As summer gave way to autumn, the world outside enjoyed clear skies and bright sunshine, but the red sun still hung high over Sunagakure. The distorted air silently spoke of how this place was a world apart from the outside.
Although only Jonin and the leaders of the Great Clans were allowed to attend the public trial of Hoshino Maki, plenty of people were keeping an eye on it.
There was no need to mention the ninjas at the hospital and the Reinforcement Unit. The Cloud Ninja prisoners bribed their guards every day to tell them what was happening outside, and they had also gleaned plenty of information from their casual conversations.
So that brat called Hoshino Maki had been lying to them. He didn't have any authority at all!
Otherwise, why would he have been dragged into a public trial so soon after returning to the village?
But now that they were prisoners, unable even to take their own lives, they could only let others do as they pleased.
The merchants were no different.
If peace came, they needed to reopen the trade routes immediately. If the war continued, they needed to prepare for the worst.
So even at the hottest time of the day, they waited in person outside the meeting venue. They found a patch of shade to squat in, wiping sweat from their brows as they watched the entrance for the first news.
"It's so hot here in Sunagakure."
A merchant who looked to be from the Land of Snow couldn't help complaining.
He had come to Sunagakure to do business and had expected to leave soon, but then war broke out and the village was sealed off. He'd been stuck here ever since.
"You can say that again. If they don't lift the lockdown soon, all my goods will rot."
"I even missed my daughter's birthday. What a pain."
"..."
That was all it took to turn the gathering into a gripe session. The merchants chattered like a flock of crows until a patrolling ninja passed by and silenced them.
Just then, the meeting venue's doors opened. The merchants jumped to their feet, their huge bellies bouncing as lightly as cotton candy, as if they weighed nothing at all.
"This..."
One merchant took a step forward, then hesitated and stopped.
The most important skill for a merchant was reading the room. Every Jonin coming out of the venue wore a grave expression, their furrowed brows edged with worry. It wasn't just the Jonin—even the clan leaders, whom they could usually only look up to from afar, seemed unsettled. They walked in small groups, apparently discussing something.
The two groups looked different, but they all shared one thing: furrowed brows.
Only Hoshino Maki, who came out last, had his hands in his pockets and looked perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened.
The merchants couldn't make sense of it. Wasn't Hoshino Maki the one on trial?
Why did it look as though Hoshino Maki had put Sunagakure on trial instead?
Their instinct to avoid trouble kept them from approaching.
The merchant at the front saw a ninja looking at him with shining eyes. He turned to run, but a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"Mr. Bo Er, long time no see. Why are you running away as soon as you see me?"
Bo Er turned around and forced out a smile. "Long time no see, Captain Kazuya. Why would I run? I just remembered I have something urgent to take care of at the shop."
The man in front of him was a Jonin who guarded Sunagakure's gates. Bo Er had to pay a little something every time he entered the village, but this man demanded especially much whenever he was on duty. The merchants privately called him Skinflayer Captain.
But now, he wasn't acting as arrogant as usual. Instead, he put an arm around Bo Er's shoulders with a friendly smile.
"Forget about those little things, Bo Er. I heard you can't get your goods out, is that right?"
"That's right. I'd be grateful if you'd go easy on me, Captain Kazuya."
"Ah, it's not that I don't want to help. The aftershocks of the war are still being felt, and even if you got your goods out, there's no guarantee they'd make it safely back to the Land of Snow. How about this? Sell them directly to me. I'll pay twice the market price, so you won't lose out!"
Kazuya cut him off and thumped his chest, acting like he'd never let one of his own suffer a loss.
Bo Er sensed something was off. In the past, this guy had always taken his cut for free. Why was he suddenly offering such a high price?
Twice the market price, at that!
But even though he sensed something was wrong, he didn't dare object. He could hear the threat in Kazuya's words: if he didn't sell, something would happen to his goods on the road.
"Captain Kazuya, I..."
Bo Er was trying to think of an excuse to leave and find out what was going on when another large hand landed on Kazuya's shoulder. It was a thick, powerful hand.
"Kazuya, what are you talking about?"
Kazuya felt a shadow fall over him. He stiffly turned around to find a muscular man more than two meters tall. A scar ran across his right eye, making him look especially intimidating.
"C-Captain Yūyō!"
Kazuya immediately stood at attention and bowed.
Some people became Jonin because they were lucky enough to be promoted. Others became Jonin because there could only be one Kage.
Kazuya was one of the lucky ones.
