“Your Highness, please hear me out!”
“Those who are willing to take part in the Tulip Game will do so of their own accord.
No one is forcing them to enter!”
“Besides, what kind of people are able to participate in this game?
Every one of them possesses enormous wealth, yet they are still so greedy…
Even if they end up losing everything, they will have only themselves to blame.
Lord Makoto once said that when a person’s wisdom does not match their wealth, their money will eventually find its way back into the market by one means or another.”
“Your Highness, surely you don’t want those greedy fools to keep enjoying wealth that doesn’t belong to them, do you?”
Kazuma spoke in a seductive, persuasive tone.
In this shinobi world, those who possessed enormous fortunes were not the powerful shinobi, but the nobles and merchants…
Yet the reason these people possessed such vast wealth was often not because of their own abilities, but because…
Well, of course, I’m talking about the shinobi world.
Being born into the right family is a skill in itself!
As the Fire Daimyō listened to Kazuma, some unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind.
This had struck a nerve.
The people under his authority had become increasingly unruly over the years.
When he was young, the Fire Daimyō had been full of ambition.
He had wanted to accomplish great things in the Land of Fire, clean up the bureaucracy, and reform the tax system.
But after a thousand years, the deeply entrenched nobility had already established an entire bureaucratic system.
It was simply impossible for the Fire Daimyō to shake it by himself.
Unless the daimyō was willing to “invite wolves into the house” by allowing shinobi to interfere in the affairs of the Land of Fire…
Of course, that was impossible.
He had to guard against the nobles, but he had to guard against the shinobi even more.
The nobles merely coveted money and power.
But if the shinobi got involved…
They might actually come for his life.
The Fire Daimyō certainly wasn’t going to do something so completely backwards.
And even if he did, the nobles would immediately employ every means at their disposal to stop him.
Come on, Fire Daimyō.
You’re not exactly good at swimming, are you?
Regardless, when he was young, the Fire Daimyō had managed to force the nobles of that era to restrain themselves considerably.
But now he was old, and his energy was no longer what it had been…
One group after another had banded together and entrenched themselves in every corner of the country.
Not only were they unwilling to pay their taxes, they were also dishonest when it came to their accounts.
Sometimes their fabricated books were such a complete mess that they could barely fool their own subordinates—yet they even dared to try deceiving the daimyō!
“A bunch of bastards!”
“They’re all thieves!”
“The taxes collected from the Land of Fire are practically being collected for them instead…
Three hundred billion ryō!
You people take two hundred billion, I take one hundred billion, and then you expect me to pretend I don’t know and thank you for it!”
“You really think that just because you’re nobles and hereditary retainers, I can’t do anything to you?”
“All that money you’ve stolen!”
“That is my money!”
“Mine!
My money!!!”
The Fire Daimyō screamed inwardly.
His expression darkened as Kazuma continued talking beside him, subtly planting suspicion against those vermin.
“Your Highness, this opportunity comes once in a thousand years.
That wealth is simply beyond their ability to hold onto!”
“We are merely following the will of Heaven…”
At the thought of that enormous fortune, the Fire Daimyō’s heart began to burn with excitement once more.
The wealth they could siphon off this time wasn’t going to be a few billion ryō.
It could be tens of billions.
Hundreds of billions.
Perhaps even a trillion ryō.
“Then it’s decided!”
The Fire Daimyō, who had already been harboring resentment toward those vermin, finally made up his mind under the temptation of such enormous wealth.
Let’s do it!
An opportunity like this wouldn’t come twice!
That money should have belonged to him in the first place!
“Your Highness…
that is undoubtedly the wisest decision.”
Kazuma showered him with praise, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
Soon…
After the Fire Daimyō agreed to the Tulip Scheme, the two began discussing the details of the plan.
The Tulip plan only required the Fire Daimyō to cooperate from the sidelines.
Once that was done, the remaining difficulties were practically negligible.
According to Uchiha Makoto’s Tulip Scheme plan, the first step was for the Fire Daimyō’s daughter to purchase tulips, rapidly spreading their reputation throughout the noble circles.
After that…
They would manipulate the price of tulips.
