Konoha: This Uchiha is extremely sneaky

Chapter 482 Meeting Two

"Hokage, you're absolutely right!"

After Toshiro finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the Maka conference room.

Whether it was the Kage present, their guards behind them, or Mifune as a witness, they all agreed with Toshiro's point of view.

Unfortunately, approval does not equate to agreement.

"But..." Onoki's face was expressionless as he coldly said, "In my opinion, one should receive the treatment appropriate to their strength."

"We don't need to care too much about how those small villages feel."

"Once we, the five major powers, reach a consensus, the opinions of these people will be completely insignificant."

"Even if they're unwilling to accept it, what can they do besides resorting to underhanded tactics?"

In Onoki's view, this is how the world is: those with strength gain respect, and those without strength are bound to suffer losses.

The five great ninja villages should simply abide by this so-called compensation agreement; there's no need to involve those smaller villages.

These guys neither participated in the talks nor had any power; they practically did nothing. Why should they receive compensation?

Even these compensations are things I don't value.

"The reason for including these people is to better maintain peace, which will facilitate the next proposal."

Toshiro glanced at the other Kage present.

The Raikage looked indifferent, clearly not caring much about the matter.

Fengying... Luosha is quite shrewd. He didn't show any obvious facial expression, but with his keen eyesight, one could notice that the muscles at the corners of his mouth seemed to be slightly upturned.

Is this... a mockery?

As for Mei Terumi, her performance was rather average. She sat in her chair and smiled at Toshiro when he looked over.

It's completely impossible to tell what this woman is thinking.

"Border trade between major countries has always existed intermittently, but the scale of this trade has always been small, and most of the transactions are completed through third parties."

Not only is the scale extremely limited, but the prices are also incredibly high, and there's constant worry about being discovered by ninjas from various countries upon entry.

No matter how much the ninjas of different countries guard against trade, there will always be people willing to take risks for profit when it comes to certain scarce resources.

Things like medicinal herbs and grains from the Land of Fire, mountain delicacies and seafood from the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water, and minerals and placer gold from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind.

Simply selling them to other countries can yield profits several times, or even ten times, higher, and some people are willing to take the risk for it.

"I believe we should increase trade between major countries, designate specific trade zones, and stipulate the goods that each country can sell."

"Then we will establish a plan to facilitate the cross-border circulation of goods, so as to facilitate the exchange of goods between major countries."

"If those small countries are sandwiched between us, acting as their own buffer zones, and if they are filled with resentment and unwillingness, it will be very detrimental to our trade activities."

Putting aside other considerations, these small countries that act as buffer zones serve as transit points for the flow of goods between major powers.

If these people keep trying to sabotage things, it will be a fatal blow to any business activity.

"Hokage, could you explain in detail the specifics of our business dealings?"

Upon hearing the word "trade," a glint of longing flashed in Luo Sha's eyes.

Their land of winds is not lacking in minerals, especially precious metals like placer gold.

However, the Land of Wind is short of supplies. Even if you have gold, it's useless. It can't be used as food or water, and you can't exchange it for supplies on the market.

If there were a channel to exchange for the supplies they needed, it would be fantastic news for the Sand Village.

"Take our Wind Country and Fire Country as examples. We will find a suitable location on our respective borders and designate a place as a trading post."

Not only are merchants from their own countries allowed to freely trade here, but ninjas from other countries are also permitted to enter this specially designated area.

The ninja world is full of bandits and robbers, and merchants need to hire ninjas to protect them, whether for their own safety or for the safety of their goods.

However, in cross-border trade, these ninjas had no way to enter the borders of various countries, and even crossing those small countries was extremely risky.

Because these small countries all have the shadow of major powers behind them.

"Designate a piece of land so that ninjas from other countries can also enter?"

Hearing Toshiro's words, even though Rasa, Onoki, and the others present already knew the general outline, they still found it hard to accept.

After all, in their view, allowing ninjas from other countries into their country was an act of aggression and a risk.

Is it not worth taking such a risk just for the sake of trade?

"Of course, these specially designated areas require everyone to maintain order, and... a certain fee will be charged."

This so-called fee is actually tariffs, and Toshiro believes that these people will not be sleepy once they start talking about it.

