Black Market Exchange

"Takigakure is capable of forging this kind of steel—such perfect steel—it seems it can only truly shine in the hands of the Sanjo Clan!" Ruri pulled out a piece of Thousand-Refined Steel and toyed with it in front of Zongli.

"This... this is..." The keen instincts of a master artisan allowed Zongli to immediately perceive the extraordinary nature of this steel. He subconsciously glanced at the Mikazuki Munechika resting before Ruri; he had only ever seen materials of this caliber on the blade of the Mikazuki Munechika itself!

From the era of the samurai to the present, only three legendary blades had been passed down. It was not a matter of technique; the Sanjo Clan had flourished for many years, possessing not only the techniques passed down by their ancestors but also having pioneered and innovated through generations. Yet, they had never been able to forge a new legendary blade, and one of the reasons was the lack of materials.

Now, a material capable of forging a legendary blade lay before Zongli's eyes—how could he not be tempted? Every artisan yearned to surpass their predecessors, and with the opportunity to forge a legendary blade placed right in front of him, how could he not cherish it?

Although the Sanjo Clan were all samurai, they were artisans first and foremost. Zongli immediately said, "If there were five pieces... no, four... even a little less would do. In short, if these steels could be handed over to the Sanjo Clan to use as they please, then I am willing to agree to the three conditions you have proposed, Takikage-sama!"

"Of course, there is plenty more of this Thousand-Refined Steel. It is forged by the Hagane Clan, but they are the only ones who can do it. It can be mass-produced continuously, yielding about two or three pieces per year," Ruri said casually. Although he only had this one piece for now, as Hagane Masamasa's steel-refining techniques grew more proficient, the forging efficiency would only increase.

"What? It can be produced continuously?!" Zongli shouted. He had assumed that Takigakure had found some steel left behind from ancient times; he never imagined that such precious material could actually be mass-produced!

"That's right. As long as the Sanjo Clan remains in Takigakure, there will be Thousand-Refined Steel available every day, and slightly inferior steel can be supplied in unlimited quantities." Ruri felt he had underestimated the attraction Thousand-Refined Steel held for these artisans. If Seimei hadn't wiped out the Hojo and Miike clans, he might have been able to lure all three major families to Takigakure in one go using this steel!

"I beg Takikage-sama to eliminate Seimei as soon as possible, so that I may move the Sanjo Clan to the village!" Zongli stood up and bowed in gratitude.

"Very well. Settle into the village, and I will introduce you to the person in charge of the Thousand-Refined Steel. Study this piece for now." Ruri made his final decision. Once he finished arranging matters in the village, he would have to depart immediately. The original story mentioned Takumigakure, but it never mentioned the three major families, which meant the village, the Miike, and the Sanjo were all wiped out. If he arrived too late, the Sanjo Clan might be annihilated as well!

Three days later, Ruri appeared at a port on the border of the Land of Fire. The Land of Artisans was located on a small island, requiring a boat to reach.

To keep the news hidden and prevent the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Artisans from becoming hostile, Ruri not only used the Transformation Technique to change his appearance but also bought a wide robe and put on a mask. With a hood pulled up, nothing could be seen of him but his clothes.

Along the way, his attire did not attract much attention. The major ninja villages were still in their development phase, and there were many wandering ninja; a ninja like him who did not wish to reveal his true face was nothing out of the ordinary.

Ruri walked into the only public restroom at the port.

The public restroom was, naturally, the entrance to the Black Market Exchange he had founded. It was the same as in the original story, and Ruri had replicated it exactly.

The Black Market Exchange had been extremely popular during the Warring States period. Since the establishment of the ninja villages, the source of missions had dwindled and the business had become depressed, but it remained the premier venue for conducting dirty dealings.

Ruri navigated the path through the restroom to the underground area with practiced ease. At this moment, there was only one receptionist at the front desk.

"Mission logbook."

A low voice came from beneath his mask. The receptionist was long accustomed to this and took out a somewhat tattered notebook. The Black Market Exchange never restricted the identity of those who accepted missions; these people could be rogue ninja, wandering ninja, criminals, or bandits—none of them were people who could easily expose their identities.

Ruri began to flip through it, looking for a mission that suited him.

He wasn't looking to make money, but rather to enter the Land of Artisans through a Black Market mission. The Black Market Exchange didn't just have assassination missions; escorting secret treasures was also a possibility. Of course, these treasures were certainly not obtained through legitimate means. As for the many ordinary merchant caravans at the port recruiting guards, their targets were too obvious and prone to leaving records.

Just as Ruri was flipping through the logbook, a fierce-looking middle-aged man came down from the restroom. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye and carried a long sword on his back, looking quite formidable.

"This is the mission. I must recruit enough people before tomorrow morning." The one-eyed middle-aged man tossed a scroll to the receptionist and said in a low voice.

"This..." After opening the scroll, the receptionist's expression turned troubled.

"This is the deposit." The one-eyed man hesitated for a moment before handing a small cloth bag to the receptionist.

The attendant opened the bag, took a look, and immediately closed it. He tucked the bag away and said cautiously, "Very well. I will certainly have enough men gathered by tomorrow morning."

The one-eyed man said no more and turned to leave.

Ruri was curious about what kind of mission this was; judging by the receptionist's serious expression, it was likely not an ordinary one.

"It's a high-demand mission. It requires travel to the newly established Takumigakure. If judged by ninja ranks, it requires at least the level of a Chunin." People who could work as receptionists at the Black Market Exchange were generally quite extraordinary; his ability to read people was so sharp that he knew what Ruri was thinking even through his mask.

Chunin level? Looking at the one-eyed man, this was a multi-person mission. If evaluated by ninja mission standards, it should be at least B-rank.

Ruri did not speak, but revealed the sword at his waist.

"A samurai?" The receptionist looked surprised. Wandering samurai were rare, and those who adhered to the spirit of Bushido generally detested places like the Black Market Exchange. He didn't see many samurai coming to accept missions in a year.

"High-ranking samurai." Ruri's low voice was inexplicably convincing. The grading of samurai was basically similar to that of ninja, with lower, middle, and high ranks. As for the supreme rank of General, they were basically on par with a Kage. The Land of Iron hadn't produced a General recognized by all samurai in many years.

"My apologies, but the client for this mission requires a proof of strength. Unless you have a corresponding record, you cannot accept this mission." Missions at the Black Market Exchange could generally be accepted at will—after all, there weren't many people who would throw their lives away without the strength to back it up. But if the client had special requirements, one had to have a history of completed missions to accept. Such missions were usually high-stakes, and the clients were generally wealthy or powerful. If a novice messed it up, it would affect the reputation of the Black Market Exchange.

When did this rule come into effect? Ruri thought silently. He had founded the Black Market Exchange, and now the regulations had changed without his knowledge. Sure enough, the larger an organization became, the easier it was for it to slip out of one's control.

Ruri silently took out a small booklet and handed it to the receptionist.

"Hiss..." The receptionist flipped through the booklet and gasped. He then respectfully handed the booklet back and said, "This is the client's contact information. You may go directly to them."

After putting the booklet away and obtaining the one-eyed man's contact information, Ruri left. Fortunately, he had visited Kakuzu before coming and had taken his Black Market record book along just in case he needed to hide his identity. Sure enough, it had come in handy. The one thing that hadn't changed in the underground society after all these years was how much they valued seniority...