"I'll kill him one day."
A gritted his teeth as he spoke.
It had always been Kumogakure robbing other villages. When had Kumogakure ever been robbed?
"The humiliation he brought upon the Cloud Ninja will naturally be washed away with blood. But A, don't fall for his tricks. We have to rescue all the prisoners, at least..."
Dodai didn't finish, but A understood what he meant. Even if they couldn't rescue everyone, they couldn't decide who to save based on whether they were Jonin or Chunin. That would cause chaos in the village.
The hidden-village system had been established less than fifty years ago. Many people in the villages had witnessed their villages grow from nothing, and had married and had children with one another.
Blood ties had brought people in the villages closer together, but they also constrained some of the villages' decisions.
If they were a country, they could rationally abandon the Chunin and keep the Jonin, preserving the country's combat strength. In ten years or so, they would recover.
But as a village, they could persuade people to accept the strategic sacrifice of two or three shinobi in the name of the greater good. But dozens—
They had to be rescued!
A had calmed down by now, too. "What about Killer B?"
"He went into Amegakure to gather inspiration for his writing. You know how he is—he can't sit still. But don't worry, someone's with him."
A nodded, thinking about the afternoon's negotiations.
Meanwhile, Chiyo's representative and Pakura were also preparing to demand an explanation from Hoshino Maki. How had medical expenses suddenly been added to the bill?!
Seeing the two women stride toward Hoshino Maki with a threatening air, Kojima, who knew the whole story, had already grabbed Yi and sneaked back to their room.
"The Chiyo Family gets fifty million."
Before Chiyo's representative could speak, Hoshino Maki spoke first.
Chiyo's representative froze for a moment, then said, "This isn't about the money—"
"Sixty million."
"What the village needs right now is—"
"Seventy million."
"This matter should be discussed with the elders—"
"Seventy-five million. Five million for you."
"I think you'll handle this very well."
Chiyo's representative twisted her ankle, turned around, and sat down nearby. She poured herself a cup of tea and skimmed the Tea Soup with the lid, as if the person who'd just argued so passionately on behalf of the village had nothing to do with her.
Pakura was so stunned by the two women's crisp, efficient exchange that she couldn't speak for a moment. She stood there, dazed for several seconds before recovering and pointing at Hoshino Maki's nose, furious. "Do you know what you're doing?! You're treating the village's fate like a joke! If your greed makes these negotiations fail, do you know what that will mean for Sunagakure?!"
"The consequences..." Hoshino Maki looked up, rubbing his chin as he deliberately put on a thoughtful expression. Then he slapped his palm. "The consequence is that even the worst mines will have seventy-one free laborers. We could also send them to the Bounty Station, though something that heartless would have to be done in secret. Would you be willing to make the trip?"
"You—"
Pakura was so angry she couldn't speak. Hoshino Maki stopped teasing her.
This woman wasn't very bright. He didn't want her charging at him and punching him again.
"Who do you think has the upper hand in these negotiations?"
Looking at Pakura, who had fallen silent, Hoshino Maki rubbed his forehead. "We do. They must already know we've implemented a rationing system. And I've bought a batch of food from abroad and on the black market. The village can't provide unlimited supplies for now, but we don't have to worry about running out of food. Kumogakure has already suffered heavy casualties. Without these Jonin, how can they defend against their enemies?"
"As far as I know, Iwa and Konoha have both sent shinobi to the border to gather intelligence on Kumogakure. If we can get that information, do you think the Cloud Ninja can't?"
"So, do you understand now?"
"Got it. Give me five hundred."
"You—"
Hoshino Maki pointed at the smug Pakura, but this time he was the one left speechless.
Why had she never been this quick-witted before?!
The two sides met again in the afternoon, but in a different meeting room. The morning's meeting room needed repairs, after all.
A wanted to push the amount down further, but Hoshino Maki told him, "Several Jonin are still being treated. If the medical expenses aren't paid soon, I can't guarantee their lives." That left A with no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.
Those people weren't just Jonin; they were also well-known figures from prominent families in Kumogakure. If everyone else was rescued but those few died, the people would blame him, the one leading the negotiations.
Since the amount they were paying had already exceeded a hundred million, another ten or twenty million didn't seem that hard to accept.
They'd reached an understanding on the conditions for negotiations, but the formal talks that followed didn't go smoothly.
"Ten billion?! Are you out of your mind?!"
