"Trade..."
"If that's the case, then tell me what this trade entails first. You can't expect me to agree before telling me anything."
"If Konoha sincerely wishes to conduct a trade with Nadeshiko Village, or form an alliance, then I see no reason to refuse."
Fuzishou Tingxiang was the first to state her position, but she also made her meaning perfectly clear.
If Konoha wanted to trade with Nadeshiko Village, that was fine. But they should not expect to get something for nothing. At the very least, they had to offer tangible benefits.
On the way here, Senya had already roughly deduced Nadeshiko Village's current situation through his casual conversations with Shizuka.
Located at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Iron, though closer to the Land of Hot Water, the village was small, with only four or five thousand residents. Yet without exception, every resident was female, making it something like a kingdom of women.
The most absurd part was that the entire village was made up of soldiers. Anyone capable of refining Chakra became a ninja, while even women without ninja talent worked in the village's production and other fields.
To preserve the village's all-female state, the entire village remained largely closed off. Only a handful of merchant caravans were permitted to enter after inspection, and even then, their time in the village was strictly limited.
As a result, everyone in Nadeshiko Village lived far more poorly than people elsewhere in the Shinobi World. Yet it was precisely this highly centralized and unified decision-making that had allowed them to secure a small territory between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Iron.
Even during the several great shinobi wars, Kumogakure had been too lazy to bother with this place. It had