Uchiha's personal opinion

Everyone could see that the Grand Elder had arranged for several people to pass on messages, but the fundamental reason why the topic was able to get the attention it deserved was that Uchiha Tokumitsu's benefits and achievements for the clan were indeed superior.

However, without changing the ancestral rules, Uchiha Tokumitsu would not be able to obtain the position of clan leader.

“De Guang is still young, he will have a bright future. All we need to do is give him more support and prevent him from going down the wrong path…”

Elder Setsuna noticed the confusion among the crowd and explained, "The police department reform advocated by Tokuko-kun has indeed brought many benefits to the clan. Although some outsiders have joined the police department, it has also helped to unite our allies and expand the Uchiha's influence..."

None of the elders had any objections to this.

After the police department was reorganized, the three newly established police districts recruited a lot of clan members, and the descendants of various Uchiha factions benefited greatly from this.

"In my opinion... the position of Chief of Police would be very suitable, and it would also allow Deguang to gain more experience and make greater contributions to the family..."

Since the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, established the Police Department, the position of Chief of Police has always been held by the head of the Uchiha clan. However, the authority of the Chief of Police is unrelated to the ancestral system of the Uchiha clan, and even if it were separated, it would still be in accordance with the rules.

"We're getting old, it's time to mentor the next generation and give capable young people more responsibility..."

"However, we can't rush things, after all, the war is about to begin..." Elder Michiyo hesitated for a moment, but did not object.

"Lord Deguang is still young, he can wait. What about after the war?"

Elder Sha Na said with a smile.

“Then after the war…” Elder Michiyo nodded in agreement.

"Please have some tea, everyone... This is a top-quality tea that Deguang-kun brought back from the land of rivers."

After Elder Sha Na achieved his goal, he changed the subject.

The atmosphere inside the hall returned to a peaceful state.

"This is indeed good tea..."

"De Guang-jun is indeed the most outstanding junior..."

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu was naturally unaware of the Elders' conspiracy at this time; he was busy planning the securitization of IOUs.

The reason why the ninja clans chose to transfer IOUs is naturally because the shares are large and the cycle is uncertain. They urgently need to recover funds through equity transfer in order to seize the time to cultivate the rightful descendants of the clan.

However, even the Uchiha clan's large and powerful internal funds became somewhat strained after the acquisition of IOUs.

Therefore, using the acquired IOUs as collateral and based on the total face value of the IOUs, Uchiha Tokumitsu issued small bonds in units of five thousand ryo.

It was named "Uchiha Foundation War Dividend No. 1 Bond"!

The bond's release attracted widespread attention.

Although no one understood what it was or what the Uchiha clan was up to, the villagers of Konoha were still very interested in this newfangled thing out of curiosity.

Bonds issued based on the rights and interests of the white notes recovered at a discount of 60% to 65% are short-term bonds with a term of one year and an annualized return of 20%. In other words, a bond worth 5,000 taels can be redeemed for 6,000 taels of cash after one year.

The reason why the Ninja Clan chose to transfer the rights to IOUs was because they were under great financial pressure and needed to continue to recover cash for turnover.

However, the so-called bonds issued by the Uchiha clan are different; the threshold of a mere five thousand taels is extremely low.

While a 20% return isn't particularly high, it's still equivalent to the Hyuga Group's lending rates, and it's backed by the Uchiha clan, with the village's IOU as a safety net. For the people of Konoha who have never encountered this kind of financial innovation before, it's quite tempting.

Even ordinary Konoha villagers have enough money to buy two bonds as an investment.

At the same time, Uchiha Tokumitsu wrote many highly persuasive advertising slogans based on his memories from his previous life, such as "If you don't manage your money, your money won't manage you" and "Let every Konoha resident enjoy the benefits of the war," which further stimulated the Konoha villagers' desire to buy.

Although the Uchiha clan doesn't have a great reputation, it's mainly due to their attitude in carrying out police duties. No one would doubt that a thousand-year-old powerful clan would renege on its debts for this matter.

As a result, bond sales were naturally quite brisk.

Furthermore, some people noticed a key point: the bond description on the police department's bulletin board clearly stated "redemption by bond, bearer."

Especially after the Daimyo of the Land of Grass in the far northwest sent people to Konoha to make a large-scale purchase of bonds, the sales enthusiasm reached a new level.

