Shiroken had no idea who this girl was, only her name was once mentioned in the report. So, he needed to get the information from the village itself, and for that, he will need to reach the village.

So, he faced Chiyo and spoke. She was amidst pleading to the Daimyo, "Hmm, Lady Chiyo, how much grain do you need?" ​​

They abruptly stopped talking and looked at him. Chiyo saw a glimmer of hope from him. "As much as we can, Lord Nobunaga."

"Haha, please give me an exact figure, I don't want to give you so much that you grow ambitious and start waging wars again," Shiroken said directly to her face.

It took a few seconds for her to realise what he said, as she had never heard someone so directly shame her village, at least not to her face. "W-What do you mean, Lord Nobunaga? Are you shaming my village?"

He shrugged and looked at the Daimyo, "No, I am just disappointed in the leadership of your village and your decision making abilities. I wonder if the IQ of your elder council and the Kazekage is in single digits. Lord Daimyo, you tell me, didn't Sunagakure get an exclusive contract from Konoha during… Hashir... Before the 1st shinobi war? Didn't they get fertile land for lease and also permission to buy grains at cost price?"

The Daimyo nodded, "That is true."

Shiroken disdainfully continued, "And what did Sunagakure do with it? They turned greedy and desecrated the treaty at the first chance of making war. You not only lost the war, but also the fertile land and the contract. This condition of Sunagakure and the Wind Country is because of nobody but just you Shinobi of Sand. So, of course, I will be careful, because, from your past record, you people crave war more than food."

Chiyo's eyes widened at this disrespect. However, where Shiroken expected her to erupt in anger, she just became sad. And now Shiroken felt weird for making an old lady sad.

"Lord Nobunaga, did you know, I had retired from the official position at the village. But, even at this age, I am having to work. The reason is, as you said, foolish decisions made by Sunagakure... I was once a decision-maker too and not much better either. It is true, we lack good decision making. But, you have no right to disrespect my village like this." She said with a firm voice, which was still a bit shaky.

Shiroken scoffed, "Huh, my Dama Country is so small and not powerful, yet it can become so rich in such a short time, all under the great leadership of the new Daimyo and their amazing dashing old sage advisor. The thing you shinobi of Sunagakure lack is not decision-making, but the will to stick to good morals."

"Now, the big question is, if I were to provide food to your village, what's in it for me? You have no money to pay with." He asked her.

Chiyo fell silent, wondering what they could pay him with. Before, their problem was that there was no place to buy food, as other countries would sell them at exorbitant prices, while their own country didn't have enough.

"We can sign a contract, an IOU (I-owe-you)." She proposed.

Shiroken denied outright, "No, what are you going to pay me with, war? How can I believe you will pay me later? Are you going to hit a jackpot all of a sudden? If you can not pay me right now you can not pay me later. Your village does not have any income streams, it never had any."

"Then do you have something in mind?" She asked.

Shiroken was waiting for this, he nodded, "Yes, this is my only and final offer. In return for food, I will get the rights over the land your village is situated on, and also the right to command all of your shinobi, with a written clause that I won't use them for any military purpose."

"THIS IS PREPOSTEROUS! This will be akin to handing over the village to you." Chiyo was enraged. What Shiroken was asking was to become the owner of the village.

"Calm down, I am not asking to become the king. I will not be able to command or rule over your people. I will just own the land that belongs to Sunagakure and the ability to command the shinobi as to my liking, of course, not for military purposes. Besides, you can end this deal as long as you pay me back the money value of all the food I will give to your village plus 10% interest quarterly." Shiroken clarified.

The deal was as good as it could ever get. Though it was also very harsh. But from Shiroken, a trader's point of view, he was taking a risk. However, as a person seeking to take over the world, this deal was SWEET.

Chiyo weighed the risks and benefits of this deal. The simple benefit is that they will survive, the risk is that their village will be mortgaged.

"I cannot decide such important things alone. I need to return to my village and discuss it." She halted the negotiations.

Shiroken knew the deal was too good to be instantly made. "Who would you ask? Your Kazekage is missing, the elder council... Well, I won't say much about them."

"But I still need their approval. I will immediately return to the village now. However, how are you going to make the Shinobi in Sunagakure heed your commands? They won't obey a person who is not a ninja." She questioned him in good faith. For the deal to go through, they needed to know if Shiroken could even handle himself.

Shiroken made fake hand seals, just random hand patterns. He lifted a ceramic bowl, then turned it into a complex ceramic horse toy. "Who said I'm not a ninja? It's just that in the Dama country, all people, whether normal or ninja, have the same status and live under the same laws. Hence, no headband."

