Chapter 320: Orphans and War Orphans!

Perhaps because he had already grown accustomed to the "new" situation, or perhaps because the newly appointed Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was not as difficult to deal with as he had expected, Utatane Masao became increasingly at ease as he spoke.

Before long, he had completely relaxed, and every answer he gave was reasonable and well-founded.

Namikaze Minato lowered his head slightly and discreetly cast an inquiring glance toward Uchiha Ren.

Uchiha Ren, however, shook his head, signaling that Minato should not act rashly.

Any organization, regardless of which faction it belonged to, would inevitably place its financial department under the control of those in power.

Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult for the authorities to enforce their policies throughout the organization under their rule.

The Financial Department only needed to say two words—"We have no money."

And most projects would immediately become difficult, if not impossible, to put into practice.

The authority over Konoha's Financial Department was currently held by Elders Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

If Namikaze Minato wanted to take that authority back, he would inevitably need to find some "problems" within the Financial Department and use them as justification.

Were there actually problems within the Financial Department?

Of course there were!

Although Utatane Masao's explanation sounded perfectly reasonable, the underlying problems were obvious.

Take the procurement of military supplies and medical supplies, for example.

It was perfectly normal for the prices of supplies to rise during wartime.

But how much they rose was another matter entirely.

After all, some of the largest merchants supplying Konoha were members of the Utatane, Mitokado, Sarutobi, and Shimura clans.

As long as Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado manipulated things slightly, they could easily funnel public funds into their own pockets while making the accounts look immaculate enough that no one could find any obvious fault.

Therefore, even if Uchiha Ren and Namikaze Minato could see what was wrong, they still could not bring down Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado through this particular issue.

After receiving Uchiha Ren's signal, Minato abandoned the idea of making an issue of it for now. Instead, he turned toward Ren and said, "Elder Uchiha, you've heard Director Utatane's explanation. What do you have to say about it?"

Uchiha Ren calmly replied, "I'll say the same thing I said before. As long as the proper procedures are followed, I will certainly provide the funds."

After a brief pause, Uchiha Ren glanced at Logistics Department Director Mitokado Jirō and Financial Department Director Utatane Masao before continuing.

"However, when the Daimyō's Court entrusted this subsidy to our Uchiha clan, they specifically instructed us to ensure that every ryō of this money was actually spent where it was supposed to be spent."

"So I can provide the money."

"But my Uchiha clan will inspect every transaction and track every expenditure made from these funds."

The expressions of Mitokado Jirō and Utatane Masao changed immediately.

However, with their superiors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, both absent, neither of them could say much. They could only remain silent.

Uchiha Ren paid no attention to their thoughts and continued.

"Since we're carrying out a reform anyway, why don't we establish the framework of the Inspection Department first?"

"The first task of the Inspection Department will be to supervise the distribution of compensation payments and allowances, as well as the procurement of various supplies."

"I believe everyone understands how important those compensation payments and allowances are."

"If anyone dares to reach out and take a cut, I'll break that hand."

"The same goes for supply procurement."

"It's understandable that prices rise during wartime. But if I discover that anyone is deliberately inflating prices to profit from the war, then don't blame me for being ruthless."

"I'll make my position clear in advance."

"Hopefully, there won't be any problems."

"But if there are..."

"Heh."

"You can decide for yourselves how you want to handle the consequences."

Uchiha Ren's words were extremely blunt, yet not a single person dared to object.

After all, Ren currently possessed the moral high ground.

He was acting for the sake of everyone in the village.

Naturally, anyone who genuinely cared about Konoha would have no reason to oppose him.

And anyone who did oppose him would inevitably look as though they had something to hide.

If someone actually dared to object under these circumstances, they wouldn't even need Uchiha Ren to take action. The people of Konoha themselves would turn against that person.

Namikaze Minato immediately followed up.

"Elder Uchiha has said exactly what I wanted to say."

"Within reasonable limits, there is nothing wrong with everyone earning some benefits while working for the village."

"But if anyone abuses public authority for personal gain and harms the interests of everyone else for their own benefit, then that person is naturally an enemy of the village—and an enemy of all of us!"

After a brief pause, Minato did not give anyone else a chance to speak. He looked toward Uchiha Ren and asked, "Elder Uchiha, what are your thoughts regarding the personnel of the Inspection Department?"

Uchiha Ren answered without hesitation.

"The Director of the Inspection Department will be our Uchiha clan's elder, Uchiha Setsuna."

