Necessary Corruption 33 (Patreon)

Necessary Corruption

Chapter 33

-VB-

The first and second part of the exams were both not for public viewing.

It saddened me to not be able to see the efforts of the little kid-ninjas I’ve met in the Land of Waves and come to know while staying in Konohagakure, but such was the rules of the event. In fact, by the time I was able to meet the Hokage again (being important gave me a lot of room to just go and meet other important people), the genins had already gone through their first part of the chunin exam and eliminated quite the number in the first round alone.

It would be another month before they would give me and the rest of the world a chance to see their little kiddies in action at the third part of the exam, the “elimination” competition round. It was to be a grand event where people like I would sit around in a stadium and cheer for whoever we betted on. There would be food, souvenir, and entertainment!

… I knew it for what it was. It was sanitizing the way of ninja life. It gave us, the merchants and nobility who inevitably hired the ninjas, a show that said to us “hey, look at us! We’re not going to stab you in the back! Look, look! Our kids are growing up! You made money off of them! Aren’t you glad we’re on your side?”

It was a marvelous way to gain attention and connections.

Hokage Sarutobi and I sat side by side on top of a raised wooden platform in one of the hidden village’s training grounds while our respective professional soldiers exchanged tips and lessons.

It was a great symbol of cooperation.

More importantly, it gave the ninjas a chance to see the tool that I had my wood tinkering Tomotaka create for the ninjas. I had given my retinue no strict instructions, only that he create a wonder that was pragmatic as ninjas were very pragmatic folks.

What he ended up creating … was a wooden hound.

It stood on four legs with green fur flowing like lush green grass during the height of spring, eyes as white as the fluffy clouds in the sky, a snout regal and firm as any royal hunting dog, and an overal frame that nothing short of truly devastating strike could destroy.

That hound remained laying next to the Hokage, who stroked its grass fur.

Of course, I knew that ninjas were prone to paranoia. It could be said that the wisest ninja was the most “reasonably” paranoid with the most paranoid being the village idiot. Considering that I met the village idiot (not Naruto-kun because that boy was rather smart in his own ways), I had a good measure of how paranoid was too paranoid even for ninjas.

As such, my gift to the Hokage had been amended to ensure that they would not feel paranoid about it.

For one, I had Tomotaka explain everything - and I mean everything - about his creation. The man was only too happy to do so, happily chatting the ears off one of Sarutobi Clan non-ninja clan member who would be in charge of the living plant machine.

I also offered to set up a liaison of sorts to ensure that communication between myself and the Hokage would be smooth, and communication was what made diplomacy work.

With me going out of my way to give them the advantage by not hiding anything, the ninjas felt more comfortable around us.

“I see, so that is the situation in the Land of Rivers right now,” Sarutobi-dono hummed after I finished a mostly truthful retelling of the current crisis besetting the northern half of my homeland. My land, which sat at the core of the southern half and well connected to the delta and the wider ocean via the main river, continued to prosper.

Prosper so well, in fact, that I began to scale back on opium production and start making money from other kinds of cash crops. With the Northern Rivers in turmoil, trade to the Land of Rain from the Land of Rivers have stagnated to the point that my agents in the Land of Rain, few as they were, were reporting food riots and the subsequent brutal crackdown.

Some were even whispering of a second civil war.

“Yes. My people are workign to ensure that the crisis does not spread, but we only have so much authority within our own lands, never mind those of other rulers and other lands,” I replied with a grunt, and this was the truth. If the Northern River nobles brought their crisis to the south and if even one of them discovered my opium fields, then I would quickly become their target. Not all would fight me but enough that I would have to halt my current crop changes, infrastructure constructions, and expansion. “While I would not dare to speak on your behalf or demand anything from you, perhaps it will be a good idea to bring up the current crisis to the Daimyo of Fire and have the border crossing points heavily garrisoned. You know well that roving leaderless armies are likely to strike out into the surrounding lands to pillage.”

The Hokage looked upset. “I have been aware of the crisis, if only a little, but to think it was that bad…”

“Indeed. The current Daimyo of Rivers is but a puppet of one faction, which is at war with many other factions and even among itself.” I paused. “And from what I understand, the previous River Daimyo was a cousin of the Fire Daimyo.”

He paused in his strokes before glancing at me from the corner of his eyes. “... It would be wonderful to be well connected, yes, and the current River Daimyo is … hostile, to say the least. I shall see to it.”

Ah, yes.

Arranging a death so mutually beneficial that the ninjas aren’t even asking me for payment.

This was how one should negotiate.