From the very beginning, Shimoku had clearly defined the power structure of the entire Homura Hidden Village.
Supreme leadership, judicial power, and military command all rested solely in his hands.
All the ninja within the village were directly under his command—absolutely no one else was allowed to interfere with military authority!
Within this framework,
Shimoku relinquished all other civil administration responsibilities, entrusting them entirely to others.
Even the fiscal allocation and management rights of the village
were generously handed over.
After all, building a thriving village meant dealing with countless everyday matters.
Daily income, expenditure, resource distribution... these alone were headache-inducing enough.
Shimoku simply didn't have the energy to handle every accounting detail himself.
As long as he set the general direction and controlled the overall financial spending, that was sufficient.
Therefore, despite having "borrowed" a total of ten thousand silver taels from the vaults of both Konoha and Iwagakure,
he made sure every coin was well spent—he wasn't robbing the rich just to waste it all.
Instead, he deposited this enormous sum directly into the Homura Hidden Village's treasury,
entrusting several elder clan members responsible for coordinating the new village construction to distribute and utilize it properly for village development.
Meanwhile, on Shimoku's side,
Tō Uchiha from his Personal Guards was dispatched
to act on his behalf,
supervising and recording the usage of this large sum of money.
He wasn't going to let anyone slip their hands into the till.
Overall, strategically speaking,
they still followed the work-for-relief model.
By setting up projects, recruiting workers, constructing facilities, and paying wages accordingly,
they developed the village, created jobs, and supported fellow clansmen.
He would never resort to idiotic schemes like handing out free money, which only destroyed people's will to work while supposedly boosting the village economy.
In general, judging by how lively and buzzing the village had become over the past few days, the results were looking pretty solid.
...
Shimoku took the weekly financial report handed to him by Tō
and quickly browsed through it.
At first glance, nothing surprising—until he looked closer and was genuinely shocked.
The total expenditure for just this one week had already reached an astonishing 3.5 million silver taels!
Far exceeding even Shimoku's expectations—truly alarming!
Yet, upon further inspection,
each recorded expense in the report was detailed and well-organized, definitely not fabricated.
Currently, there were more than 400 people living in the village.
Excluding elderly, children, and women, more than 100 able-bodied adults participated in basic infrastructure work—including dozens of ninjas.
On average, each laborer supported four family members!
Each worker received daily wages from the village—ranging between 200 to 400 silver taels per person per day.
Taking 300 taels as an average,
130 workers working seven days meant a total payroll of 273,000 taels alone.
Plus additional costs for constructing shops, roads, orphanages, clinics, bathhouses, schools...
materials like stones, glass, equipment... etc.,
and various everyday necessities such as pots, pans, firewood, rice, oil, salt... and so on.
When you added it all up,
spending 3.5 million silver taels in just one week didn't even seem excessive!
This was still the result of meticulous budgeting by all the elders within the clan.
But even at this rate...
Their entire treasury, with a total of 10,000 coins, could only last about 42 weeks—less than ten months...
Moreover, as the village continues expanding in the future, becoming more complete and populated...
Expenditures would only keep increasing.
At that point, it might not even be able to sustain for half a year!
That's way shorter than what Shimoku originally predicted...
It further proved how hard it really was to sustain and grow a village properly.
Military strength was merely the first layer of security.
Without sufficient economic capacity, maintaining everything was simply impossible!
That's exactly why,
even a mighty Hidden Village like Hidden Leaf had no choice but to humble itself before the Land of Fire. Even the selection of the next Hokage required approval from the Daimyo (the ruler of the Land of Fire)...
Because they held your financial lifeline!
Relying solely on Ninja from a single Hidden Village was simply insufficient to support an entire village!
...
Looking at this long bill before him, Shimoku couldn't help scratching his head.
Thinking back now, those Naruto novels he used to read in his previous life made it seem so easy. The protagonist would suddenly get a brilliant idea and—just like that—magically pull an entire Hidden Village out of thin air.
What a bunch of BS!
In his current case, he had all the advantages—favorable timing, ideal location, and popular support.
Yet even building a small hidden village felt like walking on thin ice!
There's real wisdom in the saying: Taking power is easy; holding onto it—that's the hard part.
Anyway, they couldn't afford to burn through resources aimlessly anymore.
Even though their Vault funds could hold up for another half year or so, developing independent revenue streams had become urgent.
Without adequate economic income, establishing a strong and prosperous village was out of the question!
...
"Alright, I understand!"
"The Second Elder and others are doing great work."
"Tō, please convey my message to them—keep it up!"
"Also, don't be overly frugal with the budget. Even if we spend slightly more, it won't matter."
"Village construction shall always remain our top priority!"
"After all, this is now our new home—how could we hold back when building our own future?"
Tō Uchiha's face lit up as he immediately responded.
"Exactly! Uncle Tō, you should suggest the Elders plan bigger bathhouses!"
"A mixed bathhouse would be best! That would really feel great!"
Uchiha Gin chimed in with a cheeky grin, nudging playfully.
"Pfft! You brat, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"You're just looking for any excuse to have a mixed bath (where men and women bathe together), huh?"
Tō gave the boy a playful smack on the head and chuckled in mock disapproval.
Then, he calmed down.
Finally asking Shimoku:
"Still, spending money recklessly isn't sustainable either..."
"All these funds will eventually run out..."
"What about afterwards?"
Shimoku: "No need to worry. I already have plans for that aspect."
Uchiha Gin: "You don't mean... the Young Master is going after another village again? Planning to rob their vault once more?"
"Pa—"
Gin received another slap on the head from Shimoku.
"Nonsense! That's not called looting—that's taking from the rich to give to the poor!"
Shimoku seriously corrected.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gin's eyes sparkled with sudden realization.
He even seemed eager to experience the thrill of "taking from the rich to give to the poor."
"But raiding the rich nonstop won't work long-term! Once a village gets hit, they'll definitely beef up their security."
"It won't be as easy next time!"
Shimoku nodded in approval:
"Tō's right."
"Therefore, simple 'taking from the rich to give to the poor' isn't sustainable."
"We must develop our own revenue channels and create a virtuous cycle if we want to achieve the goal of enriching our village."
"But right now we're all rogue ninja. Ordinary great nations won't let us take missions for rewards. How can we make money then?"
Uchiha Gin said with a frown.
In fact, precisely because of this very reason,
when ninja from various villages defected, they generally lived very difficult lives...
Even someone as formidable as Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist,
had no choice but to take on frequent jobs just to scrape together some cash.
"Don't worry, I already have a target in mind."
"Young Master, what kind of target?"
"Of course it's [Waves Country]..."
Shimoku smiled gently, revealing his 'fangs', showing his greedy nature.
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