There was no cold calculation in his eyes—not like Danzō’s.
Instead they burned with a fierce, consuming hunger.
“You belong to me now.
No longer to that old man.
Whatever weighs upon you… I will bear it for you.”
Nonō’s lips felt dry; she instinctively moistened them.
“Nervous?” he murmured, his thumb brushing lightly over her mouth as if claiming something that was already his.
They stood locked together, and for a moment she could scarcely breathe.
Only one thought remained: If I stay with him… perhaps I will finally be free.
At last he released her, letting her step back.
“Feel better now?” His tone was lazy, yet absolute.
“You are mine.
I will take care of you.
You need worry no longer.”
Danzō had almost certainly known she could never spy on him.
He had simply meant to bind Hikuro further with favors.
And though he had taken her into his care, he would not rush things—he was not as driven by base desire as rumor claimed.
Even with Karui, he had moved with patience; whether she had welcomed it or not was another matter.
Seven days later, Minato Namikaze sat firmly upon the Hokage’s throne.
The Third Hokage coughed softly and explained the reason for the emergency summons.
Reliable reports spoke of unusual activity in Kumogakure, stirred by leaked information from Konoha’s research division.
They were growing wary—and all signs pointed toward Konoha. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Though no attack had been launched, preparations were already underway.
An all‑out war would take time to mount, but the other Great Nations would never stand by and watch Konoha grow stronger.
While no formal alliance existed, a silent pact had been formed: wear Konoha down through endless attrition.
Every Jonin present had already spilled their blood for the village.
None wished for needless sacrifice, yet they knew mercy and justice meant nothing on the battlefield—Konoha’s survival came first.
If war could not be avoided… then let it come.
Danzō then raised a grim reality.
“We do not know Kumogakure’s full strength.
But Konoha has not yet recovered from the last war.
If we fight now, we face a monthly deficit of nearly one billion ryō.”
“Lord Hokage—what is your plan?”
Kakashi gasped aloud.
Even an S‑rank mission paid only one million ryō.
This was a sum equal to a thousand such missions.
Danzō pressed on.
“That is merely to hold the line.
If we wage full‑scale war, the cost will likely double—at least two billion a month.”
A murmur of unease swept through the room.
Hikuro, however, knew Danzō was understating it.
In this world, war consumed wealth like wildfire.
Even a single head—like Asuma’s—was valued at thirty‑five million ryō.
A proper campaign could easily run into tens of billions.
A bowl of plain ramen cost sixty ryō; a single egg, fifteen.
The mood grew heavy.
Konoha already carried heavy debts, which the Third had preferred to pay off slowly.
But now, with conflict looming, where would the gold come from?
The Land of Fire offered no help—so the burden would fall on Konoha itself.
The clans dreaded this most, for they controlled most of the village’s commerce.
Over decades, they had quietly amassed nearly half of Konoha’s wealth.
Raising taxes would be like cutting their very lifeline.
The Third turned to Minato.
“I believe we have no choice but to raise taxes.
We must all bear this burden together.”
Hikuro smiled inwardly.
His chance had come.
Seizing control of salt production would face opposition in peacetime—but not now.
It would secure the vast funds his research required, and allow him to reshape the world.
He could vastly increase supply, making salt affordable for all commoners—driving sales and profits to unprecedented heights.
Once capital flowed, he would build luxury industries and draw the poor from the surrounding lands into Konoha.
Asuma objected.
“The salt trade is monopolized by nobles.
Production is already far too low—taking over the rights will not bring us enough revenue.”
Hikuro shook his head confidently.
“Scaling production is no obstacle for us.
The nobles keep supply artificially low to keep prices high.”
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