How to Survive as an Uchiha-Chapter 188 - The Walking Dead of Negotiation

Dodai did not continue arguing with Masashi.

There was nothing wrong with his words on the surface.

The key issue was...

Kumo had lost, and lost miserably—worse than ever since its founding.

Masashi was already giving him some respect by only discussing commercial rules rather than ninja rules.

"I understand..." Dodai said in a low voice. "I'll take another look."

He buried his head back into the documents.

"Of course, that is your right," Masashi replied politely. He was always courteous during negotiations.

The only time he was less polite was when negotiating with the Fourth Raikage.

After all, that time he never intended to negotiate—the Fourth Raikage was following the Third Raikage's policies and couldn't break free from old ways of thinking.

The problem with the military faction was that they had to maintain an image of being unafraid of battle. Their idol-like burden made it inconvenient to change their stance.

Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, only Kumo's military faction had truly made a name for itself.

The ecosystems of other villages ensured that the military faction could never take the lead.

The Kumo ninjas lowered their heads again.

At the end of the day, they were all military contractors. It was never really a matter of life and death.

To put it bluntly, ninja villages as organizations had no real sense of belonging to their countries. To them, both nations and individuals were just clients—essentially the same in nature.

Just like how Konoha wouldn't care about the Wind Daimyō just because they fought Suna.

They only cared about developing the daimyō into a high-value client.

Ninjas had no interest in world domination or unification.

Even Madara's opposition to the ninja system stemmed from this understanding. As an experienced ninja, he knew their true nature all too well.

Madara, who sought absolute peace, was the true outlier among ninjas.

Even Hashirama, who seemed almost like a saint at the end of the Warring States Period, only aimed for a structured war—a form of "welfare warfare."

The state-village system was not something a pure idealist or someone without deep understanding of ninja nature could ever conceive.

The current world truly belonged to ninjas.

The Warring States Period did not belong to ninjas—it belonged to the nobility. Ninjas were merely their blades.

In the hidden village era, nominally, the Five Daimyōs held power, but in reality, the Five Kages were the ones truly in control. Everyone was working for the Five Great Ninja Villages. Whether in times of peace or war, all efforts—directly or indirectly—served to fuel these villages.

Although the Five Great Ninja Villages were enemies, they were also part of the same system. This was the foundation of the Shinobi Alliance in the original timeline.

It was no longer a world of clear-cut enemies and allies like in the Warring States Period.

Dodai raised his head again.

"Since the final payment is due in three years, why can't Kumo pay Konoha directly? Why is the interest calculated based on the full 7 billion?"

"In fact, we considered Kumo's situation in making this decision," Masashi said, feeling a bit exhausted. He had expected this question. "The last 4 billion, given Kumo's financial burden, will be paid in three years. You are aware of this."

Dodai nodded. He wanted to see what kind of reasoning Masashi would come up with this time.

"But is 4 billion now the same as 4 billion three years later?" Masashi asked. "Delaying the final payment by three years impacts Konoha's operations. Many project plans have to be adjusted, and currency itself depreciates. So for Konoha, we receive the full amount upfront, while you effectively owe the moneylender 7 billion. However, the 4 billion has a fixed interest rate."

"But under this structure, we have to pay 420 million ryō in interest every year! This isn't the same as the stated interest rate."

"You've misunderstood. You're looking at the annual interest rate, but interest is compounded every three months. Additionally, this is a comprehensive rate—it includes not just interest, but also group fees, implementation costs for the financial intermediary, and compensation for their losses due to acting as an agent. Raikage-sama, it's all written in the contract."

"What losses are you referring to?" Dodai struggled to control his expression. "How do you determine what's reasonable or not?"

"This refers to potential losses," Masashi explained. "For example, if Kumo were to face a natural disaster or some other crisis, causing a payment delay, the financial intermediary would still be responsible for making timely payments to other banks. That's why Kumo is required to prepay a security deposit. If there's no default by the due date, the deposit will be refunded. However, I strongly advise against defaulting. If you default, the deposit won't even come close to covering the losses—it only mitigates them. Moreover, penalty interest is compounded, and the rate doubles on top of the standard comprehensive rate."

"Why can't we just pay the final installment ourselves?"

