Chapter 27: Weapon Reimbursement  

"Huh?" Enbi Eijirō immediately fell silent, then softened his tone. "Shinnosuke, I didn't mean it like that." 

The usually arrogant Enbi Eijirō now looked like a mouse cornered by a cat, completely overpowered by Enbi Shinnosuke. Though they were of the same generation—with Eijirō even being ten years older—he was still being dominated. It just proved that the title of "dead last" among the Enbi clan's peers wasn't unfounded. 

"No apology, huh? Then we'll settle this one-on-one when we get back." 

"No way! Shinnosuke, spare me! I was just talking nonsense!" 

The moment Eijirō heard "one-on-one," he shook his head frantically, his eyes filled with terror. Clearly, this so-called "training session" wasn't something he looked forward to—more like a psychological nightmare. 

But Eijirō, ever prideful of his noble status, couldn't bring himself to apologize, especially not to some lowly fishmonger. So even under Shinnosuke's overwhelming pressure, he stubbornly refused to relent. 

Seeing the two at an impasse, Umino Yoru stepped in. "Shinnosuke, an apology isn't necessary." 

"Hmph!" Eijirō smirked, looking smug. 

But before he could celebrate, Yoru continued, "However, fleeing from battle, flip-flopping, and treating mission intel as a joke can't go unpunished. Otherwise, aren't we just encouraging people to break Konoha's shinobi rules?" 

"Yeah! You're right. He can't get off scot-free." Shinnosuke nodded in agreement. "Senpai, what should his punishment be?" 

"Have him stay here to fill the vacant defense post in the Aoba squad's patrol zone. As for the intel, Shinnosuke, you'll deliver it in Eijirō's place." 

After speaking, Yoru glanced at Akimichi Torifū, clearly leaving the final decision to him. 

"Oh?" Torifū's eyes lit up as he quickly weighed the proposal. This was a golden opportunity to snag some extra mission credit. 

The only issue was whether this would be seen as stealing merit. 

Wait—no. 

Even if it was stealing merit, it was Shinnosuke taking it from Eijirō. And since Shinnosuke was the young master of the Enbi clan, this was purely an internal clan matter. If handled well, the Enbi might even thank him for being tactful. 

Yoru added at just the right moment, "Yoru, how about having Shinnosuke escort you back with the intel?" 

"Well—" 

Gekkō Yoru considered it carefully. Judging from the earlier exchange, Shinnosuke was clearly stronger than Eijirō. Having him as an escort would make the trip safer. 

Besides, the outpost wasn't far, and since this was his savior's suggestion, how could he refuse? 

Seeing Yoru agree, Torifū had no objections. Shinnosuke would deliver the intel instead of Eijirō. As for security, a single shadow clone from Mitarashi Gen would be enough—it wasn't a long trip anyway. 

And so, the matter was settled happily—with Eijirō as the only one left suffering, standing alone in the wind. 

Torifū patted Yoru's shoulder approvingly. "Yoru, about the mission credit distribution…?" 

"I'll leave it entirely to you, Torifū-sama. Though… we did use up a few explosive tags and tools during the skirmish with those Suna-nin. I wonder if—" 

Before Yoru could finish, Torifū grinned. "Ah, battlefield equipment reimbursement! I know the rules. Deduct it from the spoils. The remaining loot gets split—70% to the village, 30% to us." 

Konoha's official policy stated that 70% of all mission spoils went to the village, with only 30% kept as personal profit. 

But where there's a rule, there's a workaround. 

The reimbursement system had a glaring loophole: weapon and equipment expenses. 

For example, if a squad used 10 kunai in battle but looted 100 from the enemy, they'd theoretically have to surrender 70. 

But in reality, to maintain combat readiness, they could "reimburse" their 10 used kunai first, leaving only 90 to be split—meaning only 63 went to the village. 

The same logic applied to explosive tags, shuriken, and other tools. 

This became an unspoken shinobi rule: mission expenses could be reimbursed from spoils, with only the remainder handed over. 

Of course. 

Lower-ranked, background-less shinobi rarely dared to hoard loot. But when it came to reimbursement, there was plenty of room for creative accounting. Average shinobi might inflate expenses by 30%, while clan-born ninjas—with their connections—could exaggerate losses tenfold without blinking. 

It got so bad that the village had to explicitly cap reimbursements at the total value of spoils. Any excess had to be covered out of pocket, preventing fraud and collusion with weapon dealers. 

A good policy—in theory. 

In practice, it only widened the wealth gap. 

Wealthy clan ninjas would max out their reimbursements, keeping every last ryo of loot. 

Meanwhile, poor, no-name shinobi still had to surrender at least 80% of their spoils. 

Why 80% and not the official 70%? 

Because the evaluation of loot's worth wasn't in their hands. 

A kunai from a backwater smithy versus one from the Land of Craftsmen could differ in value by over ten times. 

And who decided that worth? The logistics department, of course. 

Want a fair appraisal? Better grease a few palms. 

A mere 10% "appraisal fee" was practically a charity. 

In Suna, the logistics division—controlled by the council—took a 30% cut on top of the village's 70%, leaving nothing for the shinobi. 

Know how the Wind Daimyo kept banditry in check? 

If all loot went to the village, who'd bother robbing caravans for no profit? 

The Wind Daimyo might've been weak externally, but his domestic political skills were top-tier. Keeping the dirt-poor Sunagakure in line proved that much.