I just realized I made a mistake in chapter 28-30, I cut the story in half, feel free to reread it for the full version if you want.
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Chapter 031: Kakashi-sensei, Where Did the Fourth Hokage's Assets Go?
It took a while because they had to rob, inventory, and liquidate Gato's assets.
But in the end, under Mei Terumi's request, Zabuza converted everything into cash, so it took a bit more time.
Yet seeing this much money… even the grind-hardened Kakashi was shocked...
Huh...
Is being a ninja really not the most efficient way to make money in the ninja world?
He began to doubt his career path.
"The total amount is 326 million ryō."
Zabuza took the ledger from Haku and reported.
"That much money?"
Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke were all stunned.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: That amount… Tobirama, when I was Hokage, how much was the village's annual income?
[Senju Tobirama]: Big bro, just shut up. You sold Tailed Beasts so cheaply, I still feel the pain.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Uh...
[Senju Tobirama]: Also, comparing old money with today's money is flawed.
[Senju Tobirama]: You should consider purchasing power.
[Senju Tobirama]: @Kakashi, @Terumi Mei, how much does a kilo of rice cost now?
[Kakashi]: I see.
[Kakashi]: Based on Konoha's rice prices...
[Kakashi]: This amount could buy 60 million kilograms of rice.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: 60 million... kilograms!?
Hashirama paused for a moment.
[Senju Tobirama]: That's enough to fill your room 60,000 times over.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Oh, that much—wait, what!?
[Senju Tobirama]: That really is a considerable sum.
"So, Mizukage-sama, you're sure you won't take a single cent?" Kitahara Kaede asked.
"Yes."
"It's all yours," Mei Terumi said.
That said, she did feel a bit of regret.
Because—
There were fewer ninjas in Kirigakure, and thanks to the "Blood Mist Village" reputation, their image was awful, so they received very few missions.
Thus—
Kirigakure had been in poverty for many years.
It would've been great if they had a sum like this to help improve things.
However—
Compared to building a stronger bond with Kitahara Kaede, this money simply wasn't worth it.
"I see…" Kitahara Kaede replied ambiguously.
"But..." Kakashi said, "Kitahara-kun, why do you want money?"
This wasn't actually Kakashi's question—it was something Tobirama had asked him to relay.
He wanted to understand Kitahara Kaede's views on money.
Tobirama thought Kaede was a genius, and it would be a shame if he was corrupted by greed.
"Money, huh…"
"Having money is a comfortable thing."
"For example, it gives you confidence."
"Because without the pressure of finances, you have more choices available to you," Kaede said.
"I see," Naruto replied. "So having assets gives people confidence."
"It gives peace of mind!"
"Exactly," Kaede nodded. "If you have money, Naruto… you wouldn't need to become a ninja."
"..." Naruto. "Not become a ninja."
"And you wouldn't need to risk your life." Kaede said.
"...Not need to risk my life."
"You'd have another option." Kaede added.
"...Another option." Naruto repeated again.
He had echoed Kaede's words three times now.
"No!" Naruto suddenly shouted. "I want to become a ninja—I want to become Hokage! I want everyone who looked down on me to acknowledge me!"
Just like that, Naruto was fired up again.
Alright then.
Uzumaki Naruto was instantly bursting with energy.
Then—
Just as Kitahara Kaede thought Naruto was back to his usual self, the boy got a bit shy.
He began forming hand signs with both hands.
"Also..."
"I don't want the chakra system you unlocked for me to go to waste."
"So I want to become strong."
"You gave me the chance to become a ninja…"
"So I want to get stronger, strong enough to protect you!"
"..." Kitahara Kaede.
???
Kaede thought—why does this line sound more dramatic than the Mizukage's entrance?
If Hinata had said that to him, he might have agreed on the spot.
But… this was Naruto.
Wrong person, wrong gender.
"Anyway." Kaede said. "Naruto, good luck."
"Though there is one thing I'm curious about, Kakashi-sensei." Kaede continued.
"Eh?" Kakashi blinked.
He had just asked Kaede a question earlier, and now he was being asked in return.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're clearly a mission workhorse."
"You've completed 33 S-rank missions, 244 A-rank missions, and 340 B-rank missions."
"However…"
"There are two people in the village who have done even more than you," Kaede said.
"Two others?" Kakashi blinked.
He had no idea.
"One is Jiraiya." Kaede said.
"Oh… Jiraiya-sama, huh..." Kakashi nodded.
"Probably because of Lady Tsunade…" Kakashi muttered.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Tobirama, did I hear that right? Tsunade—that's little Tsunade, right?
[Senju Tobirama]: Most likely. There's only one person named Tsunade.
[Namikaze Minato]: It should be Lady Tsunade. This Jiraiya-sama was my teacher, and also the Third's student.
[Senju Tobirama]: I see, so he was Tsunade's teammate.
[Senju Tobirama]: Then why was Jiraiya making money for little Tsunade?
[Namikaze Minato]: Well…
Minato seemed to be hesitating whether to spare Tsunade's reputation.
[Senju Tobirama]: Speak, Minato.
[Namikaze Minato]: Actually, Lady Tsunade went through a period of depression. She gave up being a ninja and turned to gambling, racking up a mountain of debt.
[Namikaze Minato]: Jiraiya-sensei kept repaying her debts, and he also wrote books, which became bestsellers, helping him pay them off...
[Senju Tobirama]: ...
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Uh… Good thing Konoha isn't a hereditary monarchy.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Otherwise... I'd be worried Tsunade would gamble away the whole village. She got her gambling habit from me, but I didn't expect her to go that far...
[Senju Tobirama]: So, who was the other mission maniac?
[Kakashi]: Hmm... Calling them mission maniacs, huh...
Kakashi had only just realized he had done so many missions.
He truly was a mission-obsessed workaholic.
Then they heard Kaede say—
"The other one is Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage."
"He completed 54 S-rank missions, 346 A-rank, and 456 B-rank missions."
Since Minato was Kakashi's teacher, many of their missions overlapped.
However—
"Kakashi-sensei, how much are your assets worth?"
"Uh…"
"About 130 million." Kakashi replied.
He never really cared much about money, so he hadn't kept close track.
"Then, after the Fourth passed away…"
"Where did his assets go?" Kaede asked.
"..." Kakashi.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Namikaze Minato]: Eh!?
[Namikaze Minato]: That's right, I died, so where did all my money go?
[Namikaze Minato]: I had a house in the village, but it only cost 8 million. My total assets were over 200 million. Since I did missions with my wife Kushina, our income was pretty good. But…
[Namikaze Minato]: ???
[Namikaze Minato]: Wait a minute!
[Namikaze Minato]: My money didn't go to Naruto, and he didn't even recognize a 10,000 ryō note.
[Namikaze Minato]: I clearly had over 200 million, but my Naruto didn't even know what 10,000 looked like!?
[Namikaze Minato]: How is this possible!?
[Senju Tobirama]: …
[Kakashi]: ...
Kakashi really had no way to defend the Third Hokage.
Because Naruto was Minato-sensei's orphan.
Even if they didn't publicly announce his identity as the Fourth's son, giving him absolutely nothing was excessive.
Kakashi more or less understood—due to the Nine-Tails' attack, ninja development, and other costs, the village was likely under financial strain at the time.
So maybe Minato-sensei's assets were appropriated.
But… even if they used his money, shouldn't they have returned it eventually?
Now Kakashi didn't know what to say.
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If you find any mistakes, please let me know and I will fix them.
I need power stone.