*The Parliament Hall of the Land of Waves.*
Chiyo and Ebizō, two elders from the Hidden Sand Village, sat on the sofa beside the tea table, their expressions slightly uneasy.
Normally, when high-level decision-makers from major nations visited smaller countries, they wouldn't be this apprehensive—even if they weren't outright arrogant.
But the Land of Waves was anything but ordinary, and its leader, Hayashi Yuto, had the two Sand elders feeling particularly on edge.
Anyone capable of manipulating the entire shinobi world and uniting nations against a common enemy was, by every measure, someone to be taken seriously.
Especially since the Sand Village now found itself in a position where they needed his help.
After the confirmation that the Fourth Kazekage had been killed by Orochimaru, morale and cohesion in the Sand Village had plummeted.
The most critical issue was that Chiyo and Ebizō could do nothing about the murderer, Orochimaru!
If the village couldn't even seek justice for its own Kage, how could the lower and mid-level shinobi maintain any confidence in serving the village?
This led to a vicious cycle:
With fewer shinobi willing to take on missions, the nobles of the Land of Wind simply shifted their commissions to other villages. The local economy worsened, and the Sand Village's standing in the shinobi world declined even further.
The higher-ups were growing restless, constantly pressuring Chiyo and her brother to find a way out of this crisis.
But what could they do?
The other major villages treated them like stray dogs, and even the daimyō of the Land of Wind was now avoiding them. It was in this desperate situation that two strange merchants from the Land of Waves arrived in the Sand Village.
In just half a day, these two merchants bought up the village's entire stock of "Ore" , a transaction worth millions of ryo—a sum significant enough to catch the attention of Chiyo and Ebizō.
When they learned the merchants were from the Land of Waves, they were stunned.
The Land of Waves was currently public enemy number one among the five great shinobi villages—how dare their merchants waltz into the Sand Village to buy resources?
Were they that bold?
Under normal circumstances, as one of the five great villages, the Sand should have seized this opportunity to ruthlessly exploit these enemy merchants.
But after careful consideration, Chiyo and Ebizō decided to talk with them instead…
They were broke!
The Sand Village was genuinely on the verge of bankruptcy! Principles were important, but people still had to eat!
And so, what started as a simple discussion evolved into this bilateral trade agreement meeting.
"Thinking about it now… were we scammed?" Ebizō whispered, glancing at his sister. "Coming here so openly—if the other villages find out, they'll accuse us of colluding with the enemy."
"What choice do we have at this point?" Chiyo replied coolly. "We're already here—are we just going to turn back? Besides, do you think the other villages care about our situation?"
"I'm worried Hayashi Yuto might try to jack up the price," Ebizō murmured.
"That's not what concerns me," Chiyo said, standing up and looking out the window. "What worries me is that he has ulterior motives. Does this Land of Waves bear any resemblance to the remote fishing village we once knew?"
"It's truly astonishing," Ebizō admitted, inhaling sharply. "When we first arrived, I thought we'd taken a wrong turn somewhere."
"Ambition—that's what makes Hayashi Yuto truly formidable," Chiyo mused, shaking her head. "When he says he wants to eliminate shinobi, he might not be joking."
"Sister, you actually believe he can do it?" Ebizō stared wide-eyed, unable to hide his disbelief. "How can the Land of Waves possibly withstand a united assault from the five great villages? Not even Hashirama Senju, who once dominated the shinobi world, could pull off something like that!"
"Hashirama Senju single-handedly brought peace to the shinobi world. Why can't Hayashi Yuto do the same?" Chiyo replied calmly.
"Well…" Ebizō trailed off, unable to refute her, though deep down he refused to believe another Hashirama-like figure could exist.
Creeek.
Just then, the door to the parliament hall swung open.
A young man dressed in white, with a sword at his waist, strode confidently into the room. Chiyo and Ebizō immediately rose to their feet.
"Good afternoon, Lady Chiyo, Lord Ebizō," Yuto said smoothly, taking his seat at the head of the table with a faint smile. "I hear you're both interested in bilateral trade?"
"An annual order of four hundred million ryo—can you really deliver on that, Lord Yuto?" Chiyo cut straight to the point, skipping the pleasantries.
"Money isn't an issue. In fact, I think four hundred million might be too low," Yuto replied casually. "It's a shame your chakra ore production is limited each year."
"Our apologies. The Sand Village is currently short on manpower," Chiyo said, her expression relaxing slightly.
"Perhaps you could consider another approach—transfer the mining rights for the ore to us," Yuto suggested lightly. "We'll provide the manpower, the effort, and the funding. All we ask in return is the ore we extract."
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged glances. This type of arrangement was entirely new to them.
"How much would the Land of Waves be willing to pay?" Chiyo asked after a moment's thought.
"Two hundred million per year. How does that sound?"
'That sounds pretty good!' Ebizō signaled with his eyes.
But Chiyo remained unmoved, frowning slightly. "Aside from mining rights, what else does the Land of Waves want?"
She didn't believe such a generous offer could be without strings. The other party was offering to cover all costs and labor—and only asking for the ore in return? That stuff was practically littered across the dunes of the Land of Wind! They could just dig it up themselves without paying a single ryo!
So Chiyo was certain—there had to be another condition.
[Choose.]
[1. I'd like you to spend the night with me.]
[2. I'd like your brother to spend the night with me.]
[3. I want the Fourth Kazekage's daughter.]
"??"
Yuto froze, his lip twitching.
'This damn system—always popping up at the worst possible moment to mess with me!'
Truth be told, the they didn't really need any additional conditions—sole mining rights were already a huge win!
And it wasn't just about the ore… Sending a few Arrancar to "protect" the miners wouldn't be entirely unreasonable, right?
But now, with these absurd options suddenly thrown at him, he was struggling to keep a straight face.
'What kind of nonsense is this?! Spending the night with either of them? Or asking for the Fourth Kazekage's daughter?!'
'Is this system even human?'
Taking a deep breath, Yuto forced out the words: "I… I want the Fourth Kazekage's daughter…"
[Congratulations. You have obtained 40 years of Chakra.]
_____
_______
Show your support with Power Stones guys!
For every 30 Power Stones I'll drop 1 Bonus Chapter as Thank-You
Every 30 Power Stones =1 Bonus Chapter
[email protected]/Raven_scroll (30+ Advance Chapters)