"Lord Deguang is indeed exceptionally talented; he has raised so much money in such a short time..."

Clan leader Uchiha Yomo was overjoyed.

Even after adding the 20% interest cost of bonds, the equity acquired at an average cost of 65% can still generate a 15% interest spread in the short term.

Especially considering that this has only been a few days.

Furthermore, the bond repayment was not due for another year, and with the added costs of capital occupation, the Uchiha clan made a killing.

"It's just a trial run. The family has relatively ample funds, so it would be a waste not to make full use of them." Uchiha Tokugawa didn't even look up, continuing to look at the bond sales report.

“However… it seems the Nara clan has been secretly manipulating something like bonds lately, so perhaps…” Clan Chief Uchiha Yomo made a chopping motion with his hand, “The police department can be mobilized at any time, as long as Tokumitsu-kun helps us think of a suitable charge…”

"No need, let them be..." Uchiha Tokumitsu was somewhat speechless. "The Nara family is, after all, one of the major clans in the village, and we can't bully them excessively..."

"It won't be excessive, just ordering the Nara family to close for a few days will suffice..." Uchiha Yomo was still unwilling to give up.

“It’s not worth it…” Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed. “This is just an appetizer. The purpose of issuing bonds this time is not to make money.”

"Then..." Uchiha Shifang was somewhat puzzled.

“Cultivate habits and trust,” Uchiha Tokumitsu replied.

Although Uchiha Yomo didn't understand the meaning behind these familiar words combined, as the clan leader, he was too embarrassed to ask directly. He simply nodded solemnly, "Tokuko-kun is indeed far-sighted..."

"The short-term profits are just too tempting..." Uchiha Yomo sighed, feeling somewhat unwilling.

“If the clan is willing to give up some long-term benefits, there is another way to raise a certain amount of funds…” Uchiha Tokumitsu thought for a moment and then offered another method.

"Explain in detail!" Clan Chief Uchiha Yoshito immediately perked up.

"Excessive issuance of bonds!"

Chapter 132 Leaving the Eastern Town

After the bonds were nearly sold out, Uchiha Tokumitsu handed them over to the clan head, Uchiha Yomo, to manage, with only one principle in mind: the over-issued bonds should not exceed 20% of the total amount of the underlying assets.

As for the similar products that other ninja clans in the village copied, Uchiha Tokumitsu didn't take them seriously.

Because there will inevitably be "smart people" who will discover the possibility of "over-issuance" without regulation, and there will inevitably be people who cannot resist the temptation of raising excessive funds in the short term and will issue funds recklessly, leading to a collapse when the funds are redeemed later.

Even if the redemption period hasn't arrived, the Uchiha clan can still use methods like "early redemption" to run on the bonds issued by other ninja clans, thereby enhancing the Uchiha clan's credibility while suppressing the bond products of other ninja clans.

Even if these methods are not enough to destroy the bonds of other ninja clans, there is still the police department, right?

Anyway, you can say whatever you want, any crime you want, just open your mouth and make it up.

……

The Uchiha ninja who accepted the conscription quickly completed their assembly and registration.

The team accompanying Uchiha Tokumitsu in this battle is the third squad of the Tokumitsu Red Guard, who have just returned from the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Grass.

As a private army formed from the resources of the radical elders of the Uchiha clan, they have already experienced many wars under the command of Uchiha Tokumitsu, and their strength has increased considerably after being tempered on the battlefield. The reason for registering this private army as Konoha ninja is that Uchiha Tokumitsu felt it was time to strengthen the clan's voice in the Jonin class.

The ninja clan's voice in the Jonin class is their voting power, which is directly linked to the Jonin himself.

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu had no other opinion about Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Sakumo did not show any intention of establishing his own faction after taking office, the Jonin team was, after all, a powerful institution in Konoha, and it was never wrong for them to have more power.

As for the course and outcome of the war with Kirigakure, Uchiha Tokumitsu was neither concerned nor worried, because he and Hatake Sakumo were stationed in the east at the same time, and with the addition of an elite ninja army composed of ninja clan members, it would not be difficult to defeat Kirigakure, which had suffered repeated defeats.

