Weeks later/
A man in a fine silk kimono sat across me in the private room of my newest restaurant that finished being built which I asked to be customised especially for meetings like this.
He had a thin mustache, a good posture, and brown sharp eyes. On his chest was a golden badge which had the symbol of the Global Merchant Association, but not just any badge, It had three diamonds etched into the metal which meant that he was a high ranking official that looked after the GMA system working for the Shogun.
Basically, he was the kind of guy who made decisions that affected thousands of merchants.
"Garou-sama." He said with a slight bow of his head. "I am Kaneshiro. Deputy Director of the Eastern Region. I have heard much about you. The genius writer from Hatake clan. It was within my expectations and imagination when you looked like the kind of person who has seen struggles and wars, appearance and personality-wise."
I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed. "Yeah yeah, So what does the association want from me? It has not been long since I registered my name to be a GMA member and I don't think this warrants a visit from someone of your level."
He smiled but It did not reach his eyes, that fake ass smile most manipulators do, I know because I have seeing this shit far more often nowadays, "Straight to the point, I like that. Then, simply put, you are an heir to a clan inside Konoha who happens to not be a ninja and is a member in our organisation, which is a golden opportunity. But first, the association wants to know what you want from us."
"Sell my food."
"True but you also want to sell your food in places where ninjas cannot follow. You want to build a food empire that answers only to you in these lands, and you want the association's protection while you do it. I have been informed of your plans since you have been trying hard with Ino-shika-cho clans to secure lands outside Konoha territories." He said.
I didn't deny it and just nodded.
He nodded slowly. "The association can offer you all of that. But nothing is free, Garou-sama. You understand how business is."
"Yes, everyone wants a piece of my pie."
"Exactly! Courtesy to you, I have personally tasted some of your incredible recipes and I know that with 100% certainty, your business will become the most successful. I thought at first that this will be just like any other restaurant, but after I tasted those never before seen dishes today, then its future is guaranteed which can make things so much easier. You may not know it but you already have many fans and if they know of this business, then they will become regulars instantly." He said and then pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the table.
"Let me explain how the association ranks its members. Then we will talk about what we want from you." He said and I looked at the scroll. I already knew there was a ranking system in the GMA but didn't care about it at the time, so let's see what this is about.
"All members start at Iron rank, and Iron merchants can trade within their own province with limited to no protection and limited benefits." He pointed to a chart on the table.
"Next is Bronze. Regional trade with some tax exemptions, and access to association guarded roads."
"Silver Rank. Trade across multiple provinces, priority at association checkpoints and access to small intelligence briefings."
"Gold Rank. Trade anywhere in the Land of Fire, exemption from most tariffs, personal liaison to the association, and VIP treatment at all ports and checkpoints."
He paused and looked at me with his smile still on.
"I believe you have the potential to reach Platinum, if you play your cards right." He said.
"Platinum?"
"Only a handful of merchants hold Platinum rank. They are treated like the highest nobility and the association protects their interests above all others and they have a direct line to the Shogun-sama's advisors, but Platinum comes with expectations normally."
"There it is, the catch." I said as I stared at him in boredom.
Kaneshiro leaned forward.
"We want three things from you, Garou-sama"
"Shoot." I said with a wave of my hand.
"Your restaurants are in Konoha which is important. Ninjas, Civilians, Merchants, and maybe nobles may eat here and they talk. They say things they should not say and we want you to listen and we want you to sell that information to us."
"Information like what?"
"Mission movements if possible, clan disputes, anything related to the Hokage, the village's financial health or anything that could be called useful information no matter how small."
"You want me to spy on my own village?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Your own village? You dropped out of the academy Garou-sama, you are not a ninja and won't be recognised as a ninja if you don't go through the ninja curriculum. You are a merchant, and your loyalty is to your business, not to the Hokage or anyone else. I am pretty sure you don't even plan to stay in this village if my tracking of your record and personality is accurate."
"..." I didn't answer because he wasn't wrong. If an opportunity arises then I will leave Konoha with Tsunade in the bag and never come back.
"The book of Art Of War, just by reading it once and I knew you are the type of man who doesn't accept anyone to be their master. And I know that you hate ninjas as much as the Damiyo does. Publishing that book in the Capital instead of Konoha told us many things even if we ignore the subtle content of the book that has a certain dislike to ninjas. That's why I rushed here with the excuse of visiting what this upcoming now famous writer's business is all about. I couldn't let someone with your superior mind fall to this village's disgusting politics."
"Hmmm." I nodded at the praise.
"Second, we want to use your position as a future clan head to influence Konoha's politics because the association has no voice in the ninja villages but you do considering your connections. Through you, we can push for trade agreements, for lower tariffs and for access to markets that are currently closed to us."
