Doesn't Look Like a King Nor a Gentleman

At five in the morning, Minatsuki opened her eyes.

When she woke up, her daughter, Haku, was still soundly asleep.

Seeing her daughter's relaxed sleeping position, her heart immediately warmed up.

For her and her daughter, the blood in their bodies seems to be a curse. When they were in the Land of Water, they don't dare to relax even if they're sleeping.

She is very aware of the hatred of the people of the country of water towards kekkei genkai users, and she is really afraid that one day the power contained in the blood will suddenly awaken and drive the two of them to a dead end.

Yet that day finally came.

Minatsuki resisted hard and fled to the Land of Fire.

But in fact, apart from having a rough goal of surviving, she doesn't know what to do after arriving in the Land of Fire.

Confused but determined, she walked all the way toward the Land of Fire.

But who knew, it was this persistence that even she felt at a loss, but it was actually rewarded.

For some unknown reason, she became part of the outer room of Godaime Hokage.

As a civilian, this can be said to have soared into the sky.

Although the Godaime never touched her after taking her in... but the days that will come will get better and better.

Thinking of this, Minatsuki kissed her daughter again, and then started the day's work.

As usual, she just freshened up a bit and opened the door.

There, two masked Anbu ninjas were already waiting for her.

One of the Anbu ninjas stared at her coldly, while the other Anbu ninja held a vegetable basket in his hand, which was already full of what she needed for the whole day.

Minatsuki knew the two ninjas weren't deliberately targeting her, but it was their duty.

No matter where the Fire Daimyo goes, he is always surrounded by people and has a large number of followers. Even for a meal, there will be a dedicated food tester to test the poison.

The overall scale of Konohagakure cannot be compared with the Land of Fire, and most of the ninjas are used to be struck by wind and rain, they aren't like nobles.

But in the end, he was still the leader of a Hidden Village, so he had to be cautious.

"Thank you."

Minatsuki bowed slightly toward the two of them and then took the vegetable basket.

Even if she knew it, the two Anbu would never have any communication with her.

After expressing her gratitude to the two Anbus, Minatsuki returned to the Godaime mansion and started making breakfast.

Suo Makoto participated in the Third Ninja World War and even once filled the trenches. The requirements for his food aren't too high, as long as the nutrition is sufficient.

For people who are used to eating soilder pills to satisfy their hunger, the taste is dispensable.

However, as an ordinary woman who doesn't know any ninjutsu, Minatsuki still does her best, taking it as seriously as fighting.

No, this is her battlefield.

It didn't take long for a simple but delicate breakfast to be completed.

Almost at the moment she finished, the door to Makoto's room was also opened.

"Good morning."

Minatsuki bowed slightly and greeted seriously.

"Well, you don't have to be so cautious...how are you at home these two days?"

Anyway, it's really too much for Hokage to live in a bachelor's apartment or something. So shortly after becoming Hokage, it was decided by the Sandaime that it was better for Makoto to move to a larger place.

It's just that Makoto spent most of his time in Hokage's office because of his work, so he didn't come back much to this house.

"Thanks to you, everything is going well. It's just..."

"It's just what?"

"While you are away, people from the Uchiha Clan want to visit."

"... Uchiha?"

"Yes. But when I told them that you were in Hokage's office, they left a letter and walked away."

Saying so, Minatsuki handed a letter to Makoto with both hands.

There's nothing that could be done. Makoto isn't at home for most of the time. Even if he comes back occasionally, it'll still be in the middle of the night.

Minatsuki is still in a semi-surveillance state, and can't walk around, so she can only give him the letter this time in the morning.

Makoto removed the wax seal and quickly glanced through it.

There are not many words in the letter, but the content is very important – if he couldn't hold on anymore, he can open his mouth to ask for help.

It's really not something the Uchiha would do.

But then again, it's really something Uchiha would do.

"What an interesting family."

Makoto really didn't expect that in this messy moment, it was the Uchiha Clan who jumped out and was willing to give him real further support.

This family is really easy to go to extremes.

Either love or hate it.

There is really a reason for the birth of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui in succession in this clan.

