his huge belly sticking out.
So idle?
Then he had to be the one in charge.
"Where is your minister?"
Haru walked straight up to the man and asked.
The man looked up and saw Haru wearing the Hokage robe. He immediately stood up to greet him, his face filling with smiles.
"The minister is working in the inner office. I will take the Hokage there at once."
Haru nodded and followed him inside, where he saw the minister himself also drinking tea.
The Minister of Finance greeted Haru with a bright smile at once, and Haru directly stated his purpose.
"Th-This... this is a bit difficult, Hokage-sama!"
The moment he heard that 32 billion ryo needed to be paid out, the minister's smile instantly froze, turning into a bitter expression.
"The treasury is short on money. We need to relieve disaster victims and resettle refugees. This year, there was drought in the north and flooding in the south..."
One excuse after another poured out of his mouth. In the end, it all came down to one sentence: no money. Or rather, not that they would not pay, but that they intended to drag it out.
Damn it!
These worthless parasites!
The minister rubbed his fingers together in a subtle motion, making it obvious that he wanted a cut. He actually dared to shave off a layer from a ninja village's military funding.
He really was willing to die for money!
"One million ryo."
Haru raised one finger and gave his offer. The man was the Minister of Finance, one of the highest-ranking figures in the Land of Fire. It was still necessary to observe a little give-and-take.
"Tch..."
The minister let out a soft laugh and raised five fingers instead.
"Fifty million ryo."
Looking for death?
Haru had already opened his Sharingan. This bastard actually dared to skim that much?
"Hokage-sama, don't get angry. This is the usual practice. I'm not asking for extra."
"Rest assured, we'll cooperate fully where needed. The accounts we prepare for the Ministry of Finance will be watertight. No one will be able to tell."
Haru smiled faintly as his Sharingan appeared.
A moment later, the minister climbed up from the floor trembling all over, terror filling his eyes. He did not dare mention kickbacks again. The transfer, the false accounts, the receipts, the entire process was completed at lightning speed.
"What a born wretch."
Ptui!
Haru spat in the minister's face and walked out without looking back.
"Please, take care on your way out! Take care!"
(End of Chapter)
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