Naruto: Traveling Through Time Starting with Seizing the Dragon Vein

The two highly respected advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo, looked at Rasa, who was standing on the Fengying balcony, as if he were an alien.

"Fourth Hokage... are you... are you serious?" Granny Chiyo's voice trembled. "Our military budget is already stretched thin! We can't even afford the maintenance costs for the puppet troops, and now you're issuing this kind of decree?!"

Luo Sha stood on the balcony, his face ashen, but he still maintained the dignity befitting the Kazekage, repeating his latest decree to the entire Land of Wind:

"From this day forward, every citizen of the Land of Wind, whether ninja or commoner, will receive a one-time subsidy from the village sufficient to support a family of three for six months for each child they give birth to! There is no upper limit!"

"Baby formula, clothing, and even future tuition at the ninja academy will all be free!"

"Furthermore, those who have a third child will be directly granted the rank of Genin (lower-level ninja) and receive a stipend!"

As the decree was read, the square below fell into a deathly silence, which was followed by a thunderous roar of enthusiastic cheers!

Chiyo and Ebizo looked at each other, feeling as if the world had gone mad.

"Lord Kazekage, where is the money? Where is this astronomical sum of money coming from?!" Ebizo was so anxious he was jumping up and down.

Luo Sha swallowed a mouthful of bitter saliva, glanced in the direction of Dongfang Loulan, and growled through gritted teeth in a low voice:

"This is a long-term strategic investment! You don't need to worry about it! All the funds and resources... will be found. Just keep producing! Let them produce!"

After announcing what could be called the most outrageous decree in the history of the ninja world, Rasa, under the murderous gazes of Granny Chiyo and Ebizo, fled back to the Kazekage's residence.

Pushing open the slightly chipped wooden door, a milky aroma wafted out.

"Wow—Wowaaaaah—!!!"

As soon as he entered the room, the sound of a baby crying pierced through Luo Sha's eardrums without any obstruction, which annoyed him.

In the spacious living room, a woman with short, sandy-brown hair is gazing tenderly at the baby in her arms.

"Oh, Gaara, don't cry, don't cry..."

The woman was a maid hired by Gaara's uncle, Yashamaru, specifically to take care of Gaara.

Her appearance is similar to Gaara's mother, Garuda, perhaps to make up for Gaara's tragic life of being born without a mother.

Ignoring Gaara's annoying crying, Rasa rubbed his temples wearily, walked to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it all in one gulp.

The thought of Uchiha Tsuki, who wore a mask, and that damned shackle deep between his brows, filled Rasa with humiliation.

But despite the humiliation, when he truly calmed down and used his shrewd, calculating mind to re-examine the policy...

Luo Sha's eyes changed.

and many more.

Loulan will pay for it?

Is there no upper limit to the amount of subsidies issued?

Reimbursement for all expenses related to baby formula, clothing, and education?

Luo Sha's brain began to operate wildly with an extremely bizarre logic.

"Is there a policy stipulating that the Fengying family cannot receive this subsidy?"

Luo Sha suddenly asked himself a soul-searching question.

He turned his head and stared intently at the maid's face, which resembled Garuda's.

"Garuda, let's have a fourth child!"

"Fourth Hokage, no! I'm not Lord Garuda!"

Chapter 93 Hiruzen, you are the true Hokage!

Time steadily moves forward.

In the fifty-second year of Konoha, the accumulated snow began to slowly melt.

Loulan Research Institute.

"Rumors of a fox spirit? Has the situation developed that quickly?"

Upon hearing the intelligence Sarah brought, Yue murmured softly, "This proves that war is imminent. We must accelerate Project Furnace!"

War is one of the fastest ways to make money, and he doesn't want to miss it.

The subsidies for baby boomers require a lot of money.

……

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at the urgent report on his desk.

"Third Hokage!" An ANBU knelt on one knee, his voice urgent, "The army of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning has been fully assembled, and their vanguard has even crossed the border of the Land of Hot Springs, launching a probing attack against us! Furthermore... Onoki of Iwagakure has also amassed troops on the border of the Land of Grass, his intentions unclear!"

Minato's death in battle led to a change in the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and the Nine-Tails' Night caused significant losses to Konoha.

At this critical juncture, the wolves who had been badly hurt in the Third Shinobi World War finally bared their fangs once again.

“Not only that…” the operative lowered his head, unable to bear further provocation, “but there is also a risk that the security within the village may be spiraling out of control.”

