I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 660 If one could be generous with other people's money, everyone would be willing to become a philanthropist.

The Uchiha Madara incident was ultimately classified as a top secret, and all those involved were required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Fortunately, Danzo left after attending Tatsuma's Hokage succession ceremony; otherwise, Tatsuma could have believed the scene where he shouted that he was going to activate the Tongue Trouble Seal on everyone.

Among those who signed the confidentiality agreement, apart from the three members of Minato's team, everyone else was very familiar with them. Even Anko had signed more than one confidentiality agreement because she had worked with Orochimaru on various scientific research projects.

Only the three members of the Minato team, signing the agreement for the first time, felt that this agreement, which had no real binding force, carried a lot of weight. Looking at the solemn expressions on their faces, Tatsuma even smiled a little.

Newcomers are often like this; sometimes, when their boss assigns them an important task, they feel it's a sign of the boss's appreciation and cultivation.

But this trait is good, especially for Tatsuma, who is now in Konoha's leadership; it is undoubtedly quite good.

Everything Obito experienced was rewritten as a miracle of life, born from his unwavering will, tenacity for life, and trust in the village's continued search and rescue efforts, buried deep in the ruins of the battlefield.

At the same time, the spirit of Minato's team—unwavering loyalty, mutual trust, and reliance on each other's ninja way—was also promoted, and the Sharingan matter was given a just and righteous explanation from the village's perspective.

The changes in Obito are easier to explain, since they were treated by Tsunade, the number one medical ninja in the ninja world, and Nono, the current head of the Konoha Medical Department, and were later taken over by Orochimaru.

Only a few people were involved, so when the village said that Obito's body was repaired and restored using the latest scientific research technology by Orochimaru, others had no way to question it, even if they had doubts.

In this public relations incident, the only one who suffered damage, or more accurately, who gained no benefit, was Tatsuma, who brought Obito back. However, Tatsuma was already the Fourth Hokage, and he didn't need these things.

He could have concealed himself; otherwise, the village could have simply mentioned that Obito was discovered and brought back by Tatsuma, but that wouldn't have made much sense, so Tatsuma just erased that part.

Before becoming Hokage, Tatsuma needed personal achievements and a positive image because he was walking the ninja world as an individual. Now, however, he is actually inseparable from the main body of Konoha Village.

Reshaping one's image is actually of no benefit to the village. On the contrary, it will lead to a situation like the Second Hokage's era, or the Third Tsuchikage's era in Iwagakure, where the village never recovered once the Kage fell.

After a tumultuous two-week period, the Sharingan incident, which even the succession of the Fourth Hokage couldn't quell, has finally come to an end. Obito Uchiha and Might Guy have become battlefield miracles and spiritual role models worthy of emulation by all Konoha ninjas.

After finishing this matter, without even a moment's rest, Chenma had another major project to deal with.

Inside the meeting room, Tatsuma rubbed his eyelids, looked at the equally tired crowd, and asked, "The next item on the agenda is how to calculate the compensation for bereaved families?"

Shikaku put some eye drops in his eyes, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and rolled his eyeballs around. He said, "According to the calculation method used during the last Shinobi World War, it's roughly 45 years old minus the age of the victims, multiplied by the average income of the victims over the past three years, and finally multiplied by 1.02."

The funds can be distributed in a lump sum, or converted into village bonds, with a ten-year term and annual withdrawals possible, plus an additional 2% on top of the original amount. It seems that Iwagakure Village is calculating it this way this year as well.

If nothing unexpected happens, the same will be true for Kumogakure and Kirigakure. As for Sunagakure, it's said that the gold purchase price within the Land of Wind has dropped by 15%, which will likely make the distribution of compensation difficult.

Is this reasonable?

Tatsuma reached over and took the eye drops that Shikaku had put down, and also put a few drops in himself. Actually, with Tatsuma's... no, even with Shikaku's physical condition, he shouldn't need to rely on eye drops to relieve eye fatigue.

However, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had only recently passed away. Although the aging Hiruzen didn't have much say, he still used his experience to calculate one expense after another for the village.

He was a heavy smoker, especially when doing calculations; the pipe in his hand never cooled down.

"That's unreasonable; those were market conditions from nearly ten years ago."

Shikaku instantly understood Tatsuma's meaning. He first answered according to Tatsuma's wishes, and then said, "This is a special eye drop made by the Nara clan. It's five hundred ryo per drop. You owe me two thousand ryo."

"Let's wait until the funding comes through; I'm penniless right now."

Tatsuma casually handed the eye drops to Minato and the others on the other side, and then said, "Since it's unreasonable, it needs to be changed, and drastically changed, every single payment of compensation."

It means the village has lost a talented person, and a family has lost its pillar. The so-called compensation has not been able to make up for the village's loss and the family's grief. How can we be stingy?

Besides, 45 is too young. At 45, one is still in their prime and can continue to support their family. Even though most ninjas die or give up their ninja careers before the age of 45, they are still creating value for their families, villages, and even countries.

Look at the village now, how many people in their sixties are still selling things on the street? Sixty years old is still just the beginning of old age, still creating value. In other words, every ninja can strive until at least sixty.

After a quick mental calculation, Lu Jiu said, "Just based on age alone, the pension would have to double."

The average age of the ninjas who died in the Fourth Shinobi World War was around thirty. It depended on how intense the war was; if the war was not intense, the average age of the casualties would be higher than thirty, and if the war was intense...

