Negotiation, Kado vs. Dazna

Late at night, the docks were brightly lit.

A conference table stood in a temporarily cleared open space. Facing each other were the merchant Kado and the bridge-building expert Dazna.

After an afternoon to cool off, Kado was still furious, but at least he could sit down and talk with the other man.

"Tell me, why did you do this?" Kado broke the silence first.

"I just didn't want to remain enslaved by you anymore," Dazna replied.

Kado felt deeply wronged and retorted, "How have I enslaved you? You work for me, and I pay you wages. They may not be enough for you to eat well, but at least they let you fill your stomachs!

Do you know how many places in the Shinobi World don't even have food to eat?"

Dazna shook his head. "The work we do far exceeds the wages you pay us, and after receiving those wages, we still have to spend more than half of them buying food from you. Every day, simply filling our stomachs leaves us exhausted."

"My grandson Inari is already eight, yet he has never attended school for a single day. If this goes on, he'll only be able to become a carpenter like me and muddle through his entire life."

"But the Shinobi World has always been this way. A daimyo's child becomes a daimyo, a farmer's child becomes a farmer. Everyone has their own station," Kado said aggrievedly. Everyone else lived this way, so why had the people of the Land of Waves suddenly awakened?

"Has something always being this way ever made it right?" Dazna asked. "Why do you get to wear fine clothes and eat rich food while we can only live on bran and vegetables?

Why does your home glitter with gold while ours have nothing but bare walls?

Why are you wealthy enough to rival nations while we can only wallow in poverty?"

"Do you think my life is so wonderful? Do you know how much I've had to pay?" Kado argued. "Let me tell you, every day I rack my brains just to keep all of you fed! I have to constantly maneuver between two great nations, treading on thin ice and fearing that one wrong move could bring ruin to the Land of Waves!"

"Because of my wealth, I have to worry every day about when I might lose my head! Do any of you know that? No, you don't! You only see what you want to see, while turning a blind eye to the blood and tears behind it!"

Dazna dismissed him disdainfully. "Who asked you to do any of that? Wasn't it all for profit?"

The atmosphere immediately turned tense.

They simply could not see eye to eye. Kado rubbed his brow, let out a long sigh, and said, "Let's put that matter aside for now. Tell me, what conditions did you agree to in exchange for the Land of Water's support?"

"Nothing much. I merely opened the trade ports and allowed the Land of Water to establish a police station at the docks to protect the safety of its merchants," Dazna said lightly.

"What?!" Kado's expression changed drastically. "Open the trade ports?! Allow the Land of Water to station troops?! Have you lost your mind, Dazna?"

"What's wrong with that? I did it for the good of the Land of Waves!

By opening the trade ports, we can become prosperous quickly.

By allowing the Land of Water to station troops, the security of the Land of Waves can also improve greatly!" Dazna shot back.

Kado could no longer remain seated. He stood up and paced back and forth behind his chair with his hands clasped behind his back. Then he turned and pointed at Dazna's nose as he cursed, "Foolish! Foolish!! Foolish, and you don't even know it!!!

Do you know those two conditions you agreed to will drag the Land of Waves into the abyss?!!

Opening the trade ports—do you know what that means?

Yes, that's right, we can buy many things we need from the Land of Water. But does the Land of Water need anything from us?

Do they need fish or seaweed from the Land of Waves?

Do you know that once we agree to this condition, the wealth of the Land of Waves will flow out, and the country will become even poorer?!!!

And allowing the Land of Water to station troops—where did you get the nerve to let them station troops?

Today, you agreed to let them establish a police station at the docks. Tomorrow, if they demand to establish a guard unit in your daimyo's residence, will you agree?

The day after tomorrow, if they demand to establish a self-defense force along the coastline near the Land of Fire, will you agree?

If you can agree to let the Land of Water station troops, will the Land of Fire agree?

Do you know that if those two nations come into conflict over this, the Land of Waves will be the first to suffer!

When the city gate catches fire, the first ones to suffer are the turtles in the nearby moat!

Do you think the Land of Water is funding your bridge out of kindness? They're doing it so that, when war comes, they can use that sea-crossing bridge to attack the Land of Fire at the first opportunity!

When that happens, guess how the enraged Land of Fire will treat you, the bridge's designer? Then guess how they'll treat the civilians of the Land of Waves who took part in building it?"

Dazna was stunned by the tirade. As a bridge-building expert, a technical worker, it was understandable that he knew little about politics. But he was not stupid. After Kado's analysis, he understood everything at once.

He had nearly become the chief culprit behind the destruction of the Land of Waves.

Cold sweat soaked through Dazna's back as he muttered blankly, "How could this happen? I only wanted to make the Land of Waves prosperous. How did it turn into this?"

Looking at the opponent before him, who was on the verge of collapse, Kado felt no satisfaction whatsoever. He had to find a way to salvage the situation. "Hand over the letter from the Land of Water. I'll think of something."

Dazna merely shook his head.

Kado was both furious and anxious. "At a time like this, you're still thinking about your position as daimyo?!

Are you really going to wait until disaster is upon you before you wake up?"

Dazna smiled bitterly. "It's gone. The letter is gone...

Before I came, the Jonin from the Land of Water said you might try to seize my letter, so he offered to keep it for me. He took it from me..."

"You!!!..." Kado was too angry to speak.

"What should we do now?" Dazna asked.

"How should I know?" Kado was still seething.

"Then how about I kill myself? Without me, the heir, the Land of Water should give up." Dazna was filled with regret.

"Enough. Who are you putting on this self-sacrificing act for?

If your death were useful, I would have killed you long ago!

Even if you die, the Land of Water can still support your son Kaiza or your grandson Inari as the new daimyo. The situation will remain exactly the same," Kado said irritably.

"Then what exactly should we do?" Dazna asked. "As long as it can save the Land of Waves, I'll cooperate without hesitation, no matter what method it takes—even if it costs me my old life."

Seeing that Dazna was sincerely remorseful, Kado's tone softened slightly. "This matter is no longer something you or I can decide. I'll notify the Konoha ninja later and let him decide."

"Hmph. At this point, the ones who least want a conflict to break out are those two great nations."