Chapter 106: I'm Really Rich
Money is not a problem. For Konoha, anything that can be solved with money is not a problem at all. The only real issue is time. That is Konoha's current confidence before all other ninja villages.
Because Konoha is truly rich.
Not ordinary rich, but unimaginably, overwhelmingly rich.
It was only when Minato finally took full control of the village that he realized the terrifying size of the fortune he had inherited.
First, Konoha's postwar compensation had been far less than that of other great ninja villages, simply because fewer people died. Most of those people were individuals Aizen had secretly pulled from various battlefields. They did not idle around after the reconstruction started. They ate, then worked, every single day, becoming the vanguard and backbone of Konoha's restoration efforts.
They received minimal pay yet performed enormous amounts of work, often even volunteering labor for free. This caused the village's overall environment to improve at an astonishing speed. Many tasks that normally required massive public spending, such as road repair and building restoration throughout the Land of Fire, were completed by Konoha ninja themselves. In official propaganda, this was even labeled as an expression of the Will of Fire.
In addition, the squad ninja fund, a system built on mutual trust between comrades, seemed at first glance like a device to reduce friction among ninjas. In reality, it greatly reduced financial burden as well. Yes, it resulted in a slight degree of clan-based cohesion, but compared to the long list of clans that had risen and declined in Konoha throughout history, this wasn't stagnation at all. Instead, it was an enlightened form of integration.
More importantly—Konoha saved money.
A stunning amount of money.
Ninjas often paid out of their own pockets to support teammates' families. Having the village cover death compensation was, in some sense, considered a shame upon the squad. They preferred to refuse subsidies to prove that the squad was still strong and united.
Then there were Konoha's specialty wines, the unique cuisine Aizen designed because of his love of food, and the canned goods exported overseas in bulk.
Cultural, lifestyle, political, and medical development, combined with extreme efficiency in reducing expenditures and increasing revenue, plus the absurd work output of a group of near-immortals, produced Konoha's monstrous financial power.
Why did the Third Hokage make decisions so freely? Why could he research whatever he wanted, throw resources into any project without resistance, and provide endless samples and data?
Because Konoha was unbelievably, absurdly wealthy.
Which is why, after only one month, Minato began doubting whether Aizen's so-called betrayal was a betrayal at all.
What kind of defection was this?
You took away all the troublemakers and unstable factors, left behind only the most united and cooperative personnel, cleaned up the internal conflicts, and even left enough wealth behind for the village to spend trillions without hesitation.
Not only Konoha benefited; the entire Land of Fire was prospering. Why had the Daimyo been smiling at Minato so warmly? Because he was handsome?
No. Because he was rich.
Because he could create wealth for others, manage internal affairs flawlessly, and stabilize politics with terrifying efficiency.
When Minato took office, not a single one of the problems he expected appeared. Those that had existed simply vanished the moment he increased the budget. What frightened him was that despite his spending, the numbers on his accounts barely decreased. Wealth from across the world was constantly flowing toward Konoha, the leading cultural and industrial power.
He finally understood why many of the upper echelons had ignored or even covered for Aizen.
Because of interest.
Because of money.
Otherwise, who would pay the compensation if Aizen's people suddenly died? Who would fill the labor gap? Who would cover the shortfalls in critical infrastructure? Who would maintain the industrial systems?
Average compensation for a fallen ninja was about one million ryo. Aizen's task force contained nearly ten thousand people. Could Konoha truly afford that if they all disappeared at once?
The total payout might be only a few hundred billion, but the long-term collapse caused by losing population could not be measured in money. Konoha's recent prosperity stemmed from two simple things:
Plenty of people.
Plenty of money.
Aizen existed. A group of immortal-like individuals worked, trained, ate, drank, entertained themselves, spent money, then completed missions, then came back and spent more money. They cycled endlessly through the village, accelerating Konoha's economy like a massive engine of pressure and momentum, pushing it forward with explosive force.
