A Sage's Pursuit of Power

The Sarutobi clan was remarkably low-profile. Just how low-profile were they?

Within their family, there was a large number of unregistered ninja, yet very few of them actively undertook missions. At the same time, they had hardly any visible businesses or enterprises on the surface.

But this is the ninja world, and training a single ninja requires immense resources. Even Konoha, the wealthiest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, struggles to provide for all its ninja.

For an ordinary civilian family, raising just one ninja is the limit. And even then, that ninja's career typically caps at the rank of chunin.

To become a ninja, proper nutrition and development from a young age are critical. Without adequate nourishment, a child simply cannot succeed.

Take Naruto, for example. If it weren't for the Nine-Tails sealed inside him and his Uzumaki heritage, he might never have become a ninja given his circumstances.

After that, attending the Ninja Academy requires tuition fees. While the school provides some training tools, advancing further demands personal training and equipment, which incurs additional ongoing costs since tools wear out with use.

Furthermore, the intense training regimen necessitates proper nutrition, supplements, and even medical treatments, all of which are expensive.

Graduating to become a ninja doesn't immediately alleviate these costs. Genin are often stuck performing mind-numbing D-rank missions for meager pay.

Genin receive no subsidies, and advancing to chunin requires passing the chunin exams. However, the Academy only teaches basic techniques like the Three Basic Jutsu. Entering the chunin exams with such limited skills is akin to being cannon fodder.

At this point, the largest expense for a ninja arises: learning new jutsu.

For a civilian ninja, there are two options for acquiring jutsu. One is to accumulate mission points and exchange them for jutsu through the village.

But as mentioned earlier, starting out with D-rank missions means earning points at a snail's pace, making jutsu acquisition feel unattainable.

The second option is to pay for jutsu outright. Most elemental ninjutsu can be purchased with money. However, the cost is enough to bankrupt an ordinary family. Many civilian families must go into debt to afford this.

All of this points to one conclusion: training a ninja is incredibly expensive. Training an entire group of ninja who don't undertake missions is an astronomical financial burden.

Clans like the Hyuga or the former Uchiha had significant industries to sustain themselves. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio now rely on businesses like pharmacies and barbecue restaurants for income.

But the Sarutobi clan has none of these. They don't farm, take on missions, or run businesses. Yet they still have the funds to train and maintain a private ninja force, which is quite baffling when examined closely.

However, as Hokage, Tsunade has access to resources far beyond what a single ninja clan can withstand. She quickly uncovered the Sarutobi clan's secret. While they weren't embezzling public funds, at least not since Tsunade took office, they did have numerous hidden assets.

In Konoha, the Sarutobi clan used various indirect methods to control several highly profitable businesses.

Strictly speaking, the Sarutobi clan could be considered Konoha's most prominent noble family. It's likely that Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately kept the clan low-profile to avoid drawing too much attention.

Tsunade's plan was to integrate the Sarutobi clan's ninja into the village's mission system, freeing up her own loyal subordinates to work with Gato's shipping group and earn big money.

After all, Gato's business had grown too large. Running a massive shipping operation was bound to attract envy from all corners, and a handful of ninja wouldn't be enough to keep things in check.

Having tasted the benefits of this partnership, Tsunade wasn't about to let it go. She planned to address the manpower shortage by leveraging Konoha's ninja clans.

Aoba, after some thought, proposed a slightly different approach.

"It's necessary to deal with the ninja clans, but directly targeting the Sarutobi clan right now might be unwise. Let's hold off for now and have the Ino-Shika-Cho and the Hyuga clan set an example first."

Three days later, a piece of news captured the attention of all of Konoha's gossip-loving citizens.

For some reason, the major ninja clans in the village suddenly mobilized their "retired" ninja, who began taking on missions for the village once again.

To accompany this move, Tsunade gave a speech.

The main points of her address were that the village was currently in a tense situation. The recent attack by Obito, slightly revised in the official narrative, was disclosed as a significant invasion.

To help the village navigate these difficult times, the major ninja clans stepped up as role models, deploying many of their "retired" ninja to assist with missions.

The process created a harmonious display of cooperation between the Hokage's office and the four major ninja clans.

However, for Konoha's other ninja clans, the situation was far less favorable.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Hyuga clan had long been representative of Konoha's ninja clans. The former symbolized loyalty to the Hokage, while the latter represented neutrality.

While not outright opposed to each other, the two sides often held differing views on many issues.

Yet this time, both clans silently joined forces to respond to the Hokage's call. This was an incredibly dangerous signal.

The pro-Hokage factions weren't particularly alarmed since they already leaned toward the Hokage. However, the neutral clans were thrown into disarray.

These clans had always prioritized their own interests over those of the village. Now, their leader, the Hyuga clan, had sent their private army to support the Hokage.

That's right. Everyone knew there were no actual "retired" ninja. The forces being deployed were each clan's private military.

Even the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, despite their allegiance to the Hokage, rarely mobilized their private forces openly.

This move essentially declared that the Hyuga clan had fully aligned with the Hokage, a devastating blow to the neutral faction. What's worse, they couldn't figure out why it was happening.

For Konoha's civilians, this development was simply entertainment.

The naive were touched by Konoha's newfound unity, while the shrewder citizens realized that the Fifth Hokage was no ordinary leader. Within mere days of taking office, she had already secured the support of Konoha's four largest ninja clans.

And judging by the situation, she might have more major plans in store.

With several clans dispatching their private forces, Tsunade finally had enough manpower to work with. For the time being, she shelved any plans to deal with the Sarutobi clan and shifted her focus to generating revenue.

Only after becoming Hokage did she truly understand the cost of governance. Every new policy or welfare program required one thing above all: money.

Without funds, nothing could be accomplished. This is the fundamental difference between a Hokage and an ordinary ninja.

No matter how strong you are, you can't double the subsidies for Konoha's war orphans. You can't make tuition free for an advanced ninja academy. You can't improve the food at the orphanage. You can't sustain an expensive research institute.

And you certainly can't break free from reliance on the daimyo's funding to create a self-sufficient economic system for Konoha.

Thus, Tsunade's mind was fixated on one thing: making money.

Check out the patreon and get 43 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 186 - The Great Battle Begins