The Tidal Wave

"Welcome."

The young man lifted the noren and stepped into the izakaya, finding a seat as he curiously surveyed the place.

Warm, dim lighting, ceramic dishes, and a solid-wood counter gave the place a cozy feel. Since this was an izakaya in a ninja village, ninja tools and Konoha emblems hung on the walls.

Three small dishes sat before the young man on blue ceramic plates. The owner smiled and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

"A beer."

He picked up the menu. "Edamame, grilled scallops with butter, hot pot, and fried chicken. That'll do for now. I'll order more if I'm still hungry."

The owner stood there for a moment, then slowly said, "You could've just told me what you didn't want."

The owner took the menu, which had only one item crossed out. He wasn't exactly pleased; he didn't want anyone eating themselves to death in his shop.

"You're not from Konoha, are you?"

"No, I'm from the Land of Lightning. I came to Konoha to do a little business, and to take in the sights of the greatest ninja village."

The owner looked proud as he replied, "Then I recommend you visit the Rock Face. The three Hokage were all great figures who changed the Shinobi World!"

"I've heard a lot about it. It's truly magnificent. I dropped off my luggage this afternoon and went to see it. It was breathtaking! By the way, I've heard the Uchiha Clan is one of Konoha's prestigious families. How come I hardly ever see them?"

The owner shook his head, unwilling to say more. But someone nearby had heard their conversation and snorted. "The Uchiha a prestigious family? They're nothing but bullies who pick on the villagers!"

After speaking, he let out a loud belch and downed another cup.

"Shunta, you've had too much to drink!"

The owner looked around anxiously, his expression tense.

Bang!

The villager called Shunta slammed his cup down on the table with a loud thud. The izakaya fell silent for a moment, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Am I wrong? They act like they're better than everyone else, ordering people around like they own the place. Today they kicked over my stall just because it was sticking out a little past the shopfront. I've had enough of this!"

When Shunta finished speaking, nobody chimed in. He looked up in confusion and saw the owner staring fearfully at someone behind him.

"What have you had enough of? Why don't you tell us about it?"

Shunta shivered, and most of the drunken haze cleared from his mind. He turned stiffly to look at the ninja behind him, whose shoulder bore the Gunbai emblem of the Guard Unit. Forcing a smile, he said, "N-nothing, sir. Business hasn't been going well lately. I was just making conversation."

The man stood with one hand on his hip, looking down at Shunta, who was bowing respectfully. His tone was calm—or perhaps contemptuous. "Since you like talking so much, you can tell us all about it at the Guard Unit."

As he spoke, he pressed Shunta's face against the counter and cuffed his wrists together. Then he looked at the young man who was drinking. "Outsider, don't go asking questions you shouldn't. Watch what you say, or you'll bring trouble on yourself."

"Understood."

Seeing the young man nod obediently, the ninja shoved Shunta forward.

"Move!"

Several minutes passed after the two left the izakaya before the place grew lively again.

The owner set a plate of chicken meatballs in front of the young man and said quietly, "Since this is your first time in Konoha, here's some advice: stay away from the Uchiha. You'll be safest if you have nothing to do with them."

The young man nodded and obediently began eating.

For the next three days, he spent his days wandering between parks and restaurants. In the evenings, he ate at izakayas, then soaked in the hot springs. Life couldn't have been more comfortable.

"Welcome back~"

The young man lifted the curtain that blocked the moonlight and pursed his lips, looking a little disappointed.

Ichiraku Ramen only had Teuchi working there. Ayame, who'd be called Ichiraku Ramen's best seasoning, hadn't even been born yet. What lousy timing~

He suddenly stopped, then casually turned into an alley.

"I didn't expect you to walk right into this place on your own."

The young man's gaze swept across the area. Four masked ninjas had blocked both ends of the alley, while two more crouched on each of the rooftops to either side.

"I really don't mean any harm."

The young man spread his hands, looking helpless.

"People who mean no harm don't use puppets to gather information in Konoha. Puppets without Chakra Threads, too. You're Maki Hoshino, the Sand Shinobi, aren't you?"

Hoshino Maki didn't deny it. Instead, he asked, "Byakugan? What an enviable bloodline."

The other man didn't answer. Hoshino Maki shook his head in annoyance. Why had he even bothered making a pilgrimage? Ichiraku Ramen wasn't as good as he'd imagined, either!

"At this point, are you coming with us willingly, or are we going to have to make you?"

The ninjas on the rooftops stood up. Under the moonlight, the shadows of all eight men encircled Hoshino Maki.

"That depends. Are you ANBU or Root?"

Behind their masks, the men's expressions changed.

Root's existence was a secret even in Konoha. How had a Sand Shinobi found out about it?!

And from the way he spoke, he knew quite a bit about Root.

"Where did you get that information?!"

"I think you should answer my question first."

Behind their masks, the men exchanged glances.

Suddenly, the four ninjas on the rooftops vanished. When they reappeared, kunai in hand, they were stabbing at Hoshino Maki from all four directions.

"What terrible manners. You really must be Root."

Poof—

The body pierced by their kunai suddenly turned into a log.

"Substitution Technique!"

At that moment, the four men felt as though a dark cloud had blotted out the moon above them.

"Watch out!"

The Root members blocking Hoshino Maki's escape route couldn't get to their comrades in time. All they could do was shout a warning.

But they were too late.

A three-meter-tall spider-shaped puppet appeared above them. A net of Chakra shot from its abdomen and ensnared all four men.

