Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 243 Fiscal Difficulties

The biggest advantage of a surprise attack is that the enemy has no time to react; they won't have time to escape or even gather their spoils. Everything, from treasure to evidence of the division of the loot, can be seized in one fell swoop.

Hui began the cleanup work according to procedure. Usually, invaders target land, money, important resources, and people, but Hui was an unpredictable type.

The first thing they did after capturing the fortress was to find the clerks among the prisoners of war and order them to lead the way to seal all official documents, lists, and account books. Then, based on these lists, they temporarily sealed the residences of all high-ranking officials and encouraged them to report each other's violations of public order and good morals, using the promise of reduced sentences and exemption from punishment as bait. Of course, Hui wouldn't just believe their side of the story; gathering evidence and conducting surveys among the populace were essential, and any false accusations would not be tolerated. They shouldn't think they could get reduced sentences by simply fooling around.

The number of civilian officials in the Land of Snow is pitifully small. Fuuka Noto is a staunch military leader, but also the type who lacks ambition. After all, here, as long as you have chakra armor, you can do whatever you want, so why bother to improve yourself? Therefore, the money collected is ultimately used to maintain the extravagant lifestyle of Fuuka Noto and the military and political interest groups behind him.

Hui utterly failed to understand this wasteful behavior. In their philosophy, wealth would naturally follow if development was done well and the people lived good lives. Such short-sighted practices would eventually drain the entire nation's potential, especially given the Snow Kingdom's remote location, harsh environment, and already difficult living conditions. With such rulers, the country was doomed to perish.

"The financial inventory is almost complete. As expected, the accounts on the surface do not match the money in the treasury. The misappropriation is too serious."

"How's the interrogation process going?"

“A few liars have slowed things down, and now we’re not going to use a conciliatory approach anymore.”

"How's the investigation into the officials going?"

"The situation over there is more complicated. There are too many places to hide things, and the masses are already being mobilized."

"Sigh, I really don't understand these guys. What do they need so much money for? They don't need it. There are clearly people who need it more."

"If you could understand that, I'd lock you up no matter what."

"Go away, get the hell out of here!"

The above are some of the ways the Ministry of Finance staff, who are working themselves to the bone with overtime, find joy amidst their hardship.

Hui's capture of the Snow Kingdom's palace was no small feat. Even though the fortress was located far from populated areas, the troops they sent to blockade the port to prevent any corrupt officials from escaping would inevitably be discovered by the public. A statement had to be issued, making the work of the Ministry of Finance even more crucial. They needed to expedite the inventory of assets to support the impending return of embezzled funds.

"The currency of the Snow Kingdom is completely out of sync with that of the mainland, and the over-issuance is extremely serious, which has a significant impact on our subsequent work." The Minister of Finance sat among a group of bigwigs with a slight tension, but his work ability was beyond doubt. He was rapidly reporting the data he had collected, "The annual currency issuance value of the Snow Kingdom is about 87 percent higher than its annual GDP. This is just the data we have compiled from official documents. The actual situation may be even worse."

Even if I calculate based on supplies that can be supplied by both the mainland and the Snow Country, prices in the Snow Country are still dozens of times higher than on the mainland. If we really want to continue maintaining the current monetary system, the exchange rate will be the biggest problem...

This was the first time Hui had encountered such a situation. The regions they had previously occupied, no matter how remote or chaotic, were still part of the trade system of the five great nations; even if prices rose, they wouldn't skyrocket. The Snow Kingdom, where several thousand Snow Dollars couldn't buy a single item—this was truly the first time they had ever seen anything like it.

Everyone here is a master of fighting, intelligence gathering, and research, but when it comes to matters of people's livelihood, they're a bit lost. They had discussed issuing currency before, but since they couldn't come up with anything and felt it was too early, they simply shelved it. However, after the war in the Land of Snow, the issue was brought to the forefront, reaching a point where it absolutely had to be resolved, and they were genuinely at a loss.

After the lengthy report was over, the bigwigs seemed to have listened attentively, but in reality, they were still completely bewildered. It was Naruto, who had experienced that currency exchange, who spoke first.

"May I ask, what form of currency does the Land of Snow currently use? I haven't obtained any information on this yet."

"They are iron coins and iron blocks, and the kind of iron with a lot of impurities. I don't know why, but they don't rust easily."

"It doesn't rust?" Hearing the topic that piqued his interest, Tobirama immediately perked up. "How about its hardness and toughness?"

"Um...we haven't tested that."

"It's understandable. The Snow Country is rich in iron ore, but it's cold all year round, which is probably not suitable for the growth of raw materials for paper. At present, we don't lack paper, but we lack iron, so replacing Snow Yuan is imperative."

"You mean, we're going to issue a new currency?" The Finance Minister picked up his notebook, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Although iron wasn't under their jurisdiction, he'd been planning to issue currency for a long time, but he didn't dare bring it up without approval from above. As a ninja who had suffered during the Warring States period, he had certainly experienced the disheartening experience of being entrusted with issuing a stack of special coins, only to have them turn into worthless paper money due to the collapse of the issuing authority. How satisfying it would be to issue currency ourselves—printing a stack of paper to exchange for resources!

"It seems that this is the only option at present. Our foreign exchange reserves have too many uses and are probably not enough to change the currency of a country, even if it is just a small country. Issuing our own currency is the optimal solution."

“But how do we get the public to use our money? It’s something completely new to them,” Izuna asked, posing the most troublesome question.

Naruto said calmly, "Isn't the return of stolen goods going to begin soon?"

"You mean, when returning stolen goods, return the newly issued currency?" Hashirama immediately realized. "The supplies the Ministry of Construction prepared for the Land of Snow are all necessities. These goods can also be sold solely with the new currency, which will encourage the people to voluntarily change their currency!"

Tobirama was not surprised by his older brother's sudden intelligence; Hashirama's intuition was always sharp when it came to the big picture.

"Then the issues now are the design, issuance, and exchange rate pricing of the new currency."

The Minister of Finance immediately perked up, raised his hand and said, "I need to leave for a moment to get something."

To everyone's bewilderment, the Minister of Finance somehow managed to teleport back within minutes, carrying a whole book of design drafts for various coins.

"This is an activity that our Ministry of Finance organizes during its spare time. I personally think the ones I like best are listed first. If you're in a hurry, this draft should be a good reference." The minister couldn't suppress the smile on his face, which was full of anticipation.

This is truly an unexpected delight.