Year 42 of Konoha, March.
The snow in southern Land of Lightning had just begun melting, making this the coldest time of year.
Fugaku Uchiha tightened his thin coat against the cold wind as he traveled from the military camp in the Land of Rivers to the Northern Border of the Ninja World. He felt a bit regretful.
"I should've worn more layers."
A fellow Uchiha ninja voiced exactly what Fugaku was thinking.
"Fine, it's cold. But this road is way too muddy!"
Another Uchiha traveling north complained, "With all the money Clan Head Soushu has made from the occupied territories, can't he even fix up the official roads?"
Remembering their clan's long-standing friendly relationship with the Hyuga, this ninja held back the word "tightwad."
"Well, that's just how the Land of Lightning is."
Fugaku had a deep understanding of conditions along the Northern Border, "Once thaw season starts, the ground gets soft and muddy. Roads won't survive no matter how you build them."
"No wonder they call you Fugaku-sama! You sure know a lot!"
No sooner had he spoken than another Uchiha ninja jumped in with praise.
"It's knowledge recorded in our clan archives."
Fugaku showed obvious disapproval at the brownnosing, "Back during the Warring States era, this Northern Border region was the very heart of our clan's operations!"
"Really? I didn't know that."
The other Uchiha ninjas fell silent, abandoning their earlier complaints.
As the saying goes — outsiders see the show, but insiders understand the meaning behind it. To the Uchiha ninjas who didn't engage in productive work, the occupied territories controlled by the Hyuga appeared as nothing but mud everywhere, with even the official roads showing significant damage. Although elite ninja could easily avoid walking through the muck, simply looking at it still felt unpleasant.
From the perspective of Fugaku, however, who had extensive experience managing and exploiting resources, this decline wasn't real — it was merely a temporary effect caused by seasonal climate changes. The Hyuga clan's development and management of the occupied territories in the Land of Lightning could already be called the best in the ninja world.
Although the snow was melting and the ground getting soft, there were still caravans of carts carrying goods moving in an orderly fashion along the official roads. Fugaku also noticed one important detail — all vehicles strictly kept to the right side, so despite the constant flow of traffic, there was neither congestion nor chaos.
Moreover, small military stations were set up along the roadside, each station garrisoned by squads of genin. While their abilities might seem trivial to the Uchiha clan members who were mostly Chunin or higher, they were definitely sufficient for maintaining public order and traffic control.
This was organization — the order established by Hyuga Soushu throughout the occupied territories in the Land of Lightning.
"Pay attention and learn properly from this example!"
Fugaku said somewhat irritably.
"Eh?"
The accompanying Uchiha ninjas were puzzled, unable to understand why their young master suddenly spoke like this.
Fugaku had no intention of explaining further — those who truly wanted to learn needed no teaching, while those uninterested wouldn't benefit from instruction anyway.
His mind was already scheming about how to advance further during the upcoming joint meeting of the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, in order to gain more benefits for the Uchiha Clan.
"Honorable Fugaku,"
After walking a short distance further, one Uchiha ninja couldn't help but ask, "I've heard that this year Lord Soushu plans to cancel the tax-farming rights for the ten northern districts. Is there any truth to this?"
The other Uchiha ninjas immediately held their breath and listened closely.
Obviously, they had also caught whispers about this matter.
"It's been quite a few years with tax-farming already, so cancellation is only normal. However, Lord Soushu wouldn't act rashly or take everything for himself. He might offer appropriate compensation in other areas."
Although Fugaku Uchiha didn't have any solid intelligence sources either, he did not deny the rumor outright.
Because this kind of news had been circulating nonstop since the forty-first year of Konoha.
It had simply heated up again this year as the current contracts for the tax-exempt zones were nearing expiration.
In fact, both Clan Leader Uchiha Shikata and the predesignated successor, Fugaku Uchiha, had privately discussed such matters multiple times before. Ultimately, they concluded that they could only accept it passively.
After all, those fifteen districts within the Land of Lightning's occupied territories were all directly controlled by Hyuga Soushu. Even if they were initially contracted out, the deal had always been clear: money first, then territory. Now the Hyuga Clan wanted to switch to direct governance through military administrative zones. As contractors, the various ninja clans could do nothing about it.
