Chapter 31: Selling Storage Scrolls
Over the next few days, Kaito sent his Shadow Clone to observe and gather intelligence on the shop owner.
Genshu's recent stealth training lessons proved incredibly helpful for this reconnaissance.
The shop owner's name was Koizumi Jinpei, and he was approximately 40 years old.
The Shadow Clone carefully observed his every movement to determine if he was a hidden shinobi operating undercover. Kaito had also tried sensing his chakra signature, but it registered only at civilian levels.
Kaito had a lingering question: had Konoha Village, at some point in the past, conducted a mass operation to unlock the chakra pathways of many civilians?
He also observed Jinpei's transactions with other customers, noting where he stored inventory, where he kept cash reserves, and other operational details.
This reconnaissance mission proved quite successful because at one point, the clone overheard Jinpei haggling with a supplier over pricing.
Listening to their conversation, Kaito learned that the supplier sold explosive tags to Jinpei for 500 ryo and storage scrolls for 1,200 ryo, while Jinpei resold storage scrolls to his customers for 1,500 ryo and explosive tags for 750 ryo.
After confirming that Jinpei was a safe target for his plan, Kaito placed five storage scrolls on his Shadow Clone.
His Shadow Clone took on the appearance of a middle-aged man and approached Jinpei's shop when there were no other customers present.
Seeing someone enter, Jinpei displayed a friendly smile and said: "Welcome! What can I help you find today?"
Kaito's Shadow Clone replied calmly: "Hello. I'm not here to buy, but to sell."
Hearing this, Jinpei looked quite surprised. He raised an eyebrow and asked: "Sell? And who might you be?"
The Shadow Clone replied: "You can call me Kaze."
Jinpei made a mental note that the man before him preferred using an alias. Then he asked: "What are you looking to sell?"
Kaito's Shadow Clone paused briefly, maintaining steady eye contact. Then he said: "Storage scrolls."
To gain advantage in the negotiation, Jinpei deliberately responded dismissively: "I already have three reliable suppliers for storage scrolls. Why would I need to buy from you?"
The Shadow Clone chuckled and said confidently: "Because my scrolls are superior quality."
This statement genuinely piqued Jinpei's interest. He asked: "How are they better? Let me examine your merchandise first."
Kaito's Shadow Clone maintained his calm smile and said: "As you wish."
Then he handed over a single scroll.
Jinpei took the scroll and invited him into a private room in the back of the shop. Along the way, he probed: "What organization are you affiliated with, and who's your superior?"
However, the Shadow Clone replied with subtle disdain: "That's none of your concern."
Hearing this response, Jinpei thought to himself: "Oh, a secretive operation? So he's either someone who doesn't want anyone knowing he can create storage seals, or he has a clandestine organization backing him—likely doing something questionable. Heh, I'm going to make a substantial profit from this naive supplier!"
Upon reaching the private examination room, Jinpei began carefully inspecting the scroll.
The Shadow Clone's claim was not exaggerated. A standard commercial storage scroll contains 10 sealing formulas. But the one Kaito had created contained 12 sealing formulas.
As Jinpei examined the scroll thoroughly, Kaito's Shadow Clone thought: "It wasn't particularly difficult to inscribe 12 sealing formulas in one scroll. You just need to draw the seal matrices more compactly and efficiently."
In fact, if someone wanted to create an optimal storage scroll while keeping the scroll's physical dimensions unchanged, they could theoretically inscribe up to 25 sealing formulas on it.
However, for commercial producers who mass-manufacture these scrolls, 10 is the economically optimal number. The reason is that most buyers don't actually need more than 10 sealing compartments on a single scroll.
For clients who want greater capacity, selling them multiple scrolls generates more profit.
This approach also reduces the time and effort required to produce each scroll. So this number becomes the optimal point to maximize their profit margins.
However, Kaito had no such commercial restrictions. He simply wanted to earn some money to continue funding his fuinjutsu training.
Seeing the number of sealing formulas on the scroll, Jinpei had similar initial thoughts.
However, he also analyzed deeper than Kaito expected, as he had considerably more market experience and customer information. He considered: "While two extra sealing compartments might not seem significant to ordinary customers, I know there are several shinobi who would specifically want scrolls with additional storage capacity."
"Just last week, a jonin mentioned how convenient it would be to have storage scrolls with more sealing formulas. I could sell this scroll to him at a premium price—possibly even over 2,000 ryo."
Then he glanced at Kaito's Shadow Clone and thought: "Now the only question is whether this seller realizes its true market value."
A moment later, Jinpei's expression turned deliberately ugly, and he said with feigned anger: "Your scroll only has 2 extra sealing formulas! And the quality of each seal is identical to standard commercial products. A scroll with 10 sealing compartments is already more than sufficient for most purposes. I'll buy it, but I'll only pay you the same wholesale price I pay my regular suppliers."
Knowing exactly what kind of person this shop owner was, the Shadow Clone chuckled and replied: "We're not fools, and we both know that's completely untrue. There are plenty of shinobi willing to pay premium prices for scrolls with additional storage capacity."
Jinpei, however, responded with practiced indifference: "Yes, but they won't necessarily pay significantly higher prices for just two extra compartments. However, seeing that you managed to add 2 more sealing formulas competently, I'll pay you slightly more. Not 1,000 ryo—I'll offer you 1,100 ryo."
Hearing this insulting lowball offer, the Shadow Clone sneered: "Do you think I just emerged from the wilderness? The wholesale supply price for standard storage scrolls ranges from 1,200 to 1,250 ryo. Even at a minimum baseline of 1,200 ryo, considering this has 20% more storage capacity, the fair price should be raised to 1,440 ryo—not to mention that specialized shinobi clients might willingly pay even higher premiums."
Hearing this well-informed response, Jinpei felt considerable pressure. Seeing the precise figures the seller quoted, he sighed internally.
The haggling continued for several more tense minutes. Jinpei leveraged the fact that the seller was unwilling to reveal his identity or organization to gradually push the purchase price down to 1,150 ryo per scroll.
After the negotiation concluded, Kaito's Shadow Clone thought: "What an intense negotiation session. This guy is significantly better at haggling than I am. But regardless, even though he probably thinks he secured a good deal, being able to sell these scrolls for over a thousand ryo each is more than sufficient for my purposes."
Then the clone chuckled inwardly, thinking: "However, I still have one crucial advantage to play. While he might be superior at negotiation tactics, my advantage is that I'm currently the sole supplier of 12-formula storage scrolls in the area. I'm eager to see his final decision."
After settling on the price of 1,150 ryo per scroll, Jinpei asked: "Kaze-san, how many scrolls do you have available to sell?"
Kaito's Shadow Clone didn't answer immediately but instead placed four additional scrolls on the table before him. Seeing this, Jinpei was momentarily speechless. He thought: "Only four more? So including the one I already examined, there are only 5 total? What kind of game is this seller playing?"
Seeing that the mysterious seller offered no further explanation, Jinpei displayed an annoyed expression and asked with manufactured anger: "Only five scrolls? You wasted so much of my valuable time negotiating over just five scrolls?"
The Shadow Clone responded calmly and deliberately: "Our organization has sent several representatives like myself to other shop owners throughout the commercial district to sell similar merchandise. My superior will decide which shop receives our future business based on the prices and terms each merchant offers today."
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