Chapter 8: The Hidden Cloud's Coffers
Thinking back on what he had seen that day, Dana's plan shifted. He organized his thoughts and began to speak.
"Father," he said, "the Hidden Cloud Village has only two sources of income, correct? Financial support from the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, and a percentage cut from the fees for missions completed by our shinobi."
"That's right. It seems those books you read aren't entirely useless," A replied, pleased that his six-year-old son could articulate his thoughts so clearly. He didn't, however, expect Dana to have any truly profound insights.
"But neither of those income streams is completely within the village's control," Dana continued. "If there were a problem with just one of them, let alone both, it would be a disaster for the village. In the book Annals of Governance in the Land of Lightning, it says that a region's finances should be diversified. Otherwise, it cannot withstand disasters or unexpected calamities. If you only rely on farming, a drought will starve everyone. If you only rely on livestock, a plague will do the same. Only with multiple sources of income can you face an uncertain future."
A stroked his chin, a little surprised by his son's answer. The boy had a point, and he was even quoting his sources.
"Look at the Daimyo," Dana elaborated. "He can collect taxes from the farmers in the Land of Lightning, from the merchants who travel here, and from the shops that operate within his domain. Even the hunters in the mountains have to give him a share of their game. Not to mention the vast properties he owns personally. That's why the Daimyo is so wealthy and isn't easily toppled by a sudden crisis. But the Hidden Cloud has only two revenue streams. If one fails, our very survival is at stake."
"The village can't just levy taxes on everything like the Daimyo can, not even within our own walls. The ninja clans would never agree to it. They don't believe their non-mission income has anything to do with the village. And on the flip side, the village has never actively participated in economic activities outside of missions. That's why, even though we have absolute control over this area, we can't collect the revenue we should."
If A had started the conversation with the intention of testing his son, he was now completely dumbfounded. He was astonished that his six-year-old could possess such insight.
These were things A himself had only begun to sense after becoming Raikage. But where A saw only a vague threat, a nebulous sense of urgency, Dana had laid the problem bare.
The village's development depended on its finances, and its finances depended on the Daimyo and mission fees. This meant the village's growth would inevitably hit a ceiling. There was a finite number of missions in the Land of Lightning and its surrounding countries, and the Daimyo's wealth and generosity also had their limits. No matter how high those limits were, they existed. Once a village reached that breaking point...
This was the basic model for all five of the great hidden villages, with only minor differences in wealth. And considering the tense relationships between them, if one or more villages approached that breaking point, the result was inevitable.
War.
And it wasn't just about hitting the ceiling. An economic decline could also be a catalyst for war.
Dana was still talking, giving a simple summary of the geopolitical situations he'd read about, all while carefully watching his father's expression. Feeling he had said enough, he began to wrap it up. "This happens because the village has no way to solve these problems internally, so it's forced to look for external solutions. And given the nature of shinobi, the preferred solution is usually war. ...That's about it, Father. It's all just stuff I read in books. Does it make sense to you?"
Dana put on his most innocent, charming expression.
A, who was still processing his son's lecture, forced himself to snap out of it. To hide the fact that he was completely floored, he gave a slight cough. "Ahem. Not bad. It seems you've been paying close attention to your reading."
A tried to shift the conversation to small talk, but his mind was elsewhere, replaying everything Dana had said. He couldn't believe such valuable knowledge was hidden away in these miscellaneous books that no ninja ever bothered to read.
Seeing that the time was right, Dana made his move. "Father, I went to the orphanage today. It seemed a little... overly strict. They're putting children my age through intense military-style management and high-intensity physical training. I worry that might create instability in the future."
A thought for a moment. "You have a point," he conceded. "The children at the orphanage have only just arrived in the village. They should be given some time to adapt. I'll have someone look into it tomorrow."
In truth, A's mind was still preoccupied with the village's financial situation. The orphanage was a minor issue in comparison. But after their talk, he was now willing to give Dana's opinions serious consideration, rather than dismissing them as childish fantasies.
"Who will you have handle it, Father?" Dana inquired.
"Hm. Dodai, I suppose. He's familiar with these matters," A said.
"Okay, Father. I have some other ideas about the orphanage. Could I go talk to Uncle Dodai about them later?"
The Third Raikage considered it. He saw no harm in it. Dodai was no fool; even if Dana's ideas were naive, Dodai wouldn't necessarily act on them. He agreed to let Dana get involved.
Having achieved his goal, Dana was on his best behavior. After a final chat about his training, A left the library. Before he departed, he turned to Ume. "From now on, whatever books Dana wants for the library, do your best to find them for him."
"As you command, Lord A."
The next morning, in the Raikage's tower, the Third Raikage, A, was in a meeting with several Hidden Cloud advisors and elite Jonin involved in internal affairs.
"...and that is the situation," A concluded. "Our control over the village's financial lifeline is weak. The Daimyo's support and the volume of missions are not things we can control. Sitting in the village and waiting is too passive."
"Lord A is truly wise and forward-thinking," one of the advisors said with genuine admiration.
A felt a blush creep up his neck, but his dark complexion hid it well. He didn't mention that the ideas had come from Dana. For one, no one would have taken it seriously. For another, it would be impossible to explain. He himself had only just discovered his son's intellect; how could he explain it to others? All he knew was that Dana liked to read all sorts of "useless" books.
"But isn't this how most of the hidden villages operate?" asked a white-bearded advisor. "Where would we even begin to change things?"
This advisor was a veteran from the Warring States Period. The hidden village system was only thirty-three years old, and many of the high-ranking leaders and clan heads were holdovers from that era. If the average ninja of the village era had an elementary school education in governance, the shinobi of the Warring States were entirely self-taught.
It wasn't that they were stupid—stupid people didn't survive that era, let alone rise to positions of power. But shinobi were experts in combat and espionage, not economics and administration. They lacked the capacity for that kind of critical thought.
Thinking back on the history he knew, Dana had often marveled at the questionable governance skills of the Hokage and their advisors (Danzo included). Only the Second Hokage seemed to have any real sense of policy. The rest were just a mess.
The leaders of the Hidden Cloud were no different. For the moment, none of them had any good ideas.
But the seed had been planted. And eventually, something was bound to grow. The leaders of the village weren't truly fools.