A large number of actors would be sent to tulip sales outlets to form long queues, creating the illusion that tulips were in desperately short supply.
This would drive up their price.
Then they would sell.
Drive the price higher.
Sell again. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Repeat the process and reap the profits.
Naturally, a considerable amount of capital would be needed to keep pushing the price upward.
The Dawn Shinobi Village might not have been able to shoulder that burden on its own, but they now had the Fire Daimyō backing them.
Worst case…
They could simply return the money to the wealthy gentry in full!
The crucial contract-based transactions would also fall naturally into place by this point.
As for the other problems…
Human greed would solve every one of them.
“Good!
Good!
Good!”
The Fire Daimyō said it three times in succession.
Uchiha Makoto’s plan was truly a chain of interlocking schemes.
It had calculated every dark corner of human nature.
Even someone like him, so long as he harbored greed, would inevitably participate in this monetary game and ultimately suffer devastating losses.
“I’m glad Your Highness is satisfied.”
The plan had now been fully discussed.
What remained…
Was the division of the profits!
This had to be settled beforehand.
Even brothers kept their accounts clear with one another, let alone a partnership with a political creature like the Fire Daimyō.
Uchiha Makoto wanted a seventy-thirty split.
Yes.
The Dawn Shinobi Village would take seventy percent, while the Fire Daimyō would take thirty.
Even ten percent represented an enormous sum of money!
Unfortunately, that wasn’t realistic.
The situation was pressing.
The Dawn Shinobi Village was still too weak.
It needed the Fire Daimyō’s cooperation, it needed the Fire Daimyō’s financial support, and it would need to continue working with him in the future…
Makoto could only dream of giving the Fire Daimyō thirty percent.
Of course…
The Fire Daimyō would never agree to that either.
He was putting up money, contributing manpower, and even lending his name as the Fire Daimyō to help drive the scheme…
And he was supposed to take thirty percent?
Who did you think you were fooling?
Seventy-thirty?
I get seventy!
But…
Uchiha Makoto had his own bottom line.
He had devised the Tulip plan from beginning to end.
He was the one putting in all the effort to manipulate the market.
The Fire Daimyō merely had to sit there and collect a huge fortune.
There was no way Makoto was taking only thirty percent!
At the very least, it had to be fifty-fifty!!
“Then it’s decided.”
“I’ll cooperate with your plan.
When do you intend to begin?”
The Fire Daimyō grinned.
He was already somewhat impatient to begin the Tulip plan.
Once a person’s moral boundaries were breached, it was very easy to plunge headfirst into the moral abyss…
After all, the people who would lose everything when the time came wouldn’t be him!
“We can begin at any time.
Everything was already prepared before we came to meet Your Highness.”
“Your Highness…
this time, we’re going to make a fortune.
Afterward, half of the profits will be delivered to the…”
“Half?”
The Fire Daimyō frowned, wondering whether he had misheard.
Half?
Did these damn shinobi even understand the rules of how the gentry of the Land of Fire made money?
I return your money to you in full, and then we split the rest seventy-thirty…
I take seventy percent.
And even for that thirty percent, you’d better get down on your knees to take it!
“Your Highness, I said fifty percent.”
“Lord Makoto specifically emphasized this.
Although Your Highness has less to do and can simply sit in your palace while receiving a huge sum of money, that is absolutely no reason to reduce your share.”
“Thirty percent or forty percent won’t do.
It must be an even fifty-fifty split.
Only then can it demonstrate Lord Makoto’s sincerity in continuing to cooperate with Your Highness!”
“Lord Makoto also emphasized another point…
All of the profits from this operation will be invested in shinobi village construction.
Only a powerful shinobi village can protect the Land of Fire and safeguard Your Highness’s position!”
“Surely Your Highness can see Lord Makoto’s sincerity in this partnership?”
Kazuma blinked innocently.
Of course he knew what the Fire Daimyō meant.
He also knew the rules these vermin of the Land of Fire played by.
But Uchiha Makoto had already given him his instructions. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Fifty percent was the absolute minimum.
Not a single percent less!
However, considering the Dawn Shinobi Village’s current weakness, all Kazuma could do was play dumb while delivering an implicit threat.
