Three days later, a merchant caravan of more than twenty people, hauling ten carts of seafood, headed toward Iwagakure.
Leading the group was a somewhat well-off-looking middle-aged merchant, smiling with narrowed eyes and wearing a pair of glasses. This man was Gekko Chizan's new appearance.
As for the others in the caravan, they were all hired by him from nearby towns.
"Everyone, put in a bit more effort, we're about to reach Iwagakure."
"This batch of seafood is definitely going to sell well. When the time comes, I'll give everyone bonuses at the price we agreed on earlier."
If he wanted to make things big, then the act had to be complete. This time, Gekko Chizan didn't even consider using shadow clones—he was afraid something unexpected might happen.
After all, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure was that old man Ōnoki, a veteran who had spent years charging through battlefields and schemes alike. His mind was meticulous—possibly even harder to deal with than that old Sarutobi.
After all, he was someone who had lived all the way from Madara Uchiha's era to old age. The experience stored in his head was immense.
"Oh! Great!"
"Boss, did this batch of seafood really come all the way from the Land of Frost?"
Many people in the caravan were extremely curious about this seafood. Although the Land of Earth did have seafood, it was only available in some cities near the coast.
Large yellow croakers, giant squid, huge octopuses, all kinds of shellfish—good heavens, it was hard to imagine.
Gekko Chizan chuckled softly, a trace of pride appearing on his face.
"Hehehe, I'm an old sea wolf. The ships of the Land of Frost are very suitable for going out to sea—it's just that transportation is a bit troublesome."
"This is all thanks to the ninjas of Takigakure. Being able to come all the way here from the Land of Frost was thanks to them."
"And these blocks of ice too—tsk tsk—if they hadn't used ninjutsu to help preserve everything, there's no way I could've brought this much."
Looking at the piles of ice stacked atop the ten carts of seafood, even in the Land of Earth, surrounded by mountains, the flavor of the seafood wouldn't be affected at all.
"But why do I feel like the Land of Earth isn't as lively as it used to be?"
"It feels kind of deserted."
"There's no one on the main roads?"
Gekko Chizan suddenly asked the people around him. He already had some ideas in mind—he just wanted confirmation.
Sure enough, the moment he asked, the workers around him all sighed in unison.
"Sigh, it's all because of the previous wars."
"Who knows if it's because Iwagakure kept launching wars and got divine punishment—so many disasters have appeared inside the Land of Earth."
"Isn't that the truth! Bugs and snakes everywhere—it's terrifying!"
Hearing the words "bugs" and "snakes," Gekko Chizan secretly chuckled to himself. Weren't those all his glorious achievements?
"If the daimyo's residence hadn't issued orders to Iwagakure, this road might already be completely filled with bugs or snakes."
"If that were the case, boss, even if you offered sky-high prices, no one would help you."
"After all, no one wants to joke around with their own life."
One of the older workers shook his head, his tone filled with helplessness.
"What? People died?"
Gekko Chizan froze slightly. How come he didn't know anyone had died? He hadn't received any corresponding notification sounds.
When he asked again, it was still the same worker who replied.
"As far as I know, probably not. But there have been many attacks."
"However, I heard that quite a few ninjas from Iwagakure died while dealing with these disasters."
"They're not like us workers. When we run into trouble, we retreat. They have to face it head-on—it's completely different."
Gekko Chizan nodded. That made sense to him. He had created those disasters precisely to cut off Iwagakure's various supply lines and create chaos.
He had no intention of harming ordinary people. And whether it was snake swarms or insect swarms, the outer layers were made up of the most common, low-toxicity snakes and insects. Logically, there shouldn't have been any deaths.
Along the way, Gekko Chizan learned quite a lot about Iwagakure and the Land of Earth.
It could be considered an indirect harvest of intelligence.
When they finally reached Iwagakure, they were once again stopped by the gate-guarding ninjas.
"A merchant caravan? From the coastal area?"
"All of this is seafood?"
The ninjas of Iwagakure were clearly far more capable than those of Kusagakure. After a series of inquiries, they had a full grasp of the situation.
However, Gekko Chizan's preparations were extremely thorough. With an entire caravan of Land of Earth workers acting as witnesses, there was simply no room for problems.
"Alright, go on in. If you're here to do business, it's best to head to the central area."
"There are vacant shops there that you can rent."
"Oh, and let me ask privately—how are the prices on this batch of seafood?"
Isn't living all about eating? The gate-guarding ninjas were all very interested in this seafood.
After all, Iwagakure was located deep among mountains, all of them rocky peaks. The only chance they had to go out was on missions. To be honest, their daily meals were really just so-so.
Seeing such good seafood was rare, and they also wanted to improve their diet a bit.
"Haha, that's easy to talk about."
"You there—take out some seafood and leave it for them."
"No need for money. Thanks to you all for pointing us in the right direction, hahaha."
This earned him the goodwill of the gate-guarding ninjas. He didn't even ask for payment—after all, it wasn't much seafood, mainly a gesture of sincerity.
"Not bad. Let me give you another reminder—once you enter the village, be sure to follow the rules. As long as you follow the rules, everything's easy to talk about."
One of the ninjas, very satisfied as he accepted the large yellow croaker handed over by the workers, offered another piece of advice.
Gekko Chizan smiled and nodded. Then the caravan entered the village.
And headed toward the center of the village.
Following the ninja's reminder, he found a pretty decent shop and also rented a bunch of freezers.
It could be said that he fully committed to the act. After half a day of bustling about like this, he finally officially opened for business.
"Come and take a look! Fresh seafood! Fresh large yellow croaker!"
"Giant squid! Huge octopus! All kinds of shellfish—caught at sea from the Land of Frost! Preserved with ice the whole way!"
Gekko Chizan didn't know where he had found a big loudspeaker. Standing at the entrance, he began to shout.
The first thing he reaped wasn't a crowd gathering—but rather the wild laughter of his own brother, Chōmei.
"Poisonous large yellow croaker! Fresh!"
"Hallucinogenic giant squid! Blinding octopus!"
"All kinds of shellfish, all kinds of poison! Hahahahaha!"
"Chizan, if they knew the truth and heard you shouting like this, do you think they'd die of anger? Hahahaha!"
Gekko Chizan almost burst out laughing. This guy Chōmei—his comedic instincts had gone completely out of control. Even though it was the truth, how could he say it out loud?
Still, his shouting did have an effect. Many people turned their gazes over.
After all, the gimmick of fresh seafood was extremely attractive to the people of Iwagakure.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo