In Hiruko's eyes, there was none of Danzo's cold calculation. Instead, there was a burning intensity—something bordering on raw possessiveness.
"You are my property now. You no longer belong to that old man. As for your burdens... I will settle them for you."
Nonō's lips felt dry; she instinctively pressed them together.
"So nervous?" he chuckled. His thumb brushed over the corner of her mouth, a feather-light touch as if he were confirming a claim.
The two of them locked in a deep, suffocating embrace. There was the faint, salt-sweet sensation of shared breath and moisture; Nonō felt as though the air had been stripped from the room. Deep in her heart, a singular thought took root: Following this man... perhaps life will finally be a little easier.
After a long moment, he released her, allowing her to stumble back half a step to regain her footing.
"Are you at peace now?"
Hiruko's voice carried a hint of laziness, yet it remained laced with an absolute authority. "You are my woman. I will look after you. As for anything else... you need not worry anymore."
He knew Danzo wasn't a fool. The old man likely realized Nonō would never be able to truly "spy" on Hiruko. Giving her up was simply a move to make Hiruko owe him even more favors. As for fully "consuming" Nonō right then and there? It was their first real meeting; there was no need to rush. He wasn't as desperate as the rumors suggested. He believed in cultivating affection over time—he'd even shown a great deal of patience with Pakura, even if her feelings toward him remained... complicated.
Seven days later, Minato Namikaze sat firmly upon the Hokage's throne. The Third Hokage cleared his throat, calling the emergency meeting to order.
Reliable intelligence indicated that the Hidden Cloud Village was making moves. They seemed agitated by rumors of information leaks from Konoha's Research Division. While the Cloud hadn't declared war yet, Konoha was already preparing for the worst.
Because of Hiruko's advancements, the other Four Great Nations would never sit idly by while Konoha grew stronger. They were circling like vultures. Though no formal alliance existed between them, a silent consensus had formed: they intended to use a war of attrition to drown Konoha in blood.
Konoha's Jonin had already bled enough for the village. They didn't want to see more senseless death. But as veterans, they knew that "kindness" and "justice" were hollow words on the battlefield. The survival of the village was the only absolute. Since war seemed inevitable, they would meet it head-on.
Then, Danzo threw a wrench into the resolve. "We don't know the Cloud's full strength yet, and Konoha has not fully recovered. If we go to war now, we face a monthly fiscal deficit of nearly one billion Ryo."
He turned his gaze toward Minato. "Lord Hokage, do you have any brilliant insights on how to handle this?"
"Ah!" Kakashi, standing nearby, let out a sharp gasp at the number. Even an S-rank mission only paid about one million Ryo. Danzo was talking about a nine-figure sum every month—the equivalent of completing a thousand S-rank missions.
"That is just to maintain the basic front lines," Danzo added, relishing the shock on the faces of the younger shinobi. "For high-intensity warfare, the deficit will be at least two billion Ryo a month."
While the other Jonin felt their scalps go numb, Hiruko knew Danzo wasn't exaggerating. In fact, he was being conservative. Once the cannons roar, gold flows like water. To put it in perspective, a single bowl of plain ramen cost around 60 Ryo, and an egg was 15. A full-scale war in this world easily cost tens of billions.
Konoha was already drowning in unpaid debts from the previous war. Hiruzen's style was to stall, paying back creditors bit by bit like squeezing toothpaste from a tube. But with a new war looming, where would the money come from? The Land of Fire's Daimyo couldn't be relied upon for everything.
The heads of the various clans grew pale. Most of Konoha's internal businesses belonged to them. In a world where strength was law, "buy low, sell high" was the norm, and after fifty years, the clans controlled nearly 50% of the village's wealth. Any talk of "war taxes" was like asking for their life's blood.
The Third Hokage looked at Minato and said softly, "In times like these, the most suitable path is to increase taxes. We must all endure together to survive this war."
Hiruko saw his opening. While seizing the salt monopoly of the Land of Fire would normally cause an uproar, in these desperate times, opposition would be muted. His experiments cost too much to rely on the village's whims; he needed to be his own source of revenue.
He planned to use science to revolutionize salt production, making it cheap and reliable for the masses. Once he had that initial capital, he could pivot into luxury goods and infrastructure, drawing the poor from the surrounding lands to Konoha.
Asuma Sarutobi raised an objection. "Salt is monopolized by the nobility, and the output is far too low. Even if we get the rights, we won't have enough product to make a real profit."
Hiruko waved a hand dismissively, his confidence unshakable. "Scaling production is not an issue for me. For the Land of Fire, salt is expensive because the technology is primitive. But for us..."
"The most critical part is..."
Konoha's Financial Crisis: A Brief Comparison
Item
Estimated Cost (Ryo)
Plain Ramen Bowl
60
One Egg
15
S-Rank Mission Reward
1,000,000+
Asuma Sarutobi's Bounty
35,000,000
Monthly War Deficit
1,000,000,000 - 2,000,000,000
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