Hiruzen closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

This is inevitable.

The Uchiha clan was suspended from their duties and placed under investigation; the entire clan was even forcibly relocated to the edge of the village.

Having assumed the duties of the security force, they were naturally unwilling to dedicate themselves to maintaining order in Konoha at this moment.

Those civilians who lost loved ones and had their homes destroyed in the disaster, after experiencing the shock of great loss, slowly had their emotions return to their hearts, and had nowhere to vent them.

As the saying goes, the departure of a loved one is not a torrential rain, but a long, damp period in this life.

Now their hearts are filled with tears.

They lost the manpower to maintain order, and then this excuse was added to the mix.

Naturally, the security situation within the village became somewhat complicated.

A true case of internal and external troubles!

But what truly sent chills down Hiruzen's spine was the last piece of intelligence reported by the Anbu:

“In the village…a rumor began to circulate widely at some point, that the baby being protected was not the descendant of a meritorious official at all, but rather…the incarnation of a nine-tailed fox demon. The anger and emotions of the common people were gathering on that child.”

"Crack!"

The brush in Hiruzen's hand was snapped in two.

Danzo!

Hiruzen slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, his unstable chakra causing the entire office to tremble violently.

Just a moment later.

"Squeak-"

The office door was pushed open, and Shimura Danzo, leaning on his cane, walked in unhurriedly, meeting Hiruzen's gaze.

The operatives, with keen insight, withdrew and closed the door.

"Those rumors about Naruto being the Nine-Tailed Fox were spread by you, weren't they, Danzo?!"

Hiruzen's voice was terrifying, his eyes fixed on his old friend of several decades.

Danzo walked to the long table and sat down, without a trace of remorse in his eyes:

"it's me."

"How dare you?" Hiruzen roared. "That's Minato's flesh and blood! The son of a hero who risked his life to protect the village! How could you throw such filth on a child who can't even walk?"

"Hiruzen, put away your useless womanly compassion!"

Danzo also slammed his cane heavily on the ground.

"Look at the situation outside! The armies of Kumogakure and Iwagakure are pressing in, and the Uchiha clan in the village has been isolated, causing the order to collapse!"

The civilians cried out in the ruins, unable to find the enemy who had killed their loved ones.

If this immense negative emotion doesn't find an outlet, they'll start questioning the incompetence of the higher-ups, and questioning our village..."

Danzo took a step closer:

"Do you want to cause internal strife in Konoha as this army approaches?!"

"But we can't use a baby as a scapegoat!" Hizen gritted his teeth.

“Precisely because he is a baby, this is the optimal solution with the lowest cost.” Danzo’s tone was cold.

"He's only a few months old now, he doesn't remember anything, and he doesn't understand what those hateful looks mean. By the time he grows up, this damn war will be over! Once the situation stabilizes, we can easily reverse his reputation."

"Besides, there's no need to worry about security issues."

Danzo sneered, "The villagers were told he was a fox demon. Out of awe and fear, they only dared to resort to passive-aggressive tactics like avoidance and driving him away. No one dared to actually kill him because they were afraid the fox demon would break free of its seal..."

"Let an 'uneducated' baby temporarily bear the blame and grievances for a few years in exchange for the stability of the village's internal emotions, so that we can free up our hands to transfer the elite troops from the border to the front line of the Land of Lightning... When peace is restored and the baby grows up, we will slowly make it up to him later. It's all for the sake of the village."

Upon hearing Danzo's reason, Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes and remained silent.

Danzo suddenly spoke up:

"Hiruzen, you are the Hokage. You need to think about the future of the village, about the First Hokage, about the Second Hokage, and about everyone in the village."

Hiruzen's body suddenly stiffened.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, wanting to use the phrase "I am the Hokage" as usual to subdue Danzo's radicalism.

But the words just wouldn't come out.

Yes, because he is the Hokage.

He carried the lives and fortunes of tens of thousands of villagers and ninjas on his shoulders, and the future of this village on his back...

Hiruzen slumped back into his chair, as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant.

Minato's sunny smile flashed through his mind, turning into a constant sense of guilt.

At that moment, even if he was unwilling, he found that he could not refuse such a suggestion.

On one hand, there's the "big picture" of the village, which is his responsibility as the Third Hokage;

On the other side is the hero's orphan, the Mars that he fought desperately to protect with his Will of Fire.

No matter which option you choose, it's wrong.