A planted one foot on the marble conference table, bared his chest, and hurled a wakizashi at Hoshino Maki. The blade sank several inches into the stone, its hilt still quivering. "Take a look and decide what I'm worth!"
Shinda glanced at the rubble under A's foot, then at his furious expression, and swallowed. He knew Amegakure would have to cover the repair costs itself.
As the atmosphere threatened to spiral out of control, Hoshino Maki took a sip of tea. "Don't get worked up. Sit down and let's talk this through."
"That ten billion isn't some number I pulled out of thin air. There are lodging expenses, heating expenses, clothing expenses, air expenses, counseling expenses, and security expenses. You know Sunagakure is in a difficult position right now, but even so, we've gritted our teeth and provided the shinobi of a friendly village with high-quality, comprehensive, humane service. A reasonable price increase is in line with objective market principles."
A waved his hand dismissively. He'd lost interest in listening as soon as Hoshino Maki mentioned air expenses. All he knew was that if he agreed, he could go downstairs and catch up with the Second A.
"Ten billion is out of the question. We can all go down together if we have to!"
At that figure, he had no desire to haggle.
Whether it was eight billion or ten, it meant death. What was there to negotiate?
"We've taken our friendly village's circumstances into account. We know paying entirely in cash would be difficult, so..."
Hoshino Maki pulled out a booklet, pinched it between two fingers, and flicked it toward A.
A glanced at Hoshino Maki, picked up the booklet, and opened it. His brows were still furrowed, but his eyes showed he was considering whether the proposal was workable.
The proposal in the booklet was eight hundred million in goods and two hundred million in cash.
Though it would empty Kumogakure's coffers, it was still within the village's capacity.
At least it was much easier to accept than paying ten billion in cash.
Food and light-industry goods were no problem. The only difficult part was the technology and equipment the other side wanted.
Kumogakure was located in a region with frequent thunderstorms. They had learned to fear lightning earlier than other villages, but they had also learned to harness it earlier.
In the fields of large-scale transportation, power-generation equipment, communications equipment, and more, they were in a league of their own. They could be called the pinnacle of technology in the Ninja World. The technology Sunagakure was demanding this time accounted for nearly sixty percent of their cutting-edge technology.
"Does Sunagakure think it can build the equipment with all this technology?"
To him, it was like a farmer asking for rocket blueprints. Even if you gave them to him, could he actually build one?!
The supporting components, skilled workers, and population of the Land of Wind were nowhere near enough to support the kind of modern development Kumogakure had.
Hoshino Maki spread his hands. "That's why we'll have to rely on our friendly village's help in the future. Besides what's in the booklet, I'd also like to buy some equipment from your country. I hope you can give us a friendly price when the time comes. See? Wouldn't it be a good thing if our villages helped each other in business and technology?"
A didn't believe a word the guy said, but exporting technology and equipment—and providing maintenance afterward—would indeed bring Kumogakure a handsome profit. That would make the price of getting their prisoners back much easier to bear.
From that perspective, if he returned home and presented the other side's demands as his own proposal, it would make a good story: the arrogant Sand Ninja had demanded ten billion in cash, but after he argued his case, they'd agreed to export goods and technology, earning a fortune in rice from the other side. Then he'd paid a symbolic two hundred million to get the prisoners back. Just like that, he'd become a hero of the village.
That just went to show that language was an art.
"Two hundred million in cash is still too much. Why not make it all equipment?"
Though he was no longer as opposed to the deal, he still had to fight for the benefits he could get.
The two sides continued to argue through the afternoon, but they were noticeably more restrained.
They'd settled the broad strokes. What followed turned out to be the most time-consuming part.
A full week passed, and they still hadn't finalized the agreement.
A could take turns negotiating with Dodai and a Sensory Jonin. On the Sunagakure side, Hoshino Maki was the only one.
Kojima and Pakura were one thing, but Chiyo's representative had nearly been persuaded by the other side after half an hour of talks. She'd agreed to reduce the supplies by ten million. If Hoshino Maki hadn't come in time, he suspected they might have ended up giving the prisoners away for free and paying extra on top.
What a talent!
Hoshino Maki switched on the Electric Lamp and carefully went over the day's negotiations, trying to remember if he'd missed anything.
Night fell over the Land of Rain, but the rain could not wash away the endless darkness.
Five or six shinobi wearing conical hats raced through the downpour. One of them carried an unconscious shinobi on his back.
"Hang on, Konan."
Lightning flashed. In that instant of light, a man with a head of orange hair and a stern face stared straight ahead at the steel monster not far away.
Before you continue