Everyone was a shadow, and the village's economic power had always been in the hands of the daimyo. He believed that these people would be extremely enthusiastic about opening up another source of income.

"TOLL…"

Sure enough, as soon as Toshiro mentioned the fee, the eyes of the several Kage present lit up.

They glanced at each other a few times, then exchanged a knowing smile.

"Of course, we chose this place, and we maintain order. If foreign merchants want to do business in our country or transport goods to our country, we can also provide ninja protection."

"It's only right to charge them a certain percentage of the fee."

"After all, even ninjas need to eat and support their families."

This time, not only Rasa, who had originally agreed, but also Onoki, who had never been very interested in it, became somewhat tempted.

Seeing that everyone was somewhat interested, Toshiro pressed his advantage.

"We can discuss and come up with a draft plan here today regarding which goods can be sold, how to manage foreign ninjas after they enter this trading area, and how much to charge for the goods."

Once you return to the village, you can discuss this further with the village's higher-ups.

"Our ultimate goal is to enable goods to cross borders in large quantities."

Such matters involving trade between two countries cannot be decided by a few individuals simply by meeting here and making a snap decision.

After returning to the village, the shadows will need to obtain the support of most of the village's leaders, and afterwards they will need to select a location, discuss the types of goods, and so on, among many other things.

"I think this is feasible!"

As soon as Toshiro finished speaking, Mei Terumi was the first to stand up in support.

The Mist Ninja is currently in a recovery period and needs a lot of missions to train the new generation of ninjas in their village.

Furthermore, they still owe Konoha a loan, and this time they also got Samehada from Toshiro.

She had no reason to object.

"I agree!"

Next up is Luo Sha.

The Sand Village lacks nothing but sand, so this so-called trade zone would be an irresistible boon for the village.

I agree.

Whether the deal goes through or not doesn't matter much to Ai; however, having some extra income is never a bad thing.

"This old man..."

Seeing that the four Kage present all agreed, Onoki still wanted to be stubborn.

"Father, if we miss this opportunity, it will be a huge loss for our Iwagakure."

Seeing that Onoki was still somewhat reluctant, Huangtu, who had been rather unnoticed by his side, was now getting anxious.

He understood clearly that not only the Sand Village ninja, but even the Mist Village ninja agreed with the Hokage's suggestion.

Even if his own father objected, the major powers of fire, water, wind, and thunder could completely bypass the Land of Earth and do things their own way.

If Iwagakure hadn't joined by then, there wouldn't have been any significant loss.

However, as the saying goes, "If you don't row against the current, you'll drift backward."

The fact that the four families gained extra income while their side remained unchanged put the Iwa ninja at a disadvantage.

Moreover, he believed that the Fourth Raikage had also realized this, which was why he decisively joined in.

"I know."

He glared at Huang Tu with dissatisfaction.

This kid, does he think he's getting senile? How could he not understand something so obvious?

However, in his view, the biggest beneficiary of this matter is undoubtedly the Land of Fire, located at the center of the world.

"I have another question. How can we ensure the safety of our merchants when they enter other countries? Will trade be restricted?"

"I've also considered this aspect."

Toshiro had, of course, considered the Tsuchikage's situation in its entirety.

"In each of our respective trade zones, we will also set up a branch for task posting and acceptance."

"Taking the Land of Wind as an example, a merchant from the Land of Wind can directly post a guard mission at these mission posting points with a batch of goods, and we will arrange ninjas to protect their safety."

"As long as his goods are within our permitted scope, our ninjas will protect his person and the safety of his goods."

"He can take this shipment and safely go to any trading post he wants, such as the Land of Thunder."

"Upon arriving at the Land of Lightning's trading post, if he intends to continue trading within the Land of Lightning, he will need to hire ninjas from the Land of Lightning at the trading post to protect their safety within the Land of Lightning's territory."

"By doing this, ordinary people will have a livelihood, nobles can collect more taxes from them, ninjas will have more missions, and even the major villages will have an extra source of income."

To persuade the stubborn old man, Toshiro used all his eloquence.

He listed every single benefit he could think of.

P.S.: There's one more chapter, currently being proofread.

(End of this chapter)