Moreover, and most importantly, the returns from the five tax regions had been gradually declining, becoming somewhat like a losing proposition—no longer worth keeping, yet too valuable to throw away completely. Therefore, if they could use the opportunity of Hyuga Soushu reclaiming management rights to obtain some concessions from the Hyuga Clan within the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, it would still be considered a favorable outcome.
"Already nearly three years now."
Fugaku Uchiha couldn't help but sigh.
"That's right!" one of the accompanying Uchiha warriors agreed with a nod.
It had almost been three years since the various ninja clans stationed themselves outside Konoha in the thirty-ninth year.
Within this relatively short period, the Ninja World had undergone a tectonic shift.
The border regions of the Land of Fire, even nearby cities, were actually under the control of ninja clans. The power of aristocratic families suffered unprecedented pressure.
When clan leaders discovered to their surprise how surprisingly easy it was to govern commoners—simply by reducing the previous heavy taxation policy of taking five out of ten (50%) harvests from rural areas to a more lenient two out of ten (20%)—the farmers once criticized by nobles as cunning and hard to manage began enthusiastically paying full taxes voluntarily. This transformation undoubtedly made the clan leaders feel proud, eventually giving rise to a sense of arrogance.
"There's no doubt that strong ninja clans are better for the common people than those aristocrats!"
Thus, views like this quickly became shared beliefs among Konoha's ninja clans.
Following that came an ever-increasing intensity of encroachment and erosion against noble territories by ninja clans.
At the same time, paper currency known as "Golden Certificates," issued by capital companies established through collaboration among various ninja clans, had been forcefully put into circulation within territories controlled by these clans. Alongside booming productivity, the circulation range of these notes expanded rapidly.
It could be said that in less than three years, although there hadn't yet been enough time to cultivate a New Generation of fully matured ninjas, financial strength among the ninja clans had multiplied many times over.
However, today presented an entirely new challenge for territories under ninja clan control: their manufactured goods faced difficulties being sold. The core issue was not merely one of oversupply requiring discounted sales; the situation was far more complex. Wind Country and Earth Country, long-standing trade partners, had successively implemented measures restricting both commodity imports from, and inflows of currency issued by, ninja capital corporations—an unexpected development far beyond mere market saturation.
That's why, as soon as Hyuga Soushu called for a meeting, every clan rushed to send reps hoping he'd give some solid direction.
"There's someone approaching from behind!"
As Fugaku Uchiha trudged forward burdened with concerns, a fellow Uchiha ninja sensed a distinct chakra presence clearly approaching from behind.
"Don't overreact! This isn't River Country!"
Fugaku immediately called out to his subordinates, who were already drawing their weapons defensively, and slowed his pace.
Soon afterward, several figures appeared along the horizon, bounding forward at high speed. After spotting the slowing Uchiha group ahead, they hesitated briefly before picking up speed again when confirming it wasn't an enemy.
"It's those monkeys from the Sarutobi Clan!"
Recognizing the approaching party, the Uchiha relaxed as well.
"A bunch of sanctimonious bastards!"
One Uchiha spat contemptuously toward the ground, expressing disdain for the Sarutobi.
"Mind your conduct!"
Fugaku scolded verbally but gave no further reprimand.
After all, the Hokage faction led by the Sarutobi had indeed created nothing short of vermin-like filth in recent years.
Unlike other ninja clans accustomed to establishing organized farms or mine workshops, the Central-Southern Border Forces under the Hokage faction's control represented a major stain upon clan governance.
Due to extreme land barrenness combined with unprofitable expansion efforts toward Rain Country, local rulers aligned with the Hokage soon devoured former border cities upon relocation, reducing entire civilian populations to serfdom confined within plantations or mines.
Furthermore, desperate to compensate for insufficient revenues, Hokage-aligned clans exploited resources mercilessly without even basic sustainability awareness. Within less than three years, they turned frontier regions into barren wastelands where mere survival was a daily struggle.
Additionally, facing labor shortages, the Shimura Clan formed slave-hunting units penetrating deep into Rain Country, capturing locals for enslavement. Even destitute Rain Country civilians viewed forced entry into Central-Southern Border Force territories as equivalent to descending into hell itself—they'd rather die by their own hands than set foot in those hellish lands.
This stood in stark contrast to the generally comfortable lives of commoners within territories controlled by other ninja clans.
