Second Harvest

After arriving at the Hokage's office, except Tsunade who was absent, there were still Sarutobi Hiruzen, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

"Cain-san, I apologize for requesting your presence here so abruptly, but there is something we need to discuss with you," Hiruzen spoke with utmost politeness. However, there was no denying that Konoha lacked enough medical ninjas to save the injured soldiers' lives. To save as many as possible, they needed Cain's medicines. And it had been proven that with Cain's medicines, the survival rate of the injured increased by 50-60%.

Given the efficacy of Cain's medicines, Konoha could conserve its energy during wartime and avoid excessive casualties.

"I understand what the Third Hokage means, but I cannot decide on the issue of credit. Actually, I paid for the last batch of medicine myself. If we cannot gather the funds this time, I will not be able to provide medicine to your village in the future, and the other party may have to find someone else."

Cain reluctantly told Sarutobi Hiruzen that he would rather be straightforward than beat around the bush and waste time.

Credit and the price of medicine are non-negotiable. These are absolute bottom lines. Even if they bring something as collateral, Cain would rather end the transaction between the two parties. This is the bottom line. Suppose the bottom line can be easily broken. In that case, the other party will likely take advantage of the situation and make further unreasonable demands.

Therefore, Hiruzen didn't need to say anything about how pitiful and difficult the lives of Konoha's ninjas were. Even if they were pitiful, it wasn't Cain's responsibility to protect them.

Hiruzen sighed in his heart and forced a smile as he asked, "What kind of items would you accept as collateral?"

Now it's a seller's market. Konoha has no choice but to deal with Cain unless they choose to confront him directly. However, despite several attempts to track Cain, ANBU has yet to discover how his supplier delivers the medicine to him. Moreover, Cain's ability to disappear mysteriously has made Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitant to take action.

Although Cain is an ordinary person without chakra, it's possible that he may possess sealing jutsu in his mind. If they were to confront him and find nothing, the medicine might end up in another ninja village.

"If you don't have money, then jewelry, gemstones, gold ornaments, or antique objects that are several hundred years old or more will do. However, the pricing is up to me, although I won't deliberately lower the price."

When Cain said the last sentence, Koharu's expression wasn't very pleasant. She felt that Cain was specifically referring to her because she had quoted a high price for several houses during their last transaction.

"Alternatively, you can use a mission as collateral. I need protection for my upcoming business in other parts of the Fire Country," Cain added.

Although the firearms in Cain's backpack could protect him in certain situations, they were still dangerous if a ninja ambushed him.

Mitokado Homura suddenly asked, "Can we trade using ninjutsu scrolls? Konoha has quite a collection of them."

"Ninjutsu?" Cain shook his head decisively. "No, let's forget about that. Elder Mitokado, I'm not a ninja. Ninja technique scrolls have less appeal to me than a best-selling novel."

"I see. That's a shame," Mitokado Homura said after hearing his response and didn't speak again.

When Cain and Homura finished speaking, Hiruzen turned to Cain and said, "Cain-san, Konoha still requires the same amount of medicine as last time. Later, we will show you a list of items we are willing to offer as payment."

"No problem, Third Hokage."

After Cain finished speaking, an ANBU member led him out of the Hokage building. The medicine was stored in a warehouse behind Cain's shop. Aside from the medicines that would be sold in the shop, the rest were exactly enough for Konoha's needs.

Later that afternoon, just as Cain finished his meal, ANBU members summoned him to the Hokage building again. He wasn't taken to the Hokage's office this time but to another room.

The only person inside was Homura Mitokado. It made sense, considering how much the Hokage had to handle in a day. They couldn't waste all of their time on the medical issue.

"Cain-san, please check this list," Mitokado handed Cain a trading list and gestured towards a box on the table.

There were forty kilograms of gold, one hundred jewels, a box of accessories, and over thirty antique items.

Cain noticed that the antique items were placed rather haphazardly and knew they were the more ancient "antiques". However, he confirmed with Mitokado that they were indeed ancient artifacts dating back at least five hundred years, according to the records of the Senju clan.

Mitokado didn't hide anything and explained that they were all donated by the Senju clan. To a ninja, aside from the fact that they were ancient relics, they were no different from an ordinary bowl, except that they were more intricately decorated.

However, Mitokado still assigned a high value to these "antiques." Cain found it amusing but understood that the ninja world may not have a habit of collecting antiques. With the mysterious inheritance as the tagline, Cain should be able to sell them for millions of dollars from the Japanese.

Aside from the gold, Cain also looked at the jewelry.

There were no major issues with the jewelry. At least, Cain believed that Konoha couldn't counterfeit them. Cain removed some of the flawed gems with cracks, which made Mitokado feel a bit embarrassed. He silently criticized Tsunade for not cleaning them before selling them.

Fortunately, Cain didn't say anything else, or Mitokado would have been embarrassed.

As for the other box filled with precious accessories, Cain opened it and confirmed that most of the items were genuine. Two precious accessories weren't cleaned, still with bloodstains on them.

Cain looked at Mitokado with these two bloody accessories. At the same time, Mitokado turned his head to look at other corners of the room as if assessing the repairs that needed to be made. However, in his heart, he cursed Danzo for not processing the things Root had taken back. It was embarrassing.

"Other than the things I removed, this is pretty much it, Mitokado-san," Cain confirmed everything and turned to Mitokado. As for the things he didn't want, he would definitely compensate with the house in the end. Konoha probably wasn't lacking in houses. Once they ran out of space, they would expand.

"The next step is the amount of the commission for the mission."

Mitokado nodded and told Cain, "Let's discuss this with the mission department. They have a more detailed evaluation of the mission."

While Cain could manipulate the traded items, the mission was Konoha's external reputation. Neither Hiruzen or Mitokado would allow anyone else to tamper with the mission.