His Ninjutsu skills ranked above average among his peers, but he had distinguished himself fighting the Iwa Ninja alongside Pakura. He was also a rare sensor ninja, so he had been promoted to Special Jonin ahead of schedule.
Of course, no one could say whether his younger sister, who had become a Great Clan heir's concubine, had helped him along. He denied any nepotism, anyway.
The Yūyō in front of him, meanwhile, was a veteran Jonin in the Intelligence Department. He came from a Great Clan, had seen countless battles, and was one of the Intelligence Director Yūta's most trusted men. He had also been Kazuya's commanding officer when Kazuya served under Pakura.
Yūyō didn't know Bo Er, but Bo Er knew him.
Seeing such an important figure, someone he'd never have been qualified to meet before, Bo Er immediately stepped forward and said ingratiatingly, "Lord Yūyō, I'm a grain merchant from the Land of Snow. My name is Bo Er."
As he spoke, he took a business card from his sleeve, bent over, and held it out above his head with both hands, showing the utmost respect.
Yūyō's eyes lit up. He glanced at Kazuya, who stood trembling with tension, and gave a cold snort. He understood everything.
You think you're entitled to profit from a national crisis?
Yūyō quickly surveyed the area out of the corner of his eye. Seeing no one paying attention, he forced a "kind" smile. "Bo Er, right? Good, very good. Sunagakure needs more upstanding citizens like you."
He didn't bother acknowledging Kazuya. Instead, he shoved past him, stepped up to Bo Er, and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. The impact nearly squeezed Bo Er's features together.
"Come with me. Let's talk about how the Sand and Snow Villages can help each other."
"My lord, I'm just a merchant. What would I know about that?"
"Doesn't matter. Help me first. You'll understand after."
Bo Er: ???
He struggled to swallow. Only then did he realize he'd escaped the dragon's den only to fall into the tiger's lair. There wasn't a single decent person in Sunagakure!
Looking at the two men in front of him, Bo Er knew he wouldn't be getting away unscathed. All he could do was pray they'd show some mercy and leave him enough money to get home.
"Sorry to interrupt. Are you Mr. Bo Er?"
A gentle voice came from behind the three of them. Kazuya and Yūyō turned around. The moment they saw who it was, their expressions grew tense.
"L-Lord Hoshino!"
It was only when the two men turned that Bo Er got a clear look at the newcomer. It was Hoshino Maki, the center of attention in Sunagakure lately.
Come to think of it, this was Bo Er's first time meeting him at such close range. They hadn't spoken before, but Hoshino Maki was different from the Sunagakure Shinobi he'd encountered in the past.
Most of those ninjas were either fierce-looking or cold and merciless. They treated outsiders as if they were enemies, and Bo Er had never seen them smile.
Hoshino Maki was different. Bo Er had never dealt with him personally, but everyone who had said nothing but good things about him.
After being put through such intense grilling by Kazuya and Yūyō, Bo Er felt that Hoshino Maki's arrival was like a divine blessing bestowed on the most faithful of believers.
"I'm not interrupting the three of you, am I?"
"Not at all."
Kazuya and Yūyō shook their heads like rattles.
Kazuya glanced at the other man. It was the first time he'd seen his captain act this way. It was just like... just like Kazuya himself.
"Good. Mr. Bo Er, the village has a business opportunity for you."
When Bo Er heard the word "business," he looked nervous. Hoshino Maki glanced at the two men beside him. "Don't worry. I guarantee you won't lose out. There are a few other merchants there too. You might even know them."
Bo Er's gaze shifted between the three men. Of the three, Hoshino Maki still seemed the most reliable.
"I'd be delighted to do business with Sunagakure."
Watching the two men walk away, Kazuya was filled with regret. He should've dragged Bo Er off right away.
As he was thinking that, he felt a vicious kick to his backside. He flew three meters and landed face down.
"Don't try any more crooked tricks!"
Kazuya rolled onto his side and rubbed his backside, grumbling inwardly, It's not like I was the one who ruined your plans. If you've got the guts, go kick Hoshino Maki!
In a Meeting Room in the Kazekage Building, Hoshino Maki and the merchants sat on opposite sides of a long marble table.
Hoshino Maki had tea poured for them, then smiled as he watched the merchants look through the agreement.
Apart from the village's official reserves, the largest grain supplier in Sunagakure was the Chiyo Clan.
Chiyo would never let her clan inflate prices, but the smaller merchants were another matter. None of them had much grain individually, but together they were a force to be reckoned with.
They could also easily set off unrest in the village.
They might not know about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, but they knew that without food, people couldn't survive. If a spy stirred up trouble, the situation could easily get out of hand.
