In the main camp of the allied forces of the two Konoha clans, Hyūga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Ryōsuke were now seated.
The grim expressions from before the battle were long gone, replaced by relaxed looks.
This time, their two-clan allied force had faced the formidable ninja army of the Cloud Village and achieved what could be called a complete victory.
The crisis facing their two clans had been eliminated. Furthermore, after this battle, their two clans would command respect throughout the entire ninja world.
Just ask, what other two families in the ninja world could unite to defeat a top-tier ninja village?
None. There were none at all.
The problem they had to solve now was how to deal with the Cloud Village's ninja captives.
Neither Hyūga Hiashi nor Uchiha Fugaku could think of a good solution.
If they killed all these captives, they would be in a state of eternal enmity with the Cloud Village.
Although the Cloud Village had sent many elite-level ninja this time, they still had nearly ten thousand ninja back home. If all these captives were killed, the matter would absolutely not end so easily.
It would likely become an irreconcilable feud, plunging them into a long-term struggle.
In that case, it wouldn't just be the Cloud Village locked in a death-feud with their two clans.
Committing such a slaughter would probably make them unwelcome even among the ninja of their own village.
They did not want to see such a situation, but they were also extremely unwilling to just let them go.
Uchiha Fugaku, who was at the side, looked at Ryōsuke.
"Ryōsuke, what do you think? What's the best way to handle these people?"
"Killing them will be a huge problem."
Hyūga Hiashi, beside him, also looked at Ryōsuke.
Not only had this man saved his life, but his performance on the battlefield was also the very definition of valor.
After returning to the main battlefield, he had asked his clansmen what had happened. He, too, was curious as to how they had defeated the Cloud Village.
The answer he received had shocked him.
Uchiha Ryōsuke had opened the Eight Inner Gates, personally dug the Two-Tails Jinchūriki out of the Tailed Beast, and knocked her out.
Afterward, when facing the numerous Cloud Village ninja, it was basically one punch per person.
Not a single Cloud Village Jōnin or Chūnin was a match for Uchiha Ryōsuke.
Hiashi couldn't help but feel admiration. He was simply too strong.
Therefore, he highly respected Ryōsuke's opinion.
At this moment, Uchiha Ryōsuke spoke calmly.
"Since Lord Clan Head finds killing them troublesome, why don't we demand a huge compensation before we release them?"
"Otherwise, we'll have fought this war at a loss."
Fugaku's interest was piqued.
"Ryōsuke, what kind of compensation do you think is appropriate?"
Ryōsuke then laid out his plan.
"Didn't we capture a lot of ninja?"
"For Chūnin, let's set the ransom at 10 million ryō each."
"For Jōnin, 30 million ryō each."
"Also, for the offense against the Hyūga Head's daughter, they should at least pay 200 million ryō, don't you think?"
In the original story, Asuma had a bounty of 35 million ryō at the exchange.
Giving these Cloud Village Jōnin a slight discount at 30 million ryō felt very benevolent of him.
When Fugaku heard this, he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
Don't be fooled by the 'mere' 10 million for a Chūnin and 30 million for a Jōnin; such individual prices weren't that high for a village.
But this time, nearly 300 of their Chūnin and nearly 100 of their Jōnin had been captured.
A rough estimate would be 3 billion ryō for the Chūnin and 3 billion ryō for the Jōnin.
Adding the 200 million ryō in compensation for the Hyūga family, the total was nearly 6.2 billion ryō.
Even if some Cloud Village ninja had died in battle, meaning the actual ransom amount would be slightly lower, it wouldn't be much lower. It was still close to 6 billion.
What an enormous sum!
How many years of missions would the Cloud Village have to run to earn back that much money?
He couldn't help but speak.
"Ryōsuke, isn't this number too large? I'm afraid the Cloud Village can't afford this ransom. 6.2 billion ryō could empty a village's treasury, and even its next ten years of finances. Besides, the Cloud Village was never rich to begin with; otherwise, they wouldn't have been constantly eyeing the Leaf Village."
"They simply can't pay such a ransom."
Ryōsuke, however, spoke as if it didn't matter.
"They certainly can't gather 6 billion ryō all at once. But can't they pay in installments?"
"If they can't pay in one year, they can pay in ten. If they can't pay in ten, they can pay in twenty."
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened. 'As expected of Ryōsuke. This move is ruthless. If we do this, they will definitely be able to pay.'
A Cloud Village that lost that much money from its development budget every year would inevitably be crippled. It would be unable to strengthen the village and might even regress significantly.
"Ryōsuke, brilliant."
Hyūga Hiashi was equally excited. With 200 million in compensation, the Hyūga Clan's finances would greatly increase, and they would regain their honor at the same time.
"Ryōsuke, thank you for being willing to seek justice for our Hyūga Clan."
"But, the ransom..."
Before he could finish, Ryōsuke cut him off.
"Don't worry. As for that ransom, our Uchiha Clan and your Hyūga Clan will split it 60/40. Is the Hyūga Head agreeable to that?"
In truth, based on contributions to the battle, the Hyūga family probably didn't deserve 40% of the ransom. But to bind the Hyūga family to the Uchiha Clan's side, he had to provide tangible benefits.
His money wasn't so easily taken.
The Hyūga Clan Head hadn't expected him to be so generous. In terms of contributions to this war, the Uchiha Clan naturally took the lion's share. Although his Hyūga Clan had played a role, it certainly didn't amount to 40% of the merit.
After all, the Cloud Village's three top-tier ninja and the vast majority of their forces had been taken down by Uchiha Ryōsuke.
But that wasn't what he was trying to say.
He shook his head.
"What I meant to say was, this ransom... don't we have to hand over a portion of it to the village?"
According to custom, they, the Uchiha and Hyūga clans, would be able to keep a portion of the profits obtained through war, but the rest had to be handed over to the village.
When Fugaku heard this, he felt extremely displeased—not with the Hyūga Clan, but with the village.
According to custom, a portion of the profits from a victorious war did indeed have to be handed over.
And then it would be redistributed.
But this left a bad taste in his mouth, because this time, all the credit belonged to their two clans. Konoha's upper echelons hadn't even sent a single person to assist.
If they had sent people to participate, then giving them a share would be understandable, but they truly hadn't sent anyone at all.
For the Konoha leadership to treat his Uchiha Clan like this... it truly infuriated him.