The sun hung high in the sky.
Uchiha Nan was still sprawled across his bed, fast asleep. He had no idea how much alcohol he'd been forced to drink the night before—only that he'd ended up completely blacked out.
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang!!!
A series of urgent knocks echoed through the room.
Genji, sleeping beside him, reluctantly got up to answer the door. An older woman hurried inside—she had come to deliver the Hokage ceremonial robe.
The robes worn by the first two Hokage had both been made by her. The embroidery for the words Third Hokage demanded extreme precision, so she had already been working through sleepless nights ever since Senju Tobirama's death. Thankfully, she had finished just in time.
This woman had lived an astonishingly long life. Nan remembered her—she'd been around since the era of Senju Hashirama and would still be alive when Naruto became Hokage. A genuine living fossil of Konoha.
Nan quickly got dressed, thanked her sincerely, then draped the Hokage robe over his shoulders and placed the Hokage hat on his head.
"Hey, Genji!"
"Am I handsome or what?"
Nan admired himself in the mirror, liking what he saw more and more. He looked like the Xu Gong of Konoha—undeniably elegant.
"Handsome!"
Genji raised a paw and shouted his honest opinion.
Nan beckoned to him, and Genji leapt up onto his shoulder with practiced ease.
"Let's go—time to take office as Hokage!"
Before long, Nan arrived at the Hokage Tower, located at the very center of Konoha. Behind it stood the stone faces of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. As for Nan's own statue—it was still being carved.
This was delicate work. As the first Uchiha Hokage, Uchiha Futami personally supervised the sculpture. It would take some time.
Below the tower lay an enormous plaza, packed densely with shinobi and villagers. Their faces were filled with anticipation for Konoha's new Hokage.
"From today onward, I am Konoha's Third Hokage. The future of the village is in my hands!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
The loudest voices came from the Uchiha clan, with the Hyūga clan also applauding enthusiastically. The Senju, by contrast, looked miserable—forcing themselves to clap just enough to show formal respect.
All major clan leaders were present. Standing on the platform, Nan noticed that Uzumaki Mito was nowhere to be seen. Presumably, her facial injuries still hadn't healed.
The inauguration ceremony lasted the entire morning.
That afternoon, Nan convened his first official meeting as Hokage.
Hokage Conference Room
Uchiha Nan sat at the center.
Uchiha Futami sat to his left.
Senju Tōma sat to his right.
The remaining clan leaders were seated according to their clans' overall strength.
"Today is my first day as Hokage. Konoha has many unresolved issues. Speak freely—share your thoughts on the village's future."
Nan intended to keep the discussion open and hear what these local powerholders had to say.
"Lord Hokage," Senju Tōma said solemnly, showing no trace of a smile, "before discussing development, we should address Konoha's debts."
He pulled out a document.
It listed the debts Konoha owed the Senju clan alone. Just strategic resources purchased on credit totaled 800 million ryō—more than double what the Uchiha clan was owed.
And that wasn't all.
There were also compensation payments for fallen Senju shinobi:
Genin killed: 312Chūnin killed: 158Jōnin killed: 48
According to village regulations:
Genin compensation: 300,000–500,000 ryōChūnin: 800,000–1,000,000 ryōJōnin: 3,000,000–5,000,000 ryō, depending on merit
Even at the lowest rates, that alone amounted to nearly 300 million ryō.
All told, Konoha owed the Senju clan 1.5 billion ryō.
As Hokage, Tobirama's clan had naturally borne the heaviest burden. The Senju had practically emptied their coffers for the village. Konoha's fijinces were now an absolute disaster.
When Tobirama had still been Hokage, the Senju could endure it.
But now?
Now that Uchiha Nan was in charge, the Senju weren't giving up a single ryō.
"That… much?"
Nan stared at the figure, his head starting to throb.
An elite jōnin earned around 1 million ryō for a dangerous S-rank mission. This debt was equivalent to thousands of such missions.
An astronomical sum.
Tōma produced another file—loan documents stamped with Tobirama's personal seal.
"If you doubt it, Lord Hokage, feel free to audit the accounts."
Nan flipped through the papers, his brows knotting tightly.
"Lord Hokage," Hyūga Takuma spoke up, slightly embarrassed, "Konoha also owes the Hyūga clan over 800 million ryō. The details are as follows—"
Once the Senju had opened their mouths, Takuma couldn't stay silent. Friendship was friendship, but money was money.
Not a single coin could be written off.
With the two greatest clans demanding repayment, the rest of the clans immediately followed suit. Any pretense vanished.
If blame was to be assigned, it wouldn't fall on them anyway.
Nan's eyes turned bloodshot.
When everything was tallied, the total debt reached 11 billion ryō.
And Konoha's treasury?
A sea of red ink.
"Enough!"
"I will handle these debts!"
Nan ground his teeth and shot Senju Tōma a vicious glare. His very first meeting as Hokage—and he'd been handed a nuclear bomb.
Tōma stared straight ahead, calm and detached. Once the money came in, he planned to restart the Hashirama Cell experiments immediately.
"Meeting adjourned!"
Nan didn't have the patience to argue with a room full of money-hungry vultures. His first conference ended in complete disaster, dealing a brutal blow to his ambitions.
Hokage Office
Exhausted, Nan collapsed back into his chair.
"How the hell am I supposed to pay all this…?"
Standing nearby, Uchiha Futami hurriedly reminded him:
"Lord Nan, don't forget—the Fire Daimyō promised fijincial aid to Konoha. That's a massive sum."
"That's right!!!"
Nan slapped the desk.
The shock of those numbers had made him forget entirely.
There was no time to waste.
He needed to move—immediately.
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