In their underlying logic, Konoha is their home. They mess with whoever messes with their home.

They are not happy with the Sandaime and the Hokage faction, but this does not prevent them from caring about Konoha.

In other words, it is precisely because they care about Konoha that they are particularly upset with the Sandaime.

Uchihas still remember the prestige of the Shodaime and the Nidaime.

But in your hands, how did it become a tortoise in a situation where Kumo is bullying it so much that it's afraid to make any noise?

...But overall, it's good news.

It's much more comfortable than the private connection between Danzo and some smaller clans.

Makoto has been under a lot of pressure recently.

And predictably, the pressure on him will mount as time goes on before the results come out.

Whether it is Danzo or the Yondaime Raikage that he must be faced, neither is something that normal people could handle.

But Makoto had no choice.

So he smiled and burned the letter.

"No Uchiha ever came to visit."

"... Yes."

Minatsuki didn't know the twists and turns inside the letter, but as a traditional woman, she agreed to whatever the man said.

– This is also one of the points Makoto likes about her.

"I'm stuffed. –

"Go to bed early tonight, so you don't have to wait for me every night."

After leaving these words, Makoto put on his cloak and walked towards Hokage's office.

Minatsuki watched Makoto leave, and her doubts increased instead of diminishing.

Makoto's respectful demeanor made her happy, but she wondered what qualities he saw in her to choose her as his mistress.

Random choice?

In Konohagakure, there are many unmarried beauties, why... must it be her?

Apart from kekkei genkai, what else should the other party care about?

Minatsuki fell into thoughts.

... ...

When Makoto came to Hokage's office, besides the Anbu, Asuma and the Sandaime were also there.

Of course, Danzo is also here.

Over the last couple of days, Kumo has been making increasingly frequent movements. Not only was the Sandaime a little restless, Danzo is too.

Fundamentally speaking, Danzo does not want Konoha to be completely destroyed.

It's still possible for him to harm the Hokage faction, even if he has to use outside forces. And even if the village is destroyed physically, it wouldn't make a difference.

Makoto pretended not to see Danzo at all and only greeted Sandaime and Asuma.

"Sandaime-sama, you're this early?"

"Ha, after returning from visiting the Daimyo, I have nothing to do anyway, so I came here to see if there is anything I can do to help."

"Is... the matter in the Land of Fire perfect?"

"It's not too much trouble." Sandaime took a puff from the pipe, implying something, "After all, everyone in the Land of Fire is a decent person."

...that is because Danzo is here.

How could there be no trouble at all?

If there were really no troubles, the Sandaime and his party would not need to stay with the Daimyo for two full months.

During these two months, Sandaime sent reports back almost every day. Although the mood in the report was very optimistic, Makoto could see the pressure within it.

Makoto stayed in Konoha, bearing the huge pressure of elders every day, and refused to raise taxes.

And the Sandaime was with the Daimyo, putting in a lot of effort to persuade the nobles to come to an agreement to fully merge the tobacco industry within a tight timeframe.

Everyone together produces, ships, and shares dividends.

If they're talking about the details seriously, it'll be really painful. There were endless amounts of unexpected problems.

The group of officials in the Land of Fire are pitted.

The group of people under them is also pitted.

To some extent, they are the ones who are most opposed to Konoha's integration of the entire tobacco industry.

For this reason, the two sides had numerous conflicts, both openly and secretly.

The Hyuuga brothers, who are known for their patience, almost flipped the table... although they endured it in the end.

These jobs are really beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

These distasteful things were finally resolved by Asuma.

Asuma also complained about this.

It's not that he is unwilling to work for Konoha, it's just that these missions are too... these missions are all D-ranks.

There's nothing that could be done, none of the guys he wants to deal with are ninjas, they are all ordinary people, nothing more than having some authority.

What is authority compared to strength?

On average, Asuma solved everything with one shuriken per enemy.

This is a task that even Genin can complete.

Asuma secretly guessed that it was his father who was secretly making his life difficult.

But this time it's really not the Sandaime... Makoto doesn't like the Ninja Tool Theory. These things are too sensitive, and he doesn't want to clean up his own people. Naturally, he can only let the absolutely reliable Asuma do these things.