"Under the current arrangement, Kumo's total expenditure amounts to over 11.26 billion ryō. However, if you insist on paying the final installment directly to Konoha after three years, then the interest rate on the 3-billion loan will change."

"What's the interest rate?"

"The first option follows the current annualized rate of 6%. If you choose the second option, the rate doubles. While the annual payment burden will be lower—since the principal amount is reduced—the final 4-billion installment will be a huge strain. Additionally, you'll have to pay a lump sum compensation fee based on a fixed 6% interest rate. In total, your actual expenditure will be an extra 540 million ryō."

Seeing that Dodai was on the verge of losing his composure, Masashi offered a further explanation.

"This is already the lowest possible estimate. We've made the biggest concession we can. If you don't believe me, I'd recommend that the Hokage allow Kumo to send an investigative team to assess the current capital costs in the Land of Fire's market. However, Konoha would need to supervise the investigation to ensure that you're not engaging in unrelated espionage activities."

Dodai put in a great effort to control his emotions.

He didn't say anything about sending an investigative team.

Because he knew Masashi wouldn't lie about this.

There was no need.

Even suggesting an immediate lump-sum payment had been a moment of frustration.

Kumo could afford 3 billion. But 4 billion? That was impossible. If they tried, there would be rebellion in the village.

Masashi had truly figured out Kumo inside and out.

It wasn't a real choice. There was no choice at all.

"Masashi, when did you start gathering all this information?" Dodai picked up the small booklet.

He only glanced at it briefly before looking away.

It was shocking.

"It wasn't difficult," Masashi replied. "But since this involves trade partners' confidential information, I can't disclose the details."

At that moment, in the conference room, aside from Masashi and Dodai, no one else made a sound.

Everyone was in shock.

It was obvious now—the 4-billion final installment wasn't an arbitrary number. It was calculated to be the absolute limit of Kumo's financial capacity.

Especially the five Konoha representatives. They had no idea Masashi had compiled such a detailed report. This wasn't something he had thrown together last-minute—none of them had seen him working on it.

Now, they were incredibly curious—just how had he managed to figure out Kumo's finances so precisely?

Such an incredible business partner... shouldn't he introduce them to whoever provided this intel?

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Negotiations were never something that could be settled in just one round.

The same applied to Konoha and Kumo. Even though Masashi completely dominated the negotiations, it wasn't because the Kumo ninjas were foolish. They were all seasoned professionals. It was just that the disparity between both sides was simply too great.

The imbalance wasn't just in information—it was even more pronounced in expertise.

If he wanted to, Masashi could have drafted a full investment and financing analysis report for Kumo right on the spot.

Of course, that wasn't necessary—his opponents were far too weak.

The final straw that broke Kumo's back was when Masashi listed out their village's cash flow up to this month.

Who knew how much more information he had hidden up his sleeve?

Even though his estimates weren't perfectly precise and were only rough projections, the people in the room weren't financial analysts. They only had a general grasp of the numbers. But Masashi's estimates were eerily accurate.

The expressions on the Kumo ninjas' faces said it all—not everyone was a master of emotional control.

There were few people like Fugaku, who had turned the art of the poker face into second nature.

Honestly, if it weren't for his completely mismatched hobby, he would have been the perfect advisor to the Hokage.

But Masashi figured Fugaku wouldn't have much time left before he was forced to kneel on a washboard—because Sasuke definitely wouldn't be able to keep that one particular secret under wraps.

Mikoto was going to explode.

When the Kumo delegation left the conference room, their expressions were like students who had just walked out of a brutal exam.

That look was called relief.

Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

They were done.

Konoha, on the other hand, treated them with extreme hospitality, arranging for them to stay at the best hotel in the village—the Hyūga Grand Hotel.

This hotel was built after the Third Great Ninja War as a joint investment by the Uchiha and Hyūga clans. It was now the highest-end establishment in Konoha.

It was named Hyūga Grand Hotel to reflect the friendship between the two clans, and also because the Hyūga had invested more money into it. Ever since the Uchiha and Hyūga clans entered a "honeymoon phase," the Hyūga clan was no longer strapped for cash.

They had even started dabbling in the medical industry.

They had no choice—one of their secret medicinal salves was simply too effective.

