Chapter 318: Compensation Payments!

After the decisions had been finalized, everyone stopped discussing the matter.

After all, large-scale meetings such as the Jōnin Council came with a high "cost." Such meetings were generally only used to determine the overall direction of major matters. The specific details would be discussed separately in smaller meetings attended by the relevant personnel.

"Apart from the various problems caused by Shimura Danzō and his Root subordinates, there are still several matters that urgently require a decision!"

Seeing that Uchiha Ren seemed to have no intention of speaking again, Shikaku Nara smoothly took over and steered the discussion toward other matters.

Shikaku Nara took out several documents and said, "The first matter concerns the recent Battle of Kikyō Mountain. This battle had a tremendous impact, and Konoha suffered heavy losses!"

"Although the other villages suffered even greater losses than we did and will find it difficult to launch another large-scale war in the short term, we still cannot let our guard down until everything has truly settled down."

"So, there are two things we urgently need to do right now. First, rebuild a comprehensive defensive line along the borders. Second, negotiate with the other countries."

"And then there is the matter of postwar reconstruction and compensation for those who died in the war."

Everything Shikaku Nara had mentioned was common knowledge. In fact, before the meeting began, some of the village's senior officials had already been briefed, and the general direction had already been decided.

What remained was simply to discuss the details and formally reach a decision.

Therefore, as soon as Shikaku Nara finished speaking, Namikaze Minato immediately said, "Although rebuilding the defensive lines along the borders is urgent, fortunately, the village has gone through similar situations many times before and already has contingency plans in place."

"We will retake the guard posts along the borders that were lost during the war. Any posts that were destroyed will be rebuilt on-site, and we will redeploy warning barriers and defensive traps."

"We only need to follow the village's previous experience and procedures."

"The sooner this is carried out, the better. After the meeting, the Jōnin Commander's Office will formulate the list of the first personnel to be stationed along each border defense line, while the Logistics Department will immediately prepare the necessary supplies!"

Minato's arrangements were generally sound, so no one raised any objections.

Only Mito Kadomo Jirō, head of the Logistics Department, wore a hesitant expression.

Minato naturally noticed his hesitation and singled him out.

"Director Mitokado, is there a problem?"

Mitokado Jirō respectfully stood up and said, "Hokage-sama, most of our standard supplies in the Logistics Department were depleted during the Battle of Kikyō Mountain."

"We can still provide enough supplies for the first group of personnel being sent to the borders, but once we do, our warehouses will practically be empty!"

"Furthermore, the subsequent postwar reconstruction will also require a massive amount of supplies. Therefore, I request that the Administrative Department allocate funds for us to purchase additional supplies!"

Minato nodded upon hearing this.

"Prepare a detailed list and submit a funding request to my office when the time comes. But make sure those supplies for the first deployment are prepared first!"

"Yes!"

Mitokado Jirō breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his seat.

Minato continued, "As for negotiations with the other villages... we can send envoys to test their attitudes, but that is all we should do for now—test their attitudes."

"We should not rush to make our own position known. Whether we choose war or peace can be decided after we understand their stance!"

"As for the personnel we send as envoys, I have only one instruction for them."

"Remember that Konoha is the victorious side!"

"A victorious nation should carry itself with the pride befitting a victor!"

Shikaku Nara let out a long breath. His emotions were complicated as he solemnly replied, "Understood. I'll make sure of it."

The mood in the conference room was equally complicated.

Everyone could feel a surge of emotion boiling in their chests.

How many years had it been since they had been able to stand this proudly?

It wasn't as though Konoha had never won battles before. On the contrary, when it came to wars against other villages, Konoha had historically won far more often than it had lost.

The problem was what happened during the negotiations after every war.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who belonged to the pro-peace faction, would always instruct Konoha's negotiators to be careful with their words and attitude so as not to provoke the opposing side and reignite the flames of war.

Take the negotiations with Sunagakure during the Third Shinobi World War, for example.

Sunagakure had been one of the villages most thoroughly battered by Konoha during the war. Yet Konoha's attitude toward the Sunagakure envoys had been not merely cordial but downright accommodating.

Konoha had even voluntarily relinquished its claim to postwar compensation in order to placate them, allowing the people from Sunagakure to swagger around the village and boast about it.

The result was that Konoha had practically looked like the defeated side.

It had been utterly humiliating!

At the time, everyone had been furious but dared not speak out.

Now, under Namikaze Minato's leadership, they could finally hold their heads high!

Minato continued, "Next is the matter of postwar reconstruction and compensation for those who made the ultimate sacrifice..."

"Commander Nara, if I remember correctly, Elder Homura Mitokado and Elder Koharu Utatane previously drew up a proposal regarding this matter, didn't they?"

"That's correct."

Shikaku Nara glanced at Uchiha Ren. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "However, when Elder Homura Mitokado took that proposal to Elder Uchiha and requested the necessary funds, Elder Uchiha rejected it on the grounds that the proper procedure had not been followed."

"As a result, the matter was delayed."

The moment these words were spoken, everyone once again looked toward Uchiha Ren.

Uchiha Ren also offered an explanation.

"That proposal indeed failed to follow the proper procedure. It didn't even have the Hokage's signature. Naturally, I couldn't approve something like that."

"Moreover, when I raised my objections at the time, Elder Homura Mitokado had no objections either and simply took the proposal back."

Everyone said nothing further.

They already knew at least part of what had happened, so there was little else to say.

Minato continued asking, "Aside from the procedural issue, was there anything wrong with the proposal itself?"

"No."

Shikaku Nara handed a document to Minato.

"There was nothing wrong with the figures in the proposal. Everything was calculated according to the established regulations."

After a brief pause, seeing Minato seriously reading through the document, Shikaku Nara raised his voice slightly and continued.

"The village's compensation standard is based on the circumstances of each case, with a one-time payment equivalent to the remuneration for three to five B-rank missions."

"Since the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War, a total of 5,763 shinobi from the village have died."

"Of those, compensation has already been paid to the families of 2,347 shinobi."

"Another 289 shinobi left behind no surviving family members, while 395 shinobi left behind only underage children."

"For those families, the compensation is being held in custody by the village and will be distributed once the children reach adulthood."

"Therefore, the village actually only needs to issue compensation for 2,731 shinobi this time."

"After discussions between the former Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Elders Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, it was decided that this compensation would be issued according to the minimum remuneration for five B-rank missions."

"That means 400,000 ryō per person in compensation."

"The total comes to 1,092,400,000 ryō!"

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