Why Not All Give Up Together?

Sandaime, along with the current Hokage, Fifth Hokage Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, entered the hall together.

Their arrival immediately stirred the attendees.

After all, Konoha Princess Tsunade, who had reportedly left Konoha and earned the famous reputation of the Fat Sheep out in the world, had returned—along with Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin who stood alongside her.

Quite a few people present were old acquaintances of Tsunade's. The moment she saw them, she instinctively shrank back a little, because many of them were her creditors.

As the legendary Fat Sheep, many wealthy people had been willing to lend her money. She believed she could repay it, not only because she was Princess Tsunade of the shinobi world's greatest power, but also because she was the foremost medical master in the shinobi world.

To truly wealthy tycoons, money was no longer all that important. Their lives mattered more.

Thus, the money Tsunade owed them was, to them, a favor they could use to ask Tsunade for help once.

That said, precisely because those wealthy people valued Tsunade's favor so highly, Tsunade found it all the harder to repay.

Seeing so many creditors present, she immediately felt uncomfortable and wished she could leave at once.

Tch. If I'd known these guys were here, I shouldn't have come.

She shot Jiraiya a fierce glare. This was all your fault for stopping me!

Jiraiya merely gave Tsunade an awkward smile.

Since they were already here, it would have been inappropriate to simply leave, so they took their seats.

As Hokage, Orochimaru naturally sat in the seat of honor.

As the former Hokage, Sandaime had stepped down and now served as the chief Hokage Advisor. He sat in the seat beside Orochimaru.

The other two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, sat on Orochimaru's other side.

Yakushi Nonō stood slightly behind Sandaime.

Jiraiya sat beside Sandaime, while Tsunade sat beside Jiraiya.

Looking at Konoha's lineup, the great Merchants of the Land of Fire who had been invited to attend all felt immense pressure.

The Third Hokage, the Fifth Hokage, and Konoha Princess Tsunade and Jiraiya the Gallant, the Legendary Sannin who stood alongside the Fifth Hokage.

This lineup was simply too powerful!

There had previously been rumors that Konoha had been greatly weakened after the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

But now, it seemed that even if it had weakened, with this lineup alone, Konoha was still that incomparably powerful number-one shinobi village in the world—the unquestioned strongest shinobi village, Konohagakure!

There had been rumors that Princess Tsunade and Jiraiya had left Konoha and turned against it. Now, though, how could those rumors be true? Look—Konoha had only called for them, and they had returned, hadn't they?

Once this news spread, those who had once looked down on Konoha would surely regain some confidence in it.

Seeing how shaken everyone present was, Fifth Hokage Orochimaru was quite satisfied.

It had not been in vain that he had gathered such a lineup.

This way, even if the plan went wrong, once news from this gathering spread, it would still provide enough deterrence to keep the other shinobi villages from making rash moves.

And if the plan to obtain funding failed, this could still bolster everyone's confidence in Konoha and secure a greater share of Mission Quotas.

Orochimaru did not ponder for long. Everyone was waiting for him, the host of the gathering, to speak, and he would not keep them waiting.

Bang.

He lightly tapped the table.

"Gentlemen, it is my honor to have you participate in my inauguration ceremony."

"Hokage-sama, what are you saying? It is our honor!" A kindly-looking great Merchant immediately replied with a smiling, somewhat deferential bow.

Information about the man flashed through Orochimaru's mind. According to the intelligence, he was a smiling tiger who secretly controlled many black markets in the Land of Fire.

Furthermore, he had close ties with Danzo. Or rather, the reason he could control so many black markets in the Land of Fire was because Danzo supported him. He was also one of Danzo's sources of funding.

Danzo had been stripped of his position, and Root had been steadily absorbed by Orochimaru, the new Hokage. This was no secret to him.

That was why he was being so humble before Orochimaru.

He was likely hoping to bypass Danzo and establish ties with Orochimaru.

Did he want the Hokage to support him? Honestly, if not for the plan his teacher had proposed, Orochimaru really would have been tempted to seize those dark channels of funding for himself.

However, that option would have to wait for now.

It would depend on the circumstances.

A smile curled across Orochimaru's face.

After a string of polite exchanges came to an end,

he said, "I have summoned you all here because there is something very important to discuss."

Here it came.

The great Merchants in attendance looked at one another.

When they received the invitations and learned that the other great Merchants in the country had also been invited, they had already begun to suspect something.

Konoha would not have gathered all these great Merchants of the Land of Fire without a purpose, would it?

And what did great Merchants have? Money.

What did Konoha, having just experienced the Nine-Tails' Rampage, lack most? Money.

So the answer was simple: Konoha had summoned them to directly ask them for money.

What an ugly way to go about it.

But could they refuse? This was the number-one shinobi village in the world! Konoha had shown them the courtesy of inviting them—did they dare not return that courtesy? Of course not.

As for refusing to come?

Heh.

So they could only grit their teeth and accept it. If Konoha wanted money, then they would give it money.

Of course, it was not as though they could not retaliate against Konoha. For example, when it came to Mission Quotas, they could favor other shinobi villages from now on.

"Orochimaru, just tell us how much you want!" The smiling tiger who had been the first to flatter him spoke up before Orochimaru could explain himself.

The other Merchants all shot him resentful glances.

Konoha was, after all, the number-one shinobi village. Even if it was going to act so shamelessly this time, it would at least try to be somewhat less shameless about it. There should have been room to negotiate.

But with him being the first to act so generous, how were they supposed to respond afterward?

Could he be a plant arranged by Konoha?

The other Merchants all looked at him suspiciously.

He was not a plant. Orochimaru glanced at the smiling Merchant and knew that the man wanted something, which was why he was willing to bleed a little.

Of course, if the plan failed, Orochimaru had actually intended to simply make a profit off these great Merchants.

Would that cause Konoha to lose Mission Quotas?

At worst, he could entice the other shinobi villages into following Konoha's example and making a profit off the great Merchants in their own countries.

After all, they had all gone through the Shinobi World War. They were all battered and bruised, all desperately short of money. With Konoha taking the lead, a little push would make it difficult for the other shinobi villages to resist the urge to copy Konoha and make a profit.

That way, Konoha would give up, and the other shinobi villages would give up too. Which meant Konoha had not really given up at all.

Then would the great Merchants within the country still have any better choice?

Wouldn't that mean Konoha's Mission Quotas would not be lost?

And among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire was the wealthiest.

In other words, even if they did make a profit off them, Konoha could still make more than the other four great hidden villages.

The more Orochimaru considered it, the more tempted he became.

Of course, it would still depend on the circumstances—if the plan failed.