The Great Crash! (Please Follow, Collect, and Vote!)

Shimura Danzō was enthusiastically boasting at the dinner table about the experience he had summed up during his time in the Tulip Trading Market.

One technical term after another.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi only understood half of what he was hearing, he was deeply shaken and, in the end, quite naturally accepted Danzo's suggestion.

"Danzo, can this really work?"

"That's seventy million ryō!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had invested seventy million ryō in one go, was anxious and fearful at first, to the point that he could not sleep. But several days later, when he saw the terrifying returns, he completely cast his initial fear aside and became just like Danzo, regretting that he had not invested more at the time.

The palace of the Land of Fire.

"Kazuma, judging by this price, the time has come. After all this publicity, wealthy merchants and nobles from most of the Ninja World have already poured massive amounts of capital into the tulip market. Now, let the feast begin."

Uchiha Makoto sat in his chair, looking at the price trends and the flow of funds before him, as well as the report prepared by the professional analysts sent by the Daimyo. He felt that it was time to begin hyping up contract trading.

"Yes, Lord Makoto."

Kazuma nodded.

The name of the tulip now resounded throughout the entire noble circle, and its price had continued climbing along with the amount of capital. What came next would be the craziest period of price increases. Meanwhile, the supply of tulips had begun steadily shrinking, and soon there would be nothing left to speculate on. Bringing out contract trading at this time could not have been more suitable.

It was easy to imagine that physical trading alone had already become this insane. Once it was converted into contract trading, the turnover rate would probably soar by a large margin. Not only wealthy merchants, but even those lofty great nobles would likely grow envious of the profits generated by such transactions and join in without hesitation.

Moreover, according to the information available, even the ninjas who usually buried themselves in missions had gotten involved.

Although they were only a small portion.

These ninjas were basically Rogue Ninjas from the Ninja World—desperate outlaws. The ninja clans, especially the great ninja clans, would never get involved in something like this. They were not good at commerce and instinctively had no desire to do business. To them, serving as soldiers and receiving their pay was only natural. Giving even a second's thought to anything else could practically be called a crime!

Not to mention at a time like this.

Most of the famous ninja clans, large and small, in the Ninja World were almost all focused on how to establish a ninja village and how to join a powerful ninja village—matters concerning their clans' future.

This was also what made Kazuma feel incredibly fortunate. Although his superior was shameless and ruthless, he had ultimately maintained his bottom line and had not dragged the ninja clans into this.

After the feast, there would inevitably be a complete mess. Once this enormous scythe came down, who knew how many nobles and wealthy merchants would lose everything because of tulips and eventually become human cannonballs, leaping from buildings to their deaths?

Put bluntly, these people only had money and influence. In the face of power, what did money, wealth, and authority amount to? The ninjas, however, still had not realized this.

This time, the victims were almost all wealthy merchants and nobles. They could not shake the current situation in the Ninja World. But if the ninja clans also joined in and were wiped out financially—

That could easily blow up the powder keg that was the Ninja World.

A group of ninja clans stripped of their entire fortunes could do absolutely anything!

Especially considering that being a ninja was a profession dependent on one's youth. Ninjas who lived past forty and could enjoy their later years were rarer than giant pandas. And the one thing ninja clans had no shortage of was young men willing to fight, kill, and throw away their lives.

Put nicely, these young ninjas were passionate, energetic, bold, and willing to act. Put less nicely, they were completely brainless and acted on impulse.

Soon.

Under Uchiha Makoto's arrangements, as the price of tulips soared wildly, contract trading quietly appeared in the major Tulip Trading Markets across the Land of Fire.

Then everyone was stunned.

So this was how tulip trading could be done!

Without a doubt—

The emergence of this trading model brought even greater madness. Before, everyone had to buy tulips before they could speculate and trade. Now, they did not even need tulips anymore. They could trade directly with a single contract.

This model was also particularly convenient for managing and recording price increases. With all the advantages that physical tulip trading could not match, along with the extremely high turnover rate and the insane returns, more and more nobles and wealthy merchants joined in.

Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō were among them.

The two of them had completely lost their reason. They had become intoxicated by wealth in the Tulip Trading Market and had entirely forgotten the purchasing mission they had been assigned at the beginning.

"Hiruzen, this market is insane!"

"I just did the math. The two of us have probably already made more than three hundred million. There shouldn't be anyone in our clans richer than the two of us!"

"That's right, Danzo."

Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi celebrated joyfully. They were now considering whether to throw all the remaining purchasing funds into the tulip contract market. A market like this was simply too easy to envy.

Not going all-in would be unthinkable!

"Hiruzen, why don't we go all-in?"

"All-in is a form of wisdom. I think the time has come!"

Danzo felt that what they had earned was still not enough. They had to make another huge profit. Once they returned, they could simply bury Lord Tobirama under money until he was dizzy, begging to take in the two of them—these two brilliant strategists.

"Mm, isn't that a little inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it?"

"Look, even the people selling rice balls in the Land of Fire now know that tulips can make money. With a market like this, what are you still worried about?"

Danzo spoke with absolute conviction. Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose head had been clouded by profit, was quickly persuaded. The two waved their hands grandly and decided to go all-in with every bit of money they had in the Tulip Trading Market, looking forward to making another fortune!

But—

The price of tulips had actually been high for quite some time. Contract trading was merely adding fuel to the fire, a brief flash of brilliance like a dying light. Uchiha Makoto and the Daimyo had already begun selling off their holdings frantically.

As for Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi, this was their first time being the bagholders. Experienced bagholders all knew that when even the rice-ball vendor on the street knew which stock was profitable, it was time to run.

The crazy days did not last long.

On the third day after Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi went all-in, a young ninja from the countryside who had never seen much of the world ate an expensive tulip in public, mistaking it for an onion. The tulip's owner went mad and demanded compensation.

The young ninja merely spread his hands. "It's just a flower. What's so valuable about this thing?"

Then—

The tulip market seemed to take a heavy blow from those words. (In reality, the price could no longer rise, and the collapse had begun.)

Overnight.

The price of tulips plunged three times in a row!

Stop raising me anymore.

I'll die like this.