The puppet landed, pinning them beneath it. Its eight legs stabbed into the ground like sharp blades sinking into tofu. If those legs had hit the four men, they'd have been useful as showerheads.

Hoshino Maki sat atop the spider's head. He watched the remaining four men, who wanted to attack but didn't dare, and patted the spider beneath him. "What is it? Does Root fear death, too?"

His words fanned the flames. The four men gripped their kunai and tensed to charge at Hoshino Maki. But halfway there, a ninja with two red, fang-shaped markings on his face appeared in their path and blocked them.

The man glanced at the Root members without saying a word, then turned around. "Hokage-sama requests your presence at the Hokage Building."

Hoshino Maki smiled, recalled the puppet into its scroll, and released the four men. Then he left first.

The four men helped their comrades to their feet and watched Hoshino Maki swagger away, their faces full of resentment behind their masks.

"Mm, Konoha's dumplings are delicious. Want one?"

Hoshino Maki swallowed the dumpling in his mouth, took another skewer from the bag, and stuffed it into his mouth. He'd only been pretending to offer.

"Please don't keep Hokage-sama waiting."

"Of course. I just used up quite a bit of energy in that fight. It's not unreasonable to refuel, is it?"

The ninja said nothing, silently following him.

Hoshino Maki glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

The man behind him was probably an Elite Jonin from the Inuzuka Family. He was getting on in years and had a powerful build, so he was probably skilled at tracking and close-quarters combat. Sarutobi clearly knew a thing or two about him.

The Inuzuka's Ninja Dog was probably nearby, too, wasn't it?

It didn't matter. Hoshino Maki had never planned to run.

The two walked one behind the other and soon reached the Hokage Building.

"Hokage-sama."

"Come in."

Hoshino Maki pushed open the heavy wooden door and let his gaze sweep across the room.

There weren't many people there: the Third Hokage, Danzo, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and the Yellow Flash of Konoha—Minato Namikaze—leaning against the wall.

These few people could decide the fate of ninety percent of Konoha's affairs in a single meeting.

Sarutobi sat in the Hokage's seat. The three remaining elders sat together on one side of the sofa, while Hoshino Maki sat down on the other without invitation and looked at the Third Hokage.

"Tea."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rested his elbows on the desk and spread his fingers, bringing them together. Age spots covered his weathered face as he fixed Hoshino Maki with an appraising gaze.

The Jonin from the Inuzuka Family poured the tea and left, closing the door behind him.

"Hoshino Maki, we received no notice that Sunagakure intended to pay us a visit," Danzo said first.

"Plenty of things that would benefit both sides are ruined by tedious procedures. Everyone here has seen plenty of battle. I'm sure you understand why I took the liberty."

Mitokado Homura snorted derisively. "You bypassed all those procedures to gather intelligence in Konoha?"

Hoshino Maki took a sip of tea, set down the cup, and leaned back on the sofa. "Information passes through people before it becomes words, then gets turned into intelligence. Information is bound to be lost along the way, especially when what I need to know can't be explained in just a few sentences."

"Oh? Why don't you tell us what it is? If it benefits Konoha, we may be able to help," Koharu said with a kind smile, as if she wanted to bring the two sides together.

"The people of Konoha are complaining that business is getting harder and harder, but prices keep rising."

Before Hoshino Maki could finish, Mitokado Homura interrupted him. "That's because you're at war with the Cloud Ninja!"

"Is that so? But they say this has been going on since the year before last."

Hoshino Maki's retort left Mitokado Homura speechless. In truth, he didn't know why it was happening, either.

But Hoshino Maki did.

Konoha's development had hit a bottleneck, while the other ninja villages were still growing. Merchants were therefore willing to seek their fortunes in areas that hadn't yet been developed or were still being developed, rather than try to break into Konoha's already-established market.

The profitable industries there had long since been divided up among Konoha's and the Land of Fire's Great Clans. Anyone who plunged into the market would only get burned.

The merchants' departure took a great deal of money, resources, and jobs with them. Naturally, Konoha couldn't keep growing at its former pace.

Put simply, the merchants felt they couldn't make money in Konoha anymore!

Of course, there was a way to solve this. The simplest was to make the pie bigger by plundering other countries. That was a common tactic for most countries in a feudal society.

But that would inevitably lead to conflict with the local powers. The Third Hokage, however, was someone who didn't like to start trouble. Under his leadership, Konoha had grown prosperous after a long period of recuperation. But now, the same habits of thought that had brought them success were holding back their development.

He wouldn't just avoid launching an offensive. Even when merchants suffered losses abroad, he wouldn't step in right away. First, he'd carry out a thorough investigation, gather evidence, and only then negotiate with the other side.

As a result, resolving an issue could take months.

That made it harder and harder for merchants from Konoha and the Land of Fire to do business abroad.

It was civilized. It was lawful. But it didn't suit the Ninja World as it was.

And Hoshino Maki's goal was to make everything grow into an irresistible trend, a giant wave that the Third Hokage couldn't stop and would have to ride.

Thanks to @Moke for the 100-point tip!

I read the comments about the cheat ability earlier. You're right, I did have some problems with the writing. I've now changed it to Affection Points and Upgrade Points. Thanks for the criticism and suggestions!

@Eastern Wu's Fire-Starting Squad Commander-in-Chief Zhou Yu had a good idea. Stolen and added to the idea library.

The author steals ideas first. Steal again and you'll be reported!

(I'll put together a Q&A about questions like the number of Jonin and their combat strength after I've written 100,000 words.)