Inaho quietly asked, "Do we need to give a little to the other villages as well?"
"I don't think that's necessary. They are, at most, outsourced, and do not enjoy the benefits of official Konoha employees."
"A verbal commendation and a bowl of ramen will do."
Apparently, Inaho didn't know what 'outsourced' meant, but he understood. In short, nothing. If it were him, he wouldn't even give ramen.
Thinking about it, Konoha isn't a charity. It doesn't have the leisure to throw money around.
Isn't that idiotic?
However, giving 50,000 to each ninja is not a small sum. Counting it up, it's equivalent to several Asuma.
Since Satoshi became Hokage, the treatment of Konoha ninjas has skyrocketed.
The old hands in the logistics department privately sighed that they had never fought such a wealthy war in their lives.
The previous batch of supplies hadn't even been fully distributed, and the warehouse was almost overflowing. New batches of supplies were continuously transported back by the cartload, piled up like small mountains.
It's a good thing the other villages didn't see it, or they would have fainted from anger.
How did you get your money? Don't you have any idea?
Some time ago, when the temperature dropped, Satoshi even distributed cold-weather subsidies to every household. He told everyone to buy winter clothes and repair their houses.
However, another problem arose. Such lavish spending would certainly cause some economic pressure.
After everyone dispersed, in the Hokage Building, a high-ranking official quietly suggested, "Hokage-sama, if such a large expenditure continues, it may cause significant financial pressure."
Satoshi glanced at him and asked, "Would you be willing to have it deducted from your salary?"
"That's not what I meant. It's just about planning ahead, there must be a long-term plan."
Satoshi shot him a glance, 'Look at how stingy you are.'
Their conversation fell into Hiashi's ears, who was standing nearby. He knew his chance to perform had arrived.
Hiashi stepped forward and said, "Hokage-sama, the Hyuga clan is willing to bear the cost of this expenditure."
Satoshi feigned surprise and looked at Hiashi. "Senpai, that's a lot of money."
Hiashi said, "The Hyuga clan is forever loyal to Konoha."
He understood that the Toneri incident was inextricably linked to him.
Even though Satoshi hadn't given an order, he was waiting for a chance to express himself proactively.
Paying some money is better than losing his life, right?
Of course, Hiashi also knew that this amount of money certainly wouldn't solve the problem.
Sure enough, Satoshi pondered for a moment, then spoke again, "In the extremely cold northern lands, a rare mineral vein with astonishing reserves has possibly been discovered. Once confirmed and extracted, it will bring immeasurable long-term benefits to Konoha."
"I wonder who is willing to go and investigate?"
Saying this, Satoshi glanced around, finally settling on Hiashi.
Hiashi understood. "I'll go."
Satoshi nodded. "Alright, you it is."
The high-ranking officials present stared at each other, wondering what was going on.
What northern lands, what mineral vein—this was pure bragging.
How could these two, one dare to speak and the other dare to listen?
Satoshi waved his hand. "Alright, you all can go back. I'm going to the moon to take a look."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
...
As night deepened, the camp fell silent.
Satoshi had already brought Toneri to the moon, strolling around with a Gunbai on his back.
"Look at how these people have ruined a perfectly good moon."
Beneath his feet were broken giant stone pillars, and in the distance, the remnants of magnificent buildings were faintly visible, telling the story of the brutal civil war between the branch and main families of old.
The glory of Hamura's descendants had long been gnawed beyond recognition by fanaticism and war.
Many years ago, to monitor Kaguya and prevent her from doing evil, Hamura chose to relocate to the moon.
As time passed, his descendants gradually split into two factions: the main family and the branch family.
The branch family and main family held different interpretations of their ancestor's last words.
The main family advocated for peace. The branch family, however, believed that the Ninja World created by the Sage of Six Paths, plagued by continuous warfare, should have been destroyed long ago.
The two sides thus engaged in a great war.
During the battle, the branch family members used the strength of their entire clan to contribute their Byakugan, merging them into a colossal Tenseigan. With the power of the Tenseigan, they annihilated the main family who advocated for peace.
And Toneri, too, through this colossal Tenseigan, monitored every move in the Ninja World. Then, he tried to act tough, got beaten up, and was thrown back.
The moon was very quiet, a quietness that made one feel somewhat uneasy.
...
In an unknown corner, the sealed Black Zetsu suddenly became restless.
"Mother's Chakra!"
"Mother is here!"
Ever since Eye of the Moon Plan Version 7.0 failed and he was thrown onto this barren moon like trash by that inherently evil Uchiha brat, Black Zetsu had been racking his brains every day to conceive Eye of the Moon Plan Version 8.0. He yearned constantly to see his mother again.
Black Zetsu sensed Kaguya's arrival, and Kaguya naturally also detected his presence.
'Black Zetsu... we seem to be very close.'
'Getting closer and closer!'
Satoshi, carrying Gunbai, strolled through the ruins.
Soon, an ancient and mysterious-looking temple appeared in his sight.
He wound his way through, finally stopping before a stone chamber covered in strange runes. A powerful sealing force emanated from within the door.
"Black Zetsu, are you asleep?" Satoshi tapped the stone wall with Gunbai's handle.
"It's a long night, no mood for sleep. Care to chat for ten bucks?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Black Zetsu gnashed his teeth in hatred. "Inherently evil Uchiha brat! How are you here?!"
Satoshi appearing on the moon unscathed could only mean one thing.
That arrogant Toneri was defeated.
Black Zetsu cursed Toneri's stupidity in his heart.
When he was thrown up here, he had tried to contact the local emperor of the moon, hinting at cooperation.
And the result?
He was met with Toneri's merciless humiliation and disdain.
That guy's mind was full of chuunibyo declarations like 'purify the Ninja World,' 'let the moon crash down,' and 'everyone but me must die.'
Black Zetsu knew all too well what kind of foolish things these self-proclaimed righteous fanatics could do.
What happened now? Karma's a bitch, isn't it?
A cold satisfaction rose in Black Zetsu's consciousness.
Fool, if you had cooperated with me back then, would you have ended up like this?
Serves you right!
"I came to see you, you know, to see if you're comfortable living up here. Do you need a blanket?"
Black Zetsu's curses were extremely nasty.
Seeing that Black Zetsu wasn't bothering to respond, Satoshi didn't press the issue and looked up.
"Wow, it's really big."
Suspended high above the dome was a massive sphere of golden light, a giant Tenseigan. Toneri intended to destroy the Ninja World with this thing.
As Satoshi examined the Tenseigan, Toneri, whom he had tossed into a corner, quietly opened his eyes.
As Satoshi got closer and closer to the Tenseigan, both Black Zetsu and Toneri sneered.
Forbidden jutsu had been placed on it. Any non-Hamura's descendant who dared to touch it would instantly have all their Chakra drained, becoming nourishment for the Tenseigan.