"When the Land of Grass surrendered to the Land of Fire, one term of the agreement was that at least seventy percent of its official missions would go to Konoha. Civilian commissions would also be open to Konoha tax-free, and civilians in the Land of Grass could contact Konoha directly. That's right, isn't it?" Akaseki calmly repeated the terms the Land of Grass had accepted.
The leader of Kusagakure winced as he listened.
The share of official missions had always been open to further negotiation. That was especially true now that Kusagakure's Grass Flower faction had sided with Konoha. They had taken the initiative to "set things right"; the only question was how much Konoha would give back.
The Grass Flower leader had thought Konoha, overwhelmed by wars against two major ninja villages at once, would have little capacity to carry out missions. It needed allies, too. He had therefore been optimistic that Konoha would return most of the state commissions.
What truly troubled Kusagakure was the opening of civilian commissions!
Once Konoha could take civilian jobs from the Land of Grass without obstruction, it would become a formidable competitor. Konoha Ninja would have higher travel costs, making some small jobs more expensive, but that hardly removed the threat.
After all, Kusagakure's reputation and capabilities within its own country were nothing to boast about.
Some civilian commissions had previously been open to Iwagakure and Konoha, but they had to pass through official channels in the Land of Grass and incur an extra tax. Clients could not contact foreign ninja privately. That raised costs and made hiring Stone Ninja or Konoha Ninja less worthwhile.
In recent years, especially, the Land of Grass had grown close to Iwagakure and kept raising taxes on Konoha's commissions. Naturally, fewer civilians hired Konoha.
But the