Shimura Danzō: Hiruzen, You Will Regret This!

"Danzo, you're not thinking of going into the tulip business, are you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took one look at the agitated Shimura Danzō and immediately guessed what was on his mind.

"This is a business that could easily make several million ryo. Aren't you tempted?"

Danzo said this.

At the level of ninja they were at, the rewards they received for each mission amounted to only a few hundred thousand ryo, and even that had to be divided among the team members.

Being paid a million ryo for a single mission could already be called getting rich overnight.

Now, an opportunity to get rich overnight was right in front of them!

Who wouldn't want to get rich overnight?

Faced with such an opportunity, who could possibly not be tempted?

"Uh... That figure really is astounding."

Hiruzen said this while swallowing.

Several million ryo was an astronomical figure to him as well. Who didn't like money?

"Right? With such a great opportunity right in front of us, if we don't look into it... That would be too—"

"Besides, Hiruzen, have you forgotten Lord Tobirama's test? If we can make a huge profit from this, even one or two million ryo would be enough for Lord Tobirama to see our abilities!"

The aggressive and adventurous side buried deep in Danzo's bones began to emerge. He really wanted to learn about the tulip business. If it could truly make money, that would be wonderful!

Of course, this wasn't merely about money. Most importantly, he wanted to make Senju Tobirama recognize him as soon as possible and acknowledge his abilities. In the end, he wanted to become Senju Tobirama's disciple!

As Hiruzen listened to Danzo, his heart began to burn with excitement.

The scene Danzo had painted was truly alluring. Just imagining it made Hiruzen excited. Making a huge amount of money, earning Lord Tobirama's regard, becoming Lord Tobirama's disciple, and even having his own father praise him endlessly... How satisfying would that be?

However, after a brief moment of thought, Hiruzen forcibly suppressed the greed in his heart and regained his reason.

His father had instructed him to act cautiously in everything. Besides, ninja should do what ninja were supposed to do. All they needed to consider was how to complete their missions efficiently.

As for doing business, that wasn't a field ninja could casually involve themselves in.

Making a huge amount of money from such a business would certainly be cause for celebration, but what if they lost money?

Thus.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shimura Danzō seriously. "Danzo, we're ninja. This isn't something we ninja can casually involve ourselves in."

"If we can make money, that would naturally be a good thing, but what if we lose it? There are no businesses in this world that are guaranteed to make money without losses."

Faced with Hiruzen's advice, the flame rising in Danzo's heart was doused like a bucket of cold water, and he became much calmer. However, he still couldn't stop thinking about the tulip business. He wanted to improve too badly, wanted Senju Tobirama to look at him with new respect too badly, and wanted to become Senju Tobirama's disciple too badly!

"But, Hiruzen... We—"

"No buts, Danzo. I absolutely disagree with what you suggested just now. The most important thing for us now is to buy all the supplies on the list and take them back. There's no need to complicate matters."

Hiruzen was extremely firm in his opinion and rejected Danzo's suggestion decisively.

"Hmph, you're really stubborn!"

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

From a rational perspective, he admitted that Hiruzen Sarutobi was right.

The most important thing now was to complete the supply-purchasing mission assigned to them by Lord Tobirama and his father. They had to avoid complications whenever possible. But emotionally, Danzo hated the way Hiruzen was speaking to him, so he shouted at Hiruzen loudly to express his dissatisfaction.

In response,

Hiruzen didn't care in the slightest.

He was standing by what was right!

The atmosphere between the two grew somewhat awkward for a time. Until the banquet ended, they barely spoke a word to each other.

After the banquet ended, the Daimyo arranged lodgings for Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō. Their letter-delivery mission was complete, but they still had the difficult task of purchasing supplies ahead of them, so the two went to sleep early.

The next day.

Even though the two had had a minor disagreement, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō still got up early and went together to purchase supplies.

The first item was the raw materials used to make Ration Pills.

This was the most common consumable among the ninja clans. It could quickly restore chakra and could also temporarily serve as food. Once a ninja began carrying out missions, having a few Ration Pills in their pouch was the most basic of habits.

"These faces look unfamiliar. I can make a killing off them."

The shopkeeper looked at the still-youthful faces of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō before him. They looked unfamiliar, so they were probably young ninja who had just left their clans. They could be fleeced.

"Two honored ninja, what would you like to buy?"

"Raw materials for making Ration Pills. We need a very large quantity. Approximately..."

Hiruzen said this, placing heavy emphasis on the large quantity they needed. His meaning was clear: I'm a big customer, so you need to give me a discount!

"Oh, then you've definitely come to the right place. A flood occurred in the northern part of the Land of Fire last year. That area is the main production region for Ration Pill materials, and it suffered devastating losses. Other shops would have a hard time meeting such a large order."

The shopkeeper then quoted them a figure.

After hearing the price, Shimura Danzō, who was still giving Hiruzen the cold shoulder, flew into a rage. He drew the shuriken he carried with him and pointed it at the shopkeeper.

"You swindler! How dare you inflate the price so much? Do you really think I'm some ignorant novice who doesn't know the market?"

"At this price, we'd have to pay at least Two Million Ryo more!"

"Damn it, I'll kill you!"

Hiruzen pressed one hand down on Danzo's hand, signaling for him to calm down. This was the Capital of the Land of Fire, and causing trouble here wouldn't end well.

Realizing that the ninja before him were not to be trifled with, the shopkeeper began to smile sheepishly. He had indeed raised the price a little, but it was nowhere near as exaggerated as Danzo claimed. He would only make roughly one million ryo more. The main production region for Ration Pill materials had genuinely been affected by the floods, causing prices to rise this year.

"Young people are so hot-tempered."

"If you're not satisfied with this price, we can keep negotiating."

Hiruzen brought out his specialty and immediately cut the shopkeeper's price in half.

The shopkeeper's face darkened.

He now felt that the young men before him had come purely to cause trouble. The Ninja World had seen no peace in recent years, with all kinds of overt and covert killings and battles. General supplies as sought-after as Ration Pill materials were not difficult to sell at all.

"How could you possibly offer that price?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and quoted another figure. Hiruzen and Danzo shook their heads again and quoted another figure of their own. After repeating this several times, Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi were both parched from haggling.

Danzo had even been so anxious that he almost drew his shuriken again, but the shopkeeper refused to yield in the slightest. This was the Capital of the Land of Fire. Which ninja would dare attack someone here?

After doing business for so many years, he could tell that Danzo only dared to wave the shuriken around to put on a show.

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō still shook their heads.

The two felt that the price could still be lowered. When buying things, one had to compare several shops. They could try another one!

"Hiruzen, that swindler's final offer still included at least two hundred thousand ryo in extra profit from us. That amount would be enough for me to go out and carry out a mission."

"Damn it! I risk my life to carry out missions, while these merchants can make this much money just by moving their lips."

Shimura Danzō grumbled incessantly.

Generally speaking,

even if a calm and composed ninja knew that the Daimyo, nobles, and merchants enjoyed the finest food and drink and made money with ease, they wouldn't say it aloud. But Danzo was still young, and reality had yet to smooth away his sharp edges.

All he could think was,

Damn it!

Doing business really is more profitable.