Morning.
Uchiha Nan braced his aching lower back as he climbed out of bed. Walking to the window, he pulled the curtains open. Sunlight poured in, spilling across the bed—snow-white skin bathed in golden light, a sight that was undeniably pleasing.
…It rose.
But the mirror directly opposite him forced Nan to suppress the impulse.
Messy hair. Deep-set eyes. Heavy dark circles.
And—when did his beard grow this much overnight?
I've been ruined by wine and women… I actually look this haggard.
Starting today—abstinence.
Nan silently swore to himself. The taste of indulgence was dangerously addictive; if he kept this up, he'd really end up wrecking his kidneys.
"Master… you're awake?"
Feng rubbed her eyes sleepily. It seemed Nan's movements had woken her. When she noticed Nan's bare body, she instinctively covered her eyes—then suddenly realized she herself was naked. In a panic, she grabbed the bedsheet and pulled it over herself, cheeks flushed bright red.
…Cute.
Nan watched her flustered movements and sighed inwardly.
"Master, I'll go make breakfast right away."
Feng tugged at Ling, trying to wake her so they could help Nan dress and wash up.
"Forget it. Don't bother," Nan waved his hand.
"I'll eat outside. You two keep sleeping."
Being waited on like this—trying it once was enough. No need to work the sisters so hard.
Without giving Feng a chance to argue, Nan grabbed a fresh set of clothes and walked out. He washed up, shaved his beard, then casually found a breakfast stall and ate.
After breakfast, he headed straight for the conference room.
At this hour, there was still an hour before the meeting. Nan had assumed there wouldn't be many people yet.
He was wrong.
The conference room was packed—almost every major and minor clan leader in Konoha had arrived.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Payday was coming.
Anyone not showing enthusiasm for getting paid clearly had something wrong with their head.
With that thought, Nan calmly walked through the crowd to his seat.
As soon as he entered, the chatter died down. Everyone knowingly returned to their places.
Nan sat at the central seat and swept his gaze across the room. Noticing Uzumaki Mito was absent, he casually asked Senju Momoka.
"Why isn't Lady Mito here today?"
Momoka's fist clenched instantly.
It was hard not to suspect Nan was doing this on purpose.
His mother's face had been beaten into a literal pig's head by this "evil Uchiha." If it weren't for the Uzumaki clan's vitality and recovery, she'd probably have been disfigured.
In any world, a woman's face came first.
Mito was only enduring this for the greater good—otherwise, she'd have gone all-out with Nan.
"Mother isn't feeling well today," Momoka replied expressionlessly. "So she didn't attend."
"Oh? Still not healed from last time, then."
"You—!"
Momoka snapped.
Now he was certain Nan was doing it deliberately.
Calm down. Don't get angry.
Momoka forced himself to endure it again. Tearing things open now would only benefit Nan—he might even be waiting for him to lose control.
And this was fund distribution day. He absolutely couldn't fall for it.
Momoka turned his face away, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
"Since the Hokage is here and everyone's present, let's begin," Hyūga Takuma stepped in to smooth things over. He didn't want the two great clans clashing openly.
"Then let's start," Nan nodded, officially opening the money-distribution conference.
"The Land of Fire has allocated funds to Konoha."
Nan deliberately paused.
Every clan head leaned forward, eyes fixed on him.
"Three hundred billion ryō."
The moment the number was announced, the once-quiet room erupted into discussion.
Was three hundred billion a lot?
For a single clan, it was astronomical.
But this was for the entire village.
After repaying over a hundred billion in debts to various clans, less than two hundred billion remained.
And that was just the ninja clans.
There were also countless civilian shinobi—few jōnin and chūnin, but a massive number of genin. That alone was another huge expense.
"And today, we'll discuss how this funding is to be used."
Nan had only just taken office; he couldn't yet act unilaterally. The entire village had its eyes locked on this money like starving wolves.
As soon as Nan finished speaking, the room exploded into open discussion.
The clans ujinimously agreed: old debts must be paid first, then they could talk about how to use what remained.
Budgets piled up rapidly.
Konoha's daily operational costs.
The Ninja Academy had to keep recruiting—money.
Weapons, soldier pills, explosive tags—money.
Hospitals needed expansion, medical ninja training—another massive expense.
The frontlines against Kirigakure and Iwagakure alone cost a fortune. Just maintaining standing forces there consumed five billion ryō per month. If skirmishes escalated into war, that would triple or quadruple.
And then there was Kumogakure. Even with a peace treaty, precautions were necessary.
The record keepers frantically calculated future expenses.
When the discussion finally slowed, Nan asked for the projected total.
"Reporting to the Hokage—if no large-scale war breaks out, fulfilling these plans would require over five hundred billion ryō."
"Hiss—"
As expected.
Nan rubbed his temples. Budgets were never enough.
Every village had shortcomings—too little funding for the academy, weak medical systems, inadequate defenses…
Everyone present had listed everything a shinobi village should develop. This level of funding was obviously insufficient.
"And if war breaks out?" Hyūga Takuma asked.
The clerk smiled bitterly.
Once war started, no budget was ever enough.
You weren't spending money—you were burning it.
"The situation… isn't optimistic."
Nan straightened, his expression serious as he looked around the room.
"Comrades."
"Konoha is our shared homeland. We must stand together and embody the Will of Fire."
"..."
Nan launched into a long speech, setting the ideological tone first.
Since Konoha's development funds were insufficient, someone had to make up the difference.
And who could do that, if not these wealthy ninja clans?
Civilian shinobi?
How much oil could you squeeze from them?
A starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
Konoha owed the clans money.
That was internal circulation.
Internal debt wasn't real debt.
Let the clans suffer a little—
he'd bear the infamy himself.
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