Makoto really didn't have his own team.

The reason why Konoha has a system that allows Jounin to lead the team is that it hopes to let Jounin train its own team during the war.

Under normal circumstances, Hokages should have their own disciples and subordinates.

Even the Yondaime has a Kakashi.

But Makoto was too young.

He had never been a Jounin-sensei before and was directly promoted to Hokage.

Fortunately, they were lucky. Because of successive years of wars, the top management of the entire Land of Fire hopes to obtain more sources of funds

They are considered important figures and their appearance holds significance. Some tasks may prove challenging for them, especially if they involve conflicting factors.

But since Konoha is willing to come out and be taken advantage of, of course, they are willing to agree.

After all, who hates money?

The time Konoha got stuck was a noteworthy occurrence.

In a few years, when the Land of Fire begins to recover with its strong resilience, the officials won't be so easy to talk to.

After all kinds of bright and gruesome methods have been used, everything will be happy.

Prior to this, Makoto had read the reports from the Sandaime. But he couldn't feel at ease until he sat in front of him and heard the direct report.

After all, this time is not just as simple as making money to make up for the shortfall.

This was for Konoha's future.

The three of them were in a good mood as they spoke.

"Speaking of which, this month's dividend should come out. With this income, Konoha will be more relaxed."

"Sandaime-sama, this quick?"

"Well, after all, those tobacco companies have everything ready-made. Including raw materials, workers, and even machines and sales channels... It's just that we have put everything together now. Counting the time, it's almost done."

After all, the Land of Fire is an industrial country, which is fundamentally different from an agricultural country.

Konoha invested significant effort in persuading many entities to cooperate or simply made them disappear from the world. As a result, the industrial nation, previously constrained by the organizational structure of an agricultural one, experienced an explosive surge in productivity.

To be famous in an industrial country is really...

"Then how much do you estimate the first month's dividend will be?"

"If I estimate... there are at least fifty or sixty million ryos, right?"

It can be said that the Sandaime participated during the whole process. It is okay to let the Sandaime gather to fight, but he is really not a businessman.

Seeing the fake accounts and forgeries made by some people, he immediately became numb.

With past experience, he can roughly estimate a number.

It's that this number...

Just look at Danzo's expression.

"Godaime-sama, is it time to end your farce?"

"... What?"

"I admit that what you want to do can give Konoha extra income. I also want to believe that you really love Konoha. But the most important thing now is to deal with Kumo and the coming war."

Danzo took a deep breath, his face was so cold that people couldn't tell his real thoughts.

"In order to deal with the war with Kumo, Konoha itself has to bear a huge deficit. Now you invest in tobacco, which will make Konoha's deficit even bigger. –

"Konoha is not your toy! Enough is enough!"

Makoto supported his chin with his hands and looked at Danzo playfully.

"Then Danzo-san thinks, at this time, what isn't a playing around?"

"Of course, it is to increase Konoha's tax! Only in this way can Konoha get through this difficult time!"

Yes, the classic block at both ends, the tactics of fun people.

If he doesn't raise taxes, he just didn't do his job properly, so he won't look like a gentleman.

He raises taxes because he doesn't care about the life and death of the people under him, so he won't look like a king.

Anyway, no matter what he does, it is to highlight that he is not like a man.

It just so happened that this guy was acting righteous and awe-inspiring, and it was just like the real thing.

But just before Makoto wanted to face him again, a flustered Kakashi ran in with a report.

Makoto noticed that his entire face was numb as if he had encountered something incredible.

Danzo: "Kakashi, what are you doing!? Did you not look at where this is!? You are reckless, and you don't even have the most basic etiquette!"

Makoto ignored him and looked at Kakashi.

"What is it, Kakashi?"

"Re- report to Hokage-sama." Kakashi panted, and explained all the reasons, "The first tobacco company dividend has come out..."

"How much? Fifty million?"

The Sandaime looked at Kakashi expectantly.

If there are 50 million, then he can clamp Danzo's mouth shut.

"It's... it's 13.7 billion! –

"The first dividend is 13.7 billion!"