Chiyo was astonished, but accepted the fact fairly easily. Him being a shinobi made things easier, but also more dangerous. "Thank you for giving me your time, Lord Daimyo." She calmly bowed and left.

Shiroken had purposefully made things hard for Chiyo. He berated her village, showing his contempt for them. If they still signed a contract with him it would mean the situation was dire in the village.

However, what intrigued him more was how uninterested the Daimyo looked. "Lord Daimyo, are you not against the conditions I told her?"

Daimyo shrugged, "You are a merchant, what you did was strictly business. You yourself specified according to the contract that you won't use the shinobi for military purposes, that's enough of a guarantee. The rest is your personal matter. I don't give them contracts anyway, they are too greedy and charge high prices."

~Well, he seems like an okay person with just bad management skills. Sorry, but I must take over this country in order to bring peace. You can still be Daimyo though.~ Shiroken mentally said to himself.

"Then, I will return to my convoy and see how they are setting up the market. Thank you for meeting me, Lord Daimyo." He got up to leave.

The Daimyo respectfully sent him away. The man was somewhat of an enigma to Shiroken. It was hard to read what he was thinking. Was he really slow? Or was he just so cunning he hid most of his schemes in his mind? No matter what, Shiroken was going to be careful.

He sprinted back to the newly set up camp outside the city walls. The 500 carriages had formed something like a Bazar, with the carriages parked in a way their back doors would face each other. Then, they put a cloth cover over the pathway made between the carriages. It looked like a market street now and people had already flocked to it.

Shiroken's carriage was away from there as his carriage didn't have any material to sell. Rakumatsu was already organising the shops. They had not just come here to sell items for the mission, but also to do a market study of what sells in this country. The Dama Country planned to have a bit of a monopoly on some trade. Their country was very peaceful and advanced and hence exceeded in production. They produced more than they consumed.

If their studies showed good results, then they will send convoys of 100-200 carriages around the world later. Each carrying items catered to each region.

When he arrived back at his carriage, he found Shisui waiting for him. "So, what did you find out?"

"Something not very good, Lord Dama. There are so many inconsistencies with things happening in the treasury of the Daimyo. He is saving a lot of money, but there is none in his treasury. He didn't spend it anywhere either.

"Then, there was this rumour that the Kazekage met the Daimyo before he disappeared, so something fishy is going on here. I have reasons to believe that either the fourth Kazekage has betrayed his village or it's an imposter." Shisui explained whatever he found out.

Shiroken nodded and thought, "Hmm... I also found the Daimyo a bit strange, he looked as if he just didn't care about anything happening in the country."

"Ah, look, a sand storm is coming," Shiroken exclaimed all of a sudden, looking away from the city. A huge cloud of sand was coming towards them slowly.

"Umm... I... I can't sense things that far." Shisui replied with a hint of helplessness.

Shiroken sighed and patted his head, "Kid, if you just tell me who took your eyes, I can get them back for you if we come nearby that location."

Shisui silently stayed seated. "But... Even telling you about it will be like treason against my village. I still need to look for some answers before I make up my mind if I want to remain a Konoha shinobi or not."

Shiroken ruffled his hair, "Son... I am very old... So I guess I can call you son... Actually, I can call everyone son. Well, son, my advice for you is simple. Before looking for answers outside, look for them inside yourself. Oftentimes, they are just buried in your memories. You are a shinobi from a shinobi village, Shisui, unless you stop believing in what was taught to you from a young age, you can never see the world for what it truly is, without any filters.

"So, maybe, it's time for you to start asking yourself the big questions...Who are you, and what do you want?"

Shisui fell silent. For the first time, he felt like he was truly in the presence of a very old wise man. He jokingly asked, "Did you? Ask these questions to yourself?"

Shiroken chuckled, "Hehe... Oh, sure I did. I've had my decades of introspection. Why else do you think I am doing all this? This is the path I have consciously chosen to take."

*Pat*

"It's okay to doubt yourself, Shisui. But never let those doubts become your life's facts.

"Okay, let's go now and help others cover the carriages. The storm might spoil the goods." Shiroken patted on his back and jumped out of the carriage.

Shisui just sat there for a few seconds, nobody knew what he was thinking. But surprisingly, there was a smile on his face.

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[You can see the Daimyo, Chiyo and Pakura on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]

STONE ME DOWN PLEASE... GENTLY!

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Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif* *Julian Rocamora* *Darrien Steely* *Franklin Walley*

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