This Is the First Ninja Village, After All!

"Mr. Yukio, what are you saying? I gathered you all here this time for another matter."

The smiling tiger named Yukio obediently played along.

"Oh? Hokage-sama, what is this other matter you speak of?"

The others became even more convinced that he was a plant arranged by Orochimaru.

Even Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sandaime, and the two Council Elders on Orochimaru's side thought Yukio was a plant arranged by Orochimaru.

"Everyone, do you think business is easy?"

Then, as expected, the moment Orochimaru asked that question, all the Merchants present tacitly began recounting their woes together.

"To be honest! Lord Orochimaru, business is hard these days!"

"Yes, yes. Sigh! One little misstep and you suffer losses. Once you go bankrupt, you can only eat yourself."

"I have a friend. After he went bankrupt, his wife and daughter were sold into the Red-Light District. Unable to accept it, he jumped from a building and killed himself!"

"Oh my! I have a friend like that too!"

"So do I! His wife and daughter were truly miserable. I couldn't bear to watch, so I took care of my friend's wife and daughter for him..."

Orochimaru sighed, as if he truly lamented their plight.

Tsunade frowned, unable to stand their pathetic act.

She frequented gambling dens, places where all sorts of people gathered. Many gamblers chatted about all kinds of inside information while they gambled.

Don't let these big Merchants' miserable tears fool anyone. Some of those who went bankrupt had probably been driven there by the people present. These Merchants all looked like decent, kind-hearted people, but in this cruel ninja world, not a single Merchant who had made it to the top was truly kind.

She even knew the dirty secrets of some acquaintances among them.

After all, gambling dens loved talking about rich people.

What was gambling for, if not money?

Jiraiya's lips tightened involuntarily. The mention of wives and daughters being sold into the Red-Light District struck a chord with him.

He often frequented the Red-Light District and was all too familiar with such things.

"Yes, business is very difficult." After sighing, Orochimaru said with feeling, "Especially for goods produced by factories, which depend heavily on transportation. Yet throughout the ninja world, ensuring stable transport has always been a major problem."

Once Orochimaru said this,

the Merchants present were genuinely moved this time.

That was right. How to transport goods safely and reliably had always been a major problem.

Bandits and Rogue Ninja sprang up in wave after wave.

Certainly, they could hire ninja villages to wipe them out. But what happened afterward? More would simply appear.

Why would they keep appearing?

Everyone knew the answer without saying it aloud.

Of course ninja villages tolerated them. With ninja villages turning a blind eye, powerful figures everywhere could exploit people without restraint, knowing the ninja villages would cover for them.

Certainly, they too were exploiters, but they were not feudal nobles who could simply sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor. They needed to run businesses, and that required an excellent external environment.

But the external environment was this rotten. For the sake of Mission Quotas, ninja villages watched this situation continue, all so the ninja profession would have missions to carry out.

They could only grit their teeth and hire ninja again and again.

Of course, the bandits blocking the roads could also be cultivated and bribed. They could build a good relationship with them.

After establishing such a "familiar route," transportation could be relatively stable as well.

But again, ninja villages cared about Mission Quotas.

They would routinely investigate the state of Mission Quotas in every region and determine why a particular area's Mission Quotas had declined. If it was because people had hired ninja from another major ninja village, then so be it.

But if it was because they had established a familiar route and therefore no longer wished to hire ninja,

the ninja would kindly represent justice and eliminate those "bandits" for free.

Years of careful cultivation would be swept away in an instant.

Forcing them to obediently pay up and hire ninja again.

That was ninja.

That was a ninja village.

Still, although the big Merchants present all deeply felt this, none of them played the victim over it this time.

Because they knew full well this concerned a ninja village's Mission Quotas—its economic lifeline.

Who knew what attitude Konoha, the foremost ninja village, held toward this?

It was better to be cautious.

Thus, after Orochimaru made that remark, everyone fell completely silent. The room became strangely quiet.

Yet this silence only showed even more clearly how seriously they took Orochimaru's words.

Orochimaru understood this very well.

It also gave him some confidence.

So he said solemnly, "Faced with the ninja world's current state, as a ninja who upholds the Will of Fire, as the great Hokage who has devoted his life to peace, and as the successor to Lord Hashirama Senju, I can no longer stand by and watch this situation continue. Everyone knows that Konoha was founded for peace. For peace, every generation of Kage has given everything, and I am no exception."

Though Orochimaru spoke with impassioned righteousness,

Tsunade and Jiraiya, who knew him well, both found it deeply awkward.

So this was what it meant to be Hokage? How terrifying. Once you sit in that position, you have to say things that don't sound like they came from you at all.

Tsunade and Jiraiya became even more resistant to the position of Hokage.

Of course, Jiraiya did hope Orochimaru could live up to his words.

Meanwhile, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu nodded with satisfaction. Look, those were the words a Hokage should say. It perfectly suited their tastes.

In short, after delivering that official spiel, making his stance clear, and expressing some politically correct sentiments,

Orochimaru immediately got to the point.

"So, in order to prevent this situation from continuing, everyone, I have a proposal. Join Konoha and establish the Joint Security Company for the peace of the world!"

The Joint Security Company?

"The purpose of the Joint Security Company is exactly what its name implies: to unite and safeguard peace and security. To fulfill the wishes of all those in the ninja world who long for peace, we will join forces to eradicate every destabilizing factor within the Land of Fire. Whether bandits and highwaymen, gangs and criminals, Rogue Ninja causing trouble, or lawless madmen, all must be purged! And this will not be temporary. The Joint Security Company will be established to preserve stability for all sides, so that chaos will no longer breed and there will no longer be lawbreakers blocking the roads, allowing every legitimate businessperson to conduct business in peace."

The moment he finished speaking, someone was immediately tempted.

Others wore uncertain expressions, simply because they had too many gray and black industries under their control.

Still, perhaps they could buy off Konoha. They wanted a stable environment, but they also wanted their illicit profits. Konoha couldn't possibly truly intend to be good people, could it?

With that thought, those Merchants with many gray and black industries also leaned toward cooperating with Konoha.

They did not believe Konoha was some benevolent force.

"Hokage-sama! What you said is absolutely wonderful! I, Kameda Yukio, am the first to support it!" That smiling tiger Yukio rose again, rubbing his hands together.

Then came a chorus of support.

It was rare for Konoha to show an intention to stabilize domestic security. Such an opportunity could not be missed.

After all, they were qualified Merchants. With their keen instincts, they could clearly smell the business prospects this could bring.

With such an opportunity before them, they could not possibly return to that business environment where it often felt like someone was forcing their heads down to eat shit, could they? And if Konoha was truly willing, it genuinely had the ability to accomplish everything Orochimaru had said. This was the foremost ninja village, after all!

Was the title really that bad?