In the main camp of the Konoha joint forces made up of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Ryosuke were seated together.
The solemn tension that had weighed them down before the war had vanished. Now, each of them wore a relaxed expression.
Their combined clans had decisively defeated the powerful forces of the Hidden Cloud Village. It was an overwhelming victory—one that not only lifted the crisis looming over both clans, but also left a strong impression across the entire shinobi world.
Who else in the ninja world could say that two clans alone had the strength to jointly overpower one of the five great shinobi villages?
No one. Absolutely no one.
But now that the war was over, a new problem lay before them—what to do with the captured Hidden Cloud shinobi.
Neither Hyuga Hiashi nor Uchiha Fugaku could think of a solution that didn't come with consequences.
If they were to execute all the prisoners, it would create a blood feud with the Hidden Cloud—an irreconcilable grudge that would last for generations. Even though they had managed to capture many elite ninja from the Cloud, the village still had close to ten thousand remaining shinobi. A mass execution would only provoke an endless cycle of revenge and violence.
Such a massacre wouldn't just draw hatred from the Hidden Cloud; even the average Konoha shinobi might begin to resent the Uchiha and Hyuga for starting such a bloodbath.
They didn't want that. But simply releasing the captives without consequences? That felt far too lenient after the cost of war.
Fugaku turned to Ryosuke, his eyes sharp but thoughtful.
"Ryosuke, what's your opinion? What's the best way to handle these prisoners?"
"If we kill them, it'll just cause endless trouble."
Hyuga Hiashi also looked toward Ryosuke with respectful curiosity. The man had not only saved his life but had fought like a one-man army on the battlefield. After returning to camp, Hiashi had inquired about what had happened on the front lines—and the answer had shocked him to the core.
Ryosuke had unleashed the Eight Gates and forcibly ripped the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki out of her tailed beast state, knocking her unconscious in the process. After that, facing the remaining Cloud shinobi, he had cut through them like a god of war—most didn't even survive a single punch.
Not a single elite ninja, whether Chūnin or Jōnin, could last even one exchange against Ryosuke.
Hiashi was awed. There was no other word for it.
So naturally, he held Ryosuke's opinion in the highest regard.
At that moment, Ryosuke calmly proposed, "If killing them brings too much hassle, why don't we demand a massive ransom before releasing them?"
"Otherwise, it feels like we fought this war for nothing."
Fugaku's interest was immediately piqued. "What sort of ransom are you thinking of?"
Ryosuke laid out his plan with confidence.
"We've captured a lot of Cloud ninja, haven't we?"
"Let's ask for ten million ryō per Chūnin."
"And thirty million per Jōnin."
"As for the incident involving the Hyuga clan leader's daughter, we should demand an additional 200 million as reparations."
In the original storyline, Asuma Sarutobi had a bounty of 35 million on his head. Asking 30 million per Jōnin here was Ryosuke being merciful in comparison.
Fugaku inhaled sharply.
While ten million per Chūnin and thirty million per Jōnin wasn't outrageous on a per-ninja basis, the volume of captured Cloud ninja was staggering—around 300 Chūnin and nearly 100 Jōnin.
A quick calculation: 300 Chūnin at 10 million each equals 3 billion. 100 Jōnin at 30 million each makes another 3 billion.
Add the 200 million in reparations to the Hyuga clan, and the total came to nearly 6.2 billion ryō.
Even if some of the captured ninja had died in battle and couldn't be ransomed, the amount still hovered around 6 billion.
An unfathomable sum.
Fugaku couldn't help but voice his concerns.
"Ryosuke, this amount is astronomical. Hidden Cloud may not even be able to afford it. Six-point-two billion ryō could bankrupt them. They might not even recover financially for the next decade. After all, they were never a rich village to begin with. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so desperate to attack Konoha."
"They can't possibly pay this in full."
But Ryosuke shrugged nonchalantly.
"Of course, they can't pay it all at once. That's why we allow installments."
"If one year isn't enough, they can pay over ten."
"If ten years won't cut it, they can pay over twenty."
Fugaku's eyes widened. That was brutal—but brilliant. A long-term debt like that would cripple the Cloud's growth and military development for decades. Their ability to expand or modernize would be completely stunted. They'd be lucky to hold onto what little power they had left.
"Ryosuke, you're a genius," Fugaku praised.
Hiashi was equally excited. A 200 million payout would drastically boost the Hyuga clan's wealth—and, more importantly, restore their honor.
"Ryosuke, thank you for standing up for the Hyuga."
"However, about the ransom—"
Ryosuke cut him off, as if sensing where Hiashi was headed.
"Relax. As far as that goes, the Uchiha clan will split the ransom with the Hyuga clan, sixty-forty. Does that sound fair, Lord Hiashi?"
Technically, the Hyuga probably hadn't earned 40% of the war merit. Most of the key victories—including the defeat of the Jinchūriki and the elite Cloud units—had been won by Ryosuke and the Uchiha.
But Ryosuke had his reasons. He wanted to secure a long-term alliance with the Hyuga, and that meant offering real, tangible benefits. This was about more than money—it was about future power.
His generosity was calculated.
Hiashi hadn't expected such a generous offer. He knew perfectly well that if the war merit was weighed fairly, the Hyuga couldn't justify even half of that 40%. Ryosuke alone had done more than their entire clan combined.
Still, that wasn't what Hiashi had wanted to say.
He shook his head. "Actually, I was going to ask… don't we have to surrender a portion of the ransom to the village?"
Traditionally, any profit from war—whether loot, territory, or ransom—had to be shared with Konoha's central leadership. The clans could keep a portion, but most of it was turned over for redistribution.
Fugaku's expression darkened at that. Not at Hiashi, but at the idea itself.
By rights, that was how things were supposed to be. But Konoha's leadership hadn't lifted a finger in this war. Not a single representative had joined the Uchiha and Hyuga in battle. Not even one member of the Konoha military police or Anbu had shown up.
And yet they would still expect a share?
The thought made Fugaku furious.
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