Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 173 Actors, Bloodless War

the next day.

The shopping street of the Imperial Palace.

It's even more crowded here than at night. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares and haggling fill the air.

Sosuke changed into casual clothes and held a folding fan in his hand, looking like a dashing young master who had come to play.

Maki followed behind him, but dared not relax.

Because Iwai and the other two didn't come along.

They were sent out by Sousuke on a secret mission—to investigate the rogue ninja employed by the Wasabi family.

Now, Sosuke only has her as his bodyguard.

Don't be so nervous.

Sousuke casually picked up a mask from a stall and put it on Maki's face.

It's a mask with a smiling cat face.

"This—" Maki was somewhat at a loss.

"Don't forget, the first lesson a ninja learns is disguise."

Sosuke paid the money.

"You're too conspicuous right now."

Maki blushed; her embarrassment could be felt even through the mask.

"Stop touching your ninja tool pouch."

Sosuke instructed.

"Just treat it like a normal shopping trip."

"Yes, boss."

Sosuke picked up a dried salted fish and examined its color.

"Boss, how much is this dried fish?"

The stall owner, a dark-skinned fisherman, sighed.

"Selling cheap. Three for one hundred taels."

"So cheap?"

"There's nothing I can do," the stall owner said with a worried look. "There's been a war inland recently, and the ships used for shipping have all been hijacked by pirates. We can't get our goods out, so we can only sell them cheaply locally."

Sosuke seemed to be deep in thought.

He asked a few more companies.

Tea sales were sluggish, and medicinal herbs were piling up. However, grain and ironware from inland areas were priced exorbitantly high.

Typical manifestations of a broken logistics chain.

"Did you understand, Maki?"

Leaving the market and arriving at a quiet teahouse, Sosuke removes Maki's mask.

The girl's face was covered with fine beads of sweat, and her cheeks were flushed.

"What do you understand?" Maki asked, somewhat bewildered.

"The Dilemma of the Tea Country"

Sosuke poured himself a cup of tea.

"This place is rich in tea and seafood, but lacks food and iron ore. Now, the sea routes are blocked, and land routes are subject to soaring tariffs due to the war."

"For ordinary people, this is a disaster. But for businessmen, it's a great opportunity—"

"In other words, whoever can open up a new air route now will reap unimaginable profits."

Maki nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

This man, no matter the situation, always seemed to see the deeper layers of the plan. This filled her with awe.

"Boss."

Maki suddenly spoke.

"What's wrong?"

"I—I want to buy something."

"What should I buy?"

Maki pointed to a small stall by the roadside. There they were selling a type of hair accessory unique to the Land of Tea, made of shells and pearls. It wasn't expensive, but it was very exquisite.

"Um—I'd like to buy a hair accessory."

She was a little embarrassed.

Sosuke paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Go buy it."

"It's in a girl's nature to love beauty. Being a ninja doesn't mean giving up on life."

"Thank you, boss!"

Maki ran over happily.

Seeing her selecting items at the stall, Sosuke's gaze softened.

This is what someone this age should be like.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by.

In a corner of the teahouse, the air seemed to distort slightly.

Sosuke's left eye suddenly opened under the eyepatch.

The snake's eyes detected a slight fluctuation in chakra.

It wasn't Iwai and his group.

An outsider. A monitor.

"It seems the wasabi family is more sensitive than I thought."

Sosuke calmly took a sip of tea.

Maki ran back with a blue seashell hair accessory, her face beaming with a smile.

"Boss, look!"

"It suits you perfectly."

Sosuke stood up.

"Let's go back to the hotel."

Back in the hotel suite.

The three Iwai have returned.

"Boss."

Iwai reports.

"Found it."

He spread out a simple hand-drawn map on the table.

"The people the Wasabi family employs are indeed rogue ninjas from the Land of Water. But they are not ordinary rogue ninjas."

"It's a small mercenary group called the Ghost Brothers. The two leaders are skilled in silent killing and water escape techniques."

"The number is approximately twenty people."

"Twenty people —"

Sousuke thought.

This number of people is simply not enough to compete with the many samurai of the Hejie family.

However, these twenty people are all ninjas, and if they are determined to influence the participants from the Wagaku family, the samurai cannot stop them.

"Boss, shall we get started?"

Kenji wiped the heavy crossbow in his hand.

"No rush."

Sosuke shook his head.

"Tomorrow is the last day before the festival. It's also the time when both sides are most on edge."

"Tonight, we're going to see someone."

"Who?"

The leader of "that demon brother."

All four were startled.

Go directly to meet the enemy's mercenaries?

Sousuke smiled.

"Since they're mercenaries, they're just doing things for money."

"If something can be solved with money, let's not resort to violence."

Ogosho, Nishiminato Ward.

This is a mix of slums and black markets.

Inside a run-down tavern.

A group of men were sitting together drinking. The calluses on their hands, from years of throwing shuriken, gave them away.

ninja.

Stray dogs that wander for money.

-

"Boss, the festival is tomorrow."

A thin man said in a low voice.

"The task given by the Wasabi family is to eliminate the contestants from the Wasabi family before the race begins."

"That's two hundred thousand taels!"

The burly man sitting in the middle had a face full of scars and was holding a toothpick in his hand.

His name is Kito. He was a Chunin from Kirigakure who defected after killing his superior.

"What's the rush?"

Ghost Head snorted.

"The Wagaku family isn't stupid either. I heard they brought in people from Konoha."

"Konoha?"

The henchmen around him were a little nervous.

"What's there to be afraid of! These days, Konoha's ninjas are nothing special."

Ghost Head scoffed.

"As long as they're not those few famous monsters, I'll take them all down with a single strike."

