Black Naruto: Shadow Moon

As word of the Fire Nation's decision to increase taxes during the war spread, the daimyos of major countries began to follow suit, because war required a large amount of resources, and the major ninja villages needed huge financial support to expand their armaments, recruit ninjas, and purchase weapons and equipment.

However, these war expenses will not come directly from the personal wealth of the daimyo, but will ultimately be borne by the lowest-level people in each country.

The Daimyo of the Land of Earth realized the resources needed for the impending war long before the Iwagakure Village declared war on Konoha.

Although the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki was powerful, the daimyo knew that the military expenditures of the Iwagakure Village would increase rapidly.

After discussing with its advisors, the Land Kingdom decided to significantly increase taxes on the people.

Wars are packaged as necessary to "defend the homeland," and tax increases are seen as a legitimate reason to "support national security."

Although small-scale protests broke out in some places, these voices were quickly suppressed and people were told that this was to protect them from the threat of war.

The situation in the Land of Thunder is similar.

The Third Raikage Ai insisted on launching a war against Konoha. Although the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning was ambitious, he could not ignore the huge resources consumed by the war.

In order to support the war of the Hidden Cloud Village, the Land of Lightning also increased taxes on the people and even increased its control over border territories, forcing small countries to provide more resources to the Land of Lightning.

These oppressive measures sparked resistance in some villages, but the voices of resistance were quickly suppressed by force under the Third Raikage's command.

The economic situation in the Water Kingdom is even more fragile.

The pro-war faction in the Hidden Mist Village pushed the progress of the war, and the Daimyo of the Land of Water was forced to invest more funds to support the war.

However, since the Land of Water was an island nation with scarce resources, the daimyo had to raise funds for the war by levying higher taxes.

Ministers from the Kingdom of Water suggest increasing taxes on fishing and agriculture, as well as controlling trade between islands.

Farmers and fishermen became the main victims, their lives became more difficult, and residents of many islands began to oppose this high-pressure policy.

The situation in the Kingdom of Wind is slightly different.

Although the Third Kazekage initially signed a peace treaty, when the war spread, the daimyo of the Wind Country was forced to increase their support for the Sand Village.

Due to the harsh natural environment and scarce farmland in the Land of Wind, the daimyo decided to concentrate all available resources on the war, sacrificing the basic living needs of some people.

In the Kingdom of Wind, people were asked to increase taxes and reduce water and food use during the war, and many families lived in extreme poverty.

Even so, the daimyo and nobles of the Kingdom of Wind still maintained a luxurious life, and the construction of their palaces never stopped.

Ultimately, the tax increase policies of major countries made the lower-class people the biggest victims of the war.

Not only do they bear heavy tax burdens, but they also have to face wars that may break out at any time, making their lives increasingly difficult.

However, the rulers of these major countries are still pursuing their own interests in the war.

Faced with the threat of the Sand Village declaring war on Konoha, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to Konoha Village and decided to hold an emergency family meeting.

He realized that Konoha was now under attack from all sides. Not only did it have to fight against the strong attacks from the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Iwa Village, and the Hidden Mist Village, but it also had to deal with the pressure that would soon come from the Hidden Sand Village.

To this end, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to mobilize the elite forces of the major families in Konoha Village, hoping that each family could contribute.

Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned the heads of all the major ninja clans together. Included at the meeting were people such as Hiashi of the Hyuga clan, Akimichi Chouza of the Akimichi clan, Yamanaka Inoichi of the Yamanaka clan, Nara Shikaku of the Nara clan, and Inuzuka Tsume of the Inuzuka clan. Although these young ninjas who would inherit the family power in the future had not officially become clan heads, they showed strong determination in this meeting.

However, some of the older generation of clan leaders also attended the meeting in person. As the new young clan leader of Konoha, the clan leader of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Kagezuki, also attended the meeting and became one of the most eye-catching young representatives at the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Sarutobi Hiruzen first emphasized the current dangerous situation of Konoha and explained to the participants the life-and-death battle that Konoha was currently facing.

Faced with the joint siege from multiple powerful countries, the power of Konoha Ninja is becoming increasingly strained, and the front battlefield is in urgent need of reinforcements.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said emotionally: "The future of Konoha is closely related to our major families. Now is the critical moment for us to work together to resist foreign enemies. We must fight the enemy together and defend Konoha!"

In order to motivate everyone, Sarutobi Hiruzen set an example and announced that the Sarutobi clan would send out the elite members of the clan to participate in the war in person.

He then introduced a young ninja wearing an ANBU mask who was standing nearby.

When the ninja took off his mask, everyone was surprised to find that he was somewhat similar to the young Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen explained: "This is my eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke. I decided to let him personally lead the clan's ninjas to the front line to resist the enemy."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's action touched everyone present.

As the Hokage of Konoha, he led by example and demonstrated tremendous determination, which undoubtedly inspired the other clans.

The Hyuga clan, the Akimichi clan, the Yamanaka clan, the Nara clan, the Inuzuka clan and others all expressed their willingness to send their elite clan members to the front line.

The younger generation of ninjas also showed extraordinary courage.

Elite ninjas such as Hizashi Hyuga, Suzaku Nara, and Doto Akimichi have all pledged to fight alongside their family's heirs.

They are all the pillars of Konoha's future. Although they are young, they are fearless in this war and are willing to give their all.

Finally, it was Uchiha Kagezuki's turn to speak.

As the patriarch of the Uchiha clan, he is the youngest among the clan leaders present, but his prestige in Konoha has reached an unprecedented height.

Yingyue said briefly and forcefully: "The Uchiha clan's forces have been fully deployed to the front lines. We will do our best to fight for the future of Konoha."

This meeting not only consolidated the unity within Konoha Village, but also allowed the major families to put aside their differences and fight together for the survival of Konoha.

Under the leadership of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the major ninja families of Konoha Village gathered to prepare for the upcoming war and defend their common home.

However, Uchiha Kagezuki was very curious about Sarutobi Shinnosuke, a character who had almost no role in the original plot, but he was the eldest son of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the elder brother of Sarutobi Asuma, and the father of Sarutobi Konohamaru. It turned out that he was working in the Anbu of Hokage at that time. No wonder he was not well-known. However, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was estimated to have died in battle later. According to the time speculation, it was probably the Third Ninja World War.

Some of the decisions made by the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen were either stupid or bad, but he was really willing to make sacrifices for Konoha. The eldest and youngest sons of his family died in battle, his first wife Sarutobi Biwako died in the Nine-Tails Rebellion, and Sarutobi Hiruzen also died in Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha. Uchiha Kagezuki felt that with his advantage of foresight, he could help them if he could, at least they were not all bad people.