Uchiha Akaishi Tour

Chapter 168 Trading

Chapter 170 Trading

Akaishi then realized that the warriors of Duan Yue City also seemed to be lacking supplies; otherwise, they wouldn't be so "concerned."

.

Looking back now, it was Mifune who truly understood the situation—

The reason Mifune met with his Konoha ninjas outside first was because he felt that the people inside were not worth negotiating with his Konoha ninjas, so he wanted to use his personal sword to exchange for those supplies.

Orochimaru is now behaving politely. Although he did not let the Land of Iron gain any advantage, he offered to accept these as "payment."

In fact, Orochimaru had long anticipated that the samurai of the Land of Iron might also be short of supplies because they had captured too much before!

Orochimaru was nominally here for a large-scale transaction, but the grain he obtained from Amegakure was almost twice the size of the goods in this transaction.

Those rain ninjas clearly looted more than just the village's food supplies.

After all, the Land of Iron is a harsh and cold place, and it even needs to trade iron and grain to make up for its deficit. Ordinary farmers shouldn't be this wealthy.

Considering that it was only a month since the harvest season in the Land of Iron, Orochimaru guessed that the Land of Iron hadn't even had time to collect grain before the war had already begun.

Those stored grains were not only for the village to get through the long winter, but also for the Iron Kingdom to confiscate!

This is not the border of the Land of Iron, but Duan Yue City was built here. It is precisely because behind this is one of the few densely grain-producing areas in the Land of Iron. Although in the eyes of the Konoha ninjas, this farmland is fragmented and its fertility and climate are not even as good as those in the Land of Fire, it is a "treasure land" that must be protected by the Land of Iron.

Otherwise————

Anyway, most of the villages that were plundered have few survivors left, and the Land of Iron doesn't need food relief, so there shouldn't be that much pressure!

However, after Orochimaru proposed expanding the scale of the transaction, Sanmu and the others looked hesitant.

Seeing this, Orochimaru's face fell, and he said, "If the Land of Iron has any concerns, we certainly won't force you to buy or sell. Let's just settle the chakra metal transaction first."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the three-eyed men and the others in front of them became even more embarrassed.

"Does your country think there's something wrong with the transaction?" Orochimaru asked from the silence.

After another silence, Sanmu said awkwardly, "Well—our country is in a special situation right now, and we really can't produce these ores. We can sign a loan agreement, and you can pay an additional 10% interest next year."

"Next year, huh? —" Orochimaru said with a sneer, "That's up to the Hokage to decide."

Now everyone can hear Orochimaru's disdain for next year? Whether you'll even be around next year is another matter; you might have to go shopping with Hanzo!

"Orochimaru, Jonin! We're the ones who held off the Land of Rain. Before that, the General faced pressure from all sides—" Sanmoku was somewhat annoyed upon seeing this.

Mitsuki didn't continue, but Orochimaru chimed in, "So the general decided to increase trade with Kumogakure in exchange for them not invading immediately, is that right?"

Three Eyes was startled upon hearing this, and immediately said, "How...how did you know?"

"Don't underestimate our intelligence!" Jiraiya broke his previous silence.

Akaishi and the others really didn't know about this.

Of course, in this mission, they were just "working"; Orochimaru and Jiraiya were in charge of making all the decisions.

Orochimaru remained silent, while Jiraiya, playing the good cop, chimed in, "I don't understand you guys either. Rain Village is clearly allied with Cloud Village. At this time, to prevent Cloud Village from launching an attack, you're heavily supporting the enemy. Aren't you afraid that in the future, these chakra metal ores will return to you in some other form?"

According to the intelligence gathered by Orochimaru and Jiraiya, the ninjas of Kumogakure were currently gathering in large numbers in the southwest, seemingly eager to open up the land bridge. Meanwhile, that foolish general of the Land of Iron, through some unknown means, temporarily "pacified" Kumogakure.

They were not sure what conditions the Land of Iron had agreed to, so their words were somewhat probing.

really----

When they saw the troubled look on their faces, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had a vague suspicion, and now it has been confirmed.

Hearing Jiraiya's sarcasm, Sanmu wanted to retort, but Orochimaru interrupted him, saying, "Forget it, I believe the Land of Iron has also thought these things through carefully—well, since the ore has already been traded, I believe the Land of Iron is not short of food or supplies for us. Let's end our trip here."

After being rebuked by Orochimaru, Sanmu's face turned red and then pale. He wanted to retort, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Huh? You guys aren't short of food after the transaction, are you?" Jiraiya's exaggerated and shocked tone made Orochimaru stop in his tracks as he turned to leave.

After hesitating for a long time, Sanmu finally said, "The deal with Kumogakure—is not in the form of food!"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and said in a dangerous tone, "Oh? Could it be that the Land of Iron has changed its neutral stance and is now paying tribute to the Hidden Cloud Village?"

"Of course not!" Sanmu immediately denied.

Immediately, Sanmu couldn't help but say somewhat shyly, "Yes—it was traded for wine and beef."

