"Fifty million ryō?"
"You really made fifty million ryō?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen kept repeating the number at Shimura Danzo, disbelief written all over his face.
There's a saying: nothing stings more than seeing your peer suddenly strike it rich.
Hiruzen truly didn't want Danzo to keep marching down the wrong path; he wanted him to course-correct.
But…
Danzo, how did you end up better off than me?
You went and did it for real.
To Hiruzen, the world felt absurd. The Danzo who had seemed his equal had turned overnight into a rich man.
"Yeah, Hiruzen."
"A mere fifty million. It's nothing."
Shimura Danzo wore a triumphant smile and waved it off as if it were no big deal, though inside he was elated.
He had waited a long time for this day. Now it was here.
Hiruzen, didn't you say I had no business meddling in tulips?
And now?
Why aren't you still barking?
Say something.
Look into my eyes.
Facing the cocky Danzo, Hiruzen could only sit there, sullen and speechless.
"The procurement can be done anytime."
"What matters most right now is seizing the chance and keeping the money flowing."
"So, Hiruzen, got any objections?"
Danzo asked with a teasing lilt.
"You… Danzo… n-no."
After struggling for words, Hiruzen could only force out a "no."
"Good. Let's eat. My treat."
Danzo strode off, brimming with confidence. Hiruzen followed with heavy steps. Soon they reached a restaurant.
Once inside, Danzo smoothly booked a private room, took the menu, pointed at the cheap dishes, and said to the server, "Not these. Bring everything else."
"Right away."
Such big spenders were rare, and the server left beaming. Hiruzen, seated, felt like he was on pins and needles. He knew Danzo was showing off on purpose, but he was helpless.
Money wins.
The meal began.
Danzo ate with relish.
Hiruzen, miserable, could hardly swallow.
The reason was simple.
They were comrades, but also rivals, both hoping to become Senju Tobirama's disciples.
Danzo had blindsided him with a bombshell.
Fifty million ryō.
Just picturing it made Hiruzen's chest tighten. Once they returned, if Danzo laid out his fifty million, Lord Tobirama might look at him with new eyes, perhaps even accept Danzo as a disciple on the spot.
And Hiruzen would be left on the sidelines, watching with envy.
His mood worsened.
He couldn't accept it. They had set out as near equals, and now Danzo had swapped a matchlock for a cannon. The gap hurt worse than a killing blow.
Progress is like that. Fall a step behind, and every step after lags.
Naturally, Hiruzen's thoughts drifted to the tulip trade. If Danzo could do it, why couldn't he?
He still had a shred of caution, though. On a battlefield with shuriken he was in his element, but tulips were unfamiliar. He needed a guide into the trade. Even Danzo. Especially Danzo.
"Danzo, I have a presumptuous request. Could you take me with you… in the tulip business? I want to improve."
Hiruzen spoke sincerely. He had never lowered himself like this before someone his own age, but for the chance to become Lord Tobirama's disciple, it was worth it.
"Oh?"
"Hiruzen, you want in on tulips too?"
"Weren't you the one saying shinobi should do shinobi work?"
Teased by Danzo, Hiruzen forced a sheepish smile and admitted his past view was too shallow.
"Fine. I'll reluctantly take you under my wing."
Danzo didn't make it hard. He agreed readily.
They had always been comrades, after all. Even as rivals, it was still a healthy rivalry. As long as Hiruzen yielded, Danzo would prove he was stronger.
Danzo began passing on his tulip-trading experience.
"Prices are climbing, but they're still at the bottom. It isn't too late to enter."
"Hiruzen, after these days of purchases, how much budget do you have left?"
Hiruzen did the math. They had brought eight hundred million ryō. Each held half for procurement. They had already spent a bit over thirty million. In hand remained three hundred seventy million.
"Good. Round off the loose change. Put in seventy million."
"Seventy million?"
"Danzo, you're joking, right?"
Hiruzen couldn't help crying out. He hadn't expected Danzo to be this bold. Seventy million as "loose change"?
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Capital is flooding into tulips. If you don't buy big now, are you going to wait and pay top price later for someone else's goods?"
"My biggest regret is being timid when I first entered. If someone had led me at the start, I would have made much more than fifty million."
Danzo spoke with real remorse. He truly wanted to slap his thigh. Why hadn't he bought more at the beginning?
Hiruzen still hesitated. Seventy million was astronomical, a sum that could cost him his life. Worth two Asumas.
"Hiruzen, I don't know what you're afraid of."
"In this market only the bold make money. The timid are just fodder."
"When they see a little volatility, they panic and dump at a lower price. From my study of the charts, the lower it goes, the more you should buy."
"If there's a big drop, that's when you buy the dip and go all-in."
Hiruzen listened to the half-understood jargon and nodded woodenly, feeling like the very "fodder" Danzo looked down on.
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