"As you know, Konoha's territories may not be as large as what it was during the first world war as the Daimyo took control back of those lands. But the remaining territories are still quite large, and we have trouble creating spy networks in these lands because of the dense ninja population and lack control." Kaneshiro said with a frown.
"I get paid for that?" I asked.
"Obviously."
"Then shoot, what's the third?" I said with a wave of my hand.
"Third which you may like... we want you to expand aggressively and open restaurants in every major city, especially in Konoha's territories. In every trade hub, In the capital, in the ports, in the border towns, everywhere! And we will support your expansion as much as we can. We only ask you to let our people work in those restaurants if possible." Kaneshiro said which made me grin savagely.
'Jackpot!' I thought with excitement but I didn't show it on my face.
"It will be hard for Konoha's territories as you know. But with Ino-shika-cho, my father, and grandma-in-law especially, I don't think expansion in Konoha's territory will face much problems. And I think you shouldn't have personally come here. Those bastards will be breathing down my neck from now on and be suspicious." I said which made him smile helplessly.
Seems this dude is a fan of my book and just wanted to see me while at it because a matter like this could be done without him being here personally.
Anyways, that book boosted my reputation immensely and will make things so much easier in some parts.
"..."
"I can even sense some ninjas right now on those rooftops waiting and clearly restless." I said as I turned my head towards the window.
"You can sense them from here?" Kaneshiro asked with surprise.
"Easy stuff." I nodded.
"As expected of you Garou-sama! You are really amazing even outside books." The man glazed which made me smile.
I was got shit talked by Gintoki so much it felt nice to be praised for once too.
"So what's my Rank in the GMA? They said until my business was running, they couldn't rank me." I asked.
"I will personally see to it and give you Gold right away. Sorry, but Platinum is not something anyone can just get." Kaneshiro said and I nodded.
"Is it possible for the association to make it easy for me to expand beyond the Land of Fire? Like Wind, Earth, and Lightning? Because I want Heaven's Feel in every country." I said as I leaned back.
"Sorry but other countries have their own trade laws and high ranking people who control trades that I am not personally familiar with all of them except only a few. Maybe if you had Platinum rank then sure but currently, no. A regular merchant selling his stuff is okay, but someone like you with great goals and dreams of expansions need to go through many legal procedures." He replied much to my disappointment.
"Disappointing but not surprised." I said.
"I am sorry."
"No need. But another thing, do I have to worry about business opponents?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
"Garou-sama, business is war as you know and of course you will have business opponents who will do anything to have your downfall, but don't worry about sabotages because the GMA will try its best to minimize it for you as best as it can. And you are also a prominent figure yourself with great connections, so, many will not dare to do anything. The most annoying to deal with will be the Eunuchs, but they mostly reside in the land of Iron, so don't worry that much." He explained with a reassuring smile.
"Hmmm shit. Okay another thing, I hate secrecy and bullshit above all else. So tell me right now if I am involving myself in some secret cult or something where elites gather to decide the lives of normal people as if this is a game." I said bluntly.
"Ahh, the GMA was created by the Shogun-sama, and the loyalty of GMA is with the Shogun-sama who is one person only. So, no, this organisation doesn't have any cultist fetishes and every major orders that affect people will have to ultimately be approved by the Shogun-sama. We just exist to create a safe trading environment and making sure no one can disrupt the cycle of trade as ordered by the Shogun-sama. As you know, when Tobirama was alive, trading and the global economy was very fragile and easy to manipulate." Kaneshiro said with a frown and I nodded because it was the truth. Before GMA, someone like Tobirama could fuck the whole world times over if he wanted to.
"Good because I have zero tolerance for such things. All I want it is making money, and while at it, deal some damage to these walking devils called ninjas. But know this that in the slightest chance I know that you guys are going against what I hold important in life then you will become my enemies just like the ninjas." I said threateningly which slightly made him nervous. He may be comfortable right now but my appearance is still intimidating to anyone.
"Also, you don't need to worry about the Ino-shika-cho clans just because they have shares in my business. They know that money is money and they know that Heaven's Feel will make them rich. Their loyalty is to their pockets, not the Hokage. Even best case scenario and the village antagonised them, they can relocate their clans to the capital if the Damiyo gave them permission."
"Ohhh, I know. And now that you mention it, You will have to also give the Daimyo of the land of fire some of the shares of your business as a sign of trust. How much can you give?" Kaneshiro said as he started to rub his hands together like a juice.
"10%, no more than that. Even Nara and Yamanaka each has 2.5%, so 10% is enough for building trust. 100 million Ryo. 10 million for every 1%, that's the price." I said as I looked at him while inwardly, I was grinning Führeriously at the sheer amount.
