Skyrocketing Wealth and Late-Night Reading
(I will never forget the sacrifices made and will only add to my rewards.)
Uchiha Tunan returned to the Fire Capital's Northern District Guard headquarters and sat in the hall, calmly sipping his tea.
The guards had already been dismissed under the attendants' arrangements.
Before long, Yoshihara Cang respectfully approached, holding a sealed scroll in his hands. With a quiet voice, he said:
"Lord Tunan."
Uchiha Tunan set down his cup, unrolled the scroll, and quickly performed a hand seal to unlock its seal.
Poof!
As the smoke dispersed, over a dozen large wooden chests appeared in the open space before them.
"Open them." Tunan ordered.
Yoshihara Cang quickly obeyed, lifting the lids one by one.
Inside, the boxes were filled with gold and silver jewelry, antique deeds, and, of course, stacks of ryo banknotes—everything amassed by Uenohara Shota over the years.
Tunan nodded in satisfaction.
"Is this all of his wealth?" he asked.
Yoshihara Cang quickly produced a ledger, bowing as he handed it over.
"Yes, my lord. This ledger contains all his assets. Please verify it."
Tunan flipped through the pages, his Sharingan subtly analyzing every figure.
Good. This all adds up to around 200 million ryo.
This was more than enough to fund his orphanage project.
"That bastard, Shota..." Tunan muttered, a cold smirk forming on his lips.
He truly deserved to die.
For a mere deputy captain to have hoarded this much wealth, it was a testament to the Fire Capital's corruption. The daily taxes collected from merchant caravans passing through the city gates were astronomical, and just a small cut from those transactions equated to an A-rank mission's worth.
"What about his family?" Tunan asked suddenly.
Yoshihara Cang, who had been pouring tea, immediately responded:
"All seven of his immediate family members, young and old, have been detained in the Northern District Guard's temporary holding cells."
Tunan nodded approvingly.
This subordinate has finally begun to understand my methods.
"Hold them for now. Send one corpse to the Minister of Supervision every month, along with five million ryo."
Yoshihara Cang bowed.
"Shall we draft a report?"
Tunan chuckled, shaking his head.
"No need. Lord Masaki will take care of that. This will be his political achievement."
Tunan then looked at him and added:
"From now on, you will manage the Northern District Guard for me. Smuggling, tax fraud, and under-the-table tributes must continue as usual. We cannot disrupt the balance, or the other three district captains will retaliate."
Yoshihara Cang's face lit up, and he immediately bowed deeply.
"I understand, my lord."
Tunan lifted his teacup, took a slow sip, and suddenly asked:
"By the way, where did you learn to handle these matters?"
Yoshihara Cang's eyes flickered before he smiled and said:
"Lord Tunan, you are always focused on your training. Your humble subordinate merely acted on his own greed. These are trivial affairs."
Tunan chuckled and waved him away.
"Very well. You may go."
---
Three Months Later
Uchiha Tunan had now fully secured his foothold in the Fire Capital.
The Northern District Guard was generating a steady gray income of about 20 million ryo per month. Though five million went to the Minister of Supervision, the rest was his to control.
Unlike the former captain, who constantly bribed his superior in hopes of a promotion, Tunan operated differently.
As an independent contractor employed directly by the Fire Daimyo, no amount of internal favoritism could grant him a promotion—or demotion. The only person with the authority to terminate his mission was the Daimyo himself.
Even the district chief of the Fire Capital had no jurisdiction over him.
Unless someone filed a formal complaint with the Minister of Supervision, who would then escalate it to the Daimyo, there was no risk of dismissal.
And even if that happened, the worst-case scenario was simply being sent back to Konoha.
So rather than waste resources currying favor with the district chief, Tunan aligned himself with the Minister of Supervision instead.
After allocating two million ryo for his subordinates—because a true leader knows how to win loyalty—he still retained 13 million for his own plans.
During these months, Sarutobi Shinnosuke had visited multiple times, attempting to establish a rapport with Tunan.
However, unlike his father, Hiruzen, Shinnosuke's political maneuvers were rough and unsophisticated.
Still, to keep suspicions low, Tunan humored him.
Through these conversations, Tunan learned that Asuma Sarutobi would be returning to Konoha in two months to take his graduation exam.
This made Tunan feel a sense of urgency.
Once Asuma returns to the village, it will be much harder to act…
---
Late Night Study
That night, under the dim moonlight obscured by drifting clouds, cries of agony echoed from the dungeon beneath Tunan's estate.
"Please, no more—! Lord, have mercy—!"
Seated in his study, Tunan turned a page in the book he was reading, unfazed by the desperate screams.
He had recently purchased a collection of books from the largest bookstore in the Fire Capital—none of them related to ninjutsu, but instead covering history, economics, and philosophy.
A driven man must always seize his free time to expand his knowledge.
Lately, he had been particularly interested in the history of the ninja world.
Much like Asuma, Tunan had once questioned why the Hokage did not rule the Land of Fire directly.
Now, he understood the answer.
A simple truth: the Hokage was the head of the military, not a ruler of civilians. Training and maintaining shinobi required an immense amount of funding.
If a ninja could not earn money through missions, what were their alternatives?
Business? Farming?
But what would be the difference between a ninja and an ordinary villager then? And who among them would willingly trade a life of power for one of manual labor?
The Warring States period was proof of this dilemma. Without centralized governance, shinobi clans had relied on pillaging the weak. Civilians, in turn, sought protection by pledging themselves to the strongest ninja factions.
This cycle of dependency and war had led to the formation of the Hidden Villages.
From an economic perspective, the Daimyo was merely the manager of the nation, gathering taxes and redistributing wealth to fund the ninja system.
And in recent years, the truly powerful—Fire Capital's elites—had begun quietly relocating their families to Konoha, ensuring their descendants would be born into the village's privileged inner circle.
This explained why Konoha's land prices had been soaring.
Divide and conquer.
Ninja and civilians existed in two separate worlds. Mixing the two would only invite chaos.
Of course, whether a Daimyo or Hokage held more authority depended on the era.
In times of war, force dictated power.
But in times of peace, wealth dictated influence.
And while capital could suppress military power…
…it could never overthrow it.
Just as Tunan was deep in thought, Yoshihara Cang knocked on the study door.
"My lord, the prisoner has fainted five times. If we continue, he will die."
Tunan took a sip of his tea.
"What did he do?"
"He pocketed 300 ryo from today's collections."
Tunan sighed.
"Cang, you know me. I despise corruption. If I let this go unchecked, what next? A thousand? Ten thousand?"
His gaze darkened.
"Kill him. Report to Lord Masaki."
"Understood."