Naruto: Starting from Eating the Gold Fruit

Chapter 539 Copying Homework

Seizing power—a very subtle term.

Most of the time, this word is associated with a dirty and dark reality.

For many people in the Land of Whirlpools, Minato Namikaze, the representative of Konoha, may represent the dark side of reality.

This is what many of the younger generation in the Land of Whirlpools believe now.

They wouldn't think about the fact that decades ago, Kirigakure attacked and raided the Land of Whirlpools, almost wiping out the Uzumaki clan.

They only felt that Konoha Village's garrison in the Land of Whirlpools and its firm grip on supreme power were something that some ambitious individuals found very objectionable.

Don't worry about what to do if, after they succeed in seizing power, Konoha withdraws its garrison back to Konoha, Kirigakure suddenly attacks Uzushiogakure.

They don't care about any of that; all they know is that Konoha has taken away the power they deserve.

Yes, in their view, the power of the Land of Whirlpools should rightfully belong to them.

As for what happens if they attract the attention of other major powers after they gain power...

What does it matter? At worst, we'll just have to cede territory and pay reparations. As long as we can sit in that position, it doesn't matter how much we have to pay.

Youya actually knew about this idea, or rather, which village doesn't have people like that?

Hmm... except for Konoha.

The position of Hokage in Konoha has become a bottomless pit because Yuya did such a good job. Whoever succeeds him will have to be compared to Yuya. Who the hell wants to succeed him?

Well, in short, this incident is a problem for Minato Namikaze, but it's also a problem that Minato must solve.

However, with Kushina Uzumaki around, solving the problem shouldn't be too difficult.

This is also why Mitokado Homura chose to have Namikaze Minato succeed him in the Land of Whirlpools.

Kushina Uzumaki's status is so noble that her appearance in the Land of Whirlpools is like a game-changer.

Now, all the false accusations and rumors against Minato Namikaze in the Land of Whirlpools have disappeared overnight.

Various television stations have also begun discussing what new policies the newly appointed governor of the Land of Whirlpools will have.

In any case, openly, no one dares to stir up trouble anymore.

Yeah, not secretly either.

Minato Namikaze's position as the head of the Anbu branch is no joke.

If you openly oppose Minato Namikaze, Minato Namikaze won't do anything to you.

But if you sabotage him behind the scenes...

Isn't this just walking into the line of fire? Oh well, this is exactly what I'm good at.

Suddenly, the Land of Whirlpools became very harmonious and friendly.

This amused Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

However, the two also knew that this was just the beginning.

A dog that bites doesn't bark; these people will openly and legitimately cause him a lot of trouble in the future.

However, Minato Namikaze had already anticipated all of this.

"Governor, these are all the tax returns for the past year. Please take a look."

An official from the Land of Whirlpools very respectfully handed a stack of reports to Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze was silent for a moment, then chuckled softly, "I understand. You may leave now."

After everyone left, Minato Namikaze gestured with his hand to indicate the thickness of the reports.

Goodness, it's as thick as a fist.

The Land of Whirlpools is not very large, and due to the suppression by Mitokado Homura, its industrial development is not very strong. Therefore, the Land of Whirlpools focuses more on developing various agricultural products.

Let's not discuss how Minato Namikaze's tertiary industry economic development strategy will be implemented for now.

How can these tax returns be so thick?

He understood why Konoha Village had such a large budget, since each factory needed to prepare a separate report.

But your Land of Whirlpools doesn't have many factories...

It's impossible... to cram everything in.

Minato Namikaze casually pulled out a document, opened it, and then laughed.

That's really true...

This is a report prepared by a landlord with thirty acres of land.

Generally speaking, there's no need to make any agricultural reports at all. Just record what was planted per acre, how much was planted, how much money was made, and then do the statistics and calculate agricultural taxes. It's not that complicated.

The reason these guys produced so many reports was simply to disgust Minato Namikaze.

Aren't you the governor?

Aren't you the retired emperor of the Land of Whirlpools?

Aren't you the one with the most power?

Okay~ We'll come to you for everything, is that alright?

Do you feel this is inappropriate?

You must be joking.

As the governor of the Land of Whirlpools, theoretically everything should be under your jurisdiction.

We're just asking you to fulfill your duties, how can you say we did it on purpose?

Minato Namikaze found it amusing. He recalled that his predecessor, Uchiha Kagami, had told him and the former Anbu chief, Hatake Sakumo, that when Yua had just taken power in Konoha, the village's ninja clans had ganged up on him and made him do a lot of things every day. At that time, Minato hadn't realized anything was amiss.

but now……

This moment is just as good as that moment back then.

Minato Namikaze stroked his chin, pondering what Kagami had said when they were eating skewers and drinking together—that the Hokage had solved the problem.

Oh, I remember now, the Hokage took care of all the government affairs.

Back when Yua first took office, the Sarutobi, Shimura, Hyuga and other clans would give him a lot of trouble to deal with every day. For example, Minato Namikaze now has to deal with tax returns where every single expense is calculated clearly. As for whether the total is correct, you can calculate it yourself.

Then, Youya quickly completed all the tax reports, and afterwards, other families provided him with requests for land surveying and various data indicators for mineral extraction.

At that time, Konoha Village did not have so many factories. The development of mineral resources and land was the top priority of the village. Theoretically speaking, one should be present for such matters no matter what.

As a result, Yua took a piece of paper and scribbled all over it—of course, people later learned that it was Hokage Yua using mathematics to set up various equations and calculate—and then came to two numerical conclusions.

The figures for mineral resource development and land acquisition were obtained without leaving home.

After that, other families caused him a lot of trouble, the most common being the various Konoha funds that each family applied for.

Finally, Yua rejected the proposal and stated that the profits would be distributed uniformly at the end of the year. Then, until recently, after all the ninja clans gave their clan lands to Yua, Yua canceled the annual year-end profit distribution. However, in return, he directly transferred various factories and real estate in Konoha to the major ninja clans.

Basically, the amount of money distributed this time is probably over 100 billion taels. However, there will be no need to distribute dividends at the end of each year from now on, so in the long run, it is not a loss.

Minato Namikaze put away his pensive expression.

Putting aside the current Hokage's absurdly slow pace of handling government affairs, if Minato Namikaze wanted to copy his methods...

It doesn't seem like it's impossible.

Should we win over some and strike down others...?

Okay~

Therefore, Minato Namikaze issued a decree the following day:

The Land of Whirlpools plans to change its land tax system within the next three years.

Simply put, it means that some land will no longer be taxed in the future—not a single penny.

As for which areas of land...

Minato Namikaze said, "I haven't decided yet. There are too many lands to choose from, and I don't know which one to pick."

The large landowners in the Land of Whirlpools were immediately in an uproar.

This is a real and tangible benefit.