10 Ryo is equal to 1 dollar. So, 100 million Ryo means 10 million dollars. Without inflation.
I could live comfortably for 25 years straight without doing a single thing.
That's worth 200 S-rank missions for ninjas.
"That's easy Garou-sama, I expected you will ask for more, but since that's your price then I will immediately send a message to the Daimyo with a contract that has your signature, and then you don't need to worry about anything else." Kaneshiro said with a smile but I have already lost mine.
'Damn! Should have asked for more! How rich are these fuckers?!' I thought in irritation and surprise.
Are they the fucking illuminati of this world?
"Then I will send the Nara clan head and you can discuss everything else. I hate boring stuff, sorry but not sorry." I said as I rose from my seat which slightly made him nervous because of my intimidating physique.
"Ahaha, sure Garou-sama! But please wait a moment..." Kaneshiro said and immediately pulled out a book.
The Art Of War.
I looked into his eyes as he took out ink and brush also "Can you please sign this book for me?" He asked.
"Sure." I just shrugged and I just went with the painter's signature.
[Picture]
Kaneshiro looked at signature with a wide smile on his face that didn't look fake for once, "Thanks and please can you tell me when will you publish the other chapters of the book?" He asked.
"Soon." I replied and went out the room, then I saw the Nara clan head waiting for me and I just nodded at him and he went inside to meet Kaneshiro and take care of things I missed and knew little about.
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-------------------
Huff... huff.. huff ×2
"H..hey Dai," I called the exhausted Dai who was breathing heavily beside me as we lay on the training grounds.
If not for context, people might think we fucked or something but that's not the case.
We were training... intensely.
"Y...huff, yes master Garou?" He replied.
"Do you know about the restaurants and the district that I am building?" I asked.
"I am aware Master Garou. All of Konoha is curious and come there to watch what those workers are building. Why do you ask?" Dai replied, much more at ease as his breathing stabilised.
"Tell me Dai, how much the village pays you for completing missions? if you could even call it that." I asked which made him raise an eyebrow.
"I don't know why you ask but it depends on the mission and how much the one who assigned the mission is willing to give." He replied.
"Give me numbers. How much exactly?" I probed. It might have been rude but Dai was too good and honest to even care about what's rude or not.
"Hmm, most of the time, for one full day's work if I am lucky then I can get 100 Ryo after taxes." He said which made me grimace.
So 10 dollars for being a hard working slave from dawn to dusk. And I very much know most of the work Dai does is all about pathetic stuff like taking out weeds or paint walls which isn't befitting him.
"Is it enough for your daily needs?" I asked.
"Honestly, no. But I can scrape by if I don't overspend. My main problem is ninja gears which I have to renew every now and then." He said while scratching his nose.
"Then Dai, I have a proposal," I said as I turned and looked at him.
"What proposal Master Garou?" He asked with curiosity.
"What do you think about working for me?" I suggested.
"Are you serious?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Dead serious. You will work as a bodyguard daily 9 to 5 with a wage of 400 Ryo." I said.
"..."
"Think about it, that's close to 3 times the money you get from slaving away doing useless missions."
"I really don't know Master Garou," Dai looked conflicted.
"And if you get married, I will raise your daily income to 500 Ryo. And if you get a kid then I will give you another 100 Ryo as a bonus." I said and he looked at me speechlessly which made me smirk.
"And we have promotions. If you do a good job then I can make you responsible for more which means more money, reaching the thousand Ryo mark." I whispered like a devil.
If Hiruzen doesn't give a fuck about Dai and treat him good, then I will do it. This way, I can secure Dai's loyalty, and his loyalty to the village may diminish little by little since I plan to assign him not to just Konoha's Heaven's Feel district, but outside.
Dai slaving away his life to this ungrateful village who always mock the fuck out of him is a waste, and he deserves respect.
"I... I will think about it." He finally let out but I recognised those eyes. He is in the bag already.
"I will write the contract then, and next time we meet, you would already have a secure respectable job, not whatever you are doing right now." I said and he just smiled awkwardly.
"Thank you Master Garou... for caring and being concerned for me." He said with some tears coming down his face suddenly.
"That's the least I could do as a friend Dai, don't worry about it." I replied with a small smile which made him cry harder.
I was probably his only friend, and someone who acknowledged him.
"Y...your Youth amazes me every time I look at it." He said between tears.
"Yep, now stand up and let's go for round 30." I said and he immediately flipped on his back and was on his feet then rushed towards me.
"YOUTH!!!!"
*BAM!*
He punched and I met his fist with mine which created a big shockwave.
The End.