"Big brother, are you insane?"
"Two million ryō isn't enough, and you want to throw in another two million?"
"Do you have any idea how much it costs to build a strong, prosperous Konoha? Even the ten billion ryō the Land of Fire's daimyo allocated is nowhere near enough!"
"And… where does Konoha's so-called deep-rooted vice even come from…"
"???"
Senju Tobirama's voice trembled. He'd been relentlessly cutting the budget, and not for his brother to pull a stunt like this today.
He'd always thought his big brother's head wasn't screwed on quite right.
But he never expected—
His brother was getting more and more unhinged.
He was even saying things like "Konoha's shinobi have a deep-rooted vice" as if it were perfectly acceptable.
It was fortunate there were only the two of them in the room. If a line like that spread, the damage would be immense.
"Isn't that exactly what this article says? If a ninja village doesn't go through something like this, it means its shinobi are still clinging to the Warring States-era vice. I think this article is absolutely right!"
Senju Hashirama looked intoxicated, smacking his lips with relish. What a story, this little Akatsuki Village parable—brimming with philosophy at every turn.
"Warm hatred into hot soup… and pour it over people's hearts."
This was what Hashirama had always pursued and practiced. Back then, it was his tireless effort that turned the Senju and the Uchiha from enemies into allies. Now he wanted to spread that spirit to the whole village.
"..."
"Stop it, big brother. This is ridiculous!"
"This money is destined to be meat buns thrown to dogs—gone forever. Instead of wasting it on this nonsense, we should spend it on something meaningful. I absolutely refuse!"
"Not a single ryō of that two million is going to this!"
Emotionally, Tobirama felt there wasn't anything inherently wrong with what Hashirama wanted to do. Rationally, though, the whole thing was absurd—reeking of strangeness, abnormal from every angle—yet he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
And it would be especially expensive to do.
"Tobirama, your vision is far too narrow. We should look further ahead. What matters most is will—what you yourself called the Will of Fire. Isn't this exactly what you've been advocating?"
Hashirama looked deeply disappointed.
He didn't get it. He couldn't understand.
Why would his own brother Tobirama oppose such a good proposal?
It wasn't as if he were taking the funds to gamble—he wanted to eradicate the Leaf shinobi's deep-rooted vice, to build a better Konoha.
It was just a little extra money!
Never mind two million ryō!
Even twenty million—if it could purge Konoha's shinobi of that vice—
It would be worth every coin!
"My vision is narrow?"
Tobirama's eyes went wide.
He couldn't believe those words came out of his brother's mouth. Shameless! His big brother spent all day messing around with the innately evil Uchiha Madara; sometimes he disappeared for entire days.
Meanwhile, Tobirama worked himself ragged at the office. He'd already mapped out the next thirty years—and Hashirama had the gall to call him narrow-minded!
"Tobirama, you have to approve this budget for me!"
"I'm doing this for Konoha!"
"I refuse!"
Hashirama: "Tobirama, I'm the Hokage!"
"Big brother, you'll regret this!"
Tobirama was so angry he could barely breathe. He hadn't expected Hashirama to be so stubborn. For a moment, he even felt like his brother's brain had been hit by an illusion technique.
There was something wrong with that book!
A long silence.
Tobirama sighed. It was rare for his brother to want to do something serious. Even though he could already guess the outcome, he decided to grant Hashirama's request… He was his big brother, after all, and, well, a legitimate Hokage.
"Fine. You win."
"I'm approving the two million ryō—just this once. After that, you'll have to earn the rest yourself. And you can use this chance to stay away from Uchiha Madara for a while!"
Tobirama compromised.
"Fantastic!"
"Tobirama, I knew you'd come around!"
"I'm going to go set out the wooden crates with Madara right now!"
Hashirama, elated, grabbed the authorization slip Tobirama had signed and headed straight to the Treasury to withdraw the funds, eager to carry out the plan with Uchiha Madara.
"I need to study this book carefully. Big brother read it and came out acting like he'd lost his mind. It's terrifying."
Muttering to himself, Tobirama picked up the volume Hashirama had left behind: New Ninja.
...
Capital of the Land of Fire.
In a gloomy atmosphere, Uchiha Makoto walked into the daimyo's reception hall.
At that moment,
the Land of Fire's daimyo was seated on the sofa, waiting for Uchiha Makoto. The moment Makoto stepped inside, the daimyo sprang up, unable to contain himself.
"Makoto, do you have any idea what you're doing? Using my name to bleed the nobles—do you realize many of them are ready to unite against me?"
"Please rest easy, Your Highness."
"Akatsuki Village has always stood firmly with you!"
"You stand with me and then pull something like this behind my back?"
The daimyo couldn't hide the fury in his voice.
This could blow the roof off. Enraging those great nobles, driving them to band together and oppose him—even as daimyo, he might be… The consequences were unthinkable.
"There was no other way, Your Highness."
"Akatsuki Village is short on funds."
"You're short on funds?"
The daimyo's voice rose again.
Not long ago,
Akatsuki Village had taken home ninety billion ryō in dividends. Even for him, that was an enormous sum. How could Akatsuki possibly be short on money?
"Your Highness, it's all to deal with Senju Hashirama."
"Hashirama is far too strong. There's no defeating him with one person's power. To bring him down, we have to rely on sheer numbers. So I recruited three thousand reserve shinobi at once. They'll be Akatsuki Village's sharpest blades to defend Your Highness and to oppose Hashirama…"
Uchiha Makoto spoke,
once again using Hashirama as his shield.
Hearing that, the daimyo calmed a little.
He knew well the extent of Hashirama's power, and he'd long hoped for a force that could keep him fully in check.
Having a sword is not the same as having none at all.
"Please look, Your Highness—Akatsuki Village's recent expenditures."
Then,
Uchiha Makoto presented the village's recent ledgers: training three thousand shinobi, building a wartime reserve supply chain, cultivating medical shinobi, constructing an explosive tag factory—each a massive expense… Of course, Akatsuki's finances were still very flush… The ledger was a fake.
If you've got the guts, have the Land of Fire's daimyo send accountants to Akatsuki Village to audit the books!
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