For that reason…
He deliberately emphasized “Lord Makoto’s sincerity in cooperation” as he spoke.
He had chosen his words carefully enough that neither side would lose face.
In other words:
Daimyō, building a shinobi village costs a lot of money.
Even if we take some of your money along the way, that’s only natural.
I’m not asking you for your money.
I’m using your money to solve your problems…
You don’t want Senju Hashirama to become the undisputed power in the Land of Fire, do you?
The Fire Daimyō’s expression darkened instantly.
He naturally understood the hidden meaning behind those words.
If they wanted to continue cooperating, this round had to be split fifty-fifty.
At the same time, the ominous refrain of the Senju Hashirama Threat Theory once again echoed in the depths of the Fire Daimyō’s mind.
If he couldn’t restrain Senju Hashirama…
If the shinobi village they established became the sole dominant power in the Land of Fire, and then went even further…
The consequences would be impossible to estimate.
“Your Highness, there’s no need to agonize over it.
Lord Makoto’s position is very firm.
A fifty-fifty split means you won’t lose even a single percent of your share!”
Kazuma saw the Fire Daimyō’s expression constantly changing and added another sentence.
Both of them knew that his words meant exactly the opposite.
“In that case, I’ll accept Uchiha Makoto’s sincerity!”
In the end, with the Senju Hashirama Threat Theory reinforcing his position…
The Fire Daimyō reluctantly pressed a hand to his forehead and agreed to the split.
Every shinobi, without exception, was utterly untrustworthy!
Kazuma nodded, inwardly letting out a long sigh of relief.
He had been worried about what they would do if the Fire Daimyō genuinely refused to accept the arrangement.
Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.
(Senju Hashirama really is useful!)
“I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first.
I won’t keep you here for dinner.”
Although the Fire Daimyō had reluctantly accepted the terms, he was still seething with anger.
His mood was terrible, and he desperately needed somewhere to vent.
As for feeding them?
The Dawn Shinobi Village had just swallowed an additional twenty percent of his share.
That was an astronomical sum!
And they still expected him to buy them dinner?
Forget it!
Kazuma watched the Fire Daimyō storm away, huffing and puffing.
There was no displeasure on his face.
After all, he was the Fire Daimyō.
Having a bad temper was perfectly normal.
…
The next day.
The Tulip Scheme operation officially began.
Although the Fire Daimyō was extremely displeased with Uchiha Makoto’s shameless appetite, he still gave the operation the green light all the way, providing both money and manpower!
Originally, Uchiha Makoto had planned to use part of the shinobi village’s construction funds to purchase tulips.
But now that he had the Fire Daimyō’s support, their market-buying funds had become incredibly abundant.
The Fire Daimyō really was a man who cared about maintaining appearances!
Over the following days…
Kazuma, holding a massive amount of capital, began purchasing tulips throughout the Land of Fire.
Although tulip prices were still low, they weren’t something ordinary civilians could afford simply for decoration.
The supply available on the market was also extremely limited.
If such a massive amount of capital flooded into the market all at once, prices would soar.
So, to avoid unnecessary trouble and prevent anyone from becoming suspicious, the process had to be completed quickly.
For the next several days, Kazuma traveled throughout the Land of Fire and even the surrounding countries with a group of people, constantly using the Shadow Clone Technique.
They endured the elements along the way.
When they were tired, they curled up in trees and slept.
When they were hungry, they swallowed Soldier Pills and forced themselves onward.
They never stopped purchasing tulips from the market.
They had to acquire enough tulips before market feedback caused prices to surge dramatically.
The details were naturally excruciating.
In this era, when shinobi traveled, they relied entirely on their own two legs!
A few Soldier Pills down the hatch—
Sure, they tasted awful.
But they really worked.
You could run through the entire night after eating them!
Besides, shinobi in the shinobi world were practically superhuman by default.
The shinobi world was vast, but shinobi could move incredibly quickly.
During the First Shinobi World War, the Second Mizukage of Kirigakure once led his troops on a forced march.
In a short period of time, they crossed most of the Land of Fire, passing through several smaller countries along the way.
They launched a surprise attack on Iwagakure with lightning speed, ultimately perishing together with the Second Tsuchikage!