Loyalty

Still, that made sense. If Oyashiro En had really built his business into something substantial, he wouldn't have needed to come to Sunagakure in person to do business.

By now, Oyashiro En was sweating profusely. He instinctively clenched the Pendant against his chest.

It was a treasure he'd bought for a fortune. It could tell him whether he was under the influence of a genjutsu.

The Pendant showed no reaction, but that only made Oyashiro En more terrified. That was the part that made no sense!

If the other man wasn't using genjutsu to extract information, how did he know about this?

That night, he'd killed every member of his clan except his daughter. He'd checked them one by one. Could someone have come back from the dead and defected to Sunagakure?!

Oyashiro En was stunned by his own absurd idea. The dead didn't come back to life. But if that wasn't the explanation, how could the other man know everything about him?

"Don't be nervous. I mean you no harm. Otherwise, I wouldn't be telling you all this in the Kazekage Building. Don't worry, I won't send you to the battlefield. You can keep being a merchant. I'll just need you to help me with a few things from time to time."

Oyashiro En fell into a deep silence.

He wasn't a child. The dangers in this world were never limited to the battlefield. Or rather, the battlefield had spread across the entire world.

If there were no risks involved, why not have the Sand Shinobi do it instead of choosing him?

But could he refuse?

"My lord, could you give me some time to think about it?"

Hoshino Maki smiled. "Of course."

Then he took a stack of documents from his sleeve and handed them to the other man. "Take these with you, too."

Oyashiro En took the documents, glanced at the title, then quickly flipped through them.

"I'm planning to turn a large oasis in the east into a Sleepless City with hotels, sightseeing, and entertainment. The initial investment is expected to be around four hundred million. If you're interested, I can reserve a spot for you."

Hoshino Maki stepped forward and patted Oyashiro En on the shoulder. He said earnestly, "This world is awful—so awful that people caught up in it don't even realize how bad it is. You can choose to change it with me, or you can choose to become part of it. The choice is yours."

"Do you know why I chose you out of all those merchants? Because I saw resentment in your eyes. I saw pain, and I saw hope. The people who've fallen into their moneybags don't have that."

"Go back and think it over. Will you keep wandering, or will you change this world with me?"

With that, Hoshino Maki brushed past him and left the Meeting Room first.

It was already nine in the evening by the time Oyashiro En returned to his lodgings.

He was dead drunk, leaning against the door as he pounded on it and shouted.

A flurry of footsteps sounded inside. An elderly-looking servant opened the door and hurriedly caught Oyashiro En. "Master, why did you drink so much today?!"

Oyashiro En didn't answer. He flicked the other man's arm away and staggered into the house.

A little while later, the old servant pushed the door open quietly, carrying a bowl of hangover soup. He saw Oyashiro En sitting by the candlelight, staring blankly at an agreement, lost in thought.

Hearing the soft sound at the door, Oyashiro En didn't turn around. Instead, he asked heavily, "Jukang, how long have you been with me?"

"About ten years, I suppose."

"Ten years."

Oyashiro En narrowed his bleary eyes, as if recalling something.

"Yes. If you hadn't saved me, Master, these old bones of mine would have rotted somewhere long ago."

"Ah... It must have been exhausting, following me from place to place all these years."

"Not at all. Being able to serve you is the greatest fortune of my life."

Oyashiro En said nothing. Just then, a baby's plaintive cry came from the inner room, breaking the silence.

Oyashiro En was about to get up when Jukang hurried into the inner room at a speed that belied his age. He skillfully cradled a baby in his arms and gently soothed her, his eyes full of affection.

After a few lullabies, the baby soon fell asleep.

Oyashiro En watched them and felt as if he were intruding.

Jukang returned the sleeping baby to her crib in the inner room and gently closed the door. "Miss is asleep. You should get some rest, too."

As Jukang turned to leave, Oyashiro En suddenly spoke behind him. "Jukang, buy this house tomorrow."

Jukang froze. They'd planned to leave Sunagakure soon. Why did his master suddenly want to buy a house?

Still, he didn't ask. He turned, bowed, and said, "Yes, sir," before leaving.

By the candlelight, Oyashiro En took a sip of the hangover tea to clear his head, then smoothed out the creases in the agreement and began to read it carefully.

"My lord, Bo Er is here to see you."

By then, Hoshino Maki had moved out of the hospital. His old home was too small for his current position and work, so Chiyo had lent him a property belonging to the Chiyo Clan near the hospital.

Chiyo had originally wanted to give him the property outright, but Hoshino Maki refused. Chiyo didn't insist and left two people behind to protect him.

"Let him in."

Hoshino Maki bent over the mountain of documents piled on his desk and spoke without looking up.

Ever since Hoshino Maki said at the public hearing that the village was about to face a double crisis of economics and food supply, all sorts of people had tried to take advantage of the situation.

The news spread quickly. Many people rushed to the shops to stock up, only to find that the merchants had heard the news even earlier. They refused to sell, hoping to wait for the right moment to charge higher prices instead. The result was chaos.

If Hoshino Maki hadn't prepared in advance, Sunagakure would have been hit by a wave of looting.

Some clan leaders came to him, claiming they were willing to fund the village through the crisis, but they had their eyes on an oasis not far from the village. Others wanted their clans to receive priority in the village's food supply.

Those were just their demands in public. Hoshino Maki had no idea what tricks they were playing behind the scenes. After all, the Anbu were under Chōjūrō's control, and even the Chiyo Clan had limited influence within the Anbu.

He wasn't trying to stop people from profiting altogether. But these people treated him like a child, negotiating with him as if he were an easy mark, all while acting as though they were doing him a huge favor. That really got under his skin.

In an era full of young heroes, why did they think someone who had led troops to a great victory and uncovered the village's looming crisis would be so easy to fool?

Hoshino Maki didn't feel slighted this time. He was simply baffled by their way of thinking. If this desert weren't protecting them, these people would have been swallowed up without a trace long ago.

"My lord."

At the sound of Oyashiro En's voice, Hoshino Maki put his thoughts aside and raised his head with a smile. "I take it you've brought me good news."

"Oyashiro En is at your service, my lord!"

With that, Oyashiro En dropped to one knee. The ruthless man who had single-handedly wiped out the Chinoike Clan no longer wore a false mask. Using his real name, he swore his loyalty.