"As for the two Deputy Directors... I recommend that Elder Hyūga Hiashi concurrently serve as one of them."

"The enforcement personnel of the Inspection Department can also give priority to shinobi from the Hyūga clan."

"The Hyūga clan is a great clan with a history spanning a thousand years. Elder Hyūga Hiashi has received elite training since childhood, and there is absolutely no question about his character."

"He won't be swayed by petty personal gains and will therefore be able to maintain impartiality to the greatest possible extent."

In Uchiha Ren's view, members of the major clans should be given priority when selecting personnel for the Inspection Department—especially members of the Hyūga clan.

After all, with the Hyūga clan's accumulated wealth and foundation, they had no shortage of money.

Compared with profit, they would undoubtedly place greater importance on reputation.

Furthermore, the Hyūga clan's traditional and rigid upbringing meant that its members placed considerable importance on rules and principles.

That made them ideal candidates for an oversight organization.

After a brief pause, Uchiha Ren added, "In addition, to strengthen the Inspection Department's investigative capabilities, we can also select elite shinobi from the Uchiha, Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans."

"The Uchiha clan has the Sharingan."

"The Nara clan has exceptional intelligence."

"The Yamanaka clan has the Mind Body Switch Technique."

"And the Inuzuka and Aburame clans excel at tracking, reconnaissance, and investigation."

"The members of these clans are practically born for investigative and oversight work."

Everyone could more or less guess what Uchiha Ren was thinking, so no one raised any objections.

Naturally, the clans that had been named by Ren had no intention of giving up an opportunity that had practically fallen into their laps.

As a result, after little more than going through the formalities, Uchiha Ren's proposal was approved.

"What about the other Deputy Director?"

"Does anyone have a suitable candidate to recommend?"

This time, Namikaze Minato did not look toward Uchiha Ren. Instead, he turned his gaze toward everyone in the conference room.

This position was clearly being reserved for a civilian shinobi, so the major clans did not say anything.

However, finding a suitable candidate was not easy.

After all, this was the second-highest position in an entire department. Whoever occupied it needed both sufficient prestige and considerable strength.

After a moment of silence, Shikaku Nara spoke.

"I recommend Senior Kosuke Maruboshi for the position."

"Although Senior Kosuke Maruboshi is currently only a genin, I believe everyone has heard something about his circumstances."

"Whether in terms of seniority or strength, he is more than qualified for this position."

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Kosuke Maruboshi really was an excellent candidate.

In terms of seniority, Kosuke Maruboshi had served under the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and his mastery of Water Release had been deeply influenced by Tobirama himself.

As for strength, Kosuke Maruboshi had been strong enough to become a jōnin decades ago.

He had simply remained a genin because of a deep emotional trauma he had never been able to overcome.

Moreover, Kosuke Maruboshi was a civilian-born shinobi and enjoyed an exceptionally good reputation within the village.

"Cough, cough."

"I have absolutely no objections to Senior Kosuke Maruboshi taking this position."

"But will Senior Kosuke actually accept the appointment?"

"As far as I know, Senior Kosuke suffered a serious setback during his first mission as a team leader. It left him with a deep emotional scar, and he no longer wanted to serve as a team leader after that."

"He has maintained his status as a genin ever since."

"Now we're asking him to become the second-in-command of an entire department. I'm afraid it may be difficult to convince him."

A shinobi who was familiar with Kosuke coughed lightly before voicing his concern.

Shikaku Nara confidently replied, "There's no need to worry about that. I'm confident that I can persuade Senior Kosuke to come out of retirement."

After a pause, Shikaku explained further.

"First, the Deputy Director of the Inspection Department won't be required to lead teams out of the village on regular missions, so the position doesn't conflict with Senior Kosuke's wishes."

"Second, one of the two Deputy Directors is responsible for logistics and archives."

"Senior Kosuke is already advanced in age, so this would allow him to handle relatively easy administrative duties."

"Given Senior Kosuke's personality, I believe that as long as we explain the situation clearly, he won't refuse an appointment from the village."

Shikaku Nara's explanation was both reasonable and well-founded.

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

Namikaze Minato, however, did not make a decision immediately.

Instead, he looked toward Uchiha Ren.

Uchiha Ren remained silent as he recalled everything he knew about Kosuke Maruboshi.

There was a saying that had circulated throughout this world for years:

Konoha's strongest shinobi was neither the Hokage nor one of its elite jōnin.

It was a genin.

There was even a joke that went:

"When Konoha's jōnin fight, pots and pans go flying. When Konoha's genin fight, heaven and earth are overturned!"

