"Lord Hokage spoke on our behalf and rejected that merchant's claim for twenty thousand ryo!"
When the ninja with dark circles said this, Uchiha Fugaku visibly relaxed. It seemed that the Third Hokage still supported the Uchiha clan and understood their current difficulties.
But what the ninja said next made Fugaku feel like he was falling into an ice pit: "However, he has asked us to pay ten thousand ryo!"
Ten thousand ryo?
Uchiha Fugaku, who had just relaxed, almost collapsed. The Third Hokage was really thinking of himself, not the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha Fugaku felt that ever since they had given up half of the Police Force, their clan's situation in the village had become even harder.
What's the reason?
It's all Uchiha Kinya's fault. Otherwise, the Police Force wouldn't be in such a dire state.
"Clan Leader, Lord Hokage said to deduct it from our salaries!"
The ninja with dark circles, feeling a bit anxious about Fugaku's somewhat wry expression, reminded him, "We've had thirty-eight thousand ryo deducted from our salaries over the past ten days due to various reasons. Our remaining salary for this month is only twelve thousand ryo, but we still owe those thugs sixty-five thousand ryo!"
The Police Force is in such a tough spot. Their workload has increased many times over, yet their salary has decreased compared to before.
It's pathetic!
If this continues, they might not receive any salary this month and might even lose some money.
"Is this all that's left?" Fugaku frowned. If things continue like this, the money won't be enough to cover salaries, and what's left might have to be used to compensate the thugs from the beginning.
The Police Force's members would have worked for nothing this month!
If this goes on, the remaining members of the Police Force might really quit.
"Clan Leader, if this continues, the morale of the Police Force will crumble!" The ninja with dark circles looked at Fugaku, hoping he would come up with a plan to stabilize the Police Force's morale.
"Hmph!" Uchiha Fugaku frowned in thought for a moment, then his eyes flashed with determination: "Go find Uchiha Kinya. The clan is short on funds. Tell him to donate a hundred thousand ryo to the clan as an emergency measure... no, two hundred thousand ryo!"
Hmph!
Uchiha Fugaku had already decided to take action against Uchiha Kinya. If Kinya hadn't interfered with clan matters, the members of the Uchiha Police Force wouldn't have left.
"Uchiha Kinya? Yes, yes, I'll go find him right now!" The man with dark circles blinked, hope flashing in his eyes.
In the past, Uchiha Kinya had often supported the clan, especially during festivals, when he would give the clan a large sum of money to improve their living conditions. Now that the clan was in trouble, he would surely help.
Thinking this, the man with dark circles hurried out.
Seeing him leave, Uchiha Fugaku's tension eased a bit. With the two hundred thousand ryo, the Police Force could manage for a while and even pay off the debt to those thugs.
But, an hour later, the man with dark circles returned, head down and looking dejected, as if he had hit a wall.
"What happened? Did you get the money?" Uchiha Fugaku asked, puzzled as he looked at the man with dark circles.
In his heart, he had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the man with dark circles lifted his dejected face and said helplessly, "Uchiha Kinya said that he is currently short on money and can't help the clan for now. Instead, it was Uchiha Kinya's son who gave us some money!"
"How much did he give?" Uchiha Fugaku asked anxiously.
The man with dark circles slowly held up five fingers, stammering, "Five... five."
The rest of his words seemed hard to say.
"Five hundred thousand ryo? Well, if it's five hundred thousand ryo, then it's even better!" Before the man with dark circles could finish, Uchiha Fugaku sat back down and continued, "Uchiha Kinya's son is more understanding than he is. At least he gave us five hundred thousand ryo!"
"Lord, it's not five hundred thousand ryo, it's five... five..." The man with dark circles tried to explain.
"Could it be fifty thousand?" Seeing the man with dark circles shaking his head, Uchiha Fugaku raised an eyebrow, "Hmph, they can only come up with fifty thousand ryo. We'll ask him again in a few days. As a member of the Uchiha, he should contribute to the clan!"
"Lord, it's not fifty thousand ryo. It's five thousand ryo!" The man with dark circles took a deep breath and quickly said what he needed to say.
"What? Five thousand ryo?" Uchiha Fugaku slammed his hand on the table, his eyes wide with anger, "Five thousand ryo? Is he trying to insult us? Insult me, the clan leader?"
As the clan leader, he had sent someone to borrow money, but Uchiha Kinya tried to settle things with just five thousand ryo?
This is an insult to him as the clan leader.
"Leader, it wasn't Uchiha Kinya who gave it; it was his son, Uchiha Genya's allowance!" Dark Circles interjected.
Allowance? Allowance?
Uchiha Fugaku's head was buzzing. Uchiha Fugaku was being dealt with using Uchiha Genya's allowance?
His emotions surged and roiled.
After calming down for a long time, he looked at Dark Circles and asked, "Did you accept it?"
"I did!" Dark Circles nodded.
"Hmph, you accepted five thousand ryo? What about your dignity? What about the Uchiha's dignity!" Uchiha Fugaku said, staring at Dark Circles, emphasizing each word.
At this moment!
Many of the Police Force members had returned, tired, leaning back in their chairs, watching the conversation between Uchiha Fugaku and Dark Circles without bothering to intervene.
"Five thousand ryo? That's the ninja's monthly living expenses in an emergency. Why shouldn't we take it?" Dark Circles, seeing Fugaku's angry glare and his complaints about accepting the five thousand ryo, snapped back, "Should we wait for Konoha to pay us? Or should the clan help us out?"
Some Police Force members were running out of funds, and the five thousand ryo could last them for a while! Besides, they were completely disillusioned with Konoha.
"You…" Uchiha Fugaku was at a loss for words, as he knew very well that they might not receive their Konoha salary this time.
Looking at the weary clan members around, he seemed to make a decision: "I'll personally take you to Uchiha Kinya's Merchant Guild. I don't believe he won't give me, the clan leader, face. In this time of crisis for the clan, I want to see if he will give me, the clan leader, five thousand ryo!"
With that, he stood up, ready to find Uchiha Kinya.
"Dad, where are you going?" At that moment, Itachi walked in. He had finished work at the Hokage's office early and came to the Police Force to check on his father, who hadn't been home for a while.
Upon arriving at the Police Force Headquarters, he saw his father preparing to go out with the guards.
He frowned, unsure of their destination.
"To Uchiha Kinya's Merchant Association!"
****
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