"Akatsuki in the Land of Rain."
Gato frowned at those words. "The Land of Waves and the Land of Rain are on opposite sides of the entire Land of Fire. By the time we get there to post a job, the bridge will already be finished!"
Kame smiled. "Don't worry, big brother. If I'm suggesting Akatsuki in the Land of Rain, how could I have overlooked the distance and our current situation?"
"Hmph. Then tell me how help that far away can solve our immediate crisis."
"The last time we took a merchant ship to the Land of Tea, I learned of an Akatsuki office where clients can post jobs. I don't know how they contact their headquarters in the Land of Rain from so far away, but if they dared to establish a base in the Land of Tea, thousands of miles away, I believe they must have a way to notify their leader in the Land of Rain."
"Go on." Gato sat back down in his executive chair, weighing the pros and cons.
"Big brother, you're busy with the Trade Association's business. Although you've visited all sorts of countries, you only know the basics about Akatsuki. But I know that once they accept a job, they always complete it... It's just..."
"Just what?"
At the promise of guaranteed success, Gato's eyes lit up. He had invested a great deal in the Land of Waves and had no desire to see it all come to nothing.
"It's just that Akatsuki charges a lot. A job on our scale starts at a minimum of ten million ryo. If we want it expedited, I estimate it'll cost at least fifteen to twenty million silver taels."
"What? Why don't they just rob us? It's only one squad of Konoha ninja and a