For example, in a war like the Fourth Shinobi World War, a large number of immature ninjas were needed on the battlefield, and even the students of the ninja academy were overworked, which naturally lowered the average age.

Even assuming an average age of 30, the compensation would be 15 years up to age 45, and 30 years up to age 60, more than double.

Shikaku's concerns stemmed from this: Tatsuma's "major overhaul" was clearly not over yet. Such a sharp increase in compensation would undoubtedly be a good thing for the village, making families who had sacrificed ninjas more willing to send their other children to ninja academies.

At the same time, it also gives other ninjas a boost of confidence, allowing them to participate in the war without any worries and create greater value for the village.

This money has to come from the daimyo. Even though the strength of the ninja village is beneficial to the daimyo, the hidden benefits are hard to calculate and cannot be expressed in numbers. Therefore, the daimyo may not be willing to pay this money.

"You can do the statistics; I'll have a proper talk with Daming Prefecture."

Tatsuma waved his hand and then said, "1.02 is not keeping up with the rate of inflation. Let's change it to 1.04. Although it's not much, it won't make the families of the victims suffer more and more."

As for the portion deposited into the village, Konoha has now initially established an upstream and downstream supply chain for ninja tools, with profitability exceeding that of previous years. With an additional 2%, the duration can be extended to twenty years, funded by the village.

Higher returns are needed to attract investment from the families of the victims, and the annual payouts can help these families develop a habit of moderate spending, preventing them from engaging in retaliatory consumption in the wake of sudden wealth.

After he finished speaking, no one spoke. Tenka, Kushina, and the others didn't understand the intricacies of the matter at all, but even those who did understand, such as Shikaku and Minato, didn't dare to easily agree or disagree.

If what we just discussed was only the compensation, then now Tatsuma has revealed his ambition: he wants to raise funds.

Using the Daimyo's money to develop the village's economy, and not in a cryptic way, to initially establish a supply chain for ninja tools. Tatsuma is expressing his dissatisfaction with the slow progress.

Tatsuma naturally knew that once the village's wishes were fulfilled, the key to the development of the entire ninja tool market chain would be market channels and market share, which would require spending money to achieve.

The high compensation is only to replenish the fund pool. The compensation is not entirely distributed to the families of the victims. After all, many ninjas are alone, and this money will eventually fall into the hands of the village.

If the village is willing to be even more ruthless, it could completely withhold information from the children in the Konoha Welfare Home and the Senju Clan's territory from informing them that some of them are eligible to receive pensions, thereby embezzling those pension funds.

At the same time, high-return investment projects are used to repatriate the necessary pensions, allowing families to invest their money in the village's fund pool to develop the village's economy.

The development of the entire ninja tool industry chain is not as simple as just creating and selling ninja tools, after all, the village has already achieved that.

What Chenma wants is a broader range of upstream and downstream industries, such as mining, forestry and their derivative industries, as well as transportation, commercial market development, and so on. These will directly affect the interests of the Daimyo Prefecture.

The daimyo's ambition was so obvious that it was impossible for him not to notice. This was clearly a test by Tatsuma against the daimyo, and given Tatsuma's character, it was very likely a form of blackmail.

This practice of gambling with the village's future has always been Tatsuma's style—it's either a huge profit or a complete disaster. Tatsuma has indeed never failed before, but...

No one wins in the long run.

Those who didn't understand were probably still praising the Fourth Hokage's benevolence, while those who did understand were terrified.

Shikaku glanced at the empty seat. No wonder Tatsuma had been keeping up with Hiruzen Sarutobi's pace until Hiruzen couldn't resist the fatigue and had to leave to rest before they could start this topic.

Given Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, there's no way he would support Tatsuma's plan. Let alone the conservative Third Hokage, even if the Second Hokage were here, he would probably question whether Tatsuma has gone mad.

Minato wanted to remind Tatsuma that this game of strategy between the ninja village and the daimyo's mansion wasn't played like this, but how could Tatsuma not know? It's just that Tatsuma suddenly added Monopoly and Ludo to the game of shogi.

Sitting on either side of Tatsuma, Shikaku and Minato exchanged glances, trying to find a way to persuade Tatsuma. In the end, they realized that they couldn't persuade the Fourth Hokage.

The economy has always been linked to the "lifeline". Konoha's large-scale economic development is like holding a knife to the lifeline of the daimyo. These people are the knife, and Tatsuma is the knife-wielding devil.

For no apparent reason, Shikaku suddenly felt like smoking. Seventeen years ago, what was his father thinking? He made him associate with Tatsuma! The moment they started associating, he was dragged onto a pirate ship.

"What, do you guys have any other opinions? Feel free to speak up!"

Tatsuma smiled at Shikaku and Minato. Shikaku took a deep breath and said with a mix of melancholy and helplessness, "No, I'm just amazed by your benevolence, Fourth Hokage."

"I have no other opinion, Minato. What about you? You seem to be frowning and deep in thought, as if you have something else in mind?"

For the first time in his life, Minato considered killing Shikaku, but now he could only shake his head and say, "No, I agree."

"Then let's do it this way. You're in charge of drafting the details. By the way, this money is coming from Daming Prefecture after all, so we can't take credit for it. We have to let everyone know that this is Daming's benevolence and righteousness."

Tatsuma said with a smile, while Shikaku broke out in a cold sweat. This bastard was forcing the daimyo to comply. If the daimyo dared to refuse, he would have to bear the wrath of the entire ninja village.

This was not a test, nor even a threat; it was robbery.

(End of this chapter)