"It was a merchant caravan responsible for procuring supplies for the village." The Third Hokage's explanation was vague.
Jingyi ignored that and spoke bluntly:
"I'm sorry, Lord Hokage, but in order to gather intelligence and protect important personnel, the Anbu have suffered heavy losses since the war began. We still haven't been able to replenish our ranks."
"I believe something as important as procuring supplies should be handled by a certain number of ninja dispatched by the village, rather than handing the task over to a merchant caravan. Merchant caravans are unreliable."
"When it matters most, we still have to rely on our own people."
Were you playing dumb, or did you really not know?
Torifu Akimichi helplessly tugged at Jingyi's sleeve, reminding him that the merchant caravan responsible for procuring supplies had been jointly established by clans like the Sarutobi and Shimura.
That was why it could represent the village in handling procurement.
A merchant caravan formed by several ninja clans, using the village's name to handle procurement—there was plenty of profit to be made.
Jingyi ignored Torifu Akimichi and continued:
"I do not agree with allowing a merchant caravan to represent the village in procuring important supplies. It would be better for the village to dispatch a ninja force to handle it. As for protection, that is impossible. The Anbu are short-handed."
Send Anbu to protect the merchant caravan of several clans so they could rake in profits?
Was that even possible?
They could fucking get lost. The farther, the better.
The Third Hokage's expression darkened, but Jingyi did not care.
No meant no!
If they had the ability, they could procure the supplies themselves and handle their own security. If they did not, they should not take on the job.
They wanted to make money without taking