"Oh ho? Could it be four jugs of sake and black beef?" Jiraiya said, his eyes lighting up as he swallowed hard.

These are all specialties of the Land of Lightning, which Jiraiya, a lover of food, had long heard of.

Orochimaru secretly glared at him, and Jiraiya then realized what was happening and restrained himself.

However, Jiraiya's words made the Three-Self Patriots even more ashamed.

Indeed, these are quite valuable on the market; a small piece of black beef can be exchanged for an ordinary cow, and a four-dou barrel of wine can be exchanged for a granary of grain.

But what use are these high-class meats and wines when war is about to break out?

It would be better to trade ordinary meat or strong liquor in large quantities for the same price, which would at least provide the samurai with food and warmth.

However, the Hidden Cloud Village wanted to put pressure on them, so they used these "luxury goods" to complete the transaction.

Their value on paper is roughly the same; this can be considered the last stand of the Land of Iron.

Seeing Orochimaru's sneer, Sanmu gritted his teeth and knelt down on one knee, saying, "Please, Orochimaru, Jonin—for the sake of mutual support, let us—make a loan deal!"

Sanmu was about 80% certain that Orochimaru, as the team leader Jonin, had that kind of authority. Saying he needed to consult the Hokage was just an excuse, and it was very likely just a bargaining tactic.

After all, everyone knows that the Konoha team's trip to the Land of Iron was not just a simple escort of trade goods, and the team leader was a student of the Third Hokage, so it's unlikely that he didn't have the authority to make decisions on the spot.

The reason they dared to bargain with Konoha before was simply because they believed that Amegakure and Kumogakure were both after Konoha, and that Konoha should come to the aid of the Land of Iron, which had suffered heavy losses.

However, Orochimaru is now showing no interest, and Sanmoku is also wavering. Even though he is 90% certain that Konoha will not watch the Land of Iron fall, he still dares not gamble.

Orochimaru waited a while longer before helping the three-eyed swordsman to his feet, saying, "Great Swordsman Three-Eyed, there's no need for this, but—"

I have never believed in loans without collateral.

Orochimaru may have been polite, but his words were quite direct.

"Then, what does Orochimaru, the Jonin, think would be the best way to pledge it?" Mitsuki asked casually.

"There's no need for any collateral. Since the Land of Iron is truly in trouble—let's do this. I'll take the liberty of exchanging the grain we're trading for, which is twice the amount we previously obtained from the Rain Village, for two grass swords: one is the 'Heavenly Cloud Sword,' and the other is the 'Straight Sword,'" Orochimaru said calmly.

Akaishi was also somewhat surprised upon hearing this. It seemed that Captain Orochimaru had long intended to acquire these two swords.

Was the reason you didn't agree to Mifune's offer before because "Kurosawa" wasn't important enough?

"Kusanagi sword" is a general term for a type of top-tier sword in the ninja world. There are very few swords that can be called "Kusanagi swords," and indeed there are several in the Land of Iron.

However, neither "Heavenly Cloud Sword" nor "Straight Blade" nor "Kurosawa" were familiar to Akashi, so he had no way of judging their quality.

Sanmu paused, his expression a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance, and said, "I can give you the straight sword—but—the Heavenly Cloud Sword is a general's sword—"

Orochimaru interrupted directly, saying, "It must be the Heavenly Cloud Sword—I believe your country's general is capable of making decisive decisions."

Orochimaru still had a smile on his lips, clearly mocking the deal between the Land of Iron and the Hidden Cloud Village.

Although Sanmu was both humiliated and furious, he had no choice but to first remove his sword.

Akashi then realized that this "straight sword" was indeed the three-eyed sword!

Now Akaishi realizes that Captain Orochimaru's original target was the "Heavenly Cloud Sword," and this "straight sword" was just a deliberate attempt to humiliate Sanmu.

It's unclear whether Captain Orochimaru already knew that the Three-Eyed Swordsman's sword was a "straight sword," or whether he recognized it simply by his eyesight.

"You don't need to give it to me now. What's more important is the Heavenly Cloud Sword." Orochimaru didn't accept it and emphasized that this deal wasn't just "a cut in half." Without the Heavenly Cloud Sword, there would be no deal this year.

"I will inform the general as soon as possible," Sanmu said helplessly.

Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction, then glanced at Jiraiya and said, "Oh right, I haven't finished yet."

"You—" Sanmu was clearly annoyed.

However, Orochimaru said confidently, "I am also very interested in the black yak and four barrels of wine that your country has gone through so much trouble to acquire. Please take one yak and one barrel as a celebration of the successful trade between our two countries."

When Sanmu heard that all he wanted was beef and wine, he suppressed his anger and nodded, saying, "Whether the deal is done or not, I will accept the beef and wine!"

For the Land of Iron, these cows and wines only have paper value; they cannot be converted into cash and are therefore of little significance.

Orochimaru brought it up for two reasons: first, to show his confidence; and second, of course, because he saw someone was craving it so badly that he just went ahead and did it.

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