No matter what, the Second Shinobi World War began in a muddled way and ended just as confusingly. The ninja of Konoha gradually withdrew from the battlefield.
The first to withdraw were the major clans—Uchiha, Hyūga, Aburame, Inuzuka, and the Ino-Shika-Chō alliance.
Officially, it was called "letting the heroes return first."
In reality, it was simply distrust toward the clans—fear that without supervision, they might defect to the enemy. After all, they were stationed at the border; one step across and they'd be in enemy territory, not even needing travel expenses.
The prejudice Konoha's higher-ups held against the clans ran incredibly deep—more precisely, this particular generation of leadership.
The shinobi world would once again enter a period of peace… well, fine, a phase of strategic resource stockpiling.
...
At this moment, Konoha was welcoming its returning heroes.
The Inuzuka clan head loudly responded, "Hahaha, hello everyone! Hello!"
Standing beside him, the Aburame clan head, Uchiha Raiden, and Hyūga Wataru all looked at him like he was an idiot.
Just standing in the same row as him felt embarrassing.
This time, the four of them represented the ninja clans, leading a portion of their forces to attend Konoha's welcome ceremony.
As for why it was these four?
Because the ones with real authority had already returned to that small meeting room.
...
Aburame Shiken listened carefully to everything they had done, then coldly stared at Uchiha Kamito and Hyūga Hiyasu.
"So, the two of you did absolutely nothing, and the war just ended?"
That sentence immediately set both of them off.
"Bastard, don't slander us! What do you mean we did nothing? We took down hundreds of Mist elite ninja, alright?" Uchiha Kamito jumped up and shouted.
"Exactly! Slandering others is illegal, you know. I completely crushed the Kaguya clan!" Hyūga Hiyasu hurriedly added.
In this group, anyone caught slacking off would definitely get called out.
Wait… they were all transmigrators. What right did they have to lecture each other?
Then again… they might need each other's help in the future—especially Shiken—so getting lectured wasn't really a big deal.
"You'd better explain that to Hideki. He nearly died on the battlefield, while the two of you came out without a scratch. Let's see how you deal with that later."
Uchiha Kamito and Hyūga Hiyasu both looked down at their bodies.
Yeah… they really were a bit too clean.
"Haha… well, maybe I should just injure myself a little," Uchiha Kamito said.
But Hyūga Hiyasu once again discovered the key point.
"Wait, what does Hideki being seriously injured have to do with us not being injured?"
"Nothing. You just looked way too relaxed, and it annoyed me. Just messing with you. Funny, right?"
Aburame Shiken said—this was a joke he had spent an entire day thinking up.
It had to be funny.
"Haha… haha…"
"Haha… haha…"
The laughter was a bit forced, but Shiken was their biggest financial backer—whatever the sponsor said was right.
...
Speaking of money, Hyūga Hiyasu asked, "By the way, Shiken, where did you get all that money? During the war, everyone was on the battlefield with no time for side hustles. How did you manage it?"
Before, he had a rough idea—raiding bandits and looting ill-gotten gains.
But during wartime, Shiken shouldn't have had the time for that. Besides, most of the bandits in the Land of Fire had already been wiped out. There was no one left to exploit.
Inuzuka Ryoha quickly chimed in, "Yeah, I made a fortune in the Land of Wind, but why does it feel like you're still richer than me?"
He knew how much subsidy Shiken was giving the Aburame clan—almost triple what the Inuzuka clan received, despite having similar numbers. Even if Shiken was better at making money, how could the gap be that huge? And that was just what he gave away—who knew how much he kept?
Uchiha Kamito wasn't interested in where the money came from—he cared more about how to make a large sum.
After all, he planned to take control of the police force. Hundreds of people—big and small—needed funding.
"Shiken, how did you make your money? Teach me."
"And me."
"Count me in."
...
Seeing the eager, knowledge-hungry looks in front of him, Aburame Shiken felt deeply satisfied.
Aburame Shiken's "Money-Making Masterclass" officially began.
"First, to make money, you need to understand where money comes from."
"Silver."
"Gold."
"Valuable items."
"All correct. But most of what we use now is paper currency, so…?"
Shiken asked back.
"The mint."
"Shiken, did you rob it?"
"No way… you didn't start counterfeiting, did you? Acid-free paper, color-shifting ink, micro-printing… we all know about those. You could definitely pull it off."
Inuzuka Ryoha analyzed confidently, while Uchiha Kamito and Hyūga Hiyasu nodded in agreement.
Yes.
That did sound like Shiken's style.
Smack!
Ryoha got hit hard on the head.
"Bastard! Is that really how you see me?!"
Aburame Shiken was furious.
Was his reputation really that bad?
"From now on, no talking. Let me explain everything."
The three nodded rapidly. Making money wasn't something to be embarrassed about.
"Originally, the main currency in the shinobi world was gold and silver. But due to one country over-mining its gold reserves, the price of gold collapsed. And silver—always considered inferior to gold—ended up suffering as well."
"So now, we mainly use paper currency issued across the shinobi world. The smallest unit is one ryo. Paper money, as the name suggests, is issued by the state and enforced as legal tender, tied directly to the credibility of the nation."
Shiken spoke eloquently.
Meanwhile, the three below stared blankly.
Didn't we transmigrate? Why does this feel like a senior-year politics and history class?
Uchiha Kamito's face even turned green.
I'm a science student—why am I being tortured with humanities?!
After briefly explaining the nature of money, Shiken looked at them expectantly.
"So, do you understand now?"
Should I?
What exactly did I understand?
They all shook their heads.
"You're hopelessly stupid. Let me put it simply: the Land of Fire uses paper currency issued by the state. But high-ranking officials and nobles don't handle money personally, so it gets distributed through lower-level officials. And as long as someone is an official, they will embezzle. Since it's illicit wealth, they won't dare report it. So all we have to do… is take that money from them."
This time, they understood.
But what did that have to do with everything he said earlier?
As expected—no matter where you go, teachers lecture in ways students don't understand.
Inuzuka Ryoha summed it up:
"So basically, there's a lot of dirty money in officials' hands, and we just take it from them. That's what you mean, right?"
Ah, much better. Simple and clear.
"Yeah… that's more or less it."
Shiken listened and felt it sounded about right… but somehow, it also felt slightly different from what he originally meant.