Kazuma stood up, an excited smile spreading across his face.
The tulip market was now absolutely booming.
Prices were skyrocketing, yet they had sold only one-third of their current inventory—and they had already made nearly 1.3 billion ryō!
It was simply terrifying!
“That much?”
The Fire Daimyō couldn’t help showing a look of astonishment.
The figure was far higher than he had imagined.
“Looks like those bastards really are loaded.”
“Last year, when there was a flood in the northern part of the Land of Fire, I asked them to donate some money, and every single one of them claimed to be broke!”
“Damn vermin!”
The Fire Daimyō couldn’t help thinking back to the flood that had struck the Land of Fire the previous year.
Even though the Land of Fire occupied some of the finest territory in the entire shinobi world…
It still had to contend with the natural disasters common to an agricultural nation.
Floods.
Droughts.
And with natural energy also existing in this shinobi world, disasters such as floods could be even more ferocious.
When faced with raging floodwaters, even a large group of Earth Release shinobi would be helpless.
A wall of earth might rise to block the water, but it would be swept away in less than half a day.
In the face of natural disasters, shinobi were just as powerless as ordinary people.
Of course, someone like Senju Hashirama didn’t count.
Could you even call him a person?
“The contracts with the flower growers have all been signed, right?”
The Fire Daimyō couldn’t help bringing up the latter half of the plan.
The money they had made so far was merely an appetizer.
The real feast was yet to come.
A few tens of billions of ryō…
Was that a lot?
Hmm…
It certainly wasn’t a small amount.
But it wasn’t enough to justify all the effort the Fire Daimyō had invested in planning the Tulip operation.
During this period, the Fire Daimyō had constantly been making public appearances, repeatedly displaying his affection for tulips.
He had already held five or six banquets just to build up enthusiasm for tulips!
This time…
They had to make a really big killing!
They had to bleed those vermin dry!
“Don’t worry, Your Highness.
Everything is ready.”
“Tulip prices are still rising.
It’s not just the nobles anymore—even wealthy merchants have entered the market.
The price is still nowhere near its peak.”
“Take a look at this price analysis chart.
Once we approach the peak, that’s when we’ll make our move.”
Kazuma smiled as he spoke.
With the Fire Daimyō’s resources at their disposal, they had practically gained control over the tulip market’s prices, available supply, and capital inflows.
On top of that, professional analysts had drawn up detailed price charts based on all that information.
Everything was firmly within their grasp!
After some time on the road…
Sarutobi Sasuke and his group finally arrived in the capital of the Land of Fire.
“Hiruzen, Danzō, be careful while you’re in the capital of the Land of Fire.”
“First, deliver the letter Lord Tobirama entrusted to you to the Fire Daimyō.
After that, purchase the supplies.”
“I’ve already given you the supply list.”
Sarutobi Sasuke instructed Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
One of them carried the letter meant for the Fire Daimyō, while the other carried a sealing scroll containing a fortune of eight hundred million ryō.
“And remember, when you’re buying supplies, make sure you haggle!”
“I know, Father.
Whatever we’re buying, we’ll start by cutting the asking price in half!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded at his father’s repeated instructions.
He understood the rules of bargaining.
Always start by cutting the price in half!
“Good.
As long as you understand.”
“You absolutely have to complete this mission!”
“Lord Tobirama is watching your performance!”
“Understood!” ×2
After a final round of instructions…
Sarutobi Sasuke and Shimura Shima left the capital of the Land of Fire. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
They still had to return to their clan territories and lead their entire clans in relocating to Konoha.
The supply-purchasing mission, meanwhile, was entrusted to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
“Hiruzen, let’s go.
First, we’ll pay our respects to the Fire Daimyō and complete the mission Lord Tobirama assigned to us!”
After watching the two clan heads leave, Shimura Danzō eagerly prepared to meet the Fire Daimyō.
Once they delivered Senju Tobirama’s letter, half of their mission in the capital would already be complete!
“Hmm…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
He thought the same way.
Delivering a letter was much easier than purchasing supplies!
Buying supplies was no easy task.
It wasn’t merely a matter of purchasing everything on the list.
The most important thing was to spend as little money as possible.
The more money they saved, the more impressed Lord Tobirama would be!
That meant they had to argue and haggle with merchants.
It was extremely time-consuming and exhausting.
And neither of them was particularly good at it.
After all, they were shinobi.
They were accustomed to letting their kunai do the talking.
But…
They had to find a way to overcome that weakness.
Because Lord Tobirama had once said:
“To become an excellent shinobi, you must take every aspect of your abilities into consideration.
Personal strength is merely one factor.”
Of course, that was only the first half.
Senju Tobirama actually had another half to that statement, one he kept to himself:
If your strength is as overwhelming as Big Brother’s, then do whatever you want.
….
The two reached an agreement and immediately headed into the city.
After wandering around for a while, they finally arrived at the Fire Daimyō’s palace.
