The Sarutobi and Shimura clans had finally packed up everything for their collective relocation. The scene was nothing short of chaotic: wagons creaked under the weight of luggage, horses whinnied impatiently, women called after their children, and toddlers cried for snacks that had already been buried somewhere deep inside storage boxes. It looked less like a prestigious ninja clan moving and more like a nomadic caravan making its way to a festival.
Sarutobi Sasuke and Shimura Shishin, both heads of their respective clans, had only taken a short rest in Konoha before departing again. The reason was simple—moving a clan wasn't like sending a couple of ninjas on a mission. With so many people and possessions to move, plus family members to settle, they couldn't afford to waste time.
Their sons, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, however, were far less enthusiastic about leaving.
In just a few days of resting in the village, they had already benefited tremendously from Senju Tobirama's occasional lectures. A single piece of advice from him had the weight of years of training. Both boys were practically vibrating with excitement, wanting desperately to impress Tobirama and secure a place as his disciples.
But duty called. Today, they were leaving Konoha to head toward the capital of the Fire Nation.
---
Rivalry Sparks
At the village gates, the morning sun stretched long shadows across the dirt road. The two young men stood side by side, glancing back at the towering gates of Konoha with reluctant expressions.
Danzo, never one to let a moment of peace last, suddenly asked with a smirk:
"Hiruzen, who do you think will become Lord Tobirama's disciple first?"
The question dripped with provocation. Though they had grown close in a short time, Danzo's competitive nature would not allow him to accept Hiruzen as an equal. Everything between them became a contest—who could run farther, eat more, endure more training… even who could relieve themselves farther down the stream. Nothing was too trivial.
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened, and his lips curled into a confident grin. "That must be me!" he declared, puffing his chest out.
"Hah! You only know how to brag," Danzo scoffed, curling his lip.
The air instantly thickened with tension. They glared at each other, sparks practically flying between their eyes, both unwilling to back down even a step.
Before their bickering escalated into another round of "ninja urination competitions," Sarutobi Sasuke barked, "Enough, you brats! It's time to move out."
Chastised, the two young rivals turned away with stiff shoulders, but the fire in their eyes hadn't dimmed in the slightest. As the caravan began its journey, they walked in step—each silently vowing to outshine the other.
---
The Tulip Frenzy
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Fire Nation, chaos of an entirely different kind was unfolding.
"Make way! I must buy a hundred tulips today!"
"Stop pushing! We were here first!"
"Line up properly, or I'll cut you with this folding fan!"
The once dignified main street had transformed into a battlefield of silk robes and gilded carriages. Men and women dressed in luxurious kimonos jostled each other like peasants fighting for cabbages at a village market. The object of their obsession? Tulips.
Yes, tulips.
What had once been simple flowers were now objects of immense desire. Some nobles had queued all night in front of the tulip shops just to secure a handful of bulbs. Others sent servants to camp in shifts, like soldiers guarding a fortress.
This wasn't confined to the capital either. Across the Fire Nation, every tulip vendor saw endless lines and frenzied buyers.
And the cause of this madness? None other than Uchiha Makoto.
The so-called "Tulip Bubble" he engineered had exceeded even his expectations. He had underestimated two things: the Fire Nation daimyo's influence, and the bottomless vanity of its nobility. Together, they had created the perfect storm.
For nobles, tulips became more than flowers—they were symbols of wealth, taste, and power. At banquets, having a room filled with tulips guaranteed you were the center of attention. The ladies swooned at the sight, eager to associate themselves with such displays of extravagance. Rare tulip varieties became akin to priceless jewels, and anyone who possessed them could easily secure the daimyo's personal favor.
Who wouldn't crave such recognition?
The tulip market blazed like a forest fire, and in its heart, Kazuma quietly fanned the flames, pushing the prices ever higher.
---
The Merchants Smell Blood
At first, only the nobles were buying tulips. But soon, the wealthy merchants of the Fire Nation caught wind of the craze.
Their eyes gleamed like predators. Profit. They smelled profit.
"Look at the nobles throwing gold like water," one merchant whispered. "If we hoard tulips now, the price will soar tomorrow."
"They'll buy no matter the cost!" another replied.
Like sharks in a feeding frenzy, they plunged into the market, investing staggering sums to buy tulips en masse. Suddenly, vast amounts of money flooded into the trade. Prices skyrocketed.
The tulip bubble was no longer a spark. It was an inferno.
---
Inside the Daimyo's Palace
In a lavishly decorated room of the Daimyo's palace, Kazuma sat cross-legged before a mountain of ledgers. His eyes practically glowed with golden light as his fingers danced across an abacus.
"Your Highness, you're here," he said with a deep bow when the Daimyo entered.
The Daimyo nodded, settling onto a cushioned seat. He was calm on the surface, but his eyes betrayed anticipation. This visit had only one purpose: he wanted to know how much profit had been made.
Kazuma's smile widened. "Your Highness, the results are far better than we imagined. The nobles are wealthier—and more foolish—than I ever thought possible."
He flipped the ledger toward the Daimyo, unable to hide his glee. "We've sold only one-third of our stock so far, yet the profit already stands at 1.3 billion taels!"
The Daimyo's eyes widened. "So much?"
"Yes!" Kazuma laughed. "And this is only the beginning!"
The Daimyo leaned back, stroking his beard, his thoughts dark. "Last year, when the north flooded, we begged those same nobles to donate for relief. They cried poverty, claiming they couldn't spare a coin. And now they throw fortunes at flowers? Hah! Insects, all of them."
His voice dripped with contempt. Natural disasters were unavoidable in the Fire Nation. Floods and droughts ravaged the land each year, and though ninja helped where they could, their powers were limited. Only monsters like Hashirama Senju could turn back such disasters—and one could hardly call him human.
Thinking back to last year's suffering citizens, the Daimyo's anger boiled. But soon, it cooled into something sharper. Greed.
---
The Bigger Plan
"Have the contracts with the flower farmers been secured?" the Daimyo asked.
"Of course," Kazuma replied smoothly. "The farmers won't be able to sell their tulips anywhere else. We control the supply chain now."
The Daimyo's lips curled into a smile. The profits so far were merely an appetizer. The real feast had yet to come.
Billions in taels were already flowing, but the Daimyo wasn't satisfied. He had staged banquets, made public displays of his tulip obsession, all to inflate demand further. The true slaughter was still ahead—when prices reached their peak, they would dump their stocks onto the desperate nobles and merchants, draining them dry.
Kazuma produced a scroll, unrolling it to reveal a detailed chart. "Please look, Your Highness. This is the projected price curve. As long as we hold, the market will continue to climb. When it reaches this point…" He tapped the highest peak. "…that will be our moment. We'll sell everything, and the wealth of the Fire Nation will flow into your coffers."
The Daimyo's eyes gleamed, and for a moment, he almost looked like a dragon guarding its hoard.
"Excellent," he said. "Let them choke on their own vanity. We'll reap everything."
Kazuma bowed, his abacus clicking once more. Every sound was like the ringing of coins, the heartbeat of the great tulip scam.
And outside, the frenzy only grew wilder.
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