Before, they lacked the proper sales channels. Now that they had them, wealthy buyers were lining up.

Of course, the Hyūga clan only catered to the nobility, avoiding competition with the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans, who specialized in different markets.

No one had any complaints about this—the Hyūga clan had been considerate.

Aside from investing money, they also contributed personnel.

The hotel receptionists were all Hyūga women—needless to say, business was booming.

In Konoha, no one could compete with the Hyūga clan in this area.

Despite their reputation, not every member of the Hyūga clan was a shinobi.

In fact, no ninja clan could achieve a 100% shinobi rate.

There would always be people who weren't suited for the life of a shinobi. A strong bloodline could only determine the baseline, not guarantee that every descendant would be a prodigy.

As the Kumo delegation shuffled out like walking corpses, Konoha's five-person negotiation team turned their gazes toward Masashi.

The meeting is over—why are you all still here staring at me? Masashi was speechless.

"When did you prepare all this?" Minato asked, winking. "You've been hiding things from us, haven't you?"

"I always keep things prepared—better safe than sorry," Masashi replied.

It was just his habit.

Keep a low profile in daily life, but go all out when it's time to act.

He wasn't the type to volunteer information unprompted. But if he was called upon, he would make sure to deliver results.

A person's reliability was built on their track record.

No one was naturally dependable—it all came down to preparation.

"Honestly, Hokage-sama, you're slacking too much. You're the Hokage, so why was I the one negotiating everything?"

"You handled it so well. The capable should do more work, right?" Minato sounded sincerely impressed.

Masashi had never let anyone down. He was truly incredible. And to think, Minato had pulled him into this negotiation at the last minute!

"Seriously though, Masashi, didn't you say we had a one-fifth chance? But looking at things now, it doesn't seem like it."

Minato knew he was being greedy, but he had based his next phase of planning on a 12-billion-ryō deal.

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama. Kumo will definitely default on their payments."

"Their income is unstable. The economic boost from the Third Great Ninja War was temporary. The Land of Earth is absorbing resources aggressively, and Kumo will feel the pressure soon. They may have managed to pay 3 billion ryō this time, but three years from now, they might not even be able to cough up 2 billion in one go. I didn't leave them much breathing room."

"Won't they get desperate?"

"No, because the Association will set up training institutes afterward. People from all five nations can participate. This will help Kumo develop professionals in this field, and they'll get used to borrowing money and planning expenses in advance."

Debt itself wasn't inherently bad—it was the people mismanaging it that caused disasters.

The Land of Lightning was still too rich. What it needed was a bunch of reckless spenders with no concept of risk management to stir things up.

As long as they had enough ninjas to fight in wars, everything would be fine.

Wait—why was he even thinking about this? He had already done his part!

Minato was trying to rope him in again!

Masashi immediately shut his mouth.

The rest of Konoha's negotiation team looked disappointed.

They couldn't squeeze any more info out of him.

Getting just a little taste was worse than getting nothing at all.

"Alright, alright, I won't ask you any more questions." Minato chuckled. "I know you worked hard today. I'll give you some time off. I won't give you any extra burdens before the next negotiation."

"Really?" Masashi's eyes lit up.

There wouldn't be another negotiation for at least a few days—he could finally relax.

"Of course. I'm the Hokage—I keep my word."

Masashi thought about it. That was true. A Hokage couldn't afford to go back on their word too often—it would kill morale.

"You're the only person I trust in all of Konoha." Masashi grinned. "I'll be heading off, then."

"Mm, go ahead." Minato smiled warmly.

"Masashi, make sure to go home first." Fugaku added, "A man should always return home."

Masashi knew exactly which home he was talking about.

"Got it." He nodded and hurried off.

His own house was empty—his "model couple" parents had long since stopped running their strange polish store. They now represented the Uchiha clan in the Association.

Truthfully, they understood his business operations better than Fugaku did.

Still, major risk decisions had to be set by Masashi himself.

That said, his father had a real knack for this field—he was somehow thriving with his weird ideas in the Association.

Hopefully, his ideas were better than garlic polish...

After returning to the Uchiha compound, he headed straight to Pakura's home.

Using his key, he opened the door.

The rich aroma of home-cooked food greeted him.

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