Naruto: Starting from Eating the Gold Fruit

Chapter 417 Damn it

Throughout history, countless countries have made a fortune from collecting tolls.

You know the Silk Road, right?

This road has enriched so many countries; let's not forget how these countries got rich.

Of course, collecting tolls doesn't mean you can become that rich.

It was simply that collecting tolls earned them their first pot of gold.

And now, Yahiko desperately needs this first pot of gold.

Yahiko has a plan.

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not some treasonous plan or any underhanded scheme.

To put it simply, Yahiko's idea was to become a middleman.

Middlemen are despicable, and their actions are indeed despicable, but to be fair, many times you really can't do without them.

Some transactions between Konoha and other villages, such as Sunagakure, must not be known to other villages.

At this point, middlemen become very important.

Yes, the Land of Hot Springs is this middleman.

Theoretically speaking, the Land of Hot Springs is not geographically advantageous, as it borders the desert of Sunagakure to the west.

In the past, they acted as middlemen, transporting supplies from Konoha to Sunagakure. Although they could make a lot of money by reselling them, they also had to pay for their own expenses.

Then the canal was opened, and that solved everything.

The journey from the Land of Hot Water to the Hidden Sand Village via water transport is not only much faster, but also significantly reduces costs.

How could the Land of Rain not feel hatred upon witnessing this scene?

But there was no other way; this middleman was serving two big shots.

Then they had no choice but to put up with it.

After enduring it for so long, Yahiko decided he couldn't take it anymore.

He stepped forward and said that the Land of Hot Water had gone too far in recent years, charging excessive tolls. Why not pass through our territory? Although it has been raining a lot in our territory, don't we now have large warehouses?

We don't charge tolls; we just ask the two big shots to build a few water-resistant railways within our territory.

This also makes it easier for us to serve the two big shots, doesn't it?

The Sand Village thought it made sense, so they thought about it and went to the Land of Hot Springs to tell them that they didn't really want to pay for their journey. What do you think?

Of course, the Kingdom of Hot Springs could not agree to this.

They were there to serve two big shots, but if one of them gave the nod, why should I back down?

Yes, the Land of Hot Springs thinks that since Konoha hasn't agreed, how long can Sunagakure keep jumping around?

Oh, Yuya did receive the relevant information.

However, Yuya could only laugh at this suggestion.

Empty glove white wolf?

The Land of Hot Water does collect a lot of tolls, but do you even look at how many railways they have in the country?

Of course, it's undeniable that these guys did embezzle a lot of money from toll fees to fill their coffers, but to be fair, they weren't too stupid; they still kept at least 80% of the money.

With so much money, why are there so few railways in the Land of Hot Springs? Is it because they don't want to build them?

That's definitely not possible.

You Xi felt that Yahiko had really learned some skills during his years in Konoha.

At least this is something you can do without batting an eye or breaking a sweat, getting something for nothing...

Most people wouldn't be able to do something so self-righteous.

Yua's refusal to agree to Yahiko's conditions disappointed Yahiko somewhat, but not much.

He had already calculated it himself: if he didn't want tolls but wanted a railway, even if he had to pay extra for it himself, the railway would still be profitable.

In other words, once the railway connecting the entire Rain Country is built, the Rain Country's development will be on the fast track.

Although things have progressed well, Yahiko ultimately felt that their Land of Rain should have other ways to spread the word.

Unfortunately, the first step was stillborn with Youya.

However, Yahiko did not give up. If Yua couldn't do it, he would go to Granny Chiyo.

To be honest, Granny Chiyo was quite worried after learning that Yua hadn't followed. How could Yua not agree to such good conditions? Was there a trap involved?

Afterwards, Yahiko offered to subsidize the cost, but Granny Chiyo did the math and realized that they wouldn't charge the toll, and would even have to pay out of pocket, all for the sake of a railway line...

She couldn't resist such good terms and agreed.

and……

To be fair, the Kingdom of Hot Springs has indeed gone too far in recent years.

They collect so much toll money, yet the people of Sunagakure live better than those in the village. Why is that?!

Granny Chiyo was displeased, so she ordered Rasa to personally launch the attack. This time, the Land of Hot Springs would have to bleed.

This is the full picture of the incident.

It seems that Youya could be involved.

However, after thinking it over, Yuya finally decided that they couldn't shamelessly follow the example of Sunagakure and directly attack other villages. Konoha would focus on negotiation and persuasion.

Yahiko believes that Yua, the Third Hokage, is probably already considering the matter of succession.

Therefore, he actually intended to drag Yuya into the mess as well.

The methods used were indeed somewhat...unethical.

However, they were all using facts.

If the Kingdom of Hot Springs had been diligently playing the role of a subordinate for the past few years, Granny Chiyo might not have been in such a hurry to take action.

Youya wouldn't just hesitate; he would have already provided assistance.

Of course, it's a bit too late to say all this now.

Since the incident has already occurred, we need to find a solution.

Yuya sighed. Yahiko actually had another purpose in making this move.

That is, no matter what Youya chooses, he can use this to observe Youya's style of doing things and continue with the next step.

As expected, Yua's side stated that the Land of Hot Springs was an ally of Konoha, and Sunagakure should not go too far.

After making his statement, You Ya said that this matter should be discussed at the negotiating table, and that they should not actually fight.

The daimyo of Yu-no-kuni was naturally very willing.

However, Luo Sha demanded an exorbitant amount: half of all the toll fees collected over the years!

You Ya rolled her eyes. You really dared to just open your mouth when I asked you to.

Forget it, Yua was too lazy to deal with the affairs of Sunagakure and the Land of Hot Springs. Since both sides were able to sit down and talk, then a fight was unlikely to break out.

There really could be a "what if" situation...

That's selling weapons to both ends, I know that all too well.

Well, Sunagakure probably won't buy too many now.

Meanwhile, after realizing that Yua was indeed not prepared to participate, Yahiko decisively chose the next plan:

He went directly to their door.

Yes, the current leader of the Land of Rain has directly approached Konoha, expressing his desire to discuss with Yua the possibility of building a new waterworks in the Land of Rain to supply all its citizens.

Youya took a deep breath.

Either they're after some toll fees and a railway, and they'd love to instigate a war between Sunagakure and the Land of Hot Springs.

Or...

Just to drag Konoha into this mess, they're siding with the Land of Rain, willing to sell the entire country's water supply capacity...

That's fucking ruthless.

(End of this chapter)