Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

"Huh?" Kagejirō quickly fell silent and whispered, "Shinnosuke, I didn't mean that."

The arrogant Sarutobi Kagejirō behaved like a mouse before a cat, completely suppressed by his younger cousin. Although they were of the same generation and Kagejirō was ten years older, the difference in status and respect was clear.

"You don't want to apologize, do you? Then we'll have a 'private practice' session after we get home," Shinnosuke said calmly.

"No! Shinnosuke, please, let me go! I was just talking off the cuff!" Kagejirō paled and shook his head desperately. The "private practice" with Shinnosuke must have been a truly traumatic experience for him. However, he considered himself a noble person. How could he apologize, let alone to a mere fish-seller? Thus, he refused to yield.

Seeing them argue, Sasuke intervened. "Shinnosuke, there's no need for an apology."

"Hmph!" Kagejirō was pleased to hear this, looking smug.

But just after Sasuke finished speaking, he continued, "However, escaping from battle, being inconsistent, and treating the mission's intelligence like a joke must be punished. Otherwise, wouldn't we be encouraging the breaking of Konoha's rules?"

"Yes! That's right, he must be punished!" Shinnosuke nodded repeatedly. "Senpai, how should he be punished?"

"Then punish him by having him stay here, fill the vacancy in the Aoba Squad's defense zone, and take over this patrol mission. As for the intelligence, you will deliver it back in Kagejirō's place."

Sasuke finished speaking and looked at Akimichi Torifune, waiting for the mobile patrol captain to make a decision.

"Oh?" Torifune's eyes lit up. He quickly calculated the situation. The proposal was good; it was an excellent opportunity for the Hokage's son to earn merit points. The only problem was that it could be seen as credit stealing. But how could it be? It was an internal matter of the Sarutobi clan. If this arrangement was made, the Sarutobi might even thank him.

Sasuke added at the right moment, "Ye, what do you think about letting Shinnosuke take the information?"

"This..." Ye thought carefully. Shinnosuke's strength was obviously much greater than Kagejirō's, so it would be safer. Besides, the proposal came from his savior. How could he not agree?

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Torifune made the decision. Shinnosuke would deliver the information. For safety, Maru could leave a shadow clone. And so it was happily decided. The only one wounded was Kagejirō Sarutobi's pride.

Torifune patted Sasuke's shoulder with satisfaction. "Sasuke, what about the distribution of the mission's merits?"

"Everything is subject to your arrangements, Lord Torifune, but to stop these Sand ninja, we consumed quite a few exploding tags and blades. I don't know if..." Sasuke said, letting the sentence hang.

Torifune understood immediately and smiled. "Regarding the reimbursement of supplies, I understand the rule. It will be deducted from the captured spoils of war. The remaining part will be handed over to the village at 70%, and the other 30% will be distributed by us."

Konoha Village had a clear rule: 70% of captured loot must be turned in. However, whenever there's an official policy, there's a way around it. The loophole was supply reimbursement.

For example, if on a mission you lose 10 kunai and capture 100, in theory, you should turn in 70. But in practice, to maintain combat effectiveness, you first take 10 kunai from the loot as "reimbursement." Then, the actual seizure becomes 90, and the 70% to be handed over is 63. This had become an unspoken rule.

The problem was the disparity. Common ninjas might slightly inflate their reimbursement claims. Clan ninjas, with their connections, would multiply them by ten, keeping almost all the loot. The village tried to fix this by stipulating that reimbursement could not exceed the value of the loot, to prevent fraud, but this only made the problem worse. Rich clan ninjas would simply report their losses and rarely turn in any loot, while poor common ninjas had to turn in most of theirs.

And why more than 70%? Because the right to appraise the value of the loot was not in their hands, but in those of the masters in the logistics department. The price of the same kunai, depending on whether it came from the Land of Wind or the Land of Artisans, could differ more than tenfold. To get a "fair" valuation, one had to pay a 10% "appraisal fee."

Sasuke knew that the Sand Village's logistics department was even worse, with a fee as high as 30%. Adding the 70% for the village, the ninja were left with almost nothing. This was how the Daimyō of the Land of Wind kept the Sand ninja in check, keeping them so poor they could barely survive. He was a master of internal control.