Whoosh!
The samurai drew his sword and said coldly, "State your names. Which country's shinobi are you?"
"The Uchiha Clan. I'm Uchiha Sora, and the one beside me is Uchiha Shisui."
"Uchiha..."
The samurai pondered for a moment, then said, "We haven't traded with Konoha this year, and the people who came before were all from the Nara Clan. No Uchiha have ever come here."
"Please come with me. I'll report this to the captain, and then we'll decide what to do."
"Kid, don't resist. I don't want to hurt you."
Uchiha Sora smiled faintly and turned to Shisui, speaking in a low voice.
"Following the usual procedure, it'll probably take a few days for word of us to reach Mifune. Then we'll have to wait a few more days until he's free to meet us."
"I've taught you this: you have to adapt to the situation."
"To save time, we can beat them up first. That way, word will reach Mifune immediately."
"Th-that doesn't seem right..."
"As long as we don't kill them, it'll be fine. We'll just say they were rude and we were teaching them a lesson on Mifune's behalf."
With that, Uchiha Sora turned toward the samurai. His smile faded, and his voice rose.
"I politely gave you my name and explained what I wanted."
"Not only did you refuse, you called me a kid and said you didn't want to hurt me..."
"It's time you learned how the Uchiha do things."
Two minutes later, five samurai lay sprawled on the ground in various positions, groaning in pain.
"I... I was just following the rules... You... You Uchiha have no sense of reason!"
Uchiha Sora crouched beside the samurai captain and smiled faintly. "If you'd dealt with other Uchiha, you'd know I'm a reasonable one."
"I was just saying hello. Now you can go report to Mifune, right?"
"You... Just you wait..."
The samurai captain staggered to his feet and looked worriedly at his comrades.
"Relax. I don't hurt people who can't fight back."
That wasn't very convincing.
But the samurai captain knew that his top priority was to report to the captain and have him contact Admiral Mifune.
These two Uchiha kids...
Even the captain couldn't have beaten us this easily. They're incredibly strong!
--
--
"I'm Mifune of the Land of Iron. May I ask your names?"
Just as Uchiha Sora had expected, it took only half an hour for the samurai captain to bring Mifune back with him.
Mifune had a long beard, bandages wrapped around his head, and the usual samurai attire. He looked to be around fifty.
Together with his stern features, his appearance gave the impression of a stubborn man.
"Your men aren't just rude. They have poor memories, too."
"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Uchiha Sora..."
"I'm Uchiha Shisui!" Shisui hurriedly said.
He didn't want to have even the right to introduce himself taken away. That would make him completely invisible!
When Mifune heard Shisui's name, his pupils contracted slightly, and his expression grew serious.
"I see... Body Flicker Shisui... What do you want with me?"
See? I'm still the more famous one.
Shisui raised an eyebrow.
Tch.
Uchiha Sora curled his lip disdainfully.
Just wait until word gets out about what happened in Konoha that night. Then you'll see who's more famous!
I'm the man who rode Rayquaza!
Forget it. I shouldn't take borrowed power too seriously.
Uchiha Sora stepped forward, making it clear through his position who the lead diplomat was.
"Admiral Mifune, we'd like to discuss a business deal with you. This isn't the best place, is it?"
"Please."
--
Meeting Hall.
"Purchasing ore..."
"Mr. Sora, Mr. Nara only recently increased his order and purchased a large batch of weapons. It's been less than half a month."
"And Konoha doesn't have a weapons forge. You've always bought finished goods. What do you need ore for now?"
Uchiha Sora tapped the table lightly and smiled. "I forgot to mention that I'm not here on behalf of Konoha. I'm representing the Uchiha Clan."
"As for the reason, I'd advise you not to ask too many questions, Admiral Mifune. A neutral country should stick to neutral affairs."
Mifune narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "The Uchiha... Are you planning to rebel?"
Whoosh!
Samurai were renowned for their swordsmanship, but none of the samurai present—not even Mifune—had seen when Shisui drew his blade!
Shing! Shing! Shing!
The samurai behind Mifune drew their swords, ready to fight.
With his blade pointed at Mifune, Shisui's expression was unusually icy. "I call you Admiral Mifune out of respect. Without it, you're just a senile old bastard."
"Sora warned you."
"If you say another stupid thing, I'll cut your head off! Don't say you weren't warned!"
The last sentence came out a little haltingly. It was clearly difficult for Shisui to say.
Uchiha Sora looked angry and stood up, pressing a hand against Shisui. "Hey! Shisui, don't be so impulsive. Put your sword down!"
Shisui slowly lowered his hand. His crimson Sharingan swept across the room, and the chilling power in his gaze made everyone deeply uncomfortable.
"Hmph!"
To see the act through, Shisui gave a cold snort and continued, "I didn't want Sora to come when the clan sent him. He's too mild-mannered!"
"If it were up to me, I'd have..."
"Shisui, that's enough!"
Uchiha Sora forcibly restrained Shisui and scolded him angrily. "Remember who's leading this team!"
The samurai captain from earlier was standing behind Mifune, and his heart was pounding.
Damn, he really was the reasonable one?!
Those eyes... Was that the legendary Sharingan? What incredible pressure!
Mifune's expression darkened slightly. He raised a hand to signal the samurai behind him to lower their swords.
"I overstepped."
"However... you've come at an inconvenient time. Our ore is all spoken for by long-term customers, and we have nothing available to sell for the next few years."
"If you're interested, Mr. Sora, I can introduce you to a few trading companies. You could buy ore from them."
Uchiha Sora shook his head and smiled. "If we only needed ordinary materials, we wouldn't have traveled all this way."
"We need refined steel, but more importantly... Chakra Metal."
Chakra Metal was the common name for highly efficient chakra-conducting metal ore.
White Fang's short sword, Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword, and even Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen all contained a certain amount of Chakra Metal.
It was an extremely rare metal, worth far more than gold on the black market.
A suitable weapon made of Chakra Metal could greatly increase a shinobi's strength!
The Land of Iron produced more Chakra Metal than any other country.
Mifune didn't hesitate. He firmly shook his head.
"I'm sorry. Chakra Metal is already scarce, and the annual output has long been spoken for. We have none available to sell."
Perhaps he felt he'd refused too quickly and seemed discourteous, because Mifune continued.
"You've both come a long way. I'm willing to give each of you a sword containing more than seven percent Chakra Metal."
"As for anything else... I'm afraid I can't make that decision."
Uchiha Sora calmly propped his chin on his hands and said, "Of course, I won't make things difficult for you, Admiral Mifune."
"How about this..."
"Tell me who ordered the Chakra Metal."
"That way, we won't have to pay for it. We can just kill them and take the goods."
Mifune furrowed his brows, and a bead of cold sweat appeared at his temple.
Are there any normal people in the Uchiha Clan... or are they all this crazy?
"Sir... perhaps we should discuss this some more."
Before you continue