"My lord, it's under control."
A ninja knocked on the Meeting Room's door, went over to Hoshino Maki, then leaned down and quietly spoke in his ear.
Hoshino Maki nodded. "Have the villagers all been notified?"
After receiving confirmation, Hoshino Maki smiled and thanked him for his hard work.
After the ninja left, Hoshino Maki looked at the merchants, who were talking quietly among themselves, and asked, "Have you all made up your minds?"
A merchant from the Land of Grass looked troubled. "My lord, we're willing to trade grain for ore, but the amount..."
The others nodded in agreement.
"That's right, my lord. We've traveled all this way to Sunagakure. We can't afford to do business at a loss, can we?"
"My lord, besides ore, would you consider granting us exclusive rights to sell grain? If you give us the rights, we'll make sure to bring in plenty of grain from abroad!"
"My lord..."
Hoshino Maki smiled as he watched their greedy faces. Sure enough, in every world, the essence of a merchant was the pursuit of profit.
The terms he'd offered would already earn them a handsome profit, but they still weren't satisfied. They wanted more.
Hoshino Maki didn't resent them for it. After all, desire was the driving force behind human progress.
But desire needed to be restrained. These people actually wanted exclusive rights to sell grain. Did they really think he was a fool?
The merchants looked at Hoshino Maki's smile and felt a chill run down their spines for some reason. Their voices grew quieter, and eventually the Meeting Room fell silent.
"Everyone, how about this? I'll trade you this for one ton of grain."
As he spoke, Hoshino Maki opened his shirt, took the Tiger Head Gold Belt from his waist, and set it on the conference table.
Crack—!
Cracks spread rapidly in rings beneath the belt, stopping only a handspan from the teacups in front of them.
"Pure gold, no doubt about it. If you don't believe me, ask the Fourth Raikage. He'll vouch for it."
In the silent Meeting Room, everyone swallowed in unison.
They weren't ninjas, but they'd traveled widely and knew a thing or two.
The key wasn't that he'd cracked the table. It was that the cracks had spread to the same distance from each of them. They'd never heard of such control over his strength. Perhaps only the legendary Princess Tsunade could manage it.
And Hoshino Maki didn't need to tell them who the belt belonged to. The Fourth Raikage used to walk around the village with his chest bare, proudly wearing it. Plenty of people who'd visited Kumogakure had seen it.
Now the belt had appeared here. Given the relationship between the two villages, the direction the war was heading was obvious.
In other words, the war would soon be over, and Sunagakure's food shortage wouldn't last much longer. They had to decide whether to make a quick profit or build a lasting relationship with Sunagakure.
They weren't tycoon-level merchants. Given their standing, the chance to build a relationship with a village was a rare one.
Of course, the main thing was that making a quick profit in front of this man didn't seem like a good idea.
Hoshino Maki put away the signed agreement, poured himself a cup of tea, and walked to the window with it. As he blew away the steam, he looked at the notice board outside, where a notice announced that the village would soon begin rationing grain.
"Knock, knock."
"Come in."
"Lord Hoshino."
After knocking, the visitor entered and stood in place without a word. Hoshino Maki didn't turn around.
"Bo Er, aren't you curious why I called you back alone?"
"For a small-time merchant like me, I'll do whatever you need, Lord Hoshino."
"Really?"
"What if I wanted you to work for me?"
There was a brief pause before the reply came. "My lord, I'd be very happy to cooperate with Sunagakure."
Hoshino Maki smiled and turned around. "Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm, Bo Er—or should I say, Mr. Oyashiro En?"
"Bo Er" shuddered, then forced a smile. "My lord, I don't know what you're talking about."
Hoshino Maki shook his head. "Why not try using your Blood Dragon Eye on me? You tried to leave Sunagakure earlier and failed. If you controlled me, it would make getting out of the village much easier."
"Bo Er's" pupils contracted sharply. He said nothing, clenching his fists as his body trembled. At last, his clenched fists slowly loosened.
"My lord, how did you know?"
Oyashiro En dropped the act and decided to come clean.
He'd considered it, but he didn't have the nerve to cause trouble inside the Kazekage Building.
Hoshino Maki didn't answer him. Instead, he asked, "Are there any members of the Blood Pond Clan left in Jigokudani?"
Oyashiro En shook his head. "No."
"You certainly did a thorough job."
Considering his age, Hoshino Maki was sure Oyashiro En had only recently killed his clan members to avenge his wife. He didn't yet have the bearing and power of the future Merchant of Death.
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