Five Million Ryō to Settle In!

Shinichi returned to Hyuga Village from deep in the mountains.

As soon as he entered the village, Shinichi sent someone to pass on a message.

Before long, several Hyuga jonin arrived.

Shinichi looked at them.

"I found an enormous iron vein deep in the mountains of the Land of Rice Fields."

The jonin froze for a moment.

Shinichi continued.

"The vein extends beneath several mountains. Almost all of it is iron ore."

"There's a river right at the foot of the mountains, and plenty of space."

"The village plans to build a workshop there."

"From now on, we Hyuga will make all our own kunai and shuriken."

After hearing this, the jonin could no longer hold back their smiles.

One of the older jonin took a step forward.

"Clan leader, you've only been in the mountains for a few days. You really found iron already?"

A jonin beside him nodded repeatedly.

"This is wonderful."

"That emergency batch we bought from the Uchiha the other day cost us a full two hundred million ryō."

"Watching the banknotes flow out like water pained everyone."

Another jonin came forward to speak.

"Once we have our own workshop, we won't have to spend a fortune buying from outsiders anymore."

"And we won't have to bow to the whims of other ninja clans."

They all chimed in, growing happier as they spoke.

The jonin who had spoken first rubbed his hands and looked at Shinichi.

"Clan leader, which mountain are we building the workshop on, exactly?"

"Just give the word. When do we start?"

"We'll build the workshop on that flat stretch beside the river. We start first thing tomorrow morning."

Early the next morning, Shinichi brought several jonin and a group of Hyuga ninja to the river.

The Hyuga ninja spread out along the riverbank.

Several walked up to the boulders blocking the way, gathering chakra in their palms.

They struck them with one palm after another.

Boulders several times a person's height shattered under the force of Gentle Fist.

Before long, they had cleared a large, level stretch of ground beside the river.

Dozens of other ninja went up the mountain and soon came down carrying thick tree trunks.

Along the edge of the flat ground, they put up several rows of long wooden sheds.

Shinichi walked to the edge of the clearing and pointed at the neighboring valley.

"Take some people over there, dig up the black rocks underground, and pile them beside the clearing."

Several jonin nodded and led their people toward the valley at a run.

The Hyuga ninja had never seen rocks like these, which blackened their hands with a single squeeze.

They did not know what digging them up was for, either.

But since the clan leader had told them to dig, they did as instructed without asking any questions.

Basket after basket of black rocks was carried out of the valley.

Soon, they formed a small mountain beside the clearing.

A notice was posted at the entrance to Hyuga Village.

It called for civilians from outside the village to work at the riverside workshop.

The civilians gathered in twos and threes to read the notice.

Someone in the crowd who could read pointed at the notice and read it aloud to everyone.

"One thousand ryō a day, with two meals provided. Wages paid at the end of the month."

Every civilian gathered there was tempted when they heard that.

The crowd immediately erupted into chatter.

"One thousand ryō a day? Clearing land and farming outside, we don't even make five hundred ryō a day on average."

"With farming, we have to wait until the autumn harvest to see any cash. This pays at the end of the month!"

Someone who could not believe it craned their neck and called toward the front.

"Is what that notice says true?"

People at the front were already pushing toward the space beneath the notice.

"Don't push, don't push! Count me in. I want to sign up!"

Shinichi happened to reach the village entrance just then.

The civilians turned and saw him, immediately clearing a path.

"Lord Shinichi!"

Several people hurried to reach him first.

"Lord Shinichi, is that workshop by the river still hiring?"

Shinichi stopped and looked at them.

"Yes."

"The more people, the better."

Shinichi left the recruitment to several jonin.

He himself took a few Hyuga ninja out of the village.

They headed straight north for the Land of Iron.

The farther north they traveled, the colder it became.

Every mountaintop in sight was covered in thick snow.

Several days later, Shinichi led his people into a city in the Land of Iron.

Most of those walking the streets were samurai with long swords at their waists.

A few samurai stopped and glanced at Shinichi and his companions.

Recognizing them as ninja from elsewhere, they looked away and continued walking.

Shinichi followed the street into a long avenue lined entirely with smithies.

The Land of Iron's swordsmiths were the most renowned in the Shinobi World.

As soon as they entered the avenue, the clanging of hammers rang out all around them.

Finished swords hung outside every shop.

Shinichi led his people farther down the avenue, reaching its end, where the largest sword shop stood.

Shinichi led his people inside.

The forge inside the shop was blazing.

An old swordsmith was swinging a large hammer, forging a sword on an anvil.

His hands were blackened by the flames and covered in calluses.

An apprentice beside him called out.

"Master Gengorō, we have customers."

Gengorō glanced up.

His hammer never stopped as he listened to Shinichi speak, striking with clang after clang.

Shinichi looked at him and got straight to the point.

"I'd like to invite you and the craftsmen in your shop to settle in the Land of Rice Fields."

"To make ninja tools exclusively for our Hyuga Village."

Shinichi then named his price.

"Master Gengorō, I'll give you five million ryō to settle in, along with a monthly wage of two hundred thousand ryō for you."

"Your apprentices and the other craftsmen in the shop will each receive one hundred thousand ryō a month."

Hearing this, Gengorō kept bringing his hammer down, sending sparks flying.

He did not believe a word of it, taking the young ninja's words as nothing but boasting.

"You certainly talk big for a youngster."

"Five million ryō? Even if you took these old bones of mine apart and sold them, they wouldn't fetch that much."

The apprentices in the shop joined in with loud laughter.

Shinichi did not respond or offer any further explanation.

He raised a hand toward the Hyuga ninja behind him.

One Hyuga ninja stepped forward and pulled a thick stack of banknotes from inside his clothes.

He slapped it straight down on the wooden table in front of Gengorō.

The hammering in the shop stopped.

Gengorō set down his hammer, picked up the banknotes, and leafed through them.

The stamps and watermarks on the notes were clear. Every one was genuine.

The apprentices in the shop craned their necks too, the smiles vanishing from their faces.

Gengorō set the banknotes back on the table.

"Ninja have always made their own tools. Why have the Hyuga come all the way to the Land of Iron to hire swordsmiths?"

Shinichi looked at the forge in the shop.

"Hyuga Village is going to make its own ninja tools, and in large quantities."

"The few people in our clan who do that work simply can't keep up."

Gengorō thought for a moment.

"All right. I'll take the job."

He went out of the shop and called on several craftsmen he knew along the avenue to come along.

"We'll split the settlement money out of these five million ryō."

Hearing that there was so much money, the apprentices and craftsmen happily packed their tools.

Several days later, Shinichi returned to the Land of Rice Fields with Gengorō and his group.

They arrived at the riverside outpost.

Black rocks were piled like a small mountain beside the clearing.

Seeing the black rocks, Gengorō walked over and picked one up to examine it.

"Lord Shinichi, what are these black rocks for?"