This reinforcement force from the east consisted of more than 900 ninja clan members, along with a highly decorated mobile force. In addition, the eastern border defense force originally stationed along the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, along with the ninja army under Hatake Sakumo, numbered two thousand.

Sakumo Hatake was rightfully chosen as the commander of the ninja army, and it was the popular choice. Tokumitsu Uchiha followed the usual practice of the two working together and was naturally the deputy commander of the ninja army in the eastern region. The position of operations staff was filled by Muramasa Nara of the Nara clan.

Uchiha Tokumitsu never had the habit of passively defending and waiting to be beaten.

Therefore, he led his Uchiha ninja army and six Uzumaki ninjas who accompanied him into battle as the vanguard of the ninja army, the first to leave the village and land on the homeland of the Land of Whirlpools.

Since the Kirigakure delegation mentioned their interest in the Land of Whirlpools, Uchiha Tokumitsu led his troops directly to the Land of Whirlpools' homeland to guard it.

Although Hatake Sakumo was somewhat worried about Uchiha Tokumitsu leading his troops to garrison the Land of Whirlpools, he was busy training the ninja army and adjusting tactical deployments, so he let Uchiha Tokumitsu do as he pleased.

Anyway, with Uchiha Tokumitsu in the Land of Whirlpools, the Hidden Mist Ninja Army, who had suffered several losses at his hands in the past, would not make any rash moves anytime soon.

……

Although the Land of Whirlpools has been reduced to ruins, it is the homeland of all Uzumaki ninjas. After returning to their homeland, the six Uzumaki ninjas who went to war with the army stood on the ruins of the Whirlpool Village and shed tears together.

They knew there was no chance of restoring their country.

But now they are standing on their homeland.

Moreover, this familiar yet unfamiliar land is very likely to become a bloody battlefield in the near future.

"Please accept my condolences..." Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed.

Whether in his past life or this one, he wasn't very good at comforting others.

But it wasn't right to let the six Uzumaki ninjas shed tears; his own heart was also heavy.

"Suffering is useless, let's save our energy and make Kirigakure also waile in mourning!"

"Yes, Your Excellency..."

The leader of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Muneki, wiped away his tears and bowed deeply to Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"You two will form pairs and conduct fixed-point surveillance in the northern sea area. If anything unusual happens, do not act rashly and report to me immediately," Uchiha Tokumitsu ordered. "I will send a small team to protect you each."

"As ordered!"

Six Uzumaki ninjas accepted the order and left, each forming a five-person reconnaissance team with a small squad of Uchiha ninjas, and went to various locations in the northern sea area of ​​the Land of Whirlpools to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance.

The Uchiha Tokumitsu team consisted of 140 Uchiha ninjas, including 20 Jonin.

Although they are not the most elite ninja force of the Uchiha clan, their combat strength should not be underestimated.

Uchiha Tokumitsu led them into battle with the intention of training them.

I also want to test the effect of the right eye Mangekyou Sharingan technique, [Ōkuninushi], in large-scale ninja battles. Furthermore, the left eye Mangekyou Sharingan technique, [Kamiōsenrei-no-Sūzō], the Firelight-no-Sūzō that revitalizes creation, has not yet been truly activated.

If Kirigakure continues to analyze his combat strength using their old methods, the upcoming battle will surely leave Kirigakure utterly defeated.

...Far away in the Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water, an archipelago nation, the Hidden Mist Village's leaders were also facing a dilemma.

It is true that Kirigakure has designs on the territory of Uzushiogakure, but that was a pretext for the conflict, instigated by the daimyo of the Land of Water.

According to the analysis of the Hidden Mist Elders, although the ninja world is currently in a relatively peaceful state, it is actually in a state of calm before another large-scale, all-out war breaks out.

Having just suffered a defeat at the hands of Konoha, Iwagakure and Sunagakure, having not suffered significant losses, will certainly not be willing to give up and will definitely seek an opportunity to challenge Konoha again.

Aside from infiltrating the Land of Earth and confronting the Hidden Stone Village for a period, the Cloud Village barbarians achieved no victories. Given the Cloud Village's habit of considering any failure a significant loss, they will undoubtedly seek another target.

Although Konoha is the number one ninja village, if Iwagakure and Sunagakure make the first move, Kumogakure is very likely to take advantage of the situation and launch a war against Konoha.