Negotiations

After breakfast, Tsunade took Jake to the Hokage Tower to quickly resolve the transaction.

Along the way, Tsunade told Jake that the Konoha Hospital had new patients daily, and the demand for medicine was far greater than before. Without Jake, the Hokage would have to consider seeking help from various ninja clans for a batch of supplies.

The Konoha Hospital may not have the deep foundation of some of the more prominent clans yet. Still, after Tsunade's medical ninja practice reform, the foundation of the Konoha Hospital would slowly increase.

Jake slowly understood some of the situations in Konoha based on what Tsunade said, but he felt that she was being a little careless. Should an outsider like him know about this kind of thing? Or did she have other motives?

****

"You must be Jake Walker, who is planning to sell medicine to Konoha. I am the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."

After arriving at the Hokage's office, Jake met the middle-aged Hurizen, who was now in his thirties and still strong and in control unlike decades later. From the fact that he dared to initiate the war and suppress the Rain Village and Sand Village, it was clear that his title of the current strongest Kage was well-deserved.

Jake nodded and replied respectfully, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. Do you have any questions about the medicine transaction?"

Hurizen had already seen the list of items for the transaction yesterday, and the prices were meager. Even rice and ramen were much cheaper than Konoha purchased from the Land of Fire. If the budget was not so tight, he would have wanted to buy a batch of food supplies from Jake to sell to other small lands.

But despite knowing that the price was fair, he still wanted to negotiate.

"The efficacy of the medicine has been verified and is as expected, but after discussions among Konoha's higher-ups, we feel that your medicine prices are a bit expensive."

Before Hiruzen could finish speaking, Koharu Utatane, who was sitting on the other side, interrupted him, "Your asking price is too high for Konoha. After our discussions, we think reducing the price by 40% would be reasonable."

After hearing this, Tsunade's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, then returned to her previous expression.

As for Jake, he just cursed inwardly and then smiled, tilting his head to ask, " Hokage-san, who is this?"

If it weren't for Hurizen's permission, Jake didn't believe Koharu Utatane would dare to bluntly interrupt his words and respond. After all, Sarutobi was still a "great ninja" at this time.

"This is Koharu Utatane, an elder of Konoha and also the person in charge of logistics and the Konoha Hospital."

"Elder Koharu." Jake nodded and said with a smile, "It seems we cannot agree on the price of medicine. Does Konoha have any thoughts on trading other items?"

After Jake finished speaking, whether it was Tsunade or Sarutobi and others, they looked at him in shock.

They had only cut the price of the transaction a little. If Jake felt it was inappropriate, they could still negotiate further. What did it mean to just ignore the medicine?

"Um, Mr. Jake, is there no room for negotiation on the price of the medicine?" Hurizen coughed in embarrassment. He didn't expect Jake to be so decisive and not intend to conduct the medicine transaction.

Jake waved his hand and smiled, saying, "I'm sorry, Third Hokage, but I don't have the authority to change the price of the medicine."

"Buying a large number of unfamiliar medicines carries a great risk for Konoha," said Koharu in a slightly displeased tone. She was responsible for medicines procurement, and Jake's decisive refusal made her feel a bit embarrassed.

"In that case, it's my fault for not thinking it through," shaking his head, Jake continued. "Let's cancel the medicines transaction then. If your village doesn't intend to engage in the food trade, then I'll take my leave."

His goods were in high demand; it was the second Great Ninja War, and while Konoha had finished its battle with the Rain Village, there were still Rock and Sand Villages still engaged in combat. Food and medicine were valuable commodities.

If Konoha thought they could intimidate him, they were dreaming.

Hiruzen and the others were also at a loss due to Jake's decision. They couldn't give up the medicines trade. These medicines could save the lives of many Konoha ninjas, and if they fell into the hands of enemy ninjas, they would pose a threat on the battlefield.

Tsunade frowned slightly, feeling a bit resentful towards Koharu. If Konoha hadn't managed to buy these life-saving medicines because of her, she would have been boycotted by the injured or the families of those who died due to their injuries.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Jake," said Hiruzen, taking Tsunade to discuss the matter with him. After some discussion, they gave Jake their final answer.

"Mr. Jake, we will trade with you according to the price list you provided, but we need you to guarantee that these medicines will not be sold to other ninja villages."

Jake pondered for a moment. If he agreed to this, it meant he wouldn't be able to expand to the other villages, but he didn't care about that either. Konoha and the land of fire were the center of this world, so trading with them was much better than seeking the other poor villages. Besides, he was sure that the moment he refused, they might attack him to prevent him from selling his products to the other villages.

After staying silent for a while, Jake then replied, " I can only guarantee that many medicines will only be traded with Konoha. Your village cannot prevent civilians from buying medicines from me. At the same time, I hope Konoha will allow me to open medicine and food stores here."

Jake also made some other demands, but the rest were minor issues if there were no objections to the price.

Hiruzen immediately agreed to Jake's plan to open a store. If the medicine store was in Konoha, it would be easier for the ANBU to monitor it. As for civilians buying medicines from Jake, it was even better. The hospital in Konoha was overcrowded, and during wartime, it was not open to civilians.

The first batch of medicine transactions was valued at around 100 million Ryo, and Jake sold his medicine by pills. Hiruzen bought all of the medication that Jake had with him in one go. However, Konoha could not provide the full payment, only offering 30 million Ryo. The remaining 70 million Ryo was secured by mortgaging houses and gold held within Konoha.

Jake had demanded gold, and as for Konoha's shops and houses, many areas were still undeveloped, so the prices of homes within Konoha were still relatively low. Although Jake knew that Koharu and Homura Mitokado had overvalued the houses they offered him, his profit was not small.

No one made more money than middlemen, especially those who operated between two worlds. Only the gold traded with Konoha was more than 50 kilograms. If he sold this gold, it would be enough to cover Jake's expenses for buying medicines.

As for why he didn't ask for Ninjutsu as an alternative for money, was because he was cautious. Jutsu were village secrets only available for its ninjas. If he asked for Jutsu, they might suspect him that this was his goal, wanting to take their Jutsu, and the deal might fall apart.

But if he waited for them to be more desperate and depending on his products, then he would be able to negotiate for some Jutsu.

After the transaction was confirmed, Jake received a pass from Konoha and left to prepare the medicines for them.

****

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