They presented their letters of introduction and were soon granted an audience with the smiling Fire Daimyō.
Of course…
The smile was fake.
The moment the Fire Daimyō heard that Konoha had come to deliver another letter, he was already numb with exasperation.
He had already read Konoha’s previous letters.
The core message could be summarized in one sentence:
Daimyō, I’ve been building a shinobi village.
Building a shinobi village costs a lot of money.
I hear you have quite a fortune.
Would you like to sponsor us a little?
Sponsor you?
Give money to Konoha?
What if you grew stronger afterward?
What if one day Senju Hashirama inexplicably put on my clothes?
What then?!
So…
To delay things for as long as possible, the Fire Daimyō had repeatedly replied:
“Under consideration…”
“Under active consideration…”
He never expected Konoha to still refuse to give up.
Now they had sent a third letter!
The Fire Daimyō really wanted to order his guards to throw the letter-delivering shinobi out immediately.
But…
After thinking it over, he decided to meet them anyway.
Yes.
For the sake of maintaining appearances.
He had always been a man of dignity!
“Sit…
Don’t be so formal.”
“Someone, bring tea!”
The Fire Daimyō sat on the sofa and waved for Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō to sit down.
“Thank you, Your Highness!” ×2
After some polite conversation…
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō explained who they were and why they had come.
They were there to deliver a letter to the Fire Daimyō.
But compared with the letter itself, the Fire Daimyō became more interested in their identities.
“You’re members of the Sarutobi clan and Shimura clan?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“The Shimura clan has made the same decision.”
“I see.”
The Fire Daimyō’s expression stiffened slightly.
An uneasy feeling emerged in his heart.
He had always been worried that the village founded by Senju Hashirama would grow stronger and eventually attract other shinobi clans to join it voluntarily.
He hadn’t expected that day to come so soon!
“Your Highness, this is the letter Lord Tobirama asked us to deliver to you.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen took the letter from inside his clothes and handed it to the Fire Daimyō.
The Fire Daimyō accepted it and opened it.
The core message was much the same as before:
Daimyō, you’ve got quite a fortune.
Come on!
Send us some money!
There was, however, one difference.
At the end of the letter, Senju Tobirama had specifically emphasized that if the Fire Daimyō continued “considering” the matter this time, he would have his elder brother, Senju Hashirama, personally come to the capital of the Land of Fire to have a friendly discussion with the Fire Daimyō.
The wording was extremely polite and respectful.
Heaven knows!
Senju Tobirama genuinely hoped that the Fire Daimyō would provide financial assistance to Konoha.
In exchange, Konoha could pledge its loyalty to the Fire Daimyō!
But…
Because of the Senju Hashirama Threat Theory, those respectful requests looked completely different in the Fire Daimyō’s eyes.
The threat was practically pouring off the page.
“Daimyō, how can you be so unreasonable?”
“If you still refuse to give us money, I’ll send Big Brother Senju Hashirama over personally to teach you a lesson and squeeze every last coin out of you!”
The Fire Daimyō imagined the scene, and cold sweat immediately broke out across his back.
Fortunately, his many years as the Fire Daimyō had taught him to remain rational.
Don’t panic!
There’s still Uchiha Makoto!
He could write a letter to Uchiha Makoto later and tell him about this.
He could have Uchiha Makoto deal with the matter.
Have him take care of Senju Hashirama!
If that didn’t work…
At worst…
He could simply give Konoha some money.
The Fire Daimyō had always been a man of dignity!
“Thank you both for delivering the letter.”
“There happens to be a banquet tonight…
It would be perfect for welcoming you.”
“I have a close relationship with the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, so…”
“Please, don’t refuse.”
The Fire Daimyō took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He invited Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō to the evening banquet.
Konoha could recruit shinobi clans.
There was no reason he couldn’t do the same!
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō exchanged glances before agreeing.
They hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days.
It had been rice balls and Soldier Pills all the way.
…
At this very moment, Uchiha Makoto had no idea what the Fire Daimyō was thinking.
Uchiha Makoto, go take care of Senju Hashirama!
Uchiha Makoto was sitting in his office chair, munching on sunflower seeds while watching Aqua write a medical ninjutsu textbook titled “Three Years to Become a Medical Shinobi, Five Years to Become a Medical Master.”
At the same time, he was listening to the system’s notifications.
[Dawn Shinobi Village]
[Prosperity: 101 + 3 + 5 + 8 + 4…]
[Evaluation: Although still weak, the village is bursting with life, with all things vigorously competing for growth!]
[Detected an increase of 1,000,000 ryō in village funds.
Prosperity +3]
[Detected an increase of 3,000,000 ryō in village funds.
Prosperity +8]
[Detected an increase of 2,000,000 ryō in village funds.
Prosperity +5]
How pleasant was that sound?
It was like hearing the notification in his previous life:
“Funds have been deposited into your account”
It was music to his ears!