Moreover, it wasn't just that. Aizen's economic policies created countless jobs for ordinary people throughout the Land of Fire. As culture prospered, people's spiritual lives improved, and consumption increased dramatically. Even now, Minato could still see several of the cultural enterprises and related industries Aizen had built, then casually abandoned, generating enormous profits on their own.
After Aizen left, the Wandenreich plunged into chaos, but the warehouse containing all the financial reports remained untouched. Combined with Konoha's own accumulated wealth, plus the gifts left behind by the Wandenreich, Minato, who once believed himself a man burdened by grief and resentment, stared at the accounts with a numb expression, unable to process how he was supposed to feel.
When he looked at the former Hokage, Hiruzen, and saw the old man turn his gaze away, he understood.
None of them were innocent.
There was a reason a massive, invisible organization had been able to move freely within Konoha while the upper echelons pretended not to see.
From the perspective of ordinary ninjas, such a thing was horrifying, outrageous, and disastrous for the village.
But from the perspective of the Hokage?
Someone below you works themselves to exhaustion, rains money on you, solves your problems, respects you, takes responsibility, and even beats down your external enemies.
What was there to complain about? Was this not essentially a perfect subordinate? A biological father of the village itself?
Only after Minato truly became Hokage did he understand what "silent understanding" really meant. Under Aizen's leadership, with technology capable of resurrecting the dead and revolutionary systems in place, Konoha had advanced at a speed no other village could dream of matching.
No wonder the other great villages had begun pairing up to resist Konoha. Give it a few more years and the economic disparity alone would crush them. Forget war. Even now, riding purely off the momentum of Aizen's organization, Konoha could overwhelm others economically. If Aizen were still leading them, several countries might already have been bought out through economic warfare.
In just one month, Minato's understanding of money had collapsed entirely.
Every report he saw was income.
Every department was making money.
Every project was profitable.
It was as though the entire world had become a machine designed solely to enrich Konoha.
So what exactly had Aizen gained from his "betrayal"? Was it really, as he said, for a throne that existed only in the void? Was he truly so detached from basic human desires?
During his first month as Hokage, watching Rasa tremble with excitement over a single trillion ryo, and seeing the envy, jealousy, and resentment of the other village representatives, Minato fell into a strange fog of emotion.
Imagine your childhood best friend suddenly turning on you—beating you, humiliating you, spitting on you—then handing you the greatest corporation on the continent before walking away.
How were you supposed to feel?
It was impossible to claim there was no resentment.
But with this amount of wealth… the resentment seemed strangely faint.
"…A full trillion? That's no small number, one trillion. Do you need anything else? We can include a core intelligent technology as well."
"What is that?" Minato asked.
"A technology that can handle basic labor tasks. Simply put, it helps people work. It's still a bit clumsy, sometimes confusing weeds with rice, but it can at least carry water and move stones."
"Um…"
"If that isn't enough, we also have life resuscitation technology. These three combined should be worth one trillion. This is the most valuable technology in the Sand Village. If necessary, we can transfer some of it back to the Stone Village as well. But one trillion is the minimum. What do you think?"
"…"
Why am I even using polite suffixes for you?
Watching Rasa rub his hands eagerly with a forced smile, Minato gave him a baffled look.
One trillion ryo was not a large amount for Konoha now. The technology capable of saving the entire Land of Fire from Moon Dream alone was worth far more. Minato's personal baseline was closer to ten trillion ryo. That amount would strain Konoha and the Land of Fire slightly, but it would still be manageable.
Why ten trillion?
Because anything higher made the alternative more cost effective: using Konoha's Sky Curtain Project to physically cover the entire Land of Fire with an aerial filtration network that would block the moonlight entirely.
However, one thing puzzled him deeply.
Why were the other ninja villages willing to casually sell technologies as essential as these?
Did they not have pride in their own villages?
Did they not value their own strategic advantages?
Watching Rasa tremble with joy, as if terrified Minato might change his mind, and seeing the bitter regret on the faces of the other village leaders, Minato finally understood something.
To the rest of the world…
Konoha had become the richest, safest, and most stable promised land.
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