"Bang."

The tavern door was pushed open.

A cold wind blew in, extinguishing several oil lamps.

A one-eyed man wearing a black overcoat walked in.

Four young men followed behind him.

The tavern fell silent instantly. All eyes were on the newcomer.

Ghost Head narrowed his eyes and gripped the hilt of the knife under the table.

"If you're here to drink, there are no seats available. Get out."

Sosuke ignored his threat.

He walked to the empty table opposite the ghost head, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Iwai, Rin, and Kenji spread out in a fan shape, blocking all attack routes. Maki stood behind Sousuke, her hand on her ninja tool pouch, somewhat nervous but trying to remain calm.

"I'm here to discuss business."

Sosuke took out a money pouch and threw it on the table.

A dull thud.

That's gold.

Ghost Head's eyelid twitched.

"Were you invited by the Jie family?"

I guess so.

Sosuke leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed.

"I know how much money the Wasabi family gave you. Two hundred thousand taels for killing one person."

"I'll pay double now."

Sosuke held up two fingers.

"Four hundred thousand taels."

The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard in the tavern.

For these wandering ninjas, 400,000 taels was a huge sum of money.

"What are the conditions?" Ghost Head didn't agree immediately, his eyes wary. "You want us to turn around and kill the Wasabi family?"

"No."

Sosuke shook his head.

"I don't need you to kill people. That's too crude."

"My request is very simple."

"Tomorrow, you will still go on your mission. But—I want you to fail."

"Not only do you have to fail, but you also have to make a scene so that everyone knows that the Wasabi family hired you to ruin the sacredness of the festival."

"Do you understand?"

Ghost Head was stunned. Was this... acting?

"Are you trying to ruin the reputation of the Wasabi family?"

"clever."

Sousuke smiled.

The land of tea is ruled by daimyo. In this country, reputation sometimes carries more weight than swords.

Once the daimyo learns that the Wasabi family plotted an assassination at the festival, they will naturally lose control of the port.

This is far more vicious than murder.

Gui Tou stared at the money pouch on the table. Four hundred thousand taels. A staged performance. And without risking his life. This deal was unbelievably lucrative.

"But----"

Gui Tou hesitated.

"If we do that, the Wasabi family won't let us off the hook. We won't be able to survive in the Land of Tea."

"That's my second point."

Sosuke then pulled out another scroll.

"This is for your travel expenses. You may leave the Land of Tea after the performance."

"Go to the Land of Rain. Take this letter and go to the Iron Forest to find a person named 'Sawtooth'."

"He's short-staffed there, and the pay is ten times better than here. Plus, you're under the protection of the Takaya Trading Company. You're no longer stray dogs, but guards of a legitimate trading company."

This is a condition that cannot be refused.

Money, a way out, or even the opportunity to launder money.

Kito looked at Sosuke. He saw the composure in the young man's eyes. It was the confidence of someone in control of everything.

"You are—Sousuke Takaya?"

Ghost Head finally remembered the name.

The man whose bounty on the black market is worth ten million taels.

"It is I."

Sosuke did not deny it.

Ghost Head loosened his grip on the knife handle under the table.

Kill him? Go collect that ten million?

Don't be ridiculous. Someone who can casually throw out 400,000 taels of silver and even arrange a way out for them—how could they dare come here without a backup plan?

Moreover, that kind of aura—it's an aura that only those in positions of power possess.

"make a deal."

Gui Tou grabbed the money bag and weighed it in his hand.

"Boss, we'll make this scene very realistic."

The next day. Todoroki Taisha Festival.

This is an annual grand event.

The race started at the shrine on the mountaintop and finished at the port.

Both the Wasabi and the Wasabi families sent out their most elite players.

The crowd of onlookers was enormous. The daimyo's special envoy sat on a high platform, overseeing the competition.

"Bang!"

The signal flare is launched. The competition begins.

The two athletes rushed out.

Just as they were passing through a mountain road.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several kunai shot out from the woods.

"There's an assassin!"

Chaos broke out among the crowd.

A dozen or so masked ninjas rushed out and headed straight for the contestants from the Hejie family.

"Protect the athletes!"

He and Akuta Saburo led the samurai and charged forward.

But those "assassins" didn't actually kill.

Their swords always struck empty air, or were deliberately blocked by the samurai.

At the same time, Gui Tou deliberately "accidentally" shouted.

"Damn it! That old bastard Wasabi gave us wrong information!"

That sound echoed throughout the entire venue.

The envoy's face instantly darkened.

Wasabi House? Assassination during a sacred festival?

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

Gui Tou pretended to be outmatched, threw a few smoke bombs with his men, and fled in a sorry state.

The head of the Wasabi family was left bewildered, while the special envoy was furious.

"Head of the Wasabi family! You need to give me an explanation!" The envoy slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

The head of the Wasabi family trembled all over, unable to defend himself.

"No—it wasn't me—I didn't—"

But he did hire that group of people. That can be verified.

The ending was already predetermined.

Although the runners from the Hejie family were a little startled, they successfully crossed the finish line.

The game was won.

Add to that the Wasabi family scandal.

Over the next five years, the port management rights of the Imperial Palace will undoubtedly fall into the hands of the Wagaku family.

On the high platform.

Sosuke stood in the shadows, watching this farce unfold.

"it's over."

He said to Maki behind him.

"This is—a war without bloodshed."

Maki felt a deep shock.

It turns out that true power is not just about ninjutsu.

Wisdom, money, and people's hearts.

The combination of these elements is more terrifying than any forbidden technique.

"Let's go."

Sosuke turned around.

"We've secured the port. Our shipping route is now open."