Chapter 102 (Patreon)

Mei Terumī failed to convince the Elder to approve her request to visit Konoha. The reasons she provided were not persuasive enough, and she was not a member of Kirigakure’s fūinjutsu team. Even if the village needed to send someone to study sealing techniques, she would never be the first choice.

In fact, the Elder was more concerned that Konoha might discover Mei’s talent and either detain her or eliminate her outright, dealing a devastating blow to Kirigakure.

Meanwhile, when Kushina saw Honoka enter the Hokage’s office alongside Nonō Yakushi, she was not as excited as she had expected to be. Instead, most of her attention was drawn to Chiyuki, who was leading the young Haku by the hand.

Then her gaze shifted toward Roy, who was standing beside Nonō, and her expression became rather strange.

They had agreed that he would help search for her surviving clansmen, so why had he returned with a woman and her children?

Could it be that because he had no physical body and could not have children of his own, he had developed a particular fondness for women who already had children?

It had been such a perfect opportunity for Nonō to travel alone with him, yet she had returned exactly as she had left—completely untouched.

Was that really acceptable?

Just as Kushina’s imagination began to run wild, Nonō introduced the people she had brought back.

The moment Kushina learned that Chiyuki and Haku were survivors of the Yuki Clan and that Fūshin possessed the Typhoon Release kekkei genkai, she was stunned.

Her wandering thoughts vanished at once, and she welcomed them with a warm smile.

“Nonō-san, thank you for your hard work.”

With Fugaku and Shikaku present, Kushina could not openly mention Roy’s involvement. She could only give Nonō all the credit.

As for Roy’s reward, she, the Fifth Hokage, would have to prepare it for him in private.

For the sake of the village, she truly had sacrificed far too much.

Fugaku and Shikaku were equally astonished.

They had only known that Nonō had been assigned a mission by the Hokage and sent out of the village. Neither of them had expected her to return with such an enormous surprise—survivors of the Uzumaki Clan and two different kekkei genkai.

If handled properly, Konoha might gain two new bloodline clans in the future.

After Nonō finished reporting everything that could be discussed openly, she took Chiyuki and the others away to arrange accommodations for them.

Roy moved behind Kushina, pressing close against her back as he drew in the familiar scent that always put him at ease.

“Lady Fifth, regarding those kekkei genkai...” Shikaku began, intending to ask how she planned to handle them.

Kushina raised a hand, stopping him before he could continue.

“They’re still children. We can discuss their futures when they’re older. For now, treat them no differently from the other children in the village.”

Hearing this, Shikaku said nothing more.

This arrangement was fine. It was certainly better than Danzō’s approach. Whenever he discovered someone with a kekkei genkai, his first thought had always been to turn them into a weapon.

Besides, it would take many years for them to establish clans capable of affecting the Nara Clan’s interests. As long as his own clan’s position was not threatened, Shikaku had no reason to oppose any person or policy that could strengthen Konoha.

As for the future, if Konoha’s current development plans proceeded smoothly, the emergence of two additional bloodline clans would not have much of an impact.

Roy remained against Kushina’s back, his hands refusing to stay still as he rested his chin lightly on her shoulder and looked over the documents spread across the desk.

They concerned Konoha’s new tax policies.

In the future, all businesses operating within the village would be required to pay commercial taxes, including those owned by shinobi clans both large and small. At the same time, the agricultural taxes imposed on civilians would be reduced.

Of course, suddenly imposing high commercial taxes would inevitably provoke dissatisfaction among the shinobi clans.

Because of that, they had also formulated a series of tax reductions and exemptions.

For example, clans that accumulated military merit would receive lower tax rates. After all, those achievements had been earned through the blood and lives of their shinobi. Once the policy was announced publicly, no one could reasonably accuse them of receiving special treatment.

Another factor was the mission participation rate among each clan’s shinobi. The more clan members who regularly accepted missions, and the more missions they completed, the greater the reduction in their clan’s taxes.

If the policy was successfully implemented, the shinobi of the various clans would probably begin competing with one another to accept missions.

There was also a system involving prepaid taxes and later refunds.

This would immediately provide the village with a substantial amount of funding. Although part of it would have to be refunded the following year, an entire year was more than enough time to use that money to generate further income.

Moreover, the village could collect the following year’s prepaid taxes when the time came.

The tax system was based on Roy’s earlier proposal and adapted to Konoha’s actual circumstances. Kushina, Fugaku, and Shikaku had discussed it together and produced a general draft. Once the remaining details were adjusted, the policy could be formally announced and introduced on a trial basis.

For the moment, both the Ino–Shika–Chō clans and the Uchiha Clan supported it. After all, they had helped formulate the various provisions and understood that taxation was unavoidable.

As for the Hyūga Clan, so long as the policy did not directly interfere with the internal affairs of their Main House, they would most likely prefer to pay the required amount and avoid unnecessary trouble.

If the major clans accepted the new tax policy, the smaller clans would have no grounds to reject it.

In the past, businesses belonging to shinobi clans had rarely been required to pay taxes. However, Danzō would occasionally bring his subordinates to demand money or personnel from them.

When everything was calculated, what Danzō had taken from them was worth even more than the taxes they would now be required to pay.

Thanks to the groundwork laid by Danzō’s previous actions, there was almost no resistance to the implementation of the new tax system.

He had truly lived up to his reputation as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to Konoha’s development.

Even after defecting from the village, he continued to make significant contributions to its progress.

As Roy listened to the three of them pick apart every minor detail in the proposal, boredom gradually set in. He was just considering visiting the Nine-Tails for a chat when an explosion suddenly came from outside the window.

Strangely, Kushina and the other two seemed completely accustomed to it. None of them even turned their heads to investigate.

Boom! Boom!

Several more explosions followed in rapid succession.

That definitely did not sound like the kind of noise Konoha’s construction teams would make.

Driven by curiosity, Roy passed through the window and headed toward the source of the explosions.

When he saw the person responsible, he froze.

“Katsu!”

Boom!

A flash of light erupted, and a mound of earth created with Earth Release was blasted into pieces.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the mound had been covered in fūinjutsu formulas just before it was destroyed.

The person who had blown it apart was a blond-haired child who should not have been in Konoha at all.

“What the hell? If I remember correctly, this kid should only be three years old. He’s already playing around with explosives?”

Roy landed on the ground and carefully studied the child’s face.

There was no mistake.

It was Deidara, the Explosion Release user from the original story—the rebellious artist from Iwagakure who preferred playing with clay over playing with Kurotsuchi.

Given Ōnoki’s suspicious nature, would he really have allowed Deidara to come to Konoha?

“All right, Deidara. That’s enough practice for today.”

A girl with similarly long blond hair leaped down from a nearby tree.

Hearing her words, Deidara reluctantly put away the clay he had been shaping. He then obediently took the girl’s hand and left the training ground with her.

Roy watched their retreating figures thoughtfully.

The girl appeared to be one of Deidara’s relatives—perhaps an older sister or someone similar. The fūinjutsu formulas on the earthen mound had probably been her work.

He also noticed several Konoha ANBU stationed throughout the surrounding area, keeping watch over them.

If Roy’s guess was correct, the blond girl was probably one of the students sent to Konoha with Iwagakure’s latest group. Deidara had merely accompanied her as a family member.

Perhaps Ōnoki had not yet discovered Deidara’s talent for Earth Release and had therefore not taken him on as a student. That would explain why he had allowed the child to leave Iwagakure.

After all, most children his age had not even begun learning how to extract chakra.

Ōnoki could never have imagined that a three-year-old child would already be capable of using Explosion Release so proficiently.