And it wasn't over yet. In the early days of Konoha's fourth decade, after witnessing the immense benefits brought about by the issuance of Golden Certificates by the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, the Hokage faction quickly and shamelessly sent a delegation to request an audience with Hyuga Soushu, hoping to join this economic system.
Originally, both the Hyuga and Uchiha clans had no intention of allowing these troublemakers to join. However, secretly, other ninja clans had been quietly promised advantages from the Hokage faction, who offered extremely low labor costs within their controlled areas. Consequently, those clans spoke up in favor of the Hokage faction's participation, leaving Hyuga Soushu no choice but reluctantly approve the entry of these despicable individuals—causing many subsequent incidents.
"Fugaku Uchiha, it has been quite some time!"
Once the Sarutobi group approached, Sarutobi Shinnosuke took the lead, waving in greeting as he expressed his lack of hostile intent.
"A good day to you too, Sarutobi Shinnosuke," replied Uchiha Fugaku, choosing not to reject politeness despite his usual coldness.
"Oh, by the way, Fugaku Uchiha."
Though most Uchiha shinobi remained indifferent, Sarutobi Shinnosuke still stepped forward curiously, asking, "I heard that Lord Soushu plans to propose a definitive resolution strategy during this Lotus Creek Conference?"
"Did you even read the meeting agenda and core content released ahead of schedule?"
Uchiha Fugaku shot back with a question.
"Not at all!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke shook his head repeatedly. "Once those words string together—'First Economic Crisis of the Ninja World,' 'Trade Barriers,' 'Free Trade'—it gets more obscure than the jutsu in the Scroll of Seals!"
"I can't understand it either!"
Fugaku bluntly admitted before quickening his pace down the road.
"Ahhh..."
Feeling awkward, a bit annoyed, but mostly helpless after getting shot down, Sarutobi Shinnosuke could only sigh.
Although the Hokage faction still controlled Konoha Village headquarters, and Lord Third Hiruzen Sarutobi's command over the village gradually strengthened along with increasing deployments of clan members beyond its borders, the Hokage faction's ninjas still felt uneasy.
The reason was painfully simple—they were strapped for cash!
In short, earning income through the traditional chain of training ninjas and extracting blood tax via missions had become far too slow!
There was another critical issue as well: with more clan members leaving the village, Konoha found itself lacking sufficient elite forces to deploy when necessary—a growing strain causing constant struggles.
No matter how cleverly Lord Third Sarutobi tried to stitch things together, under current conditions, he couldn't assign enough capable ninjas to handle those lucrative but tough missions effectively. Consequently, for the first time during peacetime, mission distribution across Konoha started declining rather than rising—an unusual situation.
And it was precisely this phenomenon that kept the Hokage faction's top leaders from sleeping or eating in peace.
Because high-level missions were being lost, reformist ninjas led by Hatake Sakumo had gradually increased their share of Konoha's total missions. These ninjas who earned higher incomes had, to some extent, split the Hokage faction's core support base. Although the new generation of civilian ninjas still firmly believed in the claim that the Third was the strongest Hokage—as taught in the ninja academy—they would one day awaken to reality.
Therefore, the Hokage faction needed better sources of income.
Based on this idea of boosting village revenue, ninjas loyal to the Hokage faction went madly aggressive within the Central-Southern Border Forces' territory, squeezing every bit of profit from local resources until living conditions there fell even below those in the troubled Rain Country.
Yet while greedily gathering wealth, many of the ninja clans supporting the Hokage faction secretly felt discontented too—even the Sarutobi Clan was no exception.
To address the village's financial issues, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had been throwing money around to buy loyalty.
And for those ninja clan members bearing the blame who were collecting wealth in the Central-Southern Border Forces' territory, having barely managed to get the funds into their hands only to see the village leaders redistribute them immediately to civilian ninjas—that was nothing short of a crime!
Thus, when the Capital Corporation's products began piling up unsold across the board, it was the Hokage faction that became the most anxious.
"An economic crisis..."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke murmured the term softly, his thoughts heavy with worry.
After thinking it over for a while, he finally started to understand the term coined by Hyuga Soushu.
"Our strategy is actually very simple: we'll use the ninja clans' weapons and explosive tags to force markets open for our company's products!"
Before the official meeting convened, Hyuga Soushu gathered the Jonin of the Hyuga Clan and openly declared his views: "Anyone who blocks the advancement of the ninja clans—whether it be the Hidden Village or the noble lords—they are all our enemies!"
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