Aside from the two monsters known as Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, the reason Konoha's genin were so extraordinary was largely because of these two eternal genin—Might Guy's father, Might Duy, and Kosuke Maruboshi.

Might Duy had used the Eight Gates to kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into submission, while Kosuke Maruboshi had actually outlived the Fourth Hokage.

He had acquired portions of their legacies and learned their signature techniques!

And unlike Might Duy, who had concealed his extraordinary abilities for years and was an unconventional powerhouse, Kosuke Maruboshi's strength was widely known.

Fame and status had always been within his reach.

Yet despite that, Kosuke had remained in Konoha for decades, working diligently without complaint.

His character was therefore beyond reproach.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Ren no longer hesitated.

He gave Namikaze Minato a slight nod.

Seeing this, Minato spoke.

"Then it's decided."

"Senior Kosuke Maruboshi will be approached by Commander Nara. I'll leave that matter to you."

Shikaku Nara nodded.

"Understood. I guarantee I'll get it done."

With Shikaku Nara's words, the major matters that needed to be discussed at this Jōnin Council meeting had essentially been settled.

The remaining task was simply to implement the various resolutions after the meeting.

However, just as everyone was waiting for Namikaze Minato to announce the end of the meeting, Uchiha Ren spoke once again.

"Everyone, please wait."

Uchiha Ren's words immediately drew everyone's attention.

"There's one more minor matter I need to discuss with everyone."

Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what Uchiha Ren intended to bring up this time.

Ren did not beat around the bush.

"I want to discuss the matter of the orphans and war orphans in our village."

Uchiha Ren had promised Yakushi Nono that he would formally incorporate the Konoha Orphanage into the village's administrative system.

Naturally, he had no intention of breaking his promise.

Shikaku Nara asked in confusion, "The village has always handled the arrangements for the war orphans of our fallen heroes quite appropriately. Is there some problem?"

Shikaku's confusion was shared by everyone else in the conference room.

No one understood why Uchiha Ren had suddenly brought this matter up.

Uchiha Ren sighed softly, his expression complicated.

In this world, not all orphans were the same.

Konoha had always had a relatively systematic system for taking care of children who had lost both parents and had no other surviving relatives.

After all, even when their parents died in battle outside the village, most of those children were still left with some form of property in Konoha.

A house.

Some savings.

A few personal belongings.

Those things remained theirs.

Therefore, the village had a Child Welfare Unit responsible for raising such children until they reached a certain level of independence, at which point they would be allowed to return home and live on their own.

They would receive a monthly allowance.

When they reached the appropriate age, their aptitude for becoming shinobi would be tested. Those with sufficient talent would enter the Ninja Academy for training.

Once they reached adulthood, the compensation left by their parents would be paid to them in a lump sum.

Strictly speaking, these children might not even be considered ordinary orphans.

They were war orphans of fallen heroes.

Many people in Konoha had grown up this way, including Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

The children being raised at Yakushi Nono's Konoha Orphanage, however, were true orphans in the literal sense.

Most of them had been taken in by Yakushi Nono from various parts of the shinobi world.

They had no roots in Konoha.

No family property.

No compensation payments.

They depended entirely on Yakushi Nono for their upbringing.

And this was precisely why Yakushi Nono's life had been so difficult.

Uchiha Ren pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Although the village's arrangements for the war orphans of fallen heroes are adequate, the system itself is not properly structured, and there are still many shortcomings."

"Take the distribution of their monthly allowances, for example."

"Most of those children have only just turned four or five when they leave the Child Welfare Unit."

"Although they have acquired a certain degree of independence, they are still ignorant about many things—especially when it comes to managing money."

"The village currently gives them a monthly allowance of 3,000 ryō."

"For someone capable of buying groceries and cooking for themselves, that might barely be enough to get by."

"But do you really expect a four- or five-year-old child to buy groceries and cook for themselves every day?"

"They're not even tall enough to reach the stove!"

"And that's assuming we're living in peacetime!"

"Director Utatane just told us that prices for all supplies are rising during wartime."

"Food is no exception."

"Right now, a single bowl of ramen outside costs 750 ryō."

"A 3,000-ryō monthly allowance can't even buy four bowls of ramen!"

"Children whose parents left behind substantial savings may be able to manage."

"But what about those whose parents left behind only a small amount of money?"

"So there are actually many war orphans in the village living miserable lives, sometimes going hungry and sometimes barely managing to eat."

"I believe everyone here has a deep understanding of this problem!"

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