Chapter 653 : A Visit to the Land of Iron?

"At most, I might be able to reduce it to 350 million Ryo," Fuji said while making an expression as if to indicate that he was giving his kidney away.

Of course, the person he was negotiating with wouldn't budge even if someone actually did that! Hiruzen pointed out that the cost of the material would be only 225 million Ryo and started negotiating from that point. For the next half an hour, Fuji's apprentices and Fujin got front-row seats to two veterans negotiating!

Fuji's apprentices thought, 'Wow! I didn't know my master could negotiate so well. Even in front of someone like the Hokage, he isn't budging back!'

Meanwhile, Fujin analyzed, 'As expected. His negotiation skills are off the chart! Even though I had major success in Kusa, my negotiation skills were based on the threat of using force. By comparison, Hiruzen hadn't threatened the use of force even once and yet he has whittled Fuji down to 300 million Ryo.'

While Hiruzen and Fuji were in an intense discussion, Naruto managed to use the Infinite Breakthrough jutsu correctly for the first time. He immediately came running towards Fujin's clone and said, "Fujin! Did you see it? I got the jutsu down already!"

Fujin's clone was amused by his enthusiasm and replied, "Got the jutsu down already? You just managed to perform it successfully once. By the end of the day, I want to see you perform the jutsu successfully every time."

Naruto immediately replied, "I'll get that done as well, believe it! Huh? Where are you looking?"

As Naruto was speaking, Fujin's clone turned his head and gazed behind him. Naruto followed his gaze and noticed what he was staring at. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he shouted, "Ahhh! A pervert!"

Naruto saw a white-haired man hiding behind a bush and peeking through it at girls having fun near the waterfall. Fujin's clone muttered, "A pervert indeed…"

He turned his gaze towards Naruto and said, "Let me see how much you've learnt Naruto. Use your Infinite Breakthrough jutsu to teach that pervert a lesson."

Naruto was surprised. He asked, "Me? I won't be able to control it and might end up hitting everything."

Fujin's clone said, "And that's why you need to keep training your jutsus until you have perfect control over them. Only then will you have any chance of becoming an exceptional ninja. Anyway, don't worry for now. I'll direct your jutsu. Observe it carefully. In the future, when your control over the Wind improves, you can try doing something similar."

Naruto nodded, weaved the hand seals and shouted, "Infinite Breakthrough jutsu!"

At the same time, Fujin's clone emitted a quarter of his chakra into the air and created a mini-Wind Domain as his chakra was quite limited. Instead of forming a dome around him, his domain occupied the area in front of Naruto.

Naruto blew the intense winds into the Wind Domain, allowing Fujin's clone to easily direct the intense winds. Jiraiya, who was doing his research, suddenly felt the chakra spike behind him and turned around. His eyes widened as he exclaimed, "What the hell?"

In the blink of an eye, he slammed his hands on the ground and a mud wall rose in front of him. He cursed, 'Sensei said that he was peculiar, but he didn't say that he was a complete lunatic! Who the hell uses such an attack inside the village?'

To his shock, the intense winds moved around the mud wall, completely avoiding it! As if responding to the winds, the mud wall changed its shape too, protecting Jiraiya from all sides.

Jiraiya analyzed, 'Sensei wasn't bluffing when he said that Fujin's control over the wind was ridiculously good. I don't think I have ever seen anyone remotely as good as him at manipulating wind. Not to mention, he is manipulating Naruto's jutsu and not his own. I wonder what his next move would be…'

Even though Jiraiya wasn't looking for a fight, Fujin's little display had intrigued him quite a bit. Unfortunately for him, Fujin's next move would be completely out of his expectations!

In the last half hour in Ota Momo's house, Fuji had reduced his price to 300 million Ryo while Hiruzen had come up to 270 million Ryo. They had been stuck on an impasse.

Finally, Hiruzen turned his head towards Fujin and asked, "Fujin, would you like to make a trip to the Land of Iron? I'm sure the blacksmiths would be willing to reduce the prices considerably after meeting you."

Fujin immediately became speechless. He thought, 'In the end, even he resorted to threatening violence…'

Fuji and his apprentice immediately became tense. They understood clearly what 'meeting' meant. Fuji analyzed, 'If he has indeed defeated Orochimaru, then no one other than Lord Mifune would be able to stop him. However, that is assuming he fights Mifune head-on. The entire Land of Iron will be restless if he visits there. Even though it is unlikely that the Hokage would carry this threat, I need to tread carefully.'

To his relief, Fujin replied, "Visit the Land of Iron? Would that be appropriate? Renjiro sensei had learnt the Samurai Saber Technique from Lord Mifune. Going in unannounced might not be a good thing…"

Hiruzen immediately replied, "Oh, who said about going unannounced? Since Mifune taught Renjiro, you can go to pay your respects to him. Perhaps you could even convince him to talk with the blacksmiths to waive off crafting charges."

He thought, 'As expected of the one I selected to lead Konoha's negotiation team. He caught on to what I intended him to say.'

Fuji, who wanted a way out, immediately said, "Oh, I didn't know you were related to Lord Mifune in such a way. If I tell that to others, I might be able to reduce the price to 285 million. However, that is the absolute lowest I could go. I hope you can understand, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen didn't say anything and just looked at Fuji to increase the pressure. He thought, '285 million… That should be acceptable. I reduced the price by 85 million Ryo. That is probably the most I could do. Unless…'

Seeing that Hiruzen wasn't saying anything, Fuji looked at Fujin and said, "Considering your talent and potential, everyone I know would have been excited to craft a sword for you. In fact, it is the only reason I will be able to convince others. However, Lord Hokage said that you broke your previous sword during your fight against Orochimaru."

A smile formed on Hiruzen's face as he thought, 'He finally used this point! I was worried that he wouldn't…'

Fuji didn't notice his smile and continued, "I can understand that your opponent was very strong and the sword breaking might be inevitable. However, we blacksmiths feel humiliated when someone breaks our sword. That is why I'll need to work hard to convince others…"

Fujin raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is so humiliating about it? Instead, you should feel proud. My sword cracked when I destroyed Orochimaru's Sword of Kusanagi with it. The fact that a sword you crafted achieved it should be a proud moment for you."

Fuji's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't help but exclaim, "You destroyed Orochimaru's Sword of Kusanagi?"

Fujin nodded and said, "His sword was too tough. That is the only reason my sword cracked and why I emphasize that my next sword should be very tough."

Fuji couldn't believe what he was hearing. The toughness of the Sword of Kusanagi was well-known in the ninja world. Destroying it was unthinkable. He turned his gaze towards Hiruzen and noticed his smile. He immediately realized, 'Shit! He purposely gave me that info so that I would willingly walk into a trap!

As expected of someone who has ruled one of the strongest Hidden Villages for decades. Still, if this is true, then it changes everything! Even though the sword I crafted was good, it was nowhere near the level of the Sword of Kusanagi. If he can use it to destroy that sword, what can he achieve with a sword that is among the best?'

Fuji immediately became excited upon thinking about it. His breathing became rough as he forgot all about profits. He said, "In that case, I might be able to reduce the price even further. I can't make any promises, but perhaps I might be able to lower it to 250 million Ryo."

Hiruzen smiled and said, "That's good. I'll leave it to you, Fuji-dono. Please create the sword quickly and bring it to Konoha within 3 weeks."

Furutani Fuji nodded. He immediately left Konoha and began making his way to the Land of Iron. Once they were alone again, Fujin said, "That was a good negotiation tactic. First, you lowered the price as much as you could and then you waited for him to enter into that trap.

Once he had stepped in it, you just let his pride of being one of the best swordsmiths do the work for you. I really learnt a lot today, Grandpa."

Hiruzen was initially smiling on hearing Fujin's praise. However, when he heard 'Grandpa', a shiver passed through his spine and he immediately became very alert. He looked at Fujin and wondered, 'What now? Don't tell me he is going to ask for the 120 million Ryo I was able to save!'

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