“Tulips?” A peculiar look appeared on Makoto Uchiha’s face, as if he had just discovered a new continent.
He never expected to hear this familiar name in the Ninja World!
The speculative bubble blown up around tulips was legendary back in his previous world on Earth!
“Darkness, tell me more about these tulips!” “Yes, Leader…” Although Darkness did not understand why Makoto Uchiha cared so much about tulips, she detailed everything she knew about them without holding back.
After all, it was no state secret.
Anyone could easily find out the whole story with a little inquiry in noble circles.
Though there were still plenty of peasants in the Land of Fire who struggled to scrape together a daily meal, the land’s nobles had long grown accustomed to a monotonous life of luxury.
As the saying goes, the poor play with toys, while the rich play with high-class courtesans.
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, these old-money nobles of the Land of Fire had already moved past material pursuits and begun chasing spiritual satisfaction.
However, they had already grown tired of ordinary antiques, curios, and courtesans…
They preferred to chase after something different—something rare, something that could casually signal to others that they were both highly cultured and exceedingly wealthy!
Tulips!
A flower originating from a distant overseas island.
Its blossoms bloomed like crowns, its stems stood straight as swords, and even its bulbs grew in the shape of gold ingots.
More importantly, these flowers were extremely difficult to cultivate.
It took seven years after planting a seed for a bulb to develop, and once the bulb grew, it took another eight months to flower…
This perfectly aligned with the desires of the Land of Fire’s nobility!
While tulips were currently popular only among a small faction of the Land of Fire’s nobles, it was only a matter of time before they spread to the entire nobility of the land—and indeed, to the nobles of the entire Ninja World.
“I see…” Makoto Uchiha rested his chin on his crossed hands, his lips curling into a confident smile.
As expected, the high-and-mighty elites of every world were cut from the same cloth, and this Ninja World was no exception.
Once they were well-fed and comfortable, they loved to indulge in exotic novelties…
This was absolutely perfect!
You have the money, and I need the money!
Time to make some cash!
“I am now certain that I’ve thought of an extremely secure and incredibly lucrative method.” “Unfortunately, the plan is a bit too complex, and this margin is too small to write it down.” Makoto Uchiha had originally intended to take things slow and make money in a safer, steadier way.
But if there was a chance to make a quick fortune, he certainly wouldn’t pass it up.
Let the tulip bubble inflate in this Ninja World!
“Lord Makoto, you aren’t thinking of…
trying your hand at the tulip business, are you?” Kazuma guessed Makoto Uchiha’s thoughts immediately.
However, he was fundamentally still a native of the Ninja World, not a transmigrator from a certain island nation, so he couldn’t comprehend how one could make money through tulips in the short term.
“Exactly,” Makoto said.
“But the timing isn’t ripe yet.
We need to accelerate!” “Accelerate?” “Yes.
I need the name of the tulip to echo throughout the entire noble circle in the shortest possible time!” With the tulip currently circulating only among a small faction of nobles, how could that possibly suffice?
He wasn’t worried that the tulip bubble wouldn’t inflate in the Ninja World, because human greed remained constant across all worlds.
Makoto Uchiha simply felt that since he had chosen to make quick cash, he had to rake it in by the shovelload.
Shying away now would be a disgrace!
If you’re scared, don’t play; if you play, don’t be scared!
The more players in this money game, the better.
“But…
that’s going to be very difficult to pull off.” Kazuma frowned.
Having grown up as a shinobi, he was indifferent to the luxury goods circulated among the nobility, but his experience as a ninja told him that making the name of the tulip echo across the entire Ninja World would be no easy feat.
“Kazuma, use your brain.
I’ve always had high expectations of you…
Let me show you how it’s done first.
Do you like listening to stories?” Makoto Uchiha looked at Kazuma.
Kazuma’s personality, behavior, and manners were exactly the same as the trashy Kazuma in his memories, only limited by his identity as a native of the Ninja World.
With just a little guidance, his potential would surely be unlocked.
“Occasionally,” Kazuma replied.
“Then I have a story for you.
Its name is ‘The Daimyo Buying Tulips for a Fortune!'” “Once upon a time, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was exceptionally fond of tulips.
However, he had long grown tired of the common yellow and white varieties, so he wished to see tulips of different colors.
To that end, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire did not hesitate to offer a thousand gold pieces to purchase such rare tulips within the Land of Fire…
Unfortunately, an entire year passed, and the Daimyo still had nothing to show for it.” “At this point, a minor official under the Daimyo stepped forward to volunteer.
He swore on his life that he would accomplish the Daimyo’s quest.
Thus, the Daimyo nodded in agreement and entrusted the task to him.” “In less than a month, this minor official discovered a mutated red-and-white tulip in the Land of Fire.
However, the tulip was already on the verge of withering.
Nonetheless, the official spent three million ryo to purchase it.” “He returned to the capital of the Land of Fire with the near-withered tulip to present it to the Daimyo.
Upon seeing it, the Daimyo flew into a rage: ‘What I want is a tulip in full, vibrant bloom!
You spent three million ryo on a near-withered tulip—are you making a fool of me?'” “The minor official replied with absolute confidence: ‘My Lord, spending three million ryo on this tulip is not money wasted.
Soon, the entire Ninja World will know that you genuinely love tulips, and that you do not spare any expense even for a near-withered rarity.
Before long, countless people will present tulips to Your Grace!'” “Later, things turned out exactly as the official had predicted.
A month later, the Daimyo received several top-grade tulips.” Makoto Uchiha talked until his throat was dry.
A modified version of ‘Buying a Steed for a Fortune’ tailored for the Ninja World was thus freshly minted.
Every move of the Daimyo was closely watched by countless eyes.
As the saying goes, ‘If the King of Chu loves slender waists, many in his court will starve themselves.’ What those above favor, those below will surely emulate.
Combined with the Ninja World’s version of buying tulips for a fortune, the resulting power would be far greater than the sum of its parts…
It was time to let this Ninja World experience the sheer shock value of sensationalist media!
Since he and the Daimyo were currently in their honeymoon phase, the Daimyo wouldn’t mind doing him this small favor.
In fact, Makoto could even pull the Daimyo in to cooperate on this business.
After all, they were just harvesting the wealth of those wealthy nobles.
The Daimyo harbored deep resentment toward those nobles anyway—with their factionalism and tax evasion, they might as well be harvested dry!
“G-good story,” Kazuma said, swallowing hard, feeling as though a deluge of bizarre knowledge had suddenly forced its way into his brain.