Morning
Haru got out of bed while holding his aching lower back. He walked to the window and pulled the curtains open. Sunlight poured in and spread across the bed, casting a golden glow over the snow-white bodies there. It was quite a sight.
He reacted instantly.
But the mirror facing him inside the room made Haru forcibly suppress the impulse.
His hair was a mess, his eyes looked hollow, the dark circles under them were heavy, and somehow his beard had grown that much in a single night.
I've been ruined by wine and women to the point of looking this haggard!
From today onward, I quit lust!
Haru silently swore to himself. That feeling of once you've tasted it and can't let go was just too addictive. He could not let himself end up completely drained.
"Master, you're awake?"
Faye rubbed her eyes. It looked like Haru's movements had woken her up. The moment she saw his naked body, she instinctively covered her eyes, then suddenly realized she was naked too and hurriedly grabbed the blanket to cover herself, her cheeks turning bright red.
So cute.
Watching her flustered panic, Haru sighed inwardly.
"Master, I'll go make breakfast for you right away."
Faye nudged Lynn, trying to wake her so they could help Haru dress and wash up.
"Forget it. No need to go through all that trouble. I'll eat outside by myself. You two keep sleeping."
Haru waved his hand. Being served while dressing and washing up was fine to experience once, but there was no need to make the sisters work so hard every day.
Without giving Faye a chance to argue, he picked up a fresh set of clothes and walked out of the room. After washing up, shaving, and tidying himself, he casually found a breakfast shop and ate there.
After breakfast, Haru headed to the meeting room.
At this hour, there was still a full hour left before the meeting began, so Haru had assumed there would not be many people inside.
Instead, the room was already packed. Nearly every major and minor clan leader in Konoha had come without exception.
Then again, it made sense. The higher-ups were finally paying out money. If someone was not eager when salaries were being handed out, then there had to be something wrong with their brain.
Thinking that, Haru simply walked through the crowd to his seat.
The moment everyone saw Haru enter, they tactfully shut their mouths and returned to their places.
Seated in the central chair, Haru swept his gaze over the room and noticed that Mito was absent today, so he casually asked Senju Toma about it.
"Why didn't Lady Mito come today?"
The moment Toma heard that, his fists clenched. It was hard not to suspect Haru was bringing it up on purpose.
His mother's face had been beaten into a pig's head by that evil Haru. If not for the Uzumaki clan's strong vitality and healing ability, she might have been permanently disfigured.
In any world, a woman's face came first. The only reason Mito had not fought Haru to the death was because she cared about the bigger picture.
"Mother is feeling unwell today, so she did not come."
Toma answered expressionlessly, with no intention of arguing with Haru.
"Oh. So it looks like her injuries from last time still haven't healed."
"You...!"
Toma cracked.
Now he was sure Haru was doing it on purpose.
Don't get angry. I'm not angry.
Toma decided to endure it a little longer. Tearing things apart with Haru right now would bring him no benefit at all. For all he knew, Haru was waiting for exactly that.
This was the moment when the funding was being distributed. He could not fall for it.
Toma turned his face away and pretended he had not heard Haru speak.
"Hokage-sama has arrived, and everyone is more or less here, so let's begin the meeting."
Hyuga Takuma stepped forward to smooth things over, unwilling to let Konoha's two great clans become too hostile.
"Then let's begin."
Haru nodded and officially started today's grand money-distribution meeting.
"The Land of Fire has allocated funding to Konoha."
Haru deliberately paused, and the leaders of every clan looked at him eagerly, all wanting to know the final amount.
"30 billion."
The number shattered the meeting room's previous silence, and discussion immediately erupted.
Was 30 billion a lot?
If it were handed to a single clan, it would naturally be an astronomical figure.
But this money was meant for all of Konoha.
After paying back the more than 10 billion owed to the various clans, there would be less than 20 billion left.
And those were only Konoha's ninja clans. There was also a large number of civilian ninja. There were not many jonin and chunin, but there were quite a few genin, and that was another considerable expense.
On top of that, there were countless other things that required money.
"Today, we will discuss how this funding should be used."
Haru had not been Hokage for long. He was not yet in a position to decide everything with a single word and use the allocated funds however he pleased.
Every ninja in the village was staring at this money like a pack of hungry wolves.
The moment Haru finished speaking, everyone began to voice their opinions openly instead of just whispering among themselves.
The first thing the ninja clans proposed was naturally paying off the old debts, and only after that did they begin discussing how the remaining money should be used.
A long list of projected expenses was quickly compiled.
Konoha's daily operating costs...
The Ninja Academy needed to continue accepting new students, which required money...
There were also ninja tools, soldier pills, explosive tags...
Konoha's hospital needed expansion, and medical ninja had to be trained, which was another major expense.
Then there was the cost of maintaining the defensive lines against Kirigakure and Iwagakure, which was an even bigger burden. Just keeping a standing force stationed there cost 500 million ryo a month, and if local friction escalated into war, that number would triple or quadruple.
There was also Kumogakure. Although a peace agreement had been signed, that was hardly a foolproof guarantee. They still needed to stay on guard.
...
The personnel recording everything at the side kept calculating Konoha's future projected expenses.
Seeing that the discussion had mostly settled down, Haru asked about the total projected budget.
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, if no large-scale war breaks out in the future, then meeting all of these budget targets would require a little over 50 billion."
"Hiss..."
Just as expected.
Haru held his forehead. Budgets were never enough.
Every ninja village had its weak points. Either the academy lacked funding, or medical development was insufficient, or the village did not have enough defensive force...
The people present had practically listed every area Konoha needed to develop as a ninja village. There was no way this amount of funding would be enough.
"And what if war breaks out?"
Hyuga Takuma asked.
The clerk gave a bitter smile. If war had already started, then what budget would ever be enough?
That was literally burning money. There was never an end to it.
"The situation isn't looking very optimistic."
"Comrades."
Haru's face turned solemn as he looked at everyone.
They still lacked money. They still desperately lacked money.
"Konoha is our shared home. We must cross the river in the same boat. We need to bring out the spirit of the Will of Fire..."
"..."
Haru began with a long speech, first making sure the meeting's spirit was fully conveyed.
If Konoha did not have enough money to develop, then someone had to provide the difference.
And who else could bear the transfer burden besides these wealthy ninja clans?
The civilian ninja?
How much oil could you squeeze out of them?
Even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse, and the ninja clans were far from finished.
The money Konoha owed was money owed to the clans.
That was an internal entanglement.
That was domestic debt.
Domestic debt wasn't really debt!
Let the ninja clans suffer a little.
He would bear the infamy.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]