Chapter 321: The Hearts of the People Can Be Won Over!

The words of Uchiha Ren left the vast majority of civilian shinobi present looking deeply moved.

People often say that children in the shinobi world mature early. But if they had not been forced to experience so much harsh reality, who would willingly abandon innocence for maturity?

Although the establishment of the one-village-one-country system brought an end to the chaotic Warring States period, war itself never ended. Instead, it evolved into an even more destructive form.

Konoha Village had existed for less than fifty years. Apart from the dozen or so years during which the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was alive, Konoha had already experienced three Shinobi World Wars and countless smaller conflicts during the remaining thirty-plus years.

It could be said that, up until now, Konoha had either been at war or preparing for war!

Konoha's population and institutional framework were limited. After decades of warfare, who among them had not lost a relative? Who had not lost a friend?

Those from the major clans were relatively fortunate. Among Konoha's ordinary shinobi, there were certainly no fewer than a few who had lost both parents at a young age. As for the minor and mid-sized clans, who knew how many had been swallowed by the dust of history, how many had been reduced to only a handful of surviving members, and how many had been left with only a single heir?

Take the Hatake clan, for example. During the Warring States Period, the Hatake were a renowned warrior clan, and their Hatake Swordsmanship was famous throughout the shinobi world.

Yet now, the entire Hatake clan had been reduced to a single surviving member: Hatake Kakashi.

Judging from Kakashi's perpetually withdrawn and eccentric personality, perhaps in a few decades, even the Hatake clan would disappear completely.

If even established clans had suffered such a fate, then ordinary shinobi who had never possessed abundant resources or inherited techniques had it even worse.

Moreover, due to certain special circumstances, whether a person possessed the talent to become a shinobi was also influenced by heredity and bloodline.

The children of shinobi were more likely to become shinobi, while the descendants of ordinary civilians were, in all likelihood, still ordinary civilians. Even the son of a cannon fodder shinobi would most likely end up as cannon fodder himself.

This was precisely why Konoha was willing to invest considerable resources into raising the orphans of fallen shinobi. Beyond maintaining the village's reputation, the most important reason was that these orphans had a greater likelihood of becoming shinobi themselves.

As a result, a peculiar situation had emerged.

Among all the shinobi present, the parents of most of them had probably been shinobi as well.

And because of the endless wars, countless people in this room had lost one or both parents at a young age. They could therefore empathize even more deeply with what Uchiha Ren had said.

"Ah... If Elder Uchiha hadn't brought it up, I would've almost forgotten. When I first left the orphan support program as a child, I spent my allowance within three days. If it hadn't been for the help from one of my father's former comrades, I probably wouldn't have survived to this day."

"Me too! I survived because an elderly woman who lived nearby helped take care of me!"

"Heh, you two were luckier than I was. All of my father's comrades had died too, so there was no one left to look after me. After I spent all my allowance, I survived the first few months by catching fish at the river... and stealing food. Eventually, I slowly learned how to cook for myself..."

Many people in the conference room were deeply affected by these memories, and the atmosphere gradually became heavy.

Seeing this, Uchiha Ren knew that the time was right. He continued, "So, I can't say that the village's current system for taking care of the orphans of fallen heroes is fundamentally wrong. But it is certainly incomplete!"

The moment he said this, everyone in the conference room understood Uchiha Ren's intention.

Uchiha Ren intended to reform Konoha's orphan support program!

Most of the people present did not know what to say about it and chose to remain on the sidelines for the moment.

However, Tsunemaki Masao of the Finance Department could no longer sit still.

Although he did not yet know how Uchiha Ren intended to reform the system, whatever changes were made would certainly improve it compared to before.

And that meant spending more money.

The village's financial resources had already been "snatched away" by the Uchiha clan in one area. But ultimately, the money still had to come from somewhere. Whether the Finance Department paid for it directly or the funds were routed through the Uchiha clan first, the burden would eventually fall on the Finance Department.

As the head of the Finance Department, how could Tsunemaki Masao simply sit back and do nothing?

"Ahem. Elder Uchiha, reforming an institution isn't something that can be accomplished overnight. We only recently made changes to the Konoha Military Police Force and several other departments, and we haven't even seen the results yet. Now you want to reform the orphan support program as well. Isn't this a little too hasty?"

"Besides, the village's financial situation has already been explained to everyone. Wouldn't it be better to wait until the village has recovered somewhat before discussing this?"

Tsunemaki Masao knew that his influence was insufficient. Directly rejecting the proposal was obviously impossible, so he could only try to delay the matter until Tsunemaki Koharu and Homura Mitokado, the two actual authorities within the Finance Department, returned.

Uchiha Ren merely snorted coldly.

"We can afford to wait. Can the children currently going hungry in the village afford to wait?"

"Director Tsunemaki, don't forget that the recently concluded Battle of Kikyō Mountain cost Konoha thousands of lives. How many children will be left behind without anyone to depend on?"

After a brief pause, Uchiha Ren looked around the conference room and continued:

"To put it bluntly, most of us in this line of work live with our heads on the chopping block."

"Although the Hokage has just told you to prioritize your own survival, who among you can guarantee that you won't die unexpectedly tomorrow?"

"Do you really want to wait until after you die, only for your children to go hungry, steal food, rob people, and rummage through garbage just to survive?!"

Boom!

Uchiha Ren's words were like a thunderclap exploding in the conference room!

Many of those present flushed with anger, while several shinobi who had personally endured similar hardships slammed their hands onto the tables and stood up.

"Change it! The orphan support system must be changed!"

"That's right! Even if we can't deal with anything else for now, this must be taken care of first! Those children are our future—and the village's future!"

"The village must establish a proper system! We absolutely cannot allow the orphans of fallen heroes to go hungry again!"

"I'm risking my life so that my child can have a peaceful life! The child's mother already died in battle. If I die too and my child can't even get enough to eat, then what's the point of risking my life every day?!"

Amid the rising fury, it wasn't only the ordinary shinobi who became agitated. Many clan shinobi were stirred up as well.

Although clan shinobi who had lost their parents would not starve under the care of their clans, it was impossible to say that they necessarily lived well.

Even a powerful clan like the Uchiha could not possibly provide comprehensive care for every orphan. Otherwise, there would not have been so many clan members who had developed such extreme views!

Seeing the situation unfold, Tsunemaki Masao was drenched in cold sweat. He trembled in his seat, not daring to say another word.

Many among the agitated crowd were already glaring at him viciously because of his earlier remarks.

If he dared to say another word of opposition, they might very well tear him apart on the spot.

Uchiha Ren's eyes flickered as he watched the scene.

The mood of the people was now on his side.

Next, he needed to